Help after a break

[Micker]

I finished an HST program about 3 weeks ago and haven't been able to lift since. I just bought a new house and had been busy/tired from moving and just finished setting up my weight room. I was hoping to take 9-12 days off like you are supposed to during an HST program, but that has almost doubled!! I would work out now, but I of course am just getting over a cold(perfect timing).

I FEEL AWFUL, mentally and physically!! I have been lifting for over 3 years non stop(after many years of not lifting). The longest I have taken off besides this in that time is about a week. I feel that all my hard work is slipping away.

My question is, what should I do to ease back into lifting. I know if I try a normal full workout, I will be SORE and not have the juice to complete it. I want to do another HST(two weeks of 15/10/5/3 reps). Any suggestions on how to get up to pace the best way??

 

[BiggT]

Don't think of losing gains.....think of training as cyclical.

The main thing you'll need to get back is your conditioning to handle work. Personally, no matter what level any lifter is, I think 4 weeks of a basic 5x5 template will get conditioning up to speed. It helps build your base not just high, but wide.

Start at 3x5 the first week, then 5x5 the second, then 5x5 with backoff sets the 3rd, then 5x5 with backoff sets and some assistance the 4th.

 

[Micker]

I have done the 5x5 in the past and made great gains. I know that my endurance will be the weak point right now. I was thinking about doing some 15ish rep sets for a few workouts, get my endurance back and then build up my strength from there. I'm sure i'm not very far behind, its only been a bit over 3 weeks, but anyone who works out all the time knows how I feel mentally and physically right now. You think a mini 5x5 would be better??

 

[BiggT]

With endurance....I personally think of it as tolerance to volume/frequency, not so much 'high rep sets'......some may disagree with me, and that's fine, but I personally feel sets of 15 as work sets have no place in the weight room (save for a backoff set gone a bit crazy because you felt strong, or a rep-test, or some shit like a couple sets of triceps pushdowns etc, and of course a 20-rep squat program).

Olympic lifters are the best conditioned weightroom athletes on the planet and if they do a set of 5, it's rare.

I think by getting back to squatting 3 times a week, and building your base wide (expanding the volume you can handle by adding sets and backoff sets of even assistance work) you'll get all the conditioning you need plus you'll get direct carryover into that 4-8 range that seems to provide most people with the most hypertrophy.