How to do HST correctly! - Part 1

How to do HST correctly? Find out everything you need to know below!

Avoid mistakes, kick your HST the right way!

We've covered the theory of HST and practical information straight from Bryan Haycock, and now it's my turn to offer you something from my arsenal of years of HST empiricism. I've referred to HST as one of the best conceived volume workouts ever. That's why I want to cover it in depth in these lines.

LET'S SUMMARIZE THE BENEFITS OF HST

1) ENOUGH FREQUENCY - Bryan Haycock, and not only him, figured out that the greatest muscle hypertrophy activity occurs within 48 hours of training. Bryan refined this number to 36 hours for large muscle groups and 24 hours for small muscle groups. This is not to say, of course, that nothing happens in the muscles after this time. This fact is only to prove that the hormones and factors that affect muscle growth return to normal after this time, i.e. their tendency does not increase as in the immediate post-workout period.

What are these facts supposed to prove?The simple premise on which HST is built. TRAIN YOUR WEIGHT MORE OFTEN!In the case of HST, it is a full body workout 3 times a week. This basic premise is meant to disprove a training cliché established by Mr. Weider for decades. Speaking for myself, I can say that HST is indeed more progressive and carries much more potential, however I'm not one to tell you how classic bodybuilding principles are useless, they really aren't and I use them myself, WITH the denial of low frequency splits, that are applied to humans without chemical support I agree, I also consider them sub-optimal and what's more I have tested them and more to the point I confirm here that I myself have not trained this way in volume for several years now because the results are simply not satisfactory. On the other hand, for example, the 3+1 bodybuilding split corresponds with the principles of high frequency training. The problem is that in practice it is already harder to recover for most naturally trained athletes. With chemical support, the situation changes. Unless someone has a problem with the recovery of high frequency splits, I can confirm from my own experience that results go very well on them, on the other hand nothing works forever.

2) PROPERLY REGULATED INTENSITY - This case can be the key to improvement or conversely a stumbling block for anyone starting out with high frequency training. In this case we are talking about proper load dosage. If someone chooses a low load, the desired improvement will not occur because not enough stress is put on the progressive loading. On the other hand, if someone chooses an excessive load right at the beginning, he will have nowhere to add in the following workouts and if he tries to do so, he will quickly exceed his daily stress limit and burn out, not least because the body likes to get used to excessive intensity. I exclusively recommend all HST enthusiasts to train all the time outside of failure. I'm not saying slack off! Train at high intensity, but keep the weight under control. You can achieve failure in the last workouts of a given cycle, however, provided you meet the set work volume, in which case you will be on very thin ice. So, for the less advanced, be careful with the burn sets!

There are two factors to remember in properly regulated intensity and these are:

A) PERMANENT STRESS - the body must not be allowed to adapt! If the body becomes stagnant (gets used to the load) we will stop improving. In order to achieve the desired stress, we must spread the load over several training units. Bryan Haycock calls this "strategic deterioration". In practice, it looks like the weight is slightly undercut at first and then gradually moved up a few kilograms in subsequent workouts. Remember! From the point of view of our CNS physiology, it is always better to add weight in small doses and frequently than in large doses and all at once. At the end of each cycle, we must try to increase our current strength performance and this is where the second factor comes in, and that is...

B) INCREASE IN STRENGTH POTENTIAL - if at the end of each cycle there is an improvement of 2.5-5 kg in weight, we know that the body is in an anabolic state and responds reliably to the training. It is the simplest indication. To regulate stress and strength improvement, it is necessary not only to properly dose the load, but also to cycle the work volume. In this case, we are already talking about the actual periodization in HST, where we set individual cycles of working volume and the gradual increase of load will already lead us to the set goal.

3) THE RIGHT CHOICE OF EXERCISES - I have a cliché or undeniable fact for you and that is that core exercises are superior to isolation ones. Since HST is a full-body workout, we must choose exercises to kill as many muscle patrias as possible, even the assisting ones. In this case, the mainstay of HST must be the free weight core exercises that offer us the greatest growth potential. Start your training with the heaviest exercises. Exercises that take the most assistance muscle groups and therefore the most energy. These are the squat, deadlift, leg-press, or haken-squat. Then continue with any push-ups and pull-ups as needed. Since HST is primarily a volume training, designed to increase muscle mass, it is necessary to include additional isolated exercises at the end of the workout to thoroughly exercise smaller muscle groups. The more demanding ones can also include additional basic exercises for individual parts, such as overhead pulldowns, multi-presses, etc., to increase the overall working volume per part.

LET'S MOVE ON TO PRACTICE

Before I get to the next part and that is HST in modification. So I want to elaborate on the original breakdown of exercises and cycles in HST. For those who are new to HST, or full body workouts, the original schedule is the best. For beginners I recommend not to deviate from the original schedule and start on it! The basic HST schedule will be the perfect impetus for change. I recommend putting off further modified cycles for the worse times, where additional momentum will be needed.

Before I get to the actual breakdown, I want to discuss HST as a universal principle. HST is a universal workout that incorporates both dynamic and strength components, so it can be included as a supplemental workout to other sports. With a slight correction of the exercises, it can be instructed even to complete beginners who enter the gym for the first time. I have a very good schedule that I put together for complete beginners looking for the right workout to prepare them and at the same time determine the right path to take, read on...

MACHINE HST

That's what I call the HST training I design myself for the complete beginner. It involves only three modifications...

A) CORRECTION OF EXERCISES - we can't instruct basic exercises consisting of squats, deadlifts, bench-presses, etc. to a beginner who is still confused in the head, who doesn't have prepared joints and connective tissues. It is important to remember that a person comes to us who has no idea of the technique and execution of the exercises, nor do they have prepared joints and tendons for the load. In this case it is necessary to prepare the beginner before the classical HST training. All basic exercises must be performed on machines. The machines will help these people to define their movement path and experience their own movement pattern. Without this preparation, these individuals can get injured very quickly or develop bad habits that are difficult to unlearn over time.

B) WITH INTENSITY OPPOSITE - Again, I remind you, a person who is not prepared for the loading, who does not have prepared joints and connective tissues, is a much riskier exerciser. In this case, intensity is not used to shock the body into responding again. A beginner will respond to any force stimulus, the increments from the beginning are so fast that there is no need for extreme loading and complex periodization. We are mainly concerned with joint and CNS preparation and training the practitioner. In this case, we choose a weight with which the trainee can handle the prescribed work volume without any problems and with correct technical execution and ease. Here I also see the benefit in tempo.

C) Special training for the middle of the body needs to be added to the Machine HST training, as this is the first area we need to strengthen and strengthen for the beginner. In the basic exercises, a strong midsection is essential!

Example HST training for complete beginners:

Workout A)
1. Leg-press
2. Stumbling
3. Pressing on the machine in a sitting position
4. Overhead pulley pulls
5. Press on the machine in sitting position
6. Delt-deck
7. Biceps lift on machine
8. Upper triceps pulldown
9. Standing lunges

Pre-workout 10 minutes aerobic training + mid-body training

Mid-body training:
Leg raises + hyperextensions 2 sets x Repeats as you feel in reserve

Workout B)
1. Horizontal Haken-squat
2. Stumbling
3. Head-up multi-press
4. Lower pulley pull-ups
5. Arm rests
6. One-handed hooking on the pulley
7. Biceps lift on machine
8. Push-ups on machine
9. Sit-ups

10 minutes of aerobic training + mid-body training before the workout

Mid-body training:
Crunches on machine + hyperextensions 2 sets x Repeats by feel in reserve

And finally we have the HST workout itself, read on...

HST COMPOSITION

When I started HST, I didn't try to change it in every way possible. I stuck to the original and it stomped very decently. I gained experience on it and figured out its flaws, which I eliminated in subsequent cycles. In any case, if anyone is starting out with HST, I recommend avoiding this empire! We are all different and we all come to our own path, so further modifications will be a little different for each individual, but I want to address those in the next article as well.

Let's move on to a demonstration of the two week HST cycle itself!

HOW TO CYCLE IN HST

From the table above, you can deduce that one cycle is divided into 6 training units of two weeks each. The training units are systematically divided into two training variations.

I recommend all those who are starting with HST to stick to the basic principle of the original cycle in HST!

Let's take a look at it.

Cycle 1: 2x15 (1-2 weeks)
Cycle 2: 2x10 (3-4 week)
Cycle 3: 2x5 (5-6 week)
Series of x reps are performed with a constant load

I recommend not skipping the first cycle (2x15). This is a cycle that will firstly prepare your tendons and joints for the next cycles, secondly it will also help you train your momentum and conditioning. In frequent strength and volume workouts, lifting your own weight comes at the expense of not getting enough aerobic training. In this case, our heart suffers and weakens, which in turn affects our fitness. The 2x15 work volume helps us minimize this deficiency. In hypertrophy, this cycle is not so important, because it stimulates mainly slow-twitch muscle fibres (type I), but they also need to be trained, otherwise our muscular and strength development will not be synchronous.

Other cycles are already building on each other, we need to plan and schedule the weight perfectly! How to do it? Forget about calculating intensity in percentages or Haycock's exact estimation. The setup is simple.

1.
2. Increase the weight you can handle in the last 2x5 cycle by 5-10 kg because you are counting on strength improvements.
3. Gradually subtract 2-5 kg from the weight you determined in point (2.) (the weight is directly dependent on the exercise) until you reach the initial weight you will start the first 2x15 cycle with.

In this way you will achieve synergistic loading for single, training days. This principle has worked best for me. If you feel a reserve in the last 2x5 cycle and feel the possibility of improvement, extend it by one week, in which case you can increase the weight again by 2-5 kg in the following workouts. Remember that the last 2x5 cycle will give you the most. In this cycle you will enjoy both strength and muscle gains the most. You will have a weight loaded on the barbell that will stop the whole gym from running! So be sure to get the proper yell under your heavy squat to dazzle the crowd.

Don't forget the warm-up sets. Do a few warm-up sets before each exercise. If you expect the muscle to work to its maximum capacity, you need to prepare it as much as possible. Properly dosed warm-up sets minimize the risk of injury and affect your performance.

After completing HST, I recommend incorporating a week of absolute rest without weights. Light aerobic activities with low TF max can be included in this week. It is important to remember that this deload is very important for your CNS recovery. Prolonged high intensity workouts lead to burnout. Start the first cycle of the next HST set completely in synchrony, I recommend again to include the first cycle according to the original, or a cycle with a high number of repetitions. This cycle will help get your muscles, tendons, joints and peripheral nerves working again.

In the next section, I will focus on modifications in HST. The last part will be especially appreciated by advanced students.