Hypertrophy-Specific Training by &&$)(;

[Hypnotix]

Would someone with enough gumption to read through all the pages explaining HST, like to post up their opinions on this form of training?

I'm currently reading it all myself, you can easily find the site by searching for the title of this thread in Google. At the bottom of each page is a "Next" button to go on to the next explanation.

It's rather interesting, and I'm just curious what other people think of the rest intervals, the philosophy/science behind it, the amount of volume per training day compared to that of a normal plan, and how it compares over the course of a week compared to a normal plan.

This plan compares itself to other 3-day splits.

So, HST is Total Body each training day, each isolated muscle group with it's own exercises (i.e. Abs x 2 exercises 1-2 sets each, Biceps x 2 exercises 1-2 sets each) You train 3 days a week. (Train, Rest, Train, Rest, Train, Rest, Rest)

A typical 3 day split is like, Monday (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) Rest, Wednesday (Back, Biceps), Rest, Friday (Legs, Abs) Rest, Rest. Same amount of sets and reps overall per week on each group, but all sets for Chest as an example are done on that single day... (HST, is Chest every day, Back every day, but less volume each day..)

I'm not sure how I feel about it. But, it's a cool concept so far (still reading....). It capitalizes on our bodies capabilities to recover in x amount of time (based on a scientific average), but without jeopardizing the CNS in the process.. I can't fully explain how until I'm done reading this guys stuff and understand it fully.

But, to anyone interested, it's HST ( Hypertrophy Specific Training ) Bryan Haycock.

 

[Teutonic]

When powerlifting this is simiar but expanded upon w volumenous detail and lot s of science behind it.

Arnold called it-

Push day
Pull Day
Leg Day
Rest 1 or 2 day s then repeat.

It s a great way to teach a novice say 3-4 movements per body part.

. My gf a hematologist and very smart however a bit lost I noticed as when I went to Planet Weakness w her to help her from adjusting the very good machines to fit her 33 inch legs ( she s 5 ft 10 ). I noticed she was doing a set of this machine then that and then over there. I can t train people as their always s bitching and clueless and I am a dick.

But I LIKE her. Once I showed her how to fit into the machines and explained form and range of motion, I ran her threw 2 circuit day s showing her form and then gently explained compound movements followed by specific movements as
Push
pull
legs

Basically break s down to. As she and other s only want to give 3 day s to fitness...it s perfectfor her and those who want to firm up.

That article s good reading....but I keep it simple. I AM a simpleton.

 

[Hypnotix]

HST seems a lot more complicated than PPL.

You train every body part Monday. Rest. Every body part on Wednesday. Rest. Every body part on Friday. Rest. Rest.

What's interesting is over the course of the week you've completed 9 sets of a certain exercise. 3 on Mon. 3 on Wed. 3 on Fri.
Compared to another program.. you will complete the same number of sets only on a single day. And apparently doing it all on a single day is harder on the CNS than spacing it out.. and you're more capable of causing true hypertrophy if you space it out.. and work under the right conditions.

I still don't get it completely yet, and need to read through all the articles there.. but from my understanding, you do 2 week cycles of a single rep range. 5, 10, OR 15 each set, for an entire two weeks.

So, you will only do 15 reps/set of every exercise for 2 weeks. Then, only 5 reps/set of every exercise the following 2 weeks. Then 10 in the same fashion.

The more advanced uses will actually increase rep range by 1-2 instead of 5 at a time. 2 weeks, 2 reps only. 2 weeks, 4 reps only. 2 weeks, 6 reps only.. etc.

Like I said.. I don't think it's anything like PPL.. and it's far more confusing to learn. But I wonder if the science behind it is really there and it actually works well. They recommend 20-40 minutes of light cardio on off days during the week. So it's not a complete rest..

Idk, I need to read more lol It's cool though I think. Love over complicating things. We are over complicated beings.

 

[Hypnotix]

Principles of HST

Mechanical Load: Tension loading of muscles through exercise is a prerequisite for muscle hypertrophy.[2]

Chronic Stimulation: These stimuli must be applied with sufficient frequency. Recovery can take place unabated even if the muscle is loaded again in 48 hours.[3]

Acute responses to training, such as increased rates of protein accretion, return to normal in about 36 hours. Given these facts, waiting more than 48 hours between bouts of training for a particular muscle is a waste of time.

Progressive Load: Over time, the tissue adapts and becomes resistant to the effects of mechanical load. To remain effective, the load must be steadily increased over time at a pace which exceeds the rate of adaptation.

Strategic Deconditioning: When the load has been increased at the appropriate pace for long enough, the weights either become intolerable, or the risk of injury becomes too great. Since the load can no longer be increased, to continue hypertrophy, the adaptation to the load must be reversed. To accomplish this, after the highest weights are used, training is halted for a period to allow the muscles to "Decondition" and allow hypertrophic response to training once again. This process happens after the end of a 6-8 week "cycle" and can last from 9***8211;14 days preceding a new "cycle"

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Other concepts featured in HST

Utilizing lactic acid as a stimulus for tendon repair/health: Periodically exercising at higher reps produces lactic acid which prepares the muscles and tendons for future heavy loads.[4] Compound exercises are used to maximize the effects.

Progressively Adjusting reps to accommodate Progressive Load: HST suggests that you gradually reduce the number of reps per set to accommodate the ever increasing load. Many common "HST" programs start with a 15 rep, 2 week "semi-cycle" that is performed over six workouts with the sixth workout being at the exercisers maximum 15-rep weight. The next semi-cycle, reps are reduced to 10, then 5, finally ending with a repeat of the 5 rep cycle, or eccentric repetitions. Each semi-cycle adds to equal one full 8 week cycle.

Low volume per exercise (average volume per week): HST suggests that you limit the number of sets per exercise per workout to 1 or 2, based on evidence that sets beyond the first effective set do little to contribute to hypertrophy.[5] Instead of doing 6 sets of a bench press in one workout once or twice per week, those sets are spread over three workouts in the course of a week. This accommodates the concept of chronic load by allowing for exercise every two days or so.

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References[edit]

Jump up ^ Haycock, Bryan (2002). "HSN: About Us". Official Website of HST. Hypertrophy-Specific Nutrition. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
Jump up ^ "Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy". Muscle Physiology. University of California, San Diego. 2000. Retrieved 2006-11-02.
Jump up ^ Nosaka, K. and Newton, M. (2002-02-16). "Repeated eccentric exercise bouts do not exacerbate muscle damage and repair". J Strength Cond Res (Exercise and Sports Science) 16 (1): 117***8211;22. doi:10.1519/1533-4287(2002)016<0117:reebdn>2.0.co;2. PMID 11834116.
Jump up ^ [Citation Needed]
Jump up ^ Hass CJ, Garzarella L, de Hoyos D, Pollock ML. (January 2000). "Single versus multiple sets in long-term recreational weightlifters". Medicine and science in sports and exercise (Medicine and science in sports and exercise) 32 (1): 235***8211;42. doi:10.1097/00005768-200001000-00035. PMID 10647555.

Some Minor Principles of Hypertrophy-Specific Training, by Charles Ridgely

Setting up a Hypertrophy-Specific Training? Cycle: Part One, by Charles Ridgely

Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST), at Fred Colbourne's CombatAging.com

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This description is taken from Wikipedia. Describes the concepts behind the program.. how it all works. Good stuff I think. Interests me, and being that I want to add cardio, stretching, yoga, ab work.. the rest days are perfect for any additions like this.

There are also some more complex versions of this program.. where instead of a 6-8 week "cycle" (5 reps x 2 weeks, 10 reps x 2 weeks, 15 reps x 2 weeks, 5 reps x 2 weeks, then strategic deconditioning).. you go up 2 reps per 2 week cycle from 4 to 20, with less strategic deconditioning. (4 x 2 weeks, 6 x 2 weeks, 8 x 2 weeks, 10 x 2 weeks, etc.)

Pretty cool. Might give this little plan a try too.

 

[Milton]

Would someone with enough gumption to read through all the pages explaining HST, like to post up their opinions on this form of training?

I'm currently reading it all myself, you can easily find the site by searching for the title of this thread in Google. At the bottom of each page is a "Next" button to go on to the next explanation.

It's rather interesting, and I'm just curious what other people think of the rest intervals, the philosophy/science behind it, the amount of volume per training day compared to that of a normal plan, and how it compares over the course of a week compared to a normal plan.

This plan compares itself to other 3-day splits.

So, HST is Total Body each training day, each isolated muscle group with it's own exercises (i.e. Abs x 2 exercises 1-2 sets each, Biceps x 2 exercises 1-2 sets each) You train 3 days a week. (Train, Rest, Train, Rest, Train, Rest, Rest)

A typical 3 day split is like, Monday (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) Rest, Wednesday (Back, Biceps), Rest, Friday (Legs, Abs) Rest, Rest. Same amount of sets and reps overall per week on each group, but all sets for Chest as an example are done on that single day... (HST, is Chest every day, Back every day, but less volume each day..)

I'm not sure how I feel about it. But, it's a cool concept so far (still reading....). It capitalizes on our bodies capabilities to recover in x amount of time (based on a scientific average), but without jeopardizing the CNS in the process.. I can't fully explain how until I'm done reading this guys stuff and understand it fully.

But, to anyone interested, it's HST ( Hypertrophy Specific Training ) Bryan Haycock.

Its all about hitting the right muscles at the right time. I overheard last night at the gym some guys talking about a big ass member who was on it, but he only came to the gym half the time these guys did and was as shredded as a julienne salad but when he worked out it was an all out one. So less is better?

 

[Hypnotix]

Its all about hitting the right muscles at the right time. I overheard last night at the gym some guys talking about a big ass member who was on it, but he only came to the gym half the time these guys did and was as shredded as a julienne salad but when he worked out it was an all out one. So less is better?

So far my friend.. it's proving to be delightful!

I think it really helps individuals with strenuous jobs too. (It does for me anyway) 3 days a week, with the same workload as any other 3 or 5 day split but with much more rest.

I'm doing the "complex" variation of the program, the one Haycock basically says most new people will have a hard time organizing it.. not that it's any harder per say. The standard program, (watered down) tapers down by 5 reps, starting at 15 reps per set, per exercise. You do semi-cycles (6 workouts, 2 weeks, 2 exercises per group roughly, 2 sets per exercise, XX number of reps depending on the week) where the reps vary by which semi-cycle you're in.

- Week 1 - 2 = 15 reps (Universal Beginning)
- Week 3 - 4 = 12 reps
- Week 5 - 6 = 10 reps (Second Semi Cycle Beginning for Standard Plan)
- Week 7 - 8 = 8 reps
ETC.

These semi-cycles will eventually have you at 4-5 reps, you will run this particular FINAL semi-cycle twice (4 weeks, 12 workouts), then are supposed to do strategic deconditioning. Ripped Zilla discussed with me.. the SD part of the program may not be necessary. I think he's probably right.. the jump from 5 reps to 15 reps again will completely change my bodies reaction to the stimulus and I'll have to lower weight and "start over" anyway.. Strategic deconditioning is where you do an extensive time under a light load.. then get back to the beginning of the program and go all over again.. I'll see about it when the bridge comes to pass.

It's great though.. feel great. Look great. Not in the gym a ton (1hr 15min x 3 workouts a week), and seem to have some solid progress, even after just 2 weeks! AAS induced, Diet induced... meh, you get it.. I have help just like the rest of you all here!

"Rest" is more.. but technically it's the same workload as other splits. Just spread out. Anyway, thanks for your interest.