2nd HST cycle!!!

Workout #11

Squats: 245lbs - 2x10
Flat Bench: 155lbs - 3x10
BB Row: 115lbs - 3x10
Military Press: - 110lbs - 3x10
Incline DB curls: 30s - 2x10

Was really surprised I pulled off 245lbs for 10 reps on squats today, for 2 sets at that! The bench also surprised me as I simply added 15lbs to all my RMs from the previous cycle, I had never actually done 155lbs for 10 reps before. I had to cluster 7/3 on the 3rd set on bench, but no biggy. Struggled a bit towards the end of the 3rd set on the BB row also, but nothing out of the ordinary worth mentioning. Military press felt strong on all 3 sets.

Weight: ~212lbs - I hate how my weight's going up and down throughout the cycle so far, I'm hoping now that I'll focus more strictly on my diet that it will have a steadier rise. Debating whether to add a 4th protein shake to my diet or not to help me gain the weight I'd like to gain this cycle. So far I'm taking in ~4200cal a day...hopefully I don't have to increase that number any time soon as that's a lot of calories as it is.
 
I missed Workout #12 (the 10RM for the B routine) last week, but no biggy, I'm not opposed to the extra day's rest.

Workout #13

Squats: 245lbs - 4x5
Flat Bench: 165lbs - 6x5
BB Row: 120lbs - 6x5
Military Press: 115lbs - 6x5

I felt very solid on all 4 lifts today and I completed every rep for each set, didn't fail a single time and no need to cluster. Overall very happy with today's workout.

Weight: 212.5lbs - My weight's been a little inconsistent this second cycle, and I don't know if it's because I'm not eating enough or what, I have been doing my best to consume 4200cal a day but maybe I just might have to increase it to 4500cal if I wanna hit 220lbs.
 
Workout #14

Deadlifts: 245lbs - 4x5
Dips: BW + 10lbs - 6x5
Chins: BW + 15lbs - 6x5
Military Press: 120lbs - 6x5

I felt very strong on the DL's, dips and military press. Chins were fine too, just kinda got weak on the last 2 sets.

Weight: ~215lbs - was surprised to see the scales go up so much, hopefully this number doesn't go down!
 
Workout #15

Squats: 265lbs - 4x5
Flat Bench: 175lbs - 6x5
BB Row: 130lbs - 6x5
Military Press: 125lbs - 6x5

I felt solid on all four lifts, maybe struggled a bit on the last set of squats and bench, but that's kind of expected. No problems worth mentioning.

Weight: 215.2lbs - happy to see my weight hasn't dropped since last session, and has actually gone up, esp. after a night of drinking last night. If I extend the 5s for another 2 weeks, looks like 220lbs might be in sight @ 1-1.5lbs per week.
 
Swapping beers for shakes, I'd say you'd have reached the 220 by now!
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Everytime I see a post-binge workout posted, it seems that the partaker is suffering a lousy workout. Hello.
Well, it's your life!
 
Workout #16

Deadlifts: 265lbs - 4x5
Dips: BW + 20lbs - 6x5
Chins: BW + 20lbs - 5x5
Military Press: 125lbs - 6x5

I felt pretty solid on the deads today, even though maintaining the grip was kinda hard the last set or so with so much weight. I also shredded up my shins pretty nicely from keeping the bar as close as possible to my legs. Dips were fine as always, struggled on the chins, some of the sets I didn't even complete all 5 reps, only did 4 so I decided to cut it short and only did 5 sets. Military press was fine on all 6 sets.

Weight: ~216lbs - weight increased since last workout, so i'm happy to see that.
 
Workout #17

Squats: 275lbs - 4x5
Flat Bench: 185lbs - 6x5
BB Row: 140lbs - 6x5
Military Press: 130lbs - 6x5

I was supposed to do 285lbs on squats today but after trying it out the first set it felt like way too much, so I lowered it to 275lbs (still 10lbs more than the previous time) and proceeded with the 4 sets. It was tough but I pulled through all 4 sets. The flat bench went well, had to get some help from my spotter on the last rep of the last 2 sets. BB Row were pretty easy, not too much difficulty. I struggled a little bit on military press for the first time, esp. on the 5th rep.

Weight: ~216lbs - didn't increase my weight, probably even lost water weight as a result of being dehydrated due to excessive partying last night. Dammit college life!
 
Workout #18

Deadlifts: 285lbs - 4x5
Dips: BW + 30lbs - 6x5
Chins: BW + 25lbs - 4x5
Military Press: 135lbs - 4x5

I felt solid on the deads today, surprised myself I can even grip that much weight. The dips were surprisingly moderate, looks like i can add quite a bit more weight to em. I had to cut the chins and military press down to 4 sets because the gym was gonna close. Chins were kinda difficult, had to cluster the sets for the 5th rep, so i'll keep this weight for the next session until i can pull off 5 solid reps for all the sets. Military press felt pretty solid but i'll keep the weight for next session also because it was quite challenging.

Weight: ~219lbs - very surprising, I thought I was gonna be alot less due to the amount of shitting I did today (sorry but it's true
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Workout #19

I got really sick on Sunday/Monday so I missed my workout on Monday and did it yesterday on Tuesday. I still felt kinda crappy but nothing in comparison to Monday, where I laid in bed the whole day unable to move. Today's workout was decent, but I felt kinda weak and shortened to workout as a result.

Squats: 275lbs - 2x5
Flat Bench: 185lbs - 4x5
BB Row: 140lbs - 4x5
Military Press: 135lbs - 4x5

My legs felt really weak so I pretty much gave up on the squats for this workout, the bench was decent, even though I would have liked to have bumped up the weight to 195lbs. The BB rows was also just 'decent', didn't feel particularly solid on em. Surprisingly despite the mediocre workout, I felt pretty solid on the military press, more so than the previous workout which surprised me.

Weight: ~214lbs - I can't believe I lost 5lbs in the 2 days I was sick, I hardly ate at all on Monday because I had no appetite so I guess the 5lbs loss can be related some how to the lack of eating on Monday. The next 2 weeks as I recover from this sickness/flu, my main goal is just to get back to 100% and get back up to ~220lbs.
 
Workout #20

Skipped DL's today because I'm still sick and they take alot outta me. Just did some upperbody work instead.

Dips: BW + 35lbs - 6x5
Chins: BW + 25lbs - 6x5
Military Press: 135lbs - 4x5

I felt very solid on the dips, I felt like I can add alot more weight. I kept the Chins at the same weight level as last workout however I actually completed all 6 sets fully this time without struggling too much. Surprisingly, the lift that I always feel solid on, the military press, felt pretty weak today, I did 140lbs for the first 2 sets but just felt so crappy that I bumped it down to 135lbs on the next 2 sets and still felt pretty weak. I cut the sets at 4 because I started feeling fatigued and didn't feel like working out anymore.

CAN'T WAIT TO GET OVER THIS COLD!!!!!

Weight: ~216lbs - glad to see I regained some of the lost weight due to this friggen sickness.
 
Week 8 - last workout for Routine A

Flat bench: 195lbs - 4x5
BB Row: 155lbs - 4x5
Military Press: 140lbs - 4x5

I cut down the sets from 6 to 4 just cuz I felt 4 sets are enough for these heavier weights. The bench felt alot better than last week when I was sick, I'm now regaining most of my strength after this sickness and I felt good on the bench, even though I normally failed on the 5th rep of the last 2 sets. BB Row felt pretty good, I wouldn't go heavier though just because I felt my form starting to suffer (some use of momentum to bring up the weight). Military press felt alot better than the previous session and I actually completed a full 5 reps for the earlier sets, kinda failed on the last set or two on that last rep.

Weight: ~217-218lbs - finally my weight went up since I lost the 5lbs due to the cold. If I finish off this week and my week long SD at 220lbs I will be very happy. My next phase will be a shortened bulk phase at 4-6 weeks depending on how things go and hopefully I'll get to 230lbs with it, and then I will do a cut back down to 220lbs and lose some of the fat I've gained in this bulking process.
 
Hi Mark. I was bored waiting for a meeting so read this page, and noticed a couple of things to consider. First, I'm no coach or sports specialist of any kind; just an old gym rat.
I see your legwork is pretty strong compared to usual percentage comparisons to your upper body work. I'd guess that you used to be fat, or may not be going very low in the squats. You should be hitting at least parallel. Your deads are a no-cheater though, so you may just have strong legs.
The BB rows I thought were worth improving; simply try some different width grips. I go slightly outside of shoulder width for the most strength, but you may differ.
When you have a great feeling for a lift you probably can get it, (like your dips) but it would be best to stay in the progression and just use the extra strength or whatever to work on excellent form. Every one of us can tweak form a bit when things feel lighter, and if you just add weight you could be cheating your cycle. OTOH, if you keep feeling stronger in an exersize, you are; and need to add to the progression.
Your military press is right in there with your other numbers, and you're making great gains in strength. You'll see that 300 bench one day soon enough.
One brick at a time, one brick at a time.  
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