Skipping the 15s

jeffw

New Member
The HST Notes say

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]15s can be skipped when you are about to start over after the first 8-week cycle. If you are feeling strain-type injuries coming on don't skip the 15s.
Starting over, after the first 8-week cycle, do you skip the 15s or not? <span style='color:444444'>[Feel free to comment, of course, on why you do or do not skip the 15s.]</span>
 
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Well, it appears that Ikonboard's IB Code doesn't extend to the poll questions themselves. That's a bug! (And you can't &quot;preview&quot; the questions beforehand or edit them afterwards.) The question should have looked like this:

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I <span style='color:RED'>never</span> skip the 15s.

I've skipped the 15s <span style='color:RED'>just once or twice</span>.

I <span style='color:RED'>sometimes</span> skip the 15s, or

<span style='color:RED'>routinely alternate</span>, including 15s one cycle and skipping them the next.

I <span style='color:RED'>always</span> skip the 15

Oh, well, take the poll, anyway, even if it looks ugly.
 
I've only done 2 cycles. On my second, I only did 3 days of 15's. Obviously this isn't nearly enough info to draw conclusions from, but I just ended my second cycle despite continued strength gains because my arms were just in pain after doing anything with them. I'm doing my 15's completely this time.
 
Aw, heck, guys, about 154 views and <span style='color:CC0000'>10</span> votes? I know the poll looks <span style='color:GREEN'>lousy</span> (my bad) but the 15s are something we all do (or don't do)—it's not a topic something like legalizing steroids where you may or may not have an opinion or just not care…

<span style='color:666666'>The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.
—Lyndon B. Johnson
</span>
 
I did HST once before, and obviously did the 15's then. I'm planning a second cycle soon (the last one was done before Summer), in which I'll do the 15's. Maybe on the third cycle, I'll try neglecting the 15's. I'm 17, so I'm sure I can deal with the tension on my joints as opposed to some others who seem to need it.

Though the neglecting of the 15's may have to wait until my 4th cycle. The 3rd might already be dedicated to an abbreviated cycle (i.e., 3 weeks, 1 of 15's, 10's and 5's, + SD).
 
Well, I've jumped into BFS, Westside and 5x5 in the past with no phase to flush lactic acid through the muscles to help restore the connective tissues.

Have no problems yet. But I guess it's not always good to follow the rule &quot;cross that bridge when you come to it&quot;. I will, though, in this case.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (BoSox @ Sep. 23 2004,3:23)]I'm 17, too. I wouldn't recommend it.
Well, I dunno. It's right there in the HST Notes
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]15s can be skipped when you are about to start over after the first 8-week cycle
so I'm not sure exactly how risky it really would be for most people. I posted this poll just to see what the &quot;norm&quot; is. I mentioned elsewhere that I had forgotten this &quot;option&quot; and was just curious as to whether a lot of other people were skipping them or not.

So far the results of this totally &quot;non-scientific&quot; poll seem to indicate that most people are sticking with the 15s. I wonder if that's because people don't want to risk some strain (or they feel the 15s are beneficial in conditioning for the heavier loads later), or, like me, they just forgot they could skip them and remain, um, &quot;HST-compliant&quot; so to speak.
 
well right now I'm doing them for my joints, cuz my arms were acting up last time. But I like them. Well I don't like doing them, but I like the results. I feel like it increases my endurance a lot, because I do multiple sets with little rest, and makes the 10s seems a lot easier.
 
i've always done the 15's but i may try skipping them next cycle. i'm doing dropsets for the last 3-4 weeks of my cycle this time and also not doing negatives so im thinking that maybe the combination of high rep dropsets flushing the tissue with lactic acid and not going extremely heavy with the negatives may be enough for my joints to stay healthy. if my joints start acting up by the end of the this cycle i'll probably keep them in there next time, however.
 
just wondering... where does the info about lactic acid repairing connective tissue come from? I'm not disputing that it works, just wondering where I can read more about it.
 
I ‘m one my second cycle and I’m doing a week of them.
I believe they prepare me for the heavy loads to come.
I get a hell of a good pump from them as well.
I do 2x15 with a full body wo .
 
I do them because I like to challenge myself, and I find them difficult! I remember how I breezed thru the very first 15s workout I ever did and I really thought they were a waste of time. By the time I had completed just the first week of them I was amazed at how hard I was working. The second week was even tougher. Done properly and acheiving a nice pump, they give me a feeling that I wouldn't miss. Plus, they are really beneficial. I wouldn't skip them ... I look forward to them.
 
Yep.. Your poll sure looks ugly - but I took it anyway
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I always do 15's - but only for a single week.
I like the pump they provide and I like toying with the rep speeds.
I don't believe that it would be harmful in any way to skip the 15's - as long as you warm up properly there shouldn't be a problem.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Flexipecs @ Nov. 05 2004,7:55)]I always do 15's - but only for a single week.
Same here. I mean I used to do the entire 2 week block, but it just felt like I was wasting my time and energy for the most part, so I decided to cut it in half. I did a single, intense pump week of 15s during my current cycle (right now I'm at the end of my 6 rep block), and even though I'm cutting up my joints seem to be just fine.
 
yeah bighorn i think i'm gonna do the same thing next cycle.. the first week of 15s really seemed to do nothing for me except waste time.. keep us posted when you're done with your cycle about if you felt any different w/o doing both weeks
 
HST still isn't perfected, though the use of the 15s probably varies person-to-person.

I'd say the first week is pretty useless. The later week proves to be challenging and stimulating enough. I'd think most people should adopt the idea of one week of 15's only.

Although, since it would end up rounding out to 7 weeks rather than a solid 8, I could see people objecting to it. People like things to be in multiples of 2, 5 or 10. Seven is just too odd, and even though that may sound questionable, I'm sure it's very probable. Same as people who work on 7-day splits (one bodypart a week) rather than a 6-day split or less. Even if they're able to recover and train more frequently, it doesn't fit the calendar and it's not as 'smooth' as once-a-week.

Anyone else feel me on that?
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