ashby's training log - first cycle of HST (10 weeks)

A

ashby

New Member
Hey all,

I am going to post my 10 week cycle of training. First of all: I'm doing this to learn new stuff. If you see that I'm doing something wrong, please post it here. I can't promise that I implement things you say but I can assure that I'll keep new advice in mind and appreciate it.

Now background:
Goal is to gain weight, weighted before starting 74 kg. It's been 2 years since I was in gym but I have done a lot of cardio this year. Record weight is 81,5 kg in year 2006.

Overall training:
Full body, Mon-Wed-Fri every week. I try to use free weights. 1 set per exercise.
1st week: warm up and figuring out weights
2-4: 10 reps
5-7: 8 reps
8-10: 6 reps

Exercises:
1. Squats -- front thighs, glutes
2. Leg extensions -- front thighs
3. Lying leg curls -- rear thighs
4. Standing calf machine (smith machine) -- calves
5. Bench press (barbell) -- pecs
6. Flyes (dumbbell, flat bench) -- pecs
7. Pulldowns (wide, rear) -- lats
8. Row (cable) -- lats
9. Upright rows (barbell) -- side delts
10. Arm curls (barbell) -- bicepts
11. Cable pushdowns -- tricepts
 
1st week:
I did creatine charge cycle (20g per day, 5 days) and after that 5 g per day. Also started to use gainers. Weight went from 74 to 79.4!! Probably thanks to creatine & water. After first day had serious problem with lactic acid. Friday was third workout and I pushed harder than on monday and today (saturday) I feel good. I'm probably ready to push harder next week.

Dilemma:
Had a choice between clean/controlled exercises vs increasing weights. I pick the first one (controlled exercises). Comments?

Exercise list is good. I'm done in 1,5 hours (includes 30 min to stretching, warmup rowing). Total training is 1 hour max. Next week is 10 reps week.
 
Not sure how tall you are or how much you are lifting but here's my 2¢ anyway :) :

I think you would be better served doing 2 sets of squats rather than the leg extensions and leg curls. If you really want to do the extensions and leg curls I would still do 2 sets of squats first. Same thing goes for bench ie. do 2 sets. Instead of flyes do a set of dips. Don't do pull-downs to the rear unless you have a very good reason. You can probably lift more weight if you pull-down to the front. Switch to chins/pull-ups as soon as you are able. Work on presses as well as upright rows.

A lot of folks end up using A and B workouts. Check out the Simplify and Win thread in my footer for some good ideas and advice on this.

You would most likely do better with 2 weeks 15s, 2 weeks 10s, and 4 weeks 5s (with metabolic work). I think you will manage fatigue better and end up lifting heavier for longer. Also, for a regular HST cycle you need to know your xRMs and then take around a 9 day SD before you start. Be sure to begin each mesocycle with 70-75% of you xRM to ensure you are providing a good stimulus from the get go.
 
Lol said:
Not sure how tall you are or how much you are lifting but here's my 2¢ anyway :) :

I think you would be better served doing 2 sets of squats rather than the leg extensions and leg curls. If you really want to do the extensions and leg curls I would still do 2 sets of squats first. Same thing goes for bench ie. do 2 sets. Instead of flyes do a set of dips. Don't do pull-downs to the rear unless you have a very good reason. You can probably lift more weight if you pull-down to the front. Switch to chins/pull-ups as soon as you are able. Work on presses as well as upright rows.

A lot of folks end up using A and B workouts. Check out the Simplify and Win thread in my footer for some good ideas and advice on this.

You would most likely do better with 2 weeks 15s, 2 weeks 10s, and 4 weeks 5s (with metabolic work). I think you will manage fatigue better and end up lifting heavier for longer. Also, for a regular HST cycle you need to know your xRMs and then take around a 9 day SD before you start. Be sure to begin each mesocycle with 70-75% of you xRM to ensure you are providing a good stimulus from the get go.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the advice!

You are basically saying that, drop the isolation exercises and do compound ones instead.

I get a bit confused of this 70-75% thing... Shouldn't I hit the gym with maximum weights every single time? Progress still happens, I am probably able to use heavier weights every time.

Sorry, can't take 9 days off. I'm truly waiting to hit the gym tomorrow :cool:

I'm going to rethink my exercise list and post it here.
 
ashby said:
I get a bit confused of this 70-75% thing... Shouldn't I hit the gym with maximum weights every single time? Progress still happens, I am probably able to use heavier weights every time.

Sorry, can't take 9 days off. I'm truly waiting to hit the gym tomorrow :cool:
Click to expand...

OK Ashby - take a big step back here. Lol gave you some very sound advice, with your success being the primary focus with HST. I'd suggest that you take a few minutes to re-read the HST FAQ threads; what you posted last suggests that you don't really have an understanding of what HST is. Lifting with maximum weights every time is another form of training that is the exact opposite (or close to it) of HST. If you really want to try HST, go back and read about it; I think you'll better understand what Lol was saying.

To give you a start... The 70-75% thing refers to working with submaximal weights (ie. 70% of your 10-rep max). That's why you need to know what your 15, 10 and 5-rep max is for each exercise that you use in the cycle. That way you can figure out what loads to use for each lift. You progress the load with each workout (so when you work out, you use the same load for each of the two sets that you do). There is considerable science behind HST, so please take some time and get to know the principles. Give it a shot, and I'm confident that you'll like the results if you're looking for size.

We're all here to help - so please ask questions in the other forums if you're unclear about something to ensure that you're getting a bunch of folks looking at your question. Things can tend to get a bit isolated here in the Training Logs section.

Best of luck!
 
Ok, thanks for the advice everybody. Probably I should take some time to break my old paradigms about muscle growth. Grasping some radically new ideas takes time, especially when these contradict things I've believed for years.

[going through HST forums again...]
 
Lol et. al. (at the risk of hijacking..), is there a compelling reason to even think about doing upright rows? I've understood the risk/reward to be pretty dismal here. I'm thinking the various forms of front and DB presses along with bent-over rows, Pendley's, etc., and never do an upright row ever.
 
twindeltatandem said:
Lol et. al. (at the risk of hijacking..), is there a compelling reason to even think about doing upright rows? I've understood the risk/reward to be pretty dismal here. I'm thinking the various forms of front and DB presses along with bent-over rows, Pendley's, etc., and never do an upright row ever.
Click to expand...

There absolutely is an argument to be made for upright rows; though there are other lifts that train the traps and scapulae, I'm not sure of any that do so as effectively as upright rows.
 
twindeltatandem said:
Lol et. al. (at the risk of hijacking..), is there a compelling reason to even think about doing upright rows? I've understood the risk/reward to be pretty dismal here. I'm thinking the various forms of front and DB presses along with bent-over rows, Pendley's, etc., and never do an upright row ever.
Click to expand...

if you really want to do them,use a wider grip and only come up to the nipples,not the chin.
 
DB presses sound good, I can replace upright rows with these. I picked upright rows to train mainly delts, working out traps is a bonus.

What's the big deal with upright rows anyway? Too big chance of injury or something? Too low efficiency?
 
Ok, week 2 is over. First of all, I probably can't call it HST any more. Perhaps HIT (high intensity training or something...?)

Thanks for the advice on exercises. Changed my routine a bit. Here we go (10 reps each):
1. Squats x2
2. Leg extensions
3. Lying leg curls
4. Standing calf machine
5. Bench press
5. Flyes
6. Pulldowns, front & close grip
7. Row
8. Shoulder press, dumbell
9. Arm curls, DB
10. Cable pushdowns

I'm done in less than an hour. I go for weights that I can do slowly and in a way that reps 8-10 are probably half or helped reps.

Weight max was 79,7 kg (175,7 lb), so +0,3 kg in one week. I also had 5 g of creatine every day, about +800 kcal from gainers (daily) and +500 kcal from extra food. On a record day I ate 8 times and still felt hungry.

I do this routine for a while, meantime I start preparing for a legit HST cycle. I realized I probably need to read a bit about HST first. This is a problematic for a office workaholic like myself because my brain is usually dead in the evenings and during weekends I try to escape as far as possible from the computer.

Recommendation: for iPod touch / iPhone users, download GymGoal that helps to keep track of weights, exercises etc. I think it costs 5 bucks or something, so it's almost free.


Have a nice weekend everybody!
 
One more thing:
I don't want to take 9 days for SD right now is that I don't think I'll go back to gym after that. It's too easy for me to excuse of having too much work and skip gym. I'd rather first develop a strong discipline of going to gym every mon, wed, fri and then take that SD. I'm stuck with that routine for a while...
 
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