Three questions:

[thecoffeeguy]

Hello everyone.
I have completed my 15's and 10's cycle and I am getting ready to start up my 5 cycle. I just have a threeo questions I wanted to follow up with.
1.) At the end of my last workout for my 10's, I noticed that on bench and standing military presses, that I could have added some weight. Where as on my squats, I felt that when I hit my 10th rep on the second set, I was 1-3 reps from failure (which I think is in the right area to be...dang squats are tough!&#33...Because my presses and bench seemed a little light, I was trying to figure out for my 5's, if I feel like they are light, just add some extra weight, til I feel like im close to failure?
2.) Negatives. I have not really looked into the negative portion of HST. What are some of the guidelines for negatives? Im not sure how to incorporate this into my routine and how to do these (I know how to do negatives, just not in HST mode.)
3.) One thing I noticed during my workouts is, that if I workout on say Monday, then on Tuesday, I feel a little sore, but when I wake up Wednesday morning, the day for my next workout, I feel pretty sore. Is that normal?
So far, I think i've added some lean mass. My arms are fuller and bigger, and my family is saying that my legs look bigger as does my upper body! Just need to cut some fat and im happy!
Thanks!

 

[colby2152]

Quote[/b] ]1.) At the end of my last workout for my 10's, I noticed that on bench and standing military presses, that I could have added some weight. Where as on my squats, I felt that when I hit my 10th rep on the second set, I was 1-3 reps from failure (which I think is in the right area to be...dang squats are tough!!...Because my presses and bench seemed a little light, I was trying to figure out for my 5's, if I feel like they are light, just add some extra weight, til I feel like im close to failure?

You could have had strength gains since you last tested your maxes.. or you didn't have that much energy the day you tested therefore your numbers may be lower than they should be for certain exercises. Either way, if you could have done more weight for the 10's.. then adjust the load for the 5's accordingly.

Quote[/b] ]2.) Negatives. I have not really looked into the negative portion of HST. What are some of the guidelines for negatives? Im not sure how to incorporate this into my routine and how to do these (I know how to do negatives, just not in HST mode.)

Negatives are the eccentric part of your exercise (the lowering of the weight.) To really take advantage of negatives, you would need a partner to help you lift the weight back up (the concentric part of the exercise) while you lower it on your own.

Quote[/b] ]3.) One thing I noticed during my workouts is, that if I workout on say Monday, then on Tuesday, I feel a little sore, but when I wake up Wednesday morning, the day for my next workout, I feel pretty sore. Is that normal?

Yeah of course it is normal, especially in the beginning of your microcycles. I'm not sure if you are new to weightlifting, but some soreness in muscles where you worked hard the day or two before is a common occurence. It doesn't necessairly mean that the muscles are growing. DOMS - or delayed onset muscle soreness as it is called is not a sign of hypertrophy.

Quote[/b] ]So far, I think i've added some lean mass. My arms are fuller and bigger, and my family is saying that my legs look bigger as does my upper body! Just need to cut some fat and im happy!

That's great to hear! Keep up the good work and HST will keep on rewarding you!

-Colby

 

[Totentanz]

Negatives: You can read in the FAQ about this, I think it goes into a lot of detail, but it's been a while since I read it, so I don't really recall.

Anyway, what I do for negs is use my 2 RM and then do two whole reps, once I can't do anymore full reps, I do eccentric only reps. I try to increase the weight every few workouts, until it gets to the point where I am not doing any full reps at all, only eccentric reps. Keep in mind that if you do this, it is a good idea to do some metabolic work afterwards - meaning do a quick set of 15-20 reps with a light weight for that bodypart. It helps a lot, in my experience.

Check the FAQ though, it should tell you everything you want to know about negatives.

 

[thecoffeeguy]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help and feedback. Read through the Neg FAQ...not sure if I can do the negatives (BTW, how do you do negatives with Squats?) since I may be working out alone.

Quick question on this:

Quote[/b] ]Yeah of course it is normal, especially in the beginning of your microcycles. I'm not sure if you are new to weightlifting, but some soreness in muscles where you worked hard the day or two before is a common occurence. It doesn't necessairly mean that the muscles are growing. DOMS - or delayed onset muscle soreness as it is called is not a sign of hypertrophy.

Is there a way to know if you are growing as well as overtraining? For me (came back to workingout after a 4 1/2 year layoff), on HST, I workout Monday, I feel pretty darn sore on Wednesday morning, especially after my last 10 workout with the weights were higher and tougher. Like right now, the fronts of my shins, just to the inside (calf area I am assuming) feel worked pretty good...as to my triceps.

I apprciate it.

thecoffeeguy