Finished first cycle - some results

Rotlex

New Member
Howdy again all,

Well, I finished up my first cycle of HST just before the Holiday weekend! I'm pretty happy with the results as during the whole thing, I think I was still kind of getting used to the full body routine. Overall, I enjoyed it, but found near the end of the 5's, I was getting VERY tired by the end of the workout. Need to chop a few movements from my routine next time around. So eh, without further ado, here's the routine I followed, and the results achieved this first time around:

Starting weight - 191lbs
Finish weight - 200lbs
Start BF% 12.0
Finish BF% 12.8

Measurements:

Waist - 33.5 - up one inch (Not bad I'm thinking, and I still fit in the same pants, LOL)
Neck - 16 inches - same
Left upper arm - 16.0 - up 1/2 inch
Right upper arm - 16.5 up 1/2 inch
Chest - 43 - up one inch
Forearms - 13.5 - up 1/2 inch
Thigh's - 24 .0 - up one inch
Calves - 17.5 - up 1/2 inch

Overall,, I'm pretty happy with these results. I'm actually really happy that I managed to put on 10lbs and keep my BF% relatively the same. I definitely have a slightly larger look, and much more overall "fullness". I've also become quite a bit more vascular than before. I've always had a "veiny" look in the upper body, but it has now moved to my legs as well. Much tighter.

For reference, I did a calorie increase during this cylce of roughly 500 per day. On average, I was somewhere between 3500 and 3800 daily, with an approx. 40/40/20 splite between protein, carbs and fats. My basic routine was as follows:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday HST - Tuesday, Thursday, Sat. Cardio, incline treadmill walking for 20 minutes, and ABS. Exercises used are below. I did two sets for the 15's, 2 for the 10's, and 3 for the 5's.

Squats
Leg curls
Leg press
Incline bench
Weighted dips
Pull ups - (Palms facing and opposed)
Bent over rows
Military press
Barbell shrugs
Nautilus rear delt
Dumbell Curls (Alternating with incline on different days)
Skullcrushers
Seated calf raises

I was able to stick with my rep scheme throughout, and actually increased weight quite a bit by the time I got to the 5's. Overall, as I said, I'm pretty satisfied with this, and am going to modify my plan for the next round, cutting back on any iso's, and adding SLDL to the mix.

Thanks to this site, and all on these forums for providing such a valuable place for information!

Until next time........
 
Great job Steve;

I'd be interested in knowing your previous lifting experience. I assume that 191 lbs @ 12% means that you were somewhat versed in the gym?

The reason I ask is that 9 lbs gain in a 8(?) week cycle is not bad for a seasoned lifter. I have yet to try HST, but I am on my second day of SD, so I fully intend on giving it a go. Even though I am a complete noob to HST, I am a fairly competent BBer, and I really hope to see similar resuts to yours with this new approach to training. If I could get to 215 by mid Feb I'd probably croak.

How long did this routine take you, on average? It looks very similar to mine. Did you do it in one session, or an AM/PM split?

take care,
cris
 
Good job man
thumbs-up.gif


Did you do squats and leg press in the same WO or alternate them?
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Cris\Colby, just to answer your questions....

I've really only been lifting seriously for the past year. I've been "off" for close to 10 due to those little circumstances in life that kind of take priority. (wife, child, work etc.). I had also come off a year of strict dieting, in an attempt to get my uh, rather large, as in fat, but back into shape. Went from 300lbs to 175 over the course of that year, and have spent this past year getting back into body building. I must say however, that this past cycle of HST gave me better results than the previous 9-10 months.

As far as time for the routine, I found I averaged around 1 hour 15 minutes in the gym. I take very little time between sets, usually 60 seconds max, maybe 90 on the big stuff, plus whatever time it takes to change plates.

Colby, I did squats and leg press in the same workout. It may have been overdoing it, but I had just come off of a split routine where I was working legs very hard once a week. Used to do squats, leg press, hack squat, leg ext, leg curls and calf work all in the same day. Basically to total exhaustion so I didn't think doing the press and squats both in the same day, usually a total of 4 sets for both, was too bad.

Thanks again all, and happy lifting! :)
 
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