Compound Only Routine + Some Questions

L

Leather99

New Member
Hi All,

I am about to try HST and I would like to stick with only compound movements as I have found in the past that they are way more effective.

Here is the routine I am considering starting in a week or so (after SD):

Bench Press: 2 Sets
Rows: 2 Sets
OHP: 2 Sets
Close Grip, palms facing face, pull downs: 2 Sets
Squats: 2 Sets
SLDL: 2 Sets
Alternating Abs/Calfs each workout - 2 sets if I feel up to it.

What are your opinions on the volume aspect of this? I would like to hit both horizontal and vertical planes every workout for both push and pull, but I am a bit concerned with HST's frequency that 4 sets of pushing/pulling 3 times a week is overdoing it.

I have no concerns over the lack of arm isolation work as I have found it largely to be a waist of time - compounds always seem to provide better results in both my arms and the other muscle groups involved.

My next question is why are rest periods they not dictated by HST?

Excuse my ignorance here please - the previous routine I have been on have stipulated specific rest periods for various phases of the cycle. For example the last one forced all rest periods down to 45 secs max for the first few weeks of the program, then slowly incresed these as the weight went up. The initial breif rest periods were used to increase fitness and build capillaries (Excuse spelling) into the muscle. Is this neccesary, or is rest largely irrelivent when it comes to growth?

My last question is is there a problem doing cardio immediately following the HST workout? The reason I ask is that I like to do cardio 2 or 3 times a week, it would be great if I could squeeze this in with my weights and then I would only have to hit the gym 3 times a week.

Thanks,

D.
 
routine looks fine..rest periods depend on you as long as you have recovered do the next set...normaly take longer rests in 5s because the weight is heavier..i do cardio after weights.but before i do cardio i take a glucose drink..and dont forget pre and post shakes i put some glucose in those as well good luck :D
 
Hi Leather,

In terms of the volume I think it all depends on how you find it. Personally I use one compound movement per bodypart and alternate between sessions (e.g. rows one sessions, chins the next). I do 1 set up to 5s and then 2...then again I work out 6 x a week (or try to!) so that would be the same number of sets per body part in the 5s as you on a weekly basis.

I would find it hard to do your routine once the weights got heavy, particularly squats and deads in the same workout.

As far as I'm aware rest periods aren't dictated as according to HST they're not important, what is important is the amount of load that is applied and therefore rest periods tend to get longer throughout the cycle as more rest is needed to complete the reps. If you lift say 2 sets of 10 of 80kg on the bench you will still have applied the same load whether the rest period is 1min, 5mins or an hour.

I do cardio after my weights but I make sure pre and post workout nutrition is good and that the entire session doesn't last longer than an hour. Ideally cardio would be done on rest days but I don't think it matters too much so if doing it on workout days means you actually do it then that's obviously the best option.

Hope that helps

Rob
 
Leather99

Routine solid.

Don't worry about restrictive rest periods, HST is about principles not restrictive rules.

go by feel, during 15 and 10's rest periods are shortish 30-45 sec., up into the 5' and negs you will need 60-120 seconds sometimes more, really depends on your fitness levels and personal capacity.

Cheers
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fausto @ Nov. 09 2005,7:35)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]My next question is why are rest periods they not dictated by HST?
Click to expand...

Don't worry about restrictive rest periods, HST is about principles not restrictive rules.
go by feel, during 15 and 10's rest periods are shortish 30-45 sec., up into the 5' and negs you will need 60-120 seconds sometimes more, really depends on your fitness levels and personal capacity.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Just to back up what Fausto said:

Ahtiainen, J.P., A. Pakarinen, M. Alen, W.J. Kraemer, and K. Häkkinen. Short vs. long rest period between the sets in hypertrophic resistance training: Influence on muscle strength, size, and hormonal adaptations in trained men. J. Strength Cond. Res. 19(3):572–582. 2005.

Acute and long-term hormonal and neuromuscular adaptations to hypertrophic strength training were studied in 13 recreationally strength-trained men. The experimental design comprised a 6-month hypertrophic strength-training period including 2 separate 3-month training periods with the crossover design, a training protocol of short rest (SR, 2 minutes) as compared with long rest (LR, 5 minutes) between the sets. Basal hormonal concentrations of serum total testosterone (T), free testosterone (FT), and cortisol ©, maximal isometric strength of the leg extensors, right leg 1 repetition maximum (1RM), dietary analysis, and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) of the quadriceps femoris by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were measured at months 0, 3, and 6. The 2 hypertrophic training protocols used in training for the leg extensors (leg presses and squats with 10RM sets) were also examined in the laboratory conditions at months 0, 3, and 6. The exercise protocols were similar with regard to the total volume of work (loads × sets × reps), but differed with regard to the intensity and the length of rest between the sets (higher intensity and longer rest of 5 minutes vs. somewhat lower intensity but shorter rest of 2 minutes). Before and immediately after the protocols, maximal isometric force and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the leg extensors were measured and blood samples were drawn for determination of serum T, FT, C, and growth hormone (GH) concentrations and blood lactate. Both protocols before the experimental training period (month 0) led to large acute increases (p < 0.05–0.001) in serum T, FT, C , and GH concentrations, as well as to large acute decreases (p < 0.05–0.001) in maximal isometric force and EMG activity. However, no significant differences were observed between the protocols. Significant increases of 7% in maximal isometric force, 16% in the right leg 1RM, and 4% in the muscle CSA of the quadriceps femoris were observed during the 6-month strength-training period. However, both 3-month training periods performed with either the longer or the shorter rest periods between the sets resulted in similar gains in muscle mass and strength. No statistically significant changes were observed in basal hormone concentrations or in the profiles of acute hormonal responses during the entire 6-month experimental training period. The present study indicated that, within typical hypertrophic strength-training protocols used in the present study, the length of the recovery times between the sets (2 vs. 5 minutes) did not have an influence on the magnitude of acute hormonal and neuromuscular responses or long-term training adaptations in muscle strength and mass in previously strength-trained men.
 
Thanks for the backup Bryan, always good to solidify things with written research!
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Bob

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]What about adding deadlifts?
Click to expand...

He's got SLDL's and squats I think he's covered, not everyone has the touch to confront the romanian dracula!
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Hi All,
First - Thanks for all your replies - great to have some feedback on the routine.

Bryan - Thanks for your info on the rest periods, it has cleared things up. Great to have some input from the man himself!  
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Bob Evans - I am including deads - SLDL was short for Stiff Legged Deadlift - sorry if I did not make this clear.

robefc - Re the cardio, yes I will keep it under an hour, I find it too draining otherwise. I must admit I am not really into cardio so I will just do 20 mins on the rower or something max. I do have a problem with pre-workout nutrition as I train first thing in the morning so eating before working out is not really practical (I get up at 6.30 and hit the gym immediately, so if I eat first I must leave time for it to be digested before I start pounding out the squats and this would mean getting up too early  
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 My mrs says I am grumpy enough as it is  
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) .

Again thanks for everyones input, any more comments are very welcome.  
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Just to let you know part of my last routine involved this workout, IT WAS A KILLER:.

Bench Press
Rows
OHP
Close Grip, pull downs
Squats
SLDL

All of these were excercises were done for 6 sets of 15 reps with only 45 seconds rest between... starting at 7am! I was knackered after a week of that.  
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I do have one more question - Is there any preference as to rep speed/cadence? I am not talking about super slow or anything like that, but does HST outline any preferred rep speed?

Leather.
 
I think you need to read the FAQ e-bokk and the Pimp my HST e-book all you need to know is basically covered there!

Cheers
 
As far as the rep speed, I think the key is just to do it properly with nice form. So no fast pumping where you wind up bouncing weights. Then the reps should slow down during the negs.

I am just a rookie myself but this is how I have been doing it.
 
I have looked at the E-books now, pretty interesting stuff.

I will spend some time reading up over my 2 weeks SD then get cracking.

Thanks for everyones help - Apologies if I asked questions that have been answered several times before.

I will keep everyone posted on the results!
 
6 sets of 15? ouch!!! Sounds like you're doing some gironda type training there.

I train first thing in the morning too, I have a shake of whey and maltodextrin before and after, then breakfast half an hour later. Whether you include carbs depends on your goals and your personal preferences but make sure you have some protein before working out.

Cheers

Rob
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]All of these were excercises were done for 6 sets of 15 reps with only 45 seconds rest between... starting at 7am! I was knackered after a week of that.
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Click to expand...

Overtraining!
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Welcome to HST!
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-Colby
 
colby2152:

Yes 3 times a week - this was only done for a couple of weeks though.

The program was similar to HST except that it included a period at the start which was light weight but high volume. This was designed to build capillaries (again, excuse spelling) into the muscle and increase mitochondria. Designed to build a base level of fitness and resistance to fatigue before upping the weights... but it wiped me out.
Anyway HST here I come!


RE the pre workout shake... I am currently on a very low carb diet and I have some problems with lean protien (IE Whey) this seems to cause an insulin spike in the same way as a small amount of carbs... I am trying to avoid this so I always eat my protien with fat. Has seemed to work so far...
 
If you are on a cut, the carbs will halt your fatt loss during the work out. Ir your bulking- the insulin spike gives higher igf1/2 ratios wich helps recovery of microtrauma. The main reason (I think) is increase of sattelite cell activety. :D
 
Leather

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I have looked at the E-books now, pretty interesting stuff.

I will spend some time reading up over my 2 weeks SD then get cracking.
Click to expand...

Pleanty of "meaty" stuff to "chew" on, I amsure you'll enjoy it and....use some of it.
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Rob

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Is an insulin spike undesirable around work out time?
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I actually think it is desirable, but Dan, JV and others can be a bit more specific. I know that endulging too close to a workout is not that desirable.
 
RE: Insulin spike

Depends a lot on what you actually want to acomplish. This usually would not be a problem at all if you are just bulking.

Now, insulin = good, specifically rebound (this is in the scenario of post workout, don't get confused, not in basketball). This is responsible for release of Growth Hormone, which is the key hormone int turn responisble for release of Insulin Growth Factor.

But this won't be infinitely good. Too much might be bad, depending on what you want. An overload of insulin (a BIG spike, for example, due to perhaps blood glucose levels rising too quickly) causes a lot of fat to be stored. Sure, some still go to protein synthesis, but usually a lot more goes to being converted to fat. Can't be sure how much, and probably no big whoop if you are bulking. But if you are cutting, you probably might not want it.

Regards,
-JV
 
Fausto - if this is for bulking/gaining, then I believe that eating prior to workout - CHO and Whey - would be ideal . . . isn't that jsut pre w/o nutrition?

Take your whey, some carbs (candy/lollies/dextrose/glucose etc) 20-25mins prior...

You want the spike right? If bulking...
 
Hi All,

Thanks again for the replies.

I am trying to avoid insulin spikes at all costs because they cause me hypoglycemia... my blood sugar drops and I get first tired, then moody. Thinks this is due to years of overdoing the carbs... but I am fine as long as I keep my carbs real low, and don't consume lean protien like whey...
 
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