Crazy quick HST routine 12 times/week

[jtsisyoda]

A quick workout 12x/week (6 days, AM and PM):

Clean & Press
Gorilla Chins
Inc Bench

That's it.

I guess the only problem I see is that you have to be pretty strong to start adding weight to a Gorilla Chin.

Thoughts?

[Limbo]

I've stopped recommending HST as a worthwhile use of workout time, BUT if you were to do HST workouts twice a day, you should work different muscle groups AM and PM. So maybe do upper in the morning and lower in the evening.

[Khryz]

Why is HST not a worthwhile use of workout time? You go only 3 days a week (for more people) .. that's less than a normal 5 day routine.

[Limbo]

Why is HST not a worthwhile use of workout time? You go only 3 days a week (for more people) .. that's less than a normal 5 day routine.

That wasn't quite what I meant. Let me explain.

The reason why it's not a very effective method of training is because the ACTUAL progressive loading is underemphasized. Sure you could gain like crazy on it, but you need like 5x the amount of time to do it as compared to a standard routine, assuming of course you know how to make a standard routine effective.

There really isn't anything complicated about gaining quality mass: eat a lot of protein and put your body in a state of caloric excess and progressively load the weights in your workout routine. And I'm not talking about HST-style where you start with baby weights. You have to be using NEW weights, the ones you've never used before. If you're using 50's for an exercise now, to grow you need to move to the 55's once you're strong enough to stay in your rep range. Sometimes easier said than done, but that's all there is to it.

[jtsisyoda]

That wasn't quite what I meant. Let me explain.

The reason why it's not a very effective method of training is because the ACTUAL progressive loading is underemphasized. Sure you could gain like crazy on it, but you need like 5x the amount of time to do it as compared to a standard routine, assuming of course you know how to make a standard routine effective.

There really isn't anything complicated about gaining quality mass: eat a lot of protein and put your body in a state of caloric excess and progressively load the weights in your workout routine. And I'm not talking about HST-style where you start with baby weights. You have to be using NEW weights, the ones you've never used before. If you're using 50's for an exercise now, to grow you need to move to the 55's once you're strong enough to stay in your rep range. Sometimes easier said than done, but that's all there is to it.

HST uses a few more ideas than that. It's about understanding the minimum stimulus for growth and how that changes. If you decondition, even the light weights should trigger growth when you start back up again. Pretty soon that won't be enough so you up the weight just enough to trigger more growth.

When you capitalize "ACTUAL" in reference to progressive loading, it sounds like you're convinced starting light and going up from there is not REAL progression, only pretend progression. As if you simply don't believe strategic deconditioning works at all. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to it. But if deconditioning is real, then HST seems more practical than trying to set PR's every week (which is what I think you're trying to suggest is the real way to build muscle).

[Limbo]

HST uses a few more ideas than that. It's about understanding the minimum stimulus for growth and how that changes. If you decondition, even the light weights should trigger growth when you start back up again. Pretty soon that won't be enough so you up the weight just enough to trigger more growth.

When you capitalize "ACTUAL" in reference to progressive loading, it sounds like you're convinced starting light and going up from there is not REAL progression, only pretend progression. As if you simply don't believe strategic deconditioning works at all. If that's your opinion, you're entitled to it. But if deconditioning is real, then HST seems more practical than trying to set PR's every week (which is what I think you're trying to suggest is the real way to build muscle).

I'm not talking about opinion here, I've actually done the routine twice.

All the science behind it seems to make sense, but it doesn't really matter what makes sense: it matters what works. So if HST works for you, great, go right ahead. But IMO it's more important to focus of actual progressive loading rather than perceived progressive loading.