Newbie Progressive load question

zini

New Member
I am very intrigued by HST and planning on starting a HST 8 week cycle when I get back from vacation the beginning of July. It makes sense and I am quite psyched about doing it. I keep meticulous records so I think I will like this. I already have done my Rep maxes to figure out how to proceed but I am quite puzzled by one of the concepts.
Specifically how do you increment the progressive load while setting up a workout?
So let me get this straight. My 10RM is 250 lbs for bench press so for the two weeks my bench press weights would look approx like this.
Workout Weight
1 187.5
2 200
3 212.5
4 225
5 237.5
6 250
Am I understanding this concept correctly? It seems silly for me to sets of 10 of bench press of 187, 200, 215, 225. They will not be challenging, I will not break a sweat. It seems like it is not really progressive load because there is no addition of weight above my 10RM. :confused: I am only aiming for what I can already do. That is the only piece that I find counter-intuitive. How is it progressive load and challenging the muscle when I am going way less than what is challenging for me? Maybe I just need a little clarification.
Thanks in advance for any input.
 
What you refer to as "challenging" is really just challenging your strength and/or endurance. HST is about making muscle grow, not building endurance.

Progressive load does not mean progressive fatigue. It simply means that the "tissue" must be exposed to ever increasing loads if it is to continue to grow.

The idea is to start with the minumum effective load so that you can icnrease the load each and every workout. A load tht is effective for growth has nothing to do with how hard it is to lift. It has everything to do with how unaccustomed the tissue is to supporting (i.e. lifting/lowering) it.

Now, if you workout one day with 250, and the next day you workout with 187, you aren't going to create a very good growth sitmulus. However, if one day you workout with 185lbs, and the next day you workout with 200lbs, and the next 215lbs, etc, you are going to create a good anabolic stimulus each and every workout.
 
I'd add to what Bryan said, don't worry too much about any zig zagging that comes up when you set up your workout schedule unless it's excessive. Zig Zagging refers to the tendency to occasionally repeat a workout or two at weight you've already used when you go from 15s to 10s, and from 10s to 5s. The progressive increase in weight over time is what really matters.
 
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