Hypertrophy Specific

Anyone tried the workouts on hypertrophy specific? What were your gains like? Any comments?

Well, thanks to my kickass gene pool, my "hypertrophy" gains are never typical, but I did one of their routines for about a month and lost 3 pounds. But I seriously struggle with gaining mass. I did better with a simple 3x8 plan, heavy compound lifts, and eating/sleeping a ton. But like I said, you can't really judge their program by me.



DISCLAIMER: I fully acknowledge that, take 10 people and give them the same workout, you'd easily get 10 different results/opinions. So this is the opinion of one dude...



I've been on it for 4 months and absolutely love it!!! I've gained 8 pounds. Sure some of that 8 pounds could be water, but I've been weighing myself consitently in the morning and my BF has remained the same. And my strength has gone up and my shirts are getting tight around the shoulders, chest, and lat area.

I've been lifting and doing MA for the last 17 years and have always struggled to find that elusive killer weight routine that balanced:
a) stimulating your muscles enough to grow and
b) a recovery time that didn't prevent me from engaging in my non-lifting hobbies (first was shaolin kung fu 15 years ago, then hapkido, now bjj for the last 3 years)


I used to do heavy powerlifting/bodybuilding types of routines that would leave me sore for days, especially after an intense squat workout. This really inhibited my MA activites. As in, I injured muscles a few times trying to roll while still really sore from the previous days weight session. The worst was when I tore my hip adductor, massive bruising that went from my knee to my crotch. Yes, I did stretch and warm up as best as I could given my schedule.

This lead me to the other extreme of lots and lots (did I mention lots?) of BW exercises to try instead of the heavy BB/Power lifting routines. Hindu squats, pushups, etc. Yeah I got into better "condition" but I just got leaner and developed better muscular endurance. And I lost muscle mass. Yes, I'm a vain SOB. And I'm also not in a situation where I need to make weight for anything.

Anyhoo, this is a lot longer than I expected, but so far so good for HST. It's only been a few months but I feel that HST provides a great routine of "just enough" muscle stimulation to keep your muscles pumped and growing without nuking them to the point where it's tough to roll or kick or whatever.

I've also found that the workouts are quick, and they really keep my interest. The variety built into HST program keeps things from getting mentally redundant which really appeals to me.

Anyway give it a try if you'd like.

just my 2 cents.

LC

Thanks for relating your experiences lucky.

I've just started a routine that is similar to hypertrophy-specific, although I'm starting slow because I just got over the flu.

I particularly like the idea of progressive load, i.e. working your way back up to your 10-rep (or 8, or 6) max every two weeks or so, then starting again with a new (slightly higher) low first day. I also like the idea of only doing two sets per excercise, but more exercises per week.

Urquhart, please post details of your program. I too like the idea behind the ht-s program & would like to hear how you are implementing it.

Thanks.

-Savage



NbleSavage,

you can go to the HST page and get (a lot) of info regarding the program for free.

http://hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

They've got a spreadsheet that you can fill in to calculate the weights you use (progressive loading) for each workout. They also have a list of exercises to use if you want.

I actually redid the online spreadsheet in excel so I could have a copy workouts saved locally. I didn't want to have to fill the online spreadsheet in everytime I made a modification to my workout.

If you want the excel file shoot me an email.

aeqvf@hotmail.com

Okay, first I estimated my 10-rep max on each lift in my program. Then I counted backwards in 5lbs increments four times to get my starting weights for day one.Lets say my 10-rep max on hex-bar deadlifts was just over 150lbs, and my 10-rep max on machine bench press is just over 170lbs; so my starting lift on day one for hex is 130lbs (150 minus [4 times 5]) and for bench its 150lbs. So from day one on out until I hit my max, I will add 5lbs to a lift each day that I do the lift.Here is my schedule for the next couple of weeks (I'm only filling in the hex deads and bench numbers). E.g. I know right now how much weight I'm planning on lifting for each exercise, four weeks from today.2x10 rep weeks12/8/03
Hexbar deadlift: 2x10x130
Bench press: 2x10x150
Chin-ups:...
Palm-down curls:...
12/9/03
Leg press:
Bent-over rows:
Overhead press:
Tricep extensions:
12/10/03
Stiff-legged deadlift:
Lat pull-downs:
Standing curls:
crunches/sit ups:
calf raises:
12/11/03
day off12/12/03
Hexbar deadlift: 2x10x135
Bench press: 2x10x155
Chin-ups:
Palm-down curls:
12/13/03
Leg press:
Bent-over rows:
Overhead press:
Tricep extensions:
12/14/03
Stiff-legged deadlift:
Lat pull-downs:
Standing curls:
crunches/sit ups:
calf raises:
12/15/03
day off
12/16/03
Hexbar deadlift: 2x10x140
Bench press: 2x10x160
Chin-ups:
Palm-down curls:
12/17/03
Leg press:
Bent-over rows:
Overhead press:
Tricep extensions:
12/18/03
Stiff-legged deadlift:
Lat pull-downs:
Standing curls:
crunches/sit ups:
calf raises:
12/19/03
day off12/20/03
Hexbar deadlift: 2x10x145
Bench press: 2x10x165
Chin-ups:
Palm-down curls:
On the next week, I will have reached my original 10-rep max on each lift. Then I'll take a week or so off, then slightly raise my day-one lifts. So, for example, on January 3 or 4 I'll probably start the thing all over again, but maybe with the hex deadlift at 2x10x85.So for the above cycle, every exercise I do is simply a light warm-up, followed 2 sets of 10 reps. To keep things varied, each cycle will have a different number of reps, e.g. maybe the next cycle will be 7 reps, and maybe I'll move around or switch out some of the exercises for variety.You'll also notice that I'm not doing a whole lot in a given day, especially in the beginning, but since it's almost a workout everyday, by the week the number of sets really adds up.

Thanks for the info. I was away studying for a few days.

Looks good. One concern would be rest between workouts. I think the HST program calls for 24 hours between workouts; are you concerned with overtraining?

Thanks for the info brah.

Peace.

-Savage

Savage-- Yes, I'm a little concerned with the few off days in my schedule, but on the other hand I'm not doing much else physically right now since our wrestling season just ended. Also my workouts are less extensive than on hypertrphy specific; e.g. each training day on the sample schedule at HTS has 9 exercises each session, while my scedule has only 4-5 each session. I thought I'd try it at first, and if it feels like too much after a couple of weeks, I'll integrate more rest days. I've also been sleeping and eating more lately, so maybe that will balance things out some.

I did a routine similar to this, with just as many rest days, when I was 22 (29 now) but without the progressive load (I just alternated easy days with hard days) and got good results. Of course, that could have been beginners luck :)

Sounds good. Listen to your body & don't be afraid to take an extra day off here & there if you need it. Kick ass & good luck with the program.

lol, what was I thinking. That's too much, as I realize this morning that I'm not recovered from the last 2 days of full-body workouts, even though they were easy days. I'm changing the work/rest day schedule today to 2 days on, one day off, one day on, one day off. Maybe next week even to just working out every other day. But for now the schedule is:Work
work
RestWork
RestWork
Work
RestWork
Restetc

That looks a bit more manageable.

In my opinion there are numerous training protocols that elicit hypertrophy assuming that rest, and nutrition are in place.

Keep in mind you need to constantly present yourself with new challenges and eat.

thank you
Coach Hale
www.maxcondition.com
www.torqueathletic.com