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MS said:
as a female? Is there some reason we need higher reps to grow? I also made basically all of my gains during the 15s and the 10s.
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as a female? Is there some reason we need higher reps to grow? I also made basically all of my gains during the 15s and the 10s.
This thread rules!
RottenWillow said:
I partly say that based on anecdotal observation (myself included). There is also some evidence that women have a slightly differently nervous system when it comes to how they recruit motor units and recover. In one study, (looking at eccentrics only), women did more reps at a given %1RM than men. This has been interpreted as meaning that women should do more reps. It's hardly conclusive evidence. Women, in general, also can't handle as much volume (less androgens I presume since this appears to change when a woman juices).
Another theory is that women do not have the capacity to recruit as many motor units as men do. As such, they'll may need 1-2 more reps to fully stimulate their muscles. So when training for strength, a man might need between 1 and 5 reps while a woman might benefit more from doing 3-6 reps. When training for muscle gains, men may benefit from doing 5-10 reps while women appear to be better off doing to 7-12 reps. For these same reasons women *may* benefit from doing an extra set or two per exercise. For my HST program I aim for 2 sets for 15s and 10s. In the last day or two when I'm approaching my 15 or 10 rep max, I split these two sets into a morning session and an evening session. For my 5s I increase to 3 sets (2 sets split as I approach my max).
None of this is the gospel, and is highly controversial. You will also find a wide range in response from one woman to the next. After all, I grew exceptionally well doing nothing but circuits and pump classes in my early days. Most people I did the classes with didn't seem to grow at all (except maybe the addition of fat). Then again it appeared to me that most of those folks lacked intensity of any sort and often just went through the motions without ever increasing their weights. This is a trap I see a lot of females in particular fall into. That's what's good about HST (or other periodization programs). It forces women to increase their weights in a logical and progressive fashion.
3. Slightly less intensity: This is not to say that women aren't as strong as men. But since they need a few more reps and a few more sets, the relative intensity must be decreased a little to allow for proper progression.
MS said:
Damn, that's a lot of volume! It would be interesting to see what effect that would have on me during my next HST cycle, but my schedule wont permit two workouts daily and there's no way I could recruit the energy to do 2 sets for each exercise doing total body workouts. Does seem like a good plan to increase hypertrophy though.
MS said:
Very well articulated, I absolutely agree 100%. I see SO much "instinctual" (read: irrational) poundage and routine switching it's a miracle a lot of people (men including) make any gains at all.
RottenWillow and MS in your experience where did you see the most gains? I was concidering doing HST but I am trying to lose some size at the moment not muscle of course but the fat on my a$$.
RottenWillow said:
2 sets per body part, 3 times per week, that's only 6 sets per body part per week. Not really very high volume. I should add that I'm not doing much isolation work. For instance I don't bother with specific tricep, shoulder or bicep exercises. I count on stuff like dips, clean presses and reverse grip chins to cover those.
Squats
SLDLs
Clean presses
Weighted dips
Weighted chins
Bench
Rows
Weighted crunches
And then I'm outta there. 16 sets total (24 sets for the 5s). I super-set opposing exercises so it goes pretty quickly, ie squats with SLDL, dips with chins, bench with rows, cleans with abs.
superqt4u2nv, HST is great for fatloss, you just gotta get the diet in order. Superset everything to keep rest intervals short, and throw in some drop sets here and there. Do some sprints on your non-training days.
MS said:
I feel like it's a lot of volume because you often get no more than 48 hours rest and because the intensity of the training curve is cumulative. For a week, no it's not a lot of volume, but after 8 weeks, whoa papi, das a lotta work!
A lot of people I've talked to find multiple sets during the 15s to be quite demanding in terms of energy requirements, especially as you approach your max for a particular minicycle. I guess it just depends on your overall level of conditioning. I myself added multiple sets for the 5's, but believe that's part of what led to my overtraining.
OK, I omitted a few details to save some typing. What I actually end up doing is 2 sets for my first 4 sessions of each rep scheme, and then I drop it to either one set or sometimes (if I'm not feeling overtrained) to 1 set twice a day for the last 2 sessions. For the 5s I do 3 sets for the first 3 sessions, then 2 split sets for the last 3. I only do 1 or 2 sets for the forced negatives/drop sets. I don't find the training effects to be too cumulative since at the start of each new rep scheme I am actually working with a lighter weight than I was for the previous rep scheme. In other words if my 6th session of 15s I do 50kg, my 1st set of 10s will prolly only be 40-45kg. So the first 2 sessions of each rep scheme are effectively light weight recovery sessions.
There is also an arguement that some women may need to increase the time between sessions due to slower CNS recovery. If you are feeling overtrained with HST you could try training every 72 hours instead of 48. You might also need to drop your starting weights for each rep scheme. There will be a big difference between, say, 6 sessions at these weights:
10
15
20
25
30
35
versus
7.5
12.5
17.5
22.5
28
35
even though in both cases you end up with a 35 max. In the second case you should find it easier to hit your maxs without feeling overtrained. Determining appropriate increments is important!
There is also an arguement that some women may need to increase the time between sessions due to slower CNS recovery. If you are feeling overtrained with HST you could try training every 72 hours instead of 48. You might also need to drop your starting weights for each rep scheme. There will be a big difference between, say, 6 sessions at these weights:
10
15
20
25
30
35
versus
7.5
12.5
17.5
22.5
28
35
even though in both cases you end up with a 35 max. In the second case you should find it easier to hit your maxs without feeling overtrained. Determining appropriate increments is important!
MS said:
Ok I see. During my second HST cycle that's how I implemented the multiple set scheme as well.
MS said:
That's the recovery period I used thorough my entire second HST cycle. I felt that the margin for error in terms of recovery was SO slim with 48 hours rest that I needed the "padding" offered by the extra 24 hours. With school, full time work, and full time boyfriend my diet and sleep had to be consistently perfect for 48 hour rest times to work for me.
This is the thread I started back in fall '03 that chronicalled by first timer experience with HST.
It's a program appropriate for the absolute beginner and the experienced lifter. I found it to be both very simple, and very effective.
(for the confused, Willow the Rotten and Anya are one and the same)
It's a program appropriate for the absolute beginner and the experienced lifter. I found it to be both very simple, and very effective.
(for the confused, Willow the Rotten and Anya are one and the same)
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