First HST cycle. Need advice/critiquing help!

[befitnessnow]

When I first heard of HST, I thought it was a "program" or a "routine" and when I learned it was really just a set of principles that were applied and that you created your own workout based off of those principles, I knew I had to try it. That said, I still am not sure that I've pieced it together properly, so I am going to post the cycle that I put together along with my understanding of HST for you HST pros to critique and hopefully help me out with.

Exercises (8);
Squats - 15RM/185, 10RM/205, 5RM/225
DB Bench Press - 15RM/75, 10RM/80, 5RM/85
Seated Leg Curl - 15RM/90 (Am not sure about 10 and 5 RM's)
DB Shoulder Press - 15RM/60, 10RM/65, 5RM/70
BB Row - 15RM/135, 10RM/160, 5RM/185
EZ-Bar Curl - 15RM/70, 10RM/80, 5RM/85
Cable Pushdown - 15RM/60, 10RM/65, 5RM/70
Standing Calf Raise - 15RM/150 (Again, not sure about 10 and 5 RM's)

I haven't done Leg Curls or Standing Calf Raises in awhile, so I'm really not too sure what those maxes will be. I was thinking that after I met my 15 RM's, I could figure out the 10 and 5 RM's accordingly. I originally was going to use SLDL's for my Hamms but I don't want to overwhelm myself on this first run, as the last 6 months my training has admittedly been all over the place due to life. Things have calmed done and I am ready to follow a a routine and get back to results.

So week 1 would look as follows...

Monday

Squats - 135/15
DB Bench Press - 50/15
Seated Leg Curl - 40/15
DB Shoulder Press - 35/15
BB Row - 85/15
EZ-Bar Curl - 50/15
Cable Pushdown - 30/15 (his cable machine doesn't have lower weight, would it be alright to do 30 for Tuesday's workout as well?)
Standing Calf Raise - 75/15

The following workouts will increase by 5-10 pounds each workout until the 15 RM's are met at the end of week 2. The same process is to be repeated for the 10 and 5 RM's.

Weeks 1-2 will be one set of 15
Weeks 3-4 will be two sets of 10
Weeks 5-6 will be three sets of 5

Will the two sets of ten and the three sets of five all be of the same weight? Do you just warm-up enough to do the same weight two/three times in a row or do you ramp up after warm-up(s)? I'm having trouble phrasing this question but hopefully it makes sense.

Clearly, after writing this, I realize that I do not know exactly how to piece together a proper HST but I feel like I'm close and just need a little direction. Or maybe I do have it down and just overlooking. I have read through most of the stickies and the official website (very scientifically elaborate) several times. I'm still browsing through the forums though and reading whatever I can.

Any help and/or ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

 

[grunt11]

Looks like you’ve done your homework so there’s only a couple things I’d mention.

The following workouts will increase by 5-10 pounds each workout until the 15 RM's are met at the end of week 2.

Just remember you don’t have to stop at 2 weeks or when you reach your RM for that micro-cycle. You will likely gain strength over each micro-cycle so by the end your RM could be higher so IMO you should keep each micro-cycle going until you reach your new RM for that rep range. No reason to shortchange yourself if you can squeeze in a extra increment or two.

Will the two sets of ten and the three sets of five all be of the same weight?

Yes they should be. Even if you can’t make the targeted reps on the last set the main idea is to add weight (progressive loading) each time if you can.

Do you just warm-up enough to do the same weight two/three times in a row or do you ramp up after warm-up(s)?

Do whatever warm ups you need to feel comfortable or safe at your working weight for that session. I tend to do more warm ups the heavier the target weight for that day and the earlier in the session. I also taper off the number of warm up reps as I get closer to the target weight for that exercise for the day. But no need to increase the weight past what your target for the day is.

At first this may seem really light especially during the 15s and early 10s but it will start to feel heavy soon enough. If you want to get the most out of the early lighter weight then you can explode the weight upward in the concentric part of the movement and take a slower 2-3 second eccentric.

An probably one of the most important things is to eat right. No matter how good you routine is you won’t gain anything if you aren’t eating enough. So spend as much time researching nutrition as you have routines if you really want to succeed.

One more thing you may find useful is to start a log here and post what you are doing. I’ve found it’s been a great help to get feedback as I’m going along. Gotten some very good ideas on how to do some things from the others here.