I love Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST), 3 years ago I had Great success

using this training method. HST came about by researchers looking at both the stimuli
and mechanisms of Muscle Growth. HST is a method of mechanically loading the muscle
to induce Hypertrophy (muscle growth) and then fill that muscle in with strength. Other
methods of Weight Training are great, they were able to hit a few of the proper principles
of muscle growth, but failed when it comes to volume and intensity. Basically slowly
increasing your weight and doing the same reps constantly will get you results, slowly...

The are 4 Principles to HST:

1) Mechanical Load
This is necessary to induce Muscle Hypertrophy. Basically this is the actual lifting
of weights that you do.

2) Acute Vs. Chronic Stimuli

In order to achieve significant muscle gain you need to apply the stimulus with
sufficient frequency. The downside of taking a week off in between sets are that
growth factors and hormone levels decline completely and you end up with
Muscle Growth for 2 days and the rest of the week in a semi anti-catabolic state.
Research has proven that Muscle Recovery can continue even if you use that
muscle again in 48 hours.
3) Progressive Load
Our Muscles adapt and become resistant to Mechanical Load. This can take
weeks to as little as 2 days. Because of this we increase the amount of weight
used every time we work exercise.
4) Strategic De-Conditioning
Even with our previous attempts at confusing the Muscle it will still adapt to not
only the weight being used but to the Reps as well. Because of this after 6 weeks
of training we take 2 weeks off to "reset" our muscles.

So exactly how does an HST Training Block work? Well first HST uses an 8
week training block. The 1st and 2nd week we do 2 sets of 15 reps for each exercise, if
your out of shape or unable to do 2 sets, 1 set is fine. The 3rd and 4th weeks we do 2 sets
of 10 reps and the last 2 weeks we do 2 sets of 5 reps each. The next important thing to
figure out are the exercises that you will be doing. You want to pick an exercise you have
the equipment for, and pick 1 to 2 exercises for each muscle group. For example:

Legs: Squats
Calves: Calf Raises
Chest: Bench Press and Lying Dumbbell Butterfly's
Back: Bent over rows
Shoulders: Military Press
Biceps: Preacher Curl *change this around often
Traps: Shrugs
Triceps: Overhead triceps extension *change this often.
Abs: Crunches with weights
 You can use these or other exercises that you prefer. After you decide what
exercises you will be doing for the next two weeks, you need to find your Max Weight
for each one. That weight is what you will use on the last day of the 2 week block,
however it is important because this weight determines the weights you will be using
every training day. We will workout 3 days a week so 6 times every 2 week block. Each
day we use 5 more pounds (progressive load). So for example my max for the bench-
press is 180 lbs.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6

155 160 165 170 175 180
On my first day I use 155 lbs and end the 2 week block at my max 180 lbs. Traditional
weight training would find your max for the reps you will be doing and use that weight as
a minimum and you would slowly try to increase the weights you are lifting. While this
does work, muscle growth is slower and because of this strength and power are gained at
the same speed as growth. HST changes this up significantly. Your body does not care
how much weight or how many reps you are using all it cares really cares about is that
you are constantly increasing the weights you use, because this causes muscle fiber
damage which the body repairs to make your muscle grow. So HST causes rapid Muscle
Growth, and then by decreasing your Reps and therefore increasing the weights you use
every two weeks, you will fill that muscle growth in with strength and power. I have
Created an EXCEL workbook that will do the math for you and allow you to put in your
exercises and your reps in case you can't meet the Reps for an exercise. This allows you
to track your progress much better. Please Visit www.fitrition.co/HSTArticle.html to
download my EXCEL HST Spreadsheet.

Well that is basically how HST works and how to get started with it as fast as
possible. If you would like to read more check out www.hypertrophy-specific.com. I am
NOT Affiliated with them and I have NOT bought any products from them, so I have no
IDEA of the Quality of their Products. However they do have some GOOD Information.

I love HST. I have had better results with it, than I ever had in the ARMY using
the typical training methods. I have no doubt that I will have great success using HST this
time around.