Kinda like a riddle.

Okay, so I'm mid way through this HST cycle. The maxes for 15s, 10s, and 5s that I planned out at the beginning of the cycle didn't pan out, Ive had to increase them throughout the routine. Even with those increases my routine is no longer hitting me as hard as it used to.

A couple days ago I finished my 10 rep max day, I left the gym having hit all of my maxes (like I said before, most of them higher than I expected) but I was hardly fatigued at all. I think 1 workout per bodypart might not be draining enough, I'm either going to add sets or add another lift for each bodypart.

My appetite has stabilized (it is no longer going up) and as a result its gotten tougher to increase to my calories. This has stopped my gains almost completely. I know the appetite is a possible symptom of overtraining, but the fact that I have been getting great sleep every night, I don't feel tired during the day (even after my workouts), and I am never sore anymore kinda leads to believe that I should increase the volume of each workout and that overtraining is the last thing I should be worrying about right now.


Does my solution (increasing the volume) seem reasonable and obvious to everyone else? Or is that just me? I take short breaks in between sets (30 seconds), my workouts usually last 45 mins to an hour, if i add a few sets I should still be fine on time.


Incase anyone is curious about what my current routine looks like, I posted it under critique my training in mid may. Here is the link
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/For_the_HST_fans_you_know_who_you_are/m_384415/tm.htm

A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison.

-Francis Bacon

ORIGINAL: Yet

Usually when I get to the top of my deadlift I'll do a reverse-grip curl.

No, keep increasing the weight, and I guarantee you the workouts will get harder and harder.  Stop thinking in terms of "one exercise per bodypart" not enough.  Think in terms of getting the main lifts stronger, and moving more weight. 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

ORIGINAL: brihead301

No, keep increasing the weight, and I guarantee you the workouts will get harder and harder.  Stop thinking in terms of "one exercise per bodypart" not enough.  Think in terms of getting the main lifts stronger, and moving more weight. 

he said he reached his maxes though

stillseeingreen are u still gaining weight? it really doesnt matter if ur sore/fatigued if ur making progress, and if ur not gaining weight at all then ur not eating enough

He said he was midway through the first cycle of HST.  He maxed out on 10's.  I bet he could go on for a pretty long time doing sets of 5, constantly increasing the weight. 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

ORIGINAL: brihead301

He said he was midway through the first cycle of HST.  He maxed out on 10's.  I bet he could go on for a pretty long time doing sets of 5, constantly increasing the weight. 

that doesnt mean its harder though, 5's are a lot easier than 15's IMO (and most i would say). what i'm saying is he's saying it as if he needs to feel fatigued from it when its really about progression and how ur body is reacting. i'm agreeing with u in the sense that he doesnt need to be fatigued and adding sets if he's eating enough to gain weight and progressing decently

I'm just speaking from experience of doing 5's for a while.  When you increase the weight every workout in every lift, that s*** gets HARD!!!! Sure 5's are easy at first, but when that weight doesn't stop going up, it takes a real toll on your body. 

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

i agree bri. 5 or 6 reps may not seem tiring, but it really hits the CNS. I love the 6 rep range during HST. it was always my favorite

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.

do u think those are harder than 15's to failure?

IMO it just gets much harder as the reps get higher because of the lactic acid build up, i cant see anyone liking reps of 15-20 more than 4-6

15 reps is HARD as hell.  15 reps at your 15 RM is VERY PAINFUL.  I agree 100%.

Doing a routine consisting of all heavy barbell exercises such as Rippetoes using reps of 5, where the weight increases every workout is also ridiculously hard. 

My last workout was

squat - 245 lbs - 3 x 5
OH press - 136 lbs - 3 x 5
deadlift - 340 - 1 x 5
chin-ups with 25 lbs. weight attached - 3 x 5

That was hard as hell for me.  My ass was whooped afterwards.  Next workout will even be more brutal at a 250 lbs. squat, 137 lb. OH press, 345 lb. deadlift, and a 27.5 weighted chins.  And it only gets harder and harder.
 
Edit: I actually do take light days every now and again when my body is really not fully recovered, or if I'm injured or something.  I do 2 sets of 15 for all exercises on those days, and while I sweat my ass off on those days, it is definately not nearly as taxing on my body.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Answers to David's questions/ comments:
Yes, im still gaining weight. But its slowed from 2 pounds per week to about .5 pounds per week. I was gaining 2 pounds per week during 15s and they started to slow during 10s. Also during 15s I was increasing my total calories for the day by like 500 every week.

Brihead: I'm keeping with the 5s, I violated the preset increments I had outlined on my routine and bumped a lot of my lifts up by about 35 pounds today. Ive been having to change the pre-planned weights consistently since I started this routine. Usually what happens is I get to the last couple workouts of a rep scheme and realize that I am no where near my new max.

I also tweaked the volume slightly, for example I super setted dumbbell flys in (1 set) at the end of my DB military press and some chin ups  after my squats. If this doesn't hurt my other lifts in subsequent workouts I may continue to do this. My next routine is already looking to be higher volume (slightly) anyway.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm still learning full body, up until 4 weeks ago ive always been doing 4 day splits. Its gonna take time before I learn what I need to do to make full body routines work for me.

A healthy body is a guest chamber for the soul: a sick body is a prison.

-Francis Bacon

ORIGINAL: Yet

Usually when I get to the top of my deadlift I'll do a reverse-grip curl.

ORIGINAL: David1991

do u think those are harder than 15's to failure?

Yes.

ORIGINAL: brihead301

15 reps is HARD as hell.  15 reps at your 15 RM is VERY PAINFUL.  I agree 100%.

Doing a routine consisting of all heavy barbell exercises such as Rippetoes using reps of 5, where the weight increases every workout is also ridiculously hard. 

My last workout was

squat - 245 lbs - 3 x 5
OH press - 136 lbs - 3 x 5
deadlift - 340 - 1 x 5
chin-ups with 25 lbs. weight attached - 3 x 5

That was hard as hell for me.  My ass was whooped afterwards.  Next workout will even be more brutal at a 250 lbs. squat, 137 lb. OH press, 345 lb. deadlift, and a 27.5 weighted chins.  And it only gets harder and harder.

Edit: I actually do take light days every now and again when my body is really not fully recovered, or if I'm injured or something.  I do 2 sets of 15 for all exercises on those days, and while I sweat my ass off on those days, it is definately not nearly as taxing on my body.

this isnt an insult or anything but i think u must have a really low work capacity if ur finding that the routine above is "kicking ur ass"

give it a shot.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

i've have, with more sets and exercises and less rest time (going off what u said about waiting 5-10 min. between sets)

again not trying to sound insulting, i'm just surprised ur finding such a low volume that hard

The weight is the key component which makes that workout extremely hard.  Also, I stopped resting so long in between sets because my workouts were taking too long.  I try to suck it up and shorten the rests, which makes it even tougher.  But ya, I'm not the only one that finds this workout to be extremely tough.  All these guys agree with me too:  http://strengthmill.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=36

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man