Char-dawg, i was wondering what was taking you so long. To tell you the thruth, i lost interest in this HST debate. The results people claim they had speak for themself, i see no need to discuss it further and as i said i really don’t care if people use it or not.
So maybe it doesn’t work for everybody, but as long as it works for me, who cares?
I tried/finished one cycle, and though very optimistic when beginning–I agree: Not that impressive. I think HST has it’s place, really as a way to “actively rest” over a period of 2-3 weeks (if you shorten the cycle). I gained some fat durring the period…and just didn’t get the psychological release that I normally get from going ballistic in the gym on 1-2 bodyparts. At anyrate, my favorite program is still EDT.
To restless: Well, to be honest I was going to try not to say anything this time around, but when I saw your comment I felt like I had to give Nate Dogg some back-up. Not trying to restart the debate with you or anything. Believe me.
To Random Weights: Yes, of course it’s the diet that makes you fat, not the program. Well, up to a point. One of the HST site’s recommendations is to up your calories so that you gain weight. So, following the program, that’s what I did (upped my total cals by about 500/day). But the weight gain was fat, not muscle.
If you think about it, it makes sense. Here you are, doing not just less than your usual intensity and (perhaps) volume, but MUCH less - for five/sixths of your time in the gym - and yet you’re eating more. Naturally the gain would be fat.
So that’s what I meant by saying that “HST” made me fat. Not that I’m a porker, and not that it was HST’s fault - it was my fault.
One thing I forgot to say: It could be the case where you kept your cals steady but changed programs, and experienced fat gain on the new program that didn’t occur on the old one. (This could be due to a lack of stimulation or volume.) In that case, although you should of course try to take a drop in intensity into account and adjust your diet accordingly, you could say that “the program made you fat” in a sense. Sort of.
I just finished my first day of 10’s. I am very into HST. Although it could be due to many factors, I am already up 4 pounds. I run cross-country on two of my off days, and rest the other two. I am starting a Mag-10 cycle in one week. I’ll keep everyone updated on my progress.
If I understand HST correctly, you have just done 2 weeks at 15 reps. It is a little mind boggling to me that you would be up 4 lbs as a result of that routine. Either you have not been lifting at all and your body is simply responding to this new stimulus, or you are doing something else, but 6 days of 15’s (MWF for 2 weeks) and 1 day of 10s just doesn’t seem as if it would be sufficient to generate that type of response. I would add that Bryan claims that the 15s aren’t designed principally to induce hypertrophy, but rather to “lube” the joints and prepare the body for the work in the upcoming weeks (Bryan - I apologize if that is an incorrect summary of your comments, and I am sure someone will correct me).
I think that I may have been overtraining a bit before I started HST, also, I started to follow Bill Roberts advice of taking 400 grams of protein a day.
The reason for the weight gain is most likely due to increased glycogen and fliud. The higher reps deplete your muscle glycogen stores. Then, due to overcompensation while glycogen is replenished you end up with much more fluid in the muscles. Although it’s not real mucle growth, it is a good thing. It prepares you for the heavier weights that follow by increasing nutrient flow and functional capacity of the muscles. Steve
Paul, prior to HST, I had been doing some lower volume workouts and had taken some time off from the gym. I think that if I had followed EDT or something with higher volume, I would have made better gains. My fiber make-up is definitely not fast-twitch (I sure wish it was), so it wasn’t the higher reps that caused a lack of success. I think it’s the low intensity and low volume that I stated in my previous post. So for you, it will depend on how much volume you were getting with your 1,6,1 routine. If you’ve been training with high volume, I’m sure HST will give you a nice break and give you better gains. I found the workouts too easy until the last day or two prior to working out with my max weight for each repetition bracket (15, 10, 5, etc). I even started adding some exercises at the end of my workouts because I felt that I wasn’t really doing much. So for me, HST wasn’t a good program.
Blade, I said nothing about training to failure. All I said is that the intensity levels are far too low to elicit a response. You’re telling me that working out with 10-20% of your 1RM has given you substantial muscle growth? Maybe you’re using anabolics and that’s the reason you’re gaining. I totally understand all the reasoning and principles behind HST. That’s why I thought it was a good program and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, it didn’t work as well as everyone says it does. You’re right, it does have many principles that King, Staley, Polquin and others have stated, but it doesn’t mean it’s going to all work together. So your attack on me has no reasoning. If you’re such a bad ass, go post your picture for all to see. And document your own success with HST. Remember, there is no “best way to train.” And for me, HST did not work. I stated my reasoning in my first post. Re-read it if you need further information.
Nate - Haycock recommends that if your starting weights are too light or easy, use fewer increments and start with more weight. Alternatively you can slow down the lifting tempo to make the weight more challenging.