1st hst routine...advice needed

waray214

Member
So I recently found out about hst while searching on the internet just a couple weeks ago. I had seen it some time in the past previously but didnt give it much second thought and was honestly kinda just confused by it. i've been lifting for about a year now. i'm a smaller guy, started out at about 5'8" 135 lbs and am now up to 160 lbs although i still have much much room to grow. i'm 23 years old and over the past year i have become encompassed by weightlifting. it has definitely become one of my passions and utmost hobbies. i am still very new to the weight training world and have a lot to learn but i definitely am eager and exciting to soak up everything about getting swoll haha. i just love hitting up the gym and being in my own world for an hour or so.

anyway i've read up a good deal on hst and am ready to give it a shot. i currently eat a very clean diet of about 3200 cals a day split between 50/30/20 carbs/pro/fat macros. i spent the past week finding out my 15 10 and 5 RM's and am currently SDing for a good 9 days. My current plan looks as follows and I have a few questions regarding it and would love your advice...

A B
Squats Deadlifts
Flat bbell bench Weighted Dips
Bbell rows (pronated grip) Bbell rows
Pull-ups (pronated grip) Pull-ups
Dbell shoulder press Dbell shoulder press
Close-grip bench Close-grip bench
Bbell curls Bbell curls
Dbell shrugs Dbell shrugs
Seated Calf Raises Seated calf raises

Weeks 1-2- 1x15
Weeks 3-4- 2x10, 1 x10 for iso's
Weeks 5-6- 3x5, 1x5 for iso's

My questions are in this order...

1. Should i drop the iso's (curls, close-grip bench, and shrugs) and just stick to the compound movements? i admit i'm a little stubborn as far as iso's go. i've read several times to just stick to the compounds but i'm hesitant for the fear of possibly losing arm growth and trap growth due to a lack of iso's. if i did drop the iso's my program would look like so...

A B
Squats Deadlifts
Flat bbell bench Weighted Dips
Bbell rows Bbell rows
Pull-ups Pull-ups
Dbell sh press Dbell shoulder press

2. Flat bbell bench vs slight incline barbell bench? i have a very weak chest and want to get the most bang for my buck with the chest exercises i include in my hst routine. I've read that incline bench may actually be superior for overall chest growth. which one would be most advantageous to utilize in this program?

3. will doing pull-ups and rows in the same workout plus deadlifts lead to overtraining? should i split the rows and pull-ups between the two workouts as in A- Rows B-Pullups? if so will that give my back enough stimulation? for every vertical push there should be a vertical pull and for every hor push a hor pull so by splitting up rows and pull-ups it would seem to make my routine more push dominant thus resulting in physical imbalances.

4. pull-ups vs chin ups (pronated vs supinated grip)? which one for more lat stimulation? i lean toward pull-ups because i think it involves the lats more...

additional info...i am currently trying to bulk up and eat a very clean diet of about 3200 cals a day on 50/30/20 carb/pro/fat macros.
supplements currently using....scifit kre-alkalyn 1500, scifit gluta-lyn, ON whey, ups labs jack3d

thanks guys! overall i'm stoked to start my hst routine and am hoping to see good gains.
 
hey for some reason the exercises clumped together. hopefully this is more clear.

A/B

Squats/Deadlifts
Flat bbell bench/Weighted dips
Pull-ups (pronated)
Bbell rows (pronated)
Dbell shoulder press
Bbell curls
Close-grip bench
Dbell shrugs
Seated calf raises
 
1. Should i drop the iso's (curls, close-grip bench, and shrugs) and just stick to the compound movements? i admit i'm a little stubborn as far as iso's go. i've read several times to just stick to the compounds but i'm hesitant for the fear of possibly losing arm growth and trap growth due to a lack of iso's. if i did drop the iso's my program would look like so...
Personally I would keep the isos for now when the weights are light. You can always drop the arm isos later if you feel they are hurting your compound lifts when things get heavy. I find that the compound lifts doing regular sets and reps just don’t work my arms enough when they are light, however once they start to get heavy I find the compounds are enough and the arm isos tend to hold back my progress on the compound exercises. I think you can probably keep the Shrugs no matter what, unless time becomes a factor.

2. Flat bbell bench vs slight incline barbell bench? i have a very weak chest and want to get the most bang for my buck with the chest exercises i include in my hst routine. I've read that incline bench may actually be superior for overall chest growth. which one would be most advantageous to utilize in this program?
I find that dips, leaning forward for more chest work are a better overall chest exercises than any bench. Since you are already doing those I think that Incline Bench would better complement them. Though in the end upper chest development is mostly determined by genetics something I am not endowed with. ;)

3. will doing pull-ups and rows in the same workout plus deadlifts lead to overtraining? should i split the rows and pull-ups between the two workouts as in A- Rows B-Pullups? if so will that give my back enough stimulation? for every vertical push there should be a vertical pull and for every hor push a hor pull so by splitting up rows and pull-ups it would seem to make my routine more push dominant thus resulting in physical imbalances.
I say try both. If you find along the way that doing them both in the same workout is to much then you can always split them later on.

4. pull-ups vs chin ups (pronated vs supinated grip)? which one for more lat stimulation? i lean toward pull-ups because i think it involves the lats more...
Chin ups (supinated grip) are generally regarded as a better lat exercises especially since you can usually use more weight that way, which should also make them a better Biceps exercise. If you want to target your Biceps and Forearms a little more you could use a close parallel grip which should still allow you to use more weight than with a pronated grip.

That’s my $.02 for what it’s worth.
 
dang thanks for the quick reply. great reply btw, definitely a solid 2 cents lol. i'll take your advice and stick to the iso's at least for the 15s and 10s and maybe drop them come the 5s depending on how i feel. as far as flat vs incline bench goes i'm still debating. if i was already had a well-developed chest i'd definitely just go the route of incline bench but my chest really needs help in all facets...upper middle and lower. what if i did something like this to get the best of all worlds.....
A
Flat bbell bench

B
Weighted dips/incline bbell

During the 15s I'll do one set for each, during the 10s i'll do 2 sets flat and 1 set between dips/incline, then during the 5s i'll do 3 sets flat and split the weighted dips/incline bench with 2 sets and 1 set alternating each session....does that make sense?
 
A
Flat bbell bench

B
Weighted dips/incline bbell

During the 15s I'll do one set for each, during the 10s i'll do 2 sets flat and 1 set between dips/incline, then during the 5s i'll do 3 sets flat and split the weighted dips/incline bench with 2 sets and 1 set alternating each session....does that make sense?
Sounds like a good plan to me. Though you might consider switching to Incline DB since it gives a greater range of motion and would therefore IMO better complement the Flat BB Bench.
 
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