Making 15's Work Right

[imported_da1andonlychacha]

OK, I've never done a lifting program that had me doing such low weights or such high reps. So, after reading thru the site some, here's just a few questions I've gathered.
Hypothetical. My 15RM Bench is 150.
1. I can start at 120 and increase 5 thru the next 5 workouts. Obviously, doing 120 is going to be laughably easy. Is that really enough weight to induce growth? I mean, there must be some point at which the weight is too light to work. How do I know what that is?
2. To make it harder, should I rep slower and concentrate on the eccentric portion of the lift?
3. If after the first few workouts I'm not sore or fatigued at all, should I increase the # of sets or the weights or adjust something else?

 

[Techo]

da1andonlychacha,
Yes, 120 will be laughably easy IF you don't SD. I recommend you find your maxes M-15s W-10s F-5s then do a SD for two weeks. Then when performing your workouts use 2-3 seconds on the ecentric part of the lift - as you get heavier its okay to go quicker just don't get sloppy. If you feel like you are not getting anything out of your workout it's okay to increase the volume of your work out. But you'll probably want to go thru the whole cycle at least once just to see how it all pieces together. Also keep in mind that you dont' need to feel like you've been hit by a truck to see results. By the way, I recommend you read the FAQ if you haven't already done so. You can get tons of extra info there...
I understand your concern about using lower weights as I started with the same problem. However, this program is based on the science of hypertophy which is acomplished by continually increasing the load. So give it a try and let us know how it goes! =)

 

[Guest]

Right, it's all about fooling your body. It's essentially the exact opposite of HIT (High Intensity Training)- where you go all out every workout, even beyond failure using negatives and other techniques. And then you take a week off because it takes that long to recuperate. Then you do it all over again and hope you see gains. With HST, you do these "easy" workouts and build up slowly, but the key here is in frequency- every body part 3 times a week would be impossible if you were pushing yourself hard. So instead, each workout adds up over time, just like the illustration on the main page- 6 sets per exercise in one workout for a normal split routine, whereas with HST you are just spreading them out and hitting them more often. This same "ramping" (always adding weight) principle has been used for decades by powerlifters- workout 1 is 5 sets of 5 reps with 200 lbs., workout 2 is 5x5 with 210 and so on. Then, they go back down in weight and start all over, but at a higher starting weight. With the end result being a greater and greater 1 Rep Max. This is why establishing your Rep Maxes is so important, you want that last workout in the cycle to whoop you. So just think of it as drawing out the normal routine- a few warm up sets, then you steadily build up to that last monster set- except with HST, you do it over weeks and many times instead of in one workout.

 

[Vaymigade]

HST is just about producing microtrauma. After strategic deconditioning, youve lost most of your protective connective tissue so the first stimulus your body is exposed to, that is the 120 pounds will cause microtrauma. The next time your body is subjected to a higher load, so microtrauma keeps occuring. The strategic deconditioning is an integral part of it. Say if you hadn't dont SD, then 120 would do nothing for you.

 

[micmic]

Actually during 15s and dropsets you should delay the concentric part of the movement. The eccentric should be relatively fast, the opposite of what we do during 10s and 5s. This is because we are now interested in producing as much lactic acid (and hydrogen ions etc) as possible, and to do this we need the muscle to contract for as long as possible. Accentuating the eccentric part is important for mechanical damage, but this is not the priority during the 15s.