Finished First HST Cycle!

S

stevec

New Member
Well I just finished my 5s for my first HST cycle.

I did a "test cycle" this time, with one week of 15s, one week of 10s, and one week of 5s. My dumb ass forgot to find my maxes before I did SD, so I kinda did a guess-and-check based on my previous 10-rep workouts which included most of the exercises I used.

I've never followed a diet before so it's kind of difficult for me. I did make sure to eat at least twice a day and tried to get as much protein as possible, including drinking a protein shake before each workout and sometimes after.

Goals
My goals are predominantly to increase size in my biceps and my chicken legs, with secondary goals of increasing my shoulders and back.

Workouts
All my workouts were the same:
- one set curls with a narrow grip on the curl bar
- one set (superset) of upright rows with the curl bar
- one set of curls with a wide grip on the curl bar
- two sets of military press
- one set of squats
- one set of SLDLs

Other than a few times experimenting, this was my first time doing squats in a program. I hadn't even experimented with SLDLs till I started doing my HST cycle.

I've been doing the squats without a belt because I was told that if my form was good and I wasn't overloading too much it'd strengthen my core too. I had a friend help me correct my form a bit but I'm pretty happy with how my squat sets developed.

The SLDLs still seem kind of awkward, and I can't really tell if I'm getting the workout I want from them. I seem to feel it in my lower back more than my hamstrings, even though I'm using a mirror to check my form and *trying* to follow the guidelines at Stumptuous.com as best as possible. I may need to get a trainer or a friend with more experience with SLDLs to help show me before my next cycle.

Results
After my first set of 15s:
Weight: 142.0
Left Biceps: 13"
Right Biceps: 13.125"
Left Thigh: 21"
Right Thigh: 21"

After my last set of 5s:
Weight: 144.8
Left Biceps: 13.625"
Right Biceps: 13.5"
Left Thigh: 21.625"
Right Thigh: 22"

Questions
- Are these acceptable results? Or are they low (implying maybe I did something wrong)?

- I don't really have a way to do negatives at home. Should I go ahead and do another week of 5s or can I just go straight to SD before beginning another cycle? What exactly is the purpose of the post-5s anyway?

- I'm not 100% sure if I'll do the full six weeks of HST next cycle, but I am leaning towards that. Will this have any effect on results? I seem to remember reading in the articles that it was six weeks just to be less confusing, and that three weeks worked just as well--I wanted to double-check though.

- Does anyone have any other suggestions as far as improving my SLDL? I'm thinking asking someone experienced would be best, but I want to make sure it's someone who actually knows what they're talking about and doesn't use bad form that's gonna hurt me.

- Can I drop the extra sets of curls and military? Is it bad that I'm doing the same workout three days a week instead of doing a split? Any other comments/suggestions about my routine?

- I'm going to start training Brazilian jiu-jitsu again next week. I probably won't actually spar for the time I'm doing SD so it shouldn't interfere, but when I'm into my cycle jiu-jitsu is a pretty intense cardio workout. Should I do it on my off days, or the same day but after my HST workout? Should I go light while I'm doing HST? I can train using very little muscle exertion if I need to.

Sorry if I've asked any dumb questions. This site is pretty overwhelming with the amount of information available.

I would absolutely *love* any and as much feedback as possible. Positive and negative; it's impossible to offend me.
 
Oh, and one other question:

I also seemed to experience most if not all my size gains during my week of 15s, and definitely by the week of 10s.

I'm guessing this is because of Strategic Deconditioning? Is this common in HST workouts? Or is it indicative of something strange, like maybe I'm not working hard enough on my 10s and 5s weeks?
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Are these acceptable results? Or are they low (implying maybe I did something wrong)?</div>

Those are pretty good results. How old are you by the way?

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I don't really have a way to do negatives at home. Should I go ahead and do another week of 5s or can I just go straight to SD before beginning another cycle? What exactly is the purpose of the post-5s anyway?</div>

Don't worry about negatives. Instead of doing another week of 5's, just continue on with your 5RM for two weeks. You can also progress the load a bit. If it gets tough, then apply static holds or drop sets. The purpose of nagatives? Load progression is a key principal of HST.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I'm not 100% sure if I'll do the full six weeks of HST next cycle, but I am leaning towards that. Will this have any effect on results? I seem to remember reading in the articles that it was six weeks just to be less confusing, and that three weeks worked just as well--I wanted to double-check though.</div>

IMO, the longer the cycle, the better.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
Does anyone have any other suggestions as far as improving my SLDL? I'm thinking asking someone experienced would be best, but I want to make sure it's someone who actually knows what they're talking about and doesn't use bad form that's gonna hurt me.</div>

I would do regular deadlifts instead. Goto exrx.net for all the correct forms on exercises as they show you actual video clips.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
Can I drop the extra sets of curls and military? Is it bad that I'm doing the same workout three days a week instead of doing a split? Any other comments/suggestions about my routine?</div>

I would drop the curls, keep the military press, and add in something for chest such as bench press or dips. The same workout 3 days a week is better than a split. Trust me.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
I'm going to start training Brazilian jiu-jitsu again next week. I probably won't actually spar for the time I'm doing SD so it shouldn't interfere, but when I'm into my cycle jiu-jitsu is a pretty intense cardio workout. Should I do it on my off days, or the same day but after my HST workout? Should I go light while I'm doing HST? I can train using very little muscle exertion if I need to.</div>

I would do it on your off days. I assume you want to put on mass. Just make sure you get a lot of food in you either way.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I'm guessing this is because of Strategic Deconditioning? Is this common in HST workouts? Or is it indicative of something strange, like maybe I'm not working hard enough on my 10s and 5s weeks?</div>

It is quite possible you lost some muscle[/] during SD especially if you didn't eat enough. If that was the case, then it is very common for you to gain that back right away.

Remember if you want to put on mass, just train right and more importantly eat.
 
Im not really sure if I understand your workout?

Did you use Vanilla Hst or set up or own workout?

The reason I ask is it seems you goal is to get bigger biceps, and it looks from your thread you were doing lots of curls???
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">How old are you by the way?</div>
colby -- Thank you! I'll continue my 5RM next week and then start SD, then do a full eight week cycle.

I turned 26 in March.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Im not really sure if I understand your workout?

Did you use Vanilla Hst or set up or own workout?

The reason I ask is it seems you goal is to get bigger biceps, and it looks from your thread you were doing lots of curls???</div>

I did HST, but I read an article which said that it wasn't essential to do two weeks 15s, two weeks 10s, two weeks 5s; that was just to make it less complicated. So I halved it and did one week of each. At colby's suggestion, I'm actually gonna do another week of my 5RM before doing SD again. My next cycle will probably be a full 8 week cycle.

And yes, I was doing lots of curls because bigger biceps were my main goal with this program. I know compound exercises are better, but there aren't any compound exercises that I know of that hit the biceps specifically, so that's why I decided to include curls at the beginning.

Did I do something wrong?

Just in case anyone is wondering, I don't want my chest to get any larger--I already am bordering man-boobs because I was a bench freak in high school. That's why there's no bench. I'll probably put some kind of bench in the next cycle just to keep my strength up, but I'll either keep the weights light or not use HST on my bench exercises.
 
Are you doing anything wrong...not really, just doing things out of order of the average norm, which might be okay, or maybe you could get better results using better exercise arrangement.

Generally speaking you always hit large muscle groups first, then small ones second.

If increasing your biceps is your goal doing curls first may just be the trick.

However I personally think doing pullups or chins real heavy with underhand close grip would do wonders for your biceps.

Do 3 sets of those real slow and controlled and with a good stretch and then try to brush your teeth the next day...
laugh.gif


If you dont want a bigger chest, I would still hit chest hard and heavy just maybe at a higher incline.

Just a thougtht.
 
<div>
(Joe.Muscle @ Jun. 03 2006,17:38)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Are you doing anything wrong...not really, just doing things out of order of the average norm, which might be okay, or maybe you could get better results using better exercise arrangement.

Generally speaking you always hit large muscle groups first, then small ones second.

If increasing your biceps is your goal doing curls first may just be the trick.

However I personally think doing pullups or chins real heavy with underhand close grip would do wonders for your biceps.

Do 3 sets of those real slow and controlled and with a good stretch and then try to brush your teeth the next day...
laugh.gif


If you dont want a bigger chest, I would still hit chest hard and heavy just maybe at a higher incline.

Just a thougtht.</div>
Well, keeping my workout within the limitations of the equipment I own was one of the reasons for going with curls, but chin-ups do sound like a good idea. I'll try to at least mix those in my next cycle if not use them entirely.

I'll try the incline bench too. Thanks for the advice!
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">However I personally think doing pullups or chins real heavy with underhand close grip would do wonders for your biceps.</div>

Chins are where it's at... believe me. Do close grip to really hit your biceps. Then kiss the curls good bye.
 
how do you guys perform chins in a hst-way? 15/10/5's
I love that excercise myself but how to progress in this hst-typical slow and steady way?
there I only see pulldowns as an alternative

wrong?!

greez
 
What I do is perform pull-downs for 15s and 10s and then switch to chins for 5s and beyond. That way I can keep the progression going well. Chins are a particularly suitable exercise for performing negatives and so are great for the post-5s. You will need a bench or chair to raise yourself back up to the start position.
 
Include close grip benchpresses or some other tricep excersise to work the back part of your arm.

The triceps muscle is bigger than the biceps, and if you want big arms, hitting the triceps is where it's at.
 
True, but I would still stick to the compounds:

Deadlifts
Dips
Chins

IMO, Skullcrushers are the best arm isolation exercise.
 
<div>
(stevec @ Jun. 03 2006,21:59)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I did HST, but I read an article which said that it wasn't essential to do two weeks 15s, two weeks 10s, two weeks 5s; that was just to make it less complicated. So I halved it and did one week of each.</div>
I'n new at this too, but if you're referring to the article I'm thinking about, it said the rep scheme could be something like a week of 15 reps, week of 12, week of 10, week of 8, week of 5 etc. but to keep it simple they used 2 weeks each of 15, 10, and 5 reps. So it wasn't advocating a shorter cycle, just one with less rep range changes. If that's not it, what exactly did the article you read say?
 
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