My new years journal-Single factor 5x5

[Phaded]

got any before after pics?

 

[asdfzxcv]

Something I wanted to try was to change the number of reps when I reset. It can get a bit boring doing 5's all the time, even when you're setting PR's. Changing the exercises a bit is a good idea.

How about doing 3x3 next week, as a bit of a deload and to see what they feel like?

I will see if I can get more mileage out of the 5's first as they have been effective up to this point and I dont want to mess with them till next time I have to reset.

I think it would be wise just to take this coming week very lightly if I am going to embark on another sf 5x5 run.I will do some light lifting,but it will be more to alleviate boredom then then anything else.This week might be a good week to focus on chin-ups as I have really neglected them lately.I will also practise my form on power cleans for the upcoming run of 5x5 and some light front/overhead squats should cover the lower body.

 

[asdfzxcv]

got any before after pics?

No before/after shots

I put on 10lb without really focusing on bulking that much.I am still skinny/fat
but with a bit more muscle and strength.My back in general seemed to get a bit bigger,same as my legs.This time I may even run this at a very slight caloric deficiet to see if I can lose some fat whilst still getting stronger via neural adaptation.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Been looking over various forums and I happened to stumble across HST training.At first I thought it might be some crappy magazine program but it actually looks half decent.Although it isnt as strength orientated as 5x5 it seems to share some characteristics such as the high frequency,full body training with emphasis on increasing weight over the allocated time periods.The part that interests me is the fact that the program finishes in the 5 rep range,which would provide a perfect opportunity to follow it with a 5x5 cycle.

So I am torn as to my direction as of now.The options I am considering are
a)start a new 5x5 cycle,this is still the main choice in my mind
b)Try a 6-8week cycle of hst followed by another sf 5x5 run,Wouldnt hit PR's as fast but the higher reps at the beggining of the cycle would provide metabolic/anaerobic conditioning.

Either way I will probably run either option with a mild calorie deficiet(250-500cal) and try to get some fat off me(about 20%bf so bulking probably aint wise).I will give this some consideration in the next few days

 

[mphowells]

I'm in same boat, 1 week of 5x5 left, thinking HST. Currently trying to work the f*cking HSt calculator but failing. feeling like a tool because it looks simple!lol

 

[asdfzxcv]

I'm in same boat, 1 week of 5x5 left, thinking HST. Currently trying to work the f*cking HSt calculator but failing. feeling like a tool because it looks simple!lol

You put your max in the last column for that rep range,then where it says ''inc'' put how much you want each workout to increase by.

Eg-say your max is 150 for 10 reps and you put and increment of 10,you will get a readout of 100,110,120,130,140,150 over that time period.It is similiar to 5x5 in the way you ramp up to your records over a few weeks it seems.I am still getting the finer points but ask if you have questions.

 

[mphowells]

I see, cheers. To be honest i was expecting the calculator to do more than that (not sure what,lol)

I've spent a lot of today doing some good reading up and like you have a few finer points to iron out. For the exercises i think i will have very little change in what i do throught the whole program. Amounts of reps are the main confusion for me at the moment.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Same here,I am not sure whether to use 15,10,5 over 6weeks or extend it to 15,12,8,5 over 8 weeks,I am leaning towards the latter opinion as it allows for a larger ramp up.In regards to exercises I am coming up a bit short myself.So far I have squats,bench,push press,power cleans,chins/dips(although I cant do 15 of these I will try to add resistance over the program).I really want to do deadlifts as well,but they may get too taxing in the later weeks so I will probably use power cleans as my main pull.As you can see I am not big on isolation moves so it limits the selection somewhat,I may have to add in some bicep/tricep exercise just as a space filler lol.Nevertheless I am excited about starting this,I am interested in seeing how I respond to the 15 rep sets after doing 5x5.

Good luck to you too.

 

[anotherbutters]

I've heard quite a few times that HST compliments the 5x5 quite nicely. HST has more emphasis on size; 5x5 on strength. People have reported good results whilst cutting too. I've just started a 6 week run of HST myself, even though I still can't squat yet. I'm doing 15, 12, 10, 8, 5 and 3 reps. I didn't bother testing my 15/10/5 rep maxes and set it up as described here:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5859160&postcount=239

 

[dosteov]

You put your max in the last column for that rep range,then where it says ''inc'' put how much you want each workout to increase by.

Eg-say your max is 150 for 10 reps and you put and increment of 10,you will get a readout of 100,110,120,130,140,150 over that time period.It is similiar to 5x5 in the way you ramp up to your records over a few weeks it seems.I am still getting the finer points but ask if you have questions.

Great journal man! I've been debating wether to jump on the 5x5 or the HST (currently doing the one body part per week thing). The thing that confuses me about HST is that there is no mention about increasing your lifts. I mean you get your 15, 10 and 5 rep maxes and then work up to there. There's no mention of increasing the weight past your maxes. Am I right about this?

 

[Phaded]

anyone got a link on hst i think i'm gonna try this next.. when i can't milk anything out of 5x5 anymore.. i'm trying to hit 5x5 330 bench/315 squat/225 row/ tommorow and i think i'm gonna fail on all 3 so i'm thinking if i dont hit them ill try hst next week and ill just do some light lifts all week hitting all body parts just looking for a link/journal on hst so i can get basic jist of it..

 

[asdfzxcv]

I've heard quite a few times that HST compliments the 5x5 quite nicely. HST has more emphasis on size; 5x5 on strength. People have reported good results whilst cutting too. I've just started a 6 week run of HST myself, even though I still can't squat yet. I'm doing 15, 12, 10, 8, 5 and 3 reps. I didn't bother testing my 15/10/5 rep maxes and set it up as described here:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5859160&postcount=239

I like the way yours is set up,15s all the way down to 3s.I might try to do 2 weeks at each phase for a total of 12weeks,which would be a good timeframe to cut down significantly and be fairly lean for getting back into bulking up with 5x5.I havent tested my rep maxes,I will just start fairly conservatively at each phase and ramp up weights as I go to my estimated max for that rep range(found via online calculator).

My goal for this is to maintain as much muscle as possible whilst reducing my bodyfat down to a managable level with a slow-moderate cut.If I gain any strength/muscle it will be a bonus.I think the high reps may be the most effective part of the program after sitting at 5reps for so long.

Here is what I have so far
Olympic squats
Power cleans
Push press
Bench press
Chins(can probably do 7-8 but I will try to add microweights as I go.
Dips(can probably do 10-12but I will try to add microweights as I go.

Want to add but not sure if I should
Deadlifts(Not sure how I would manage deads 3x a week,especially once the weight scales up.)

Apart from that I dont know what else to add,my entire body is covered with those 6-7exercises.If anyone has suggestions feel free to share them with me

 

[anotherbutters]

As I understand it, the main principle is simply to increase the weight each workout, gradually reducing the reps to accommodate the increasing intensity. So you go from a relatively light weight for 15 reps, down to heavy and 5 reps. For 12 weeks, I suspect 2 x 6 week runs will be more effective than one long, drawn out run where the weight changes more slowly. AI knows the program very well, so hopefully he'll be able to help more if he pops in.

Phaded, there was a thread on here about HST earlier this week for more info on HST in general.

 

[Phaded]

i see ill have to find that

 

[mphowells]

About a days solid reading here:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=283460

I'm going to stick the examples as much as possible and not 'tweek' it too much.
simpe 15 10 5 5(no partner for negatives). probably going to use the exercise suggested on the HSt website.

 

[Phaded]

is there current anyone doing hst?

 

[asdfzxcv]

I think I will just do 2 cycles of the conventional 15,10,5 setup for simplicity.I am still a bit short on exercises,I just dont think I need much more with the compounds I listed.Maybe all the time on 5x5 has put me off isolation exercises lol,but I just feel like I am wasting my time doing curls when I could be doing deadlifts or powercleans.Maybe I should give in and put some iso stuff just to fill in gaps.Even the HST website says this,


Utilizing lactic acid as a stimulus for tendon repair/health
Now HST incorporates a few other things such as higher reps (for lactic acid) to prepare the muscles and tendons for future heavy loads. This serves as "regular maintenance". Without it, you increase your risk of chronic injuries and pain. The metabolically-taxing reps enhance healing of strained tendons.
Compound Exercises
HST also suggests using compound exercises to maximize the effects of loading on as much muscle as possible per exercise.

Progressively Adjusting reps to accommodate Progressive Load
HST suggests that you use 2 week blocks for each rep range. Why? It has nothing to do with adaptation. It is simply a way to accommodate the ever increasing load. Of course, you could adjust your reps every week (e.g. 15,12,10,8,5,etc), but this is more complicated and people might not understand. Often times, in order to communicate an idea you must simplify things, even at the expense of perfection. If people can't understand it, they won't do it. What good would that do or anybody? Then, over time, people figure out for themselves the other possibilities that exist within the principles of hypertrophy.

 

[Phaded]

let me know when you post your setup for your hst ill prob. mimic it..

 

[mphowells]

Gonna write mine out tonight.

I'll post it in a new thread so not to hijack your 5x5 journal.

 

[asdfzxcv]

I will probably start a new journal for it.