Hypertrophy 3 questions

[Berg77]

I'm going to be starting on H3 pretty shortly, and had questions on starting weight amounts used in the lower body workout.

Specifically - on the lower body workout - I assume that you would want to do the 1-and-a-quarter squats at a bit lower amount than the traditional back squats? If so, how much less?

I've never done the Bulgarian style deadlift or split good-mornings before. If my finishing numbers on DL's from H1 were: 260 lbs (5x5); 210 (4x10); 150 (3x15), is there any way to approximate a good starting weight for Bulg DL or split-good morning?

Thanks in advance.

[stingo]

I'd try some practice sets. I generally try to choose a weight I can do the prescribed reps + 1. On a 5 rep protocol, I could do 6, but not 7.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Berg77

Specifically - on the lower body workout - I assume that you would want to do the 1-and-a-quarter squats at a bit lower amount than the traditional back squats? If so, how much less?

For the 1 1/4 squat, you will do significantly less than you do for a normal back squat. Take the 8-rep set for example: you will go down to full depth 16 times, and push up through your weak point 16 times.

Sorry, I don't have my workout logs with me (I leave 'em in my locker at the Y), so I don't remember exact numbers, but to approximate, I can do an 8-rep set of full squats with about 205-215, but for 1 1/4 squats I'm using about 135-145.

As Stingo said, you need to practice your first time in to dial in to the proper weights. Your first time through the undulating periodization phases involves a lot of plate changing on the bar.

[jruck37]

I'm with Hunter. My 1.25 squats are much lower than my normal squats, with similar ratios to his.

[Berg77]

Hunter -

Thanks for the tip on the squats. That helps a lot - your squat #'s are pretty close to mine right now, so that gives a great frame of reference.

How are the Bulgarian-style deadlifts and good mornings?

Did you find H3 to be as effective as H1? I'm on my last week of H1 now, and am getting great results.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Berg77

Hunter -

Thanks for the tip on the squats. That helps a lot - your squat #'s are pretty close to mine right now, so that gives a great frame of reference.

How are the Bulgarian-style deadlifts and good mornings?

Did you find H3 to be as effective as H1? I'm on my last week of H1 now, and am getting great results.

Through the first 9 programs of NROL, I did them all exactly as laid out by Alwyn, but in HIII I made one change: instead of the split deadlifts I'm doing regular deadlifts because I just did not want to drop them from my workout, and the split deadlifts felt more like a split squat to me than a deadlift.

As for the split good mornings, they are a little awkward at first and your range of motion isn't as deep, but I really like them now that I'm used to them. You really will feel the hip muscles working hard because they are so isolated.

I'm liking HIII a lot, although I'm in the gym in a little longer than the other programs. And yes, I'm getting results. I'm just about done with my second run through the 4-8-12 rep schemes and my numbers are going up. Check out jruck's training log - he's a little ahead of me in the program, and he's making good gains also.

[Berg77]

Hunter, thanks again for the reply. Doing DL's doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. In fact, I might have to think about switching those in instead too. One of my goals for '08 is to get my deadlifts up to approaching 400 lbs, so I was kind of hesitant about dropping them for 6 wks too, especially since I plan on doing the Strength routines following HIII.

The good mornings sound interesting. That's one of the things I like about NROL though is that there are a lot of exercises I've never done before.

HIII does look like the workouts take awhile - especially those 5x8 days for upper body with 6 exercises. It's all good though.

Good to hear HIII is working out good for you. I'm excited to start it soon!