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myym619

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I have been reading up on HST after finding out about it on m.f.w. I've already been doing a M-W-F routine working the whole body for about 3 months but was not making much progress because I was just not eating enough. I only have dumbells and aerobic step which I use as a bench. I do dumbell deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and curls. For the deadlifts I use 70lbs/dumbell (all the weights I have) and do 3 sets of 8. I hope to buy a rack in the near future so I can add squats to my routine and add weights.

My questions are: for now, if I wanted to start a HST routine with the equipment I have is there another leg exercise anyone can recommend? I've read here and elsewhere that you don't want to repeat squats or deadlifts every workout of the week. My problem is I might not have enough weight/or be able to apply enough weight with dumbells to find my rm's.

re: 15,10,5 rep max - is this not the same as training to failure? I might not be totally clear on lifting to failure but it would seem that if you find a 15,10,5 rep max you can't do another rep...are'nt they then the same (luf & rm?).

same question on sets...if you find your rm, should you be able to do a second set?

Thanks....
 
As to lower body, remember that DLs (either BB or DB) are lower back exercises. Most of us in here don't do DLS and squats in the same workout, *if* both DLs and squats are in our routines. On the other hand, many of us do squats (or DLs) every workout- ain't nuttin' wrong with that!

If you have only DBs, not to worry, as mikeh says- lunges are great, as are step-ups, and of course, DB squats. BTW, you're not doing a lot for your back- how about DB rows?

As to RMs- no- these are not to failure. An RM is what you can maximally lift without compromising form- as soon as you start wobbling or cheating, you've exceeded your RM. You do not want to go to failure in HST. ANd yes, ordinarily, with an adequate rest period (up to 3 mins, for some people even more), you should be anle to get out another set.

BTW, you may have seen the posts in here on this subject- it's not only not necessary to go to failure, it's also not a big deal if on a given day you just can't hit 15, or 10, or 5 reps at a given weight. It's not the number of reps your muscle is counting- it's the load!

HTH-
Jake
 
Jake,

Is it better to just stick with just squats or DL three days per week for the entire cycle, or is it okay to alternate squats and DL within the same week? I was thinking about doing squats on Mondays, leg ext. and leg curl on Wednesdays, and DL on Fridays, but I'm worried that violates the HST frequency principle.

Thanks,

Sharp
 
I know you addressed this to jake, hope you dont mind if i try and respond..
If you do squats monday, thats quads (mostly)
If you do leg ext/curl wednesday, thats quads and hams
If you do DLs friday, thats hams. (mostly)
So IMO to adhere to the HST frequency principles, you should add maybe curls to monday, and exts to friday.
That way you hit quads/hams on each day... am i right? :confused:
 
Seems very logical to me. I suppose that squat and DL are also back excercises, so maybe adding a set of hyperextensions on Wednesdays would work. I'm just trying to get some variety without overtraining or running afoul of HST principles. Thanks for your reply. :D
 
Sharp-
I think you're OK with this- drivethru's suggestion is a good one. I've done it this way in the past when I've done squats and DLs in the same cycle:

(for a two week period:
M: squats
W: DLs
F: squats
M: DLs
W: squats
F: DLs

This works like a charm, and I think it's how many of us who have done both in the same cycle have alternated them.

Jake
 
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