HST: Do you Zig Zag?

[celc5]

Do you zig zag your HST lifts?

Have you tried zig zags and even increments, which worked better for you?

 

[JDF]

I only zig-zag on certain body parts where the weight is real low and I dont want to decrease it any further..

ex: hammer curls, dips, shrugs, pull ups

Heavier movements I just go straight through

ex: squats, bent over rows, flat bench, standing military press


I've honestly fallen in love with HST, cant believe i never did full body splits before learning about it

 

[celc5]

You hit the nail on the head with EXACTLY why I asked. My BB curls simply suck weight wise and I think going straight through with even increments gets hard on my joints.

So you're saying zig zag when appropriate for certain lifts and don't zig zag when it's obvious that I don't need to. Is that correct?

BTW, I agree that HST is the shiit. This is my third time through and have to say that it's a lot of fun :head:

 

[TripDog]

I dont smoke weed anymore..:toofunny:

 

[Trauma1]

I dont smoke weed anymore..:toofunny:

Lol, i was waiting for someone to bust out with that. :toofunny:

 

[JDF]

You hit the nail on the head with EXACTLY why I asked. My BB curls simply suck weight wise and I think going straight through with even increments gets hard on my joints.

So you're saying zig zag when appropriate for certain lifts and don't zig zag when it's obvious that I don't need to. Is that correct?

BTW, I agree that HST is the shiit. This is my third time through and have to say that it's a lot of fun :head:

Last time through I was only going up 5lb increments on some of my major lifts ( incline chest, standing military press, etc ) but I've decided to really swallow my pride and go for larger increments to see if I can pull better results.

But ya thats what I did and got some real positive results my first time through; dropped 10lbs, ~1.5-2" on waist, and strength went up

 

[grocker]

I'm on my second wk with 5's and I'm really enjoying it. This is my first cycle so I do zig zag but I have my second cycle set up already with no zigzags. I'm really looking forward to see what kind of results I'll get on my second cycle.

 

[celc5]

I'm on my second wk with 5's and I'm really enjoying it. This is my first cycle so I do zig zag but I have my second cycle set up already with no zigzags. I'm really looking forward to see what kind of results I'll get on my second cycle.

I didn't zig zag at all my first or second time through. I'm going to stick to that because I can't justify increasing things like shrugs by more than 50 pounds in days when my rms get over 400 for 8's (I use 16/12/8 and not 15/10/5). Same goes for SLDL, I think it would get dangerous to zig zag with that big of jumps. Like JDF suggested, I AM going to zig bis and tris though to prevent joint irritation.

Grocker, HST was 10x more productive for me the second time around. It's easier to adjust for overtraining and choosing your personal favorite exercises. Gotta choose them wisely cause you'll be doing them so frequently and you want it to be fun.

 

[grocker]

I didn't zig zag at all my first or second time through. I'm going to stick to that because I can't justify increasing things like shrugs by more than 50 pounds in days when my rms get over 400 for 8's (I use 16/12/8 and not 15/10/5). Same goes for SLDL, I think it would get dangerous to zig zag with that big of jumps. Like JDF suggested, I AM going to zig bis and tris though to prevent joint irritation.

Grocker, HST was 10x more productive for me the second time around. It's easier to adjust for overtraining and choosing your personal favorite exercises. Gotta choose them wisely cause you'll be doing them so frequently and you want it to be fun.

I only zig zag the first cycle cuz i want to keep things simple and get the feel for it. Like I said, I already have my second cycle setup with some modifications. Now I'm really looking forward to my second cycle since you said it's 10x more productive.

 

[JDF]

Im doing something similar for this time through HST

15, 10, 6, 3

where I usually do 15, 10, 5, negs

I do however like the idea of 16, 12, 8, then possibly 4

I tend to see better hypertrophy results from the 15 and 10's

Could just be how my specific body responds

 

[celc5]

I tend to see better hypertrophy results from the 15 and 10's

Could just be how my specific body responds

Nope, me too. Which is exactly why I got rid of the 5's. Lean mass (per caliper) just plateaus after 10's. I could care less about strength anymore so the low reps just aren't productive for me. On the other hand, if lean mass and bf are still moving after 8's, then I'll be moving on to 4's just as you had suggested.

Conversely, I REALLY STRONGLY considered going 20/16/12/8 because of lean mass gains in the high reps. I dunno if I'll ever do it that way but it was certainly on my mind before planning this out.

Another variable is that I tend to plateau on ANY routine at about 4-5 weeks. So the lack of variety may play some sort of physical and/or psychological role in this regard, and it might not have anything to do with the rep ranges whatsoever??? :think:

 

[grocker]

Im doing something similar for this time through HST

15, 10, 6, 3

where I usually do 15, 10, 5, negs

I do however like the idea of 16, 12, 8, then possibly 4

I tend to see better hypertrophy results from the 15 and 10's

Could just be how my specific body responds

I'm barely on the 2nd wk of the 5's but my gains came from the 15 and 10's as well. My second cycle will with 16, 12, 8, and 4 also.

Are you guys SD'ing for 2 wks or just 1 wk after a cycle? I don't know if i could stay out of the gym for 2 wks. It feels like I have withdraws or something. Even at 1 wk. lol..

 

[justing]

im doing HSt right now, i just got my 15rep max and doing the first week. can u explain what u mean by zig zag and the pros and cons. thanks

 

[JDF]

Conversely, I REALLY STRONGLY considered going 20/16/12/8 because of lean mass gains in the high reps. I dunno if I'll ever do it that way but it was certainly on my mind before planning this out.

I think 20 might be more of a cardio workout and while i havent seen crazy gains in the 5 rep range i believe it has bumped my metabolism ( I cant stop eating ).

Im going to pay more attention this time through but im hoping the lower rep range will produce thicker muscle for me while the 15 and 10 rep range will produce the size.

Im glad so many others are on the HST train, amazing way to train!

 

[celc5]

Grocker,
I have always taken a week off before new splits so I'm a bit more used to SD. 2 weeks would be torture and I've never made it longer than 10 days.

Justing,
Zig zag is when some of the weights in a light week of a mesocycle drop lower than heavy weights of the previous mesocycle. For example, let's say you lifted 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 for 15's. And then did 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 for 10's. The 80 and 90 are called a "zig zag" because it's lower than your 15rm.

The alternative would be steady increments for 10's that go 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130. So there's no zig zag. Either way is acceptable. Pros and cons of each method are exactly why I started this thread.

A "cheat" method for choosing weights is that your 15 rm is about 70% of your 10, and 10 is about 70% of your 5rm. Then you fill in the numbers with either a zig zag or with even increments and decide which is better for you. Just remember that progressive load is key.

JDF,
I see your point with the 20's. Maybe in the future I'll give it a trial run. Heck, 2 weeks can't hurt, right?

 

[JDF]

Grocker,
I have always taken a week off before new splits so I'm a bit more used to SD. 2 weeks would be torture and I've never made it longer than 10 days.

Justing,
Zig zag is when some of the weights in a light week of a mesocycle drop lower than heavy weights of the previous mesocycle. For example, let's say you lifted 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 for 15's. And then did 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 for 10's. The 80 and 90 are called a "zig zag" because it's lower than your 15rm.

The alternative would be steady increments for 10's that go 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130. So there's no zig zag. Either way is acceptable. Pros and cons of each method are exactly why I started this thread.

A "cheat" method for choosing weights is that your 15 rm is about 70% of your 10, and 10 is about 70% of your 5rm. Then you fill in the numbers with either a zig zag or with even increments and decide which is better for you. Just remember that progressive load is key.

JDF,
I see your point with the 20's. Maybe in the future I'll give it a trial run. Heck, 2 weeks can't hurt, right?

Exactly, you never know - you may get some seriously impressive results.

Keep us updated if you try!

 

[grocker]

Good to hear cuz I can't stay out of the gym for longer than a wk either. The 1st SD was brutal for me. I went one day just to do cardio cuz I couldn't stay out but didn't last long cuz I was very tempted to pick up some weights.

Grocker,
I have always taken a week off before new splits so I'm a bit more used to SD. 2 weeks would be torture and I've never made it longer than 10 days.

Justing,
Zig zag is when some of the weights in a light week of a mesocycle drop lower than heavy weights of the previous mesocycle. For example, let's say you lifted 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 for 15's. And then did 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130 for 10's. The 80 and 90 are called a "zig zag" because it's lower than your 15rm.

The alternative would be steady increments for 10's that go 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130. So there's no zig zag. Either way is acceptable. Pros and cons of each method are exactly why I started this thread.

A "cheat" method for choosing weights is that your 15 rm is about 70% of your 10, and 10 is about 70% of your 5rm. Then you fill in the numbers with either a zig zag or with even increments and decide which is better for you. Just remember that progressive load is key.

JDF,
I see your point with the 20's. Maybe in the future I'll give it a trial run. Heck, 2 weeks can't hurt, right?