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My HST Journal
- Thread starter RottenWillow
- Start date
Backlash said:Glad I could help. If you really want, you can send me one pound of beef for every pound of LBM you gain
Uh hey buddy that's gonna get pretty pricey since I'm busting out with some awe inspiring guns now.
(maybe some ground chuck)
Great results! With respect to increments... it can get a little iffy, especially if you RM's are low. 5% of the 5RM is a good increment to use. If this results in too much overlap (say, more than 3 sessions) maybe adjust it down a bit.
Man... I wish I could refer you to the HST thread but it got nuked in the mod exodus 1-2 days ago.
Anyway, there should be a new one up soon.
Man... I wish I could refer you to the HST thread but it got nuked in the mod exodus 1-2 days ago.
Anyway, there should be a new one up soon.
UPDATE # 5
Ok here's just a quick entry to bring my journal up to date.
I took stock of my gains to date at the end of my 5RM phase. I realized that I've made absolutely zero meaureable size gains since about the middle of my 10RM phase. However, I've continued to make substantial strength gains despite less than optimal recovery due to recurrent insomnia throughout my HST cycle. After some valuable input from EF's in house HST guru casualbb I agreed that I need higher reps to grow. I have used this information about myself to plan my final HST phase.
I have chosen to do a 3RM phase for the final two weeks of my HST cycle. I chose a this because I usually have no spotter which makes negative only sets impossible for many exercises. I have also chosen to increase total sets per exercise from 1 to 3 in order to get my reps closer to that range where I apparently grow best. I am now using a watch with 2nd hand and I allow just 60-70 seconds between sets.
So far so good. I have two 3RM workouts under my belt, four to go.
Ok here's just a quick entry to bring my journal up to date.
I took stock of my gains to date at the end of my 5RM phase. I realized that I've made absolutely zero meaureable size gains since about the middle of my 10RM phase. However, I've continued to make substantial strength gains despite less than optimal recovery due to recurrent insomnia throughout my HST cycle. After some valuable input from EF's in house HST guru casualbb I agreed that I need higher reps to grow. I have used this information about myself to plan my final HST phase.
I have chosen to do a 3RM phase for the final two weeks of my HST cycle. I chose a this because I usually have no spotter which makes negative only sets impossible for many exercises. I have also chosen to increase total sets per exercise from 1 to 3 in order to get my reps closer to that range where I apparently grow best. I am now using a watch with 2nd hand and I allow just 60-70 seconds between sets.
So far so good. I have two 3RM workouts under my belt, four to go.
FINAL UPDATE & SUMMARY
Well that's it. My HST experiment is finished. Mixed results but it was definitely a learning experience for me. I started this thread because I couldnt find any other woman on Elite who had tried HST and I wanted to chronicle my experiences for any other woman who might want to try it in the future.
I gained about 3lbs of bf and about 2-3 pounds of muscle altogether. My arms are both up .25" and my chest is up to 39" for a gain of about .75". I think my delts are bit thicker too but I cannot verify this with the measuring tape.
Summary of my final mini cycle, the 3RM
It was hard! I was clearly beginning to overtrain a little by the 3RM phase. I took two 3 day breaks during the 3RMs to keep my progress moving which helped but wasnt enough. My 3rd workout felt like maxes when it should have still been comparatively easy. Remember you shouldnt actually hit your maxes for any given weight until the very last workout of that phase. I increased my number of sets to 3 for the 3RM phase to up my total number of reps per exericise to nine. I did this because I learned from my 15 & 10RM phases that I respond best with higher reps. However, using that kind of weight for 3 sets was more than I could handle and still make gains.
What I learned & plans for my next routine
My body responds with hypertrophy most readily when I do higher repititions and more moderate weights. I need reps in the 12-15 range for all excercises. I respond best with strength gains in the 5-10 range. Below 5 and I am just burning out.
I may need to add some specialized tricep work. My arms grew .25" early in my HST cycle but I wonder if they would have grown more if I had done tricep work as well. I didnt do tricep work because I was afraid of overtraining my arms due to the frequency of HST workouts and the incidental work they would already be getting from benching and overhead presses.
My biceps do need specialized work but at a lower volume than major muscle groups like chest, legs, back, etc.
I will be starting another HST routine 12/13/03 after a 9 day rest period to allow my muscles to again become sensitized to the lighter weights.
My new routine will be as follows:
15, 10, and 5RM phases only, after which I will begin all over again.
15RM___1-2 sets for all major muscle groups depending on how easy the first set is and how close to failure I feel I reach. Too close on the first set = no second set! 1 set for small muscle groups like bis and tris.
10RM___2 sets for all major muscles and 1 for small ones.
5RM___3 sets for all majors and 2 for small ones.
For more info on HST go here. The link in my first post is now broken and that post is too old now for me to edit.
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=283460
Ok ladies, all done. I hope this thread will be of some help to you at some point in the future.
Well that's it. My HST experiment is finished. Mixed results but it was definitely a learning experience for me. I started this thread because I couldnt find any other woman on Elite who had tried HST and I wanted to chronicle my experiences for any other woman who might want to try it in the future.
I gained about 3lbs of bf and about 2-3 pounds of muscle altogether. My arms are both up .25" and my chest is up to 39" for a gain of about .75". I think my delts are bit thicker too but I cannot verify this with the measuring tape.
Summary of my final mini cycle, the 3RM
It was hard! I was clearly beginning to overtrain a little by the 3RM phase. I took two 3 day breaks during the 3RMs to keep my progress moving which helped but wasnt enough. My 3rd workout felt like maxes when it should have still been comparatively easy. Remember you shouldnt actually hit your maxes for any given weight until the very last workout of that phase. I increased my number of sets to 3 for the 3RM phase to up my total number of reps per exericise to nine. I did this because I learned from my 15 & 10RM phases that I respond best with higher reps. However, using that kind of weight for 3 sets was more than I could handle and still make gains.
What I learned & plans for my next routine
My body responds with hypertrophy most readily when I do higher repititions and more moderate weights. I need reps in the 12-15 range for all excercises. I respond best with strength gains in the 5-10 range. Below 5 and I am just burning out.
I may need to add some specialized tricep work. My arms grew .25" early in my HST cycle but I wonder if they would have grown more if I had done tricep work as well. I didnt do tricep work because I was afraid of overtraining my arms due to the frequency of HST workouts and the incidental work they would already be getting from benching and overhead presses.
My biceps do need specialized work but at a lower volume than major muscle groups like chest, legs, back, etc.
I will be starting another HST routine 12/13/03 after a 9 day rest period to allow my muscles to again become sensitized to the lighter weights.
My new routine will be as follows:
15, 10, and 5RM phases only, after which I will begin all over again.
15RM___1-2 sets for all major muscle groups depending on how easy the first set is and how close to failure I feel I reach. Too close on the first set = no second set! 1 set for small muscle groups like bis and tris.
10RM___2 sets for all major muscles and 1 for small ones.
5RM___3 sets for all majors and 2 for small ones.
For more info on HST go here. The link in my first post is now broken and that post is too old now for me to edit.
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=283460
Ok ladies, all done. I hope this thread will be of some help to you at some point in the future.
Last edited:
R
revexrevex
Guest
Good job anya Use this experience to better yourself
Use this experience to better yourself
a bump to pimp HST to the newer ladies.
BTW I've maintained the 3lbs of beef I added last year. Holding at 147 and 16% bf.
BTW I've maintained the 3lbs of beef I added last year. Holding at 147 and 16% bf.
Last edited:
ashley2212
Banned
WOW this is an old post! Though I never would have read it if you didn't bump it back up again!
Interesting concept, though I don't think I'd survive mentally if I couldn't throw around those heavy weights.
How did you find that the ZMA worked for you? I see that your insomnia went away, perhaps that was in part to the ZMA. Do you think it helped with any of your gains? It's kind of hard to tell which is working when you start a new routine and a new supplement at the same time!
Interesting concept, though I don't think I'd survive mentally if I couldn't throw around those heavy weights.
How did you find that the ZMA worked for you? I see that your insomnia went away, perhaps that was in part to the ZMA. Do you think it helped with any of your gains? It's kind of hard to tell which is working when you start a new routine and a new supplement at the same time!
ashley2212 said:
Since the search feature has been basically eliminated for non-paying peeps, like you and I, it's way more difficult to find these old ones.
I really dont think the ZMA helped at all. I cant recommend it. I didnt add it until later in the program when the insomnia became a problem and that was after I had gotten most of the size and strength gains.
HST is demanding as hell and you really have to watch for those signs that signal overtraining. If you take appropriate steps to deal with overtraining as the symptoms develop HST can yield amazing gains in a short period of time. Bottom line is I'm still cheerleading for it.
I have had very good results with several cycles of HST, but as a female I also needed higher rep work to really grow. So for my final 2 weeks I did drop sets. I basically would start each exercise with my previous 5 rep max weight, do as many reps as I could at that weight, then drop the weight to 75% of my 5 rep max and do as many reps as I could, then drop the weight to 50% of my 5 rep max and do as many as I could. I found not only did this make me grow like a weed, but by the end of those two weeks I was often doing 7 or 8 reps with the weight that was previously my 5 rep max. Built size, strength AND muscular endurance. The lactic acid was nice for a change too
I also notice I don't really have a lot of measurable growth until well into the strategic deconditioning phase. As always you gotta rest to grow! I do a full two weeks of deconditioning, so the full cycle takes almost 10 weeks.
I also notice I don't really have a lot of measurable growth until well into the strategic deconditioning phase. As always you gotta rest to grow! I do a full two weeks of deconditioning, so the full cycle takes almost 10 weeks.
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