First time HST'er with some Questions.

corvettecris

New Member
Ok, after 5 years of on/off lifting, and 1 1/2 of really dedicated lifting, I have never heard of HST or the like until about 8 months ago. I really like what I have been reading, and since I am a huge fan of trying new things, I am going to start prepping for my first cycle of HST.

I have been doing a 7 day split of HVT for 4 weeks cycled with 5 weeks of a 7 day split HIT style work, which I have gained 30 lbs with over the past year or so. This type of training has been good for me, but it's pretty time consuming. My stats are currently:

22 y/o
5'10''
198 lbs
11% BF
Arms: 17.5"
Chest: 44.125"
Forearms: 14"
Waist: 32"
Thighs: 24"
Calves: 16"

I am looking to gain at little size all over, primarily in my calves and arms. I'm pretty versed on the whole nutrition thing, so that shouldn't be any problem for me. I will also be using creatine and glutamine supplementation at about 10g 2x daily, but no other type of craziness.

Here are the lifts I have chosen:

Squats/Leg press
Leg Curl/SLDL
Incline Press(~15 deg)/Dips
Military Press/Lat Raise
Chins/Rows (various grips)
Curls (various)
Shrugs
Lying Tri Xtentions/Cable Pushdowns
Seated Calves/Standing Calves

As you can probably see, this is a slightly modified version of the FAQ suggested cycle. If I understand correctly, I should be using the basic 15x1,10x2,5x3 (@ 2 week intervals) principle for my first cycle, right? And this is at only 3 times a week? I have the luxury of AM/PM workouts, is this preferable?

Any other better suggestions?

TIA
Cris
 
Ok, after more reading, I think I'm going to try a little bit different approach. Since AM/PM workouts are great for me, and apparently they are even preferable in respect to frequency and the summation (sp) effect, I decided that they will be better for me. SO, does this look better?

AM
Leg Press
SLDL
Incline Bench
Military Press
Pull Ups
Curls
Shrugs
Seated Calves

PM
Dead Lift
Leg Curl
Dips
DB Shoulder Press
T Bar Row
Skull Crushers
Shrugs
Standin Calves

I would still be using 1 set for the 15's, 2 for the 10's, and 3 for the 5's. This would be a standard M/W/F style split, too, with 4 rest/light aerobic days.

And from what I understand, I should dump the isolations on the 15's (skull crushers and curls)?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]And from what I understand, I should dump the isolations on the 15's (skull crushers and curls)?

Ahh.
happy.gif
I see you read the PIMP MY HST e-BOOK. The dumping of the isolations is up for debate as most of us around here have recently switched to Dan's idea of doing the isolations during the 15's and 10's only as the big and heavy compounds in the 5's and negs should be enough at that point. Again, it is up to you to decide what is best for you.

And as far as the exercise selection goes, I would change the T-bar to a seated row and throw out the leg curls (or treat them like iso's)

-Colby
 
Thanks. I guess I was bass ackwards on that idea, as I though that you were supposed to dump them on the 15's, and do them during the 10's and 5's only. Now I got the idea.

Would you replace the Leg Curls with SLDL, or just drop the hams all together? I put leg curls with deads as opposed to SLDL since SLDL and deads both take a large toll on my lower back. I'm not sure I could do both in one round.

I will take your advice on the Tbars, and replace them with Nautlius seated rows.

Any comments on the AM/PM split, or is this idea best left alone for the first cycle or two?

Thanks for the help,
-Cris
 
Well, doing the AM/PM split for your first cycle is no problem as long as you understand the HST principals, keep your volume in check, and eat a bit more. I didn't notice you were also doing normal deadlifts. Just throw out the leg curls and SLDL all together. Also, I would take out the seated calfs and do shrugs in the AM only. These changes should give you a good amount of volume for the split.
 
Got it. Now I have:

A:
Leg Press
Incline Press(~15 deg)
Standing Military Press
Pull Ups
Curls (various DB)
Shrugs
Lying Tri X-tension

B:
Dead Lift
Dips
DB Press
Seated Row
Curls
Standing Calves
Rev Tri Pull-downs

So, should I do (A) in the AM, and (B) in the PM, or split (A) and (B) up into push/pull and perform half in the morning and half in the evening? I'm assuming I could do (A) in the AM and (B) in the PM due to the lowered volume of both of the splits, not to mention that they would be about 8-9 hours in between them.

Last question: It is the norm to increase daily kcal intake 500 kcals over BMR to gain weight. Does this hold true for 2-a-days, or is something around 800 more accurate?

Thanks,
cris
 
Sorry for the double post, but another question. Volume is a big topic in regards to HST, and I'm trying to get an idea of what exactly is 'ideal'. Obviously it varies from person to person, but what sort of volume are you looking for when setting up a program, and how exactly do you calculate it? Here is what I gather so far, so just correct me if I'm wrong:

On 15's, I'm doing one set per exercise. So, if I lift 6 times a week (AM/PM split on M/W/F) my volume for each exercise is 6 sets x 15 reps, so a grand total of 120 reps a week. Then on the the 10's, which I will be doing 2 sets of each exercise, so 12 sets x 10 reps = 120 reps.

Is this the correct way of calculating volume? So ideally, the # of reps would remain at 120 all the way through the 5's (so instead of 3 sets of 5's, I should be doing 4)?

Just something I was confused on.
 
With the programme your doing, you dont' need to do multiple sets. You should perform the minimum effective volume, for most people not on roids one set is sufficient. As long as you increase the weight every workout you don't have to increase the volum neccessarily. However, on the 5's many people like to do an additional set of 15's for metabolic work- to get nutrients to the muscle.

Increase Volume when;
- Your never sore
- You've stoped growing

Maintain Volume when;
- You always have a feeling of satisying soreness
- You're growing

Decrease Volume when;
- Your too sore
- Your not growing
 
I too am in the process of setting up an HST routine. Due to the holidays and traveling soon, I have to wait to start until mid Feb. Anyway, I attached a spread sheet that I found that might make it easier to set up your weights & increments. Note, if the % calculations (bottom of spread sheet), don't work, you need to install the add-in that allows the MROUND function to work. The spread sheet is as I found it, no changes to weights, etc....
Hope this helps in some way.
Good Luck!!!!!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (corvettecris @ Dec. 28 2005,12:33)]Sorry for the double post, but another question.  Volume is a big topic in regards to HST, and I'm trying to get an idea of what exactly is 'ideal'.  Obviously it varies from person to person, but what sort of volume are you looking for when setting up a program, and how exactly do you calculate it?  Here is what I gather so far, so just correct me if I'm wrong:
On 15's, I'm doing one set per exercise.  So, if I lift 6 times a week (AM/PM split on M/W/F) my volume for each exercise is 6 sets x 15 reps, so a grand total of 120 reps a week.  Then on the the 10's, which I will be doing 2 sets of each exercise, so 12 sets x 10 reps = 120 reps.  
Is this the correct way of calculating volume?  So ideally, the # of reps would remain at 120 all the way through the 5's (so instead of 3 sets of 5's, I should be doing 4)?
Just something I was confused on.

Hi corvettecris,

Please keep in mind that the whole thing about keeping your rep-quota constant is just one of many possible tweaks that you can make to your HST cycle--it is not a must.  Neither is doing a 15s set after your 5s. That, too, is optional should you find that you need it. I think your first HST cycle should be done according to the Official HST Method that Bryan has posted on this site. After that you'll know what to expect throughout the whole cycle.

The best approach is to work through your cycle and monitor how your body is responding all the while.  If you merely demand that you will do 4 sets of everything in the 5s, you may wind up with nagging joint issues--I'd go so far as to say that this is likely based on the number of exercises you've planned.

My recommendation:  use Bryan's recommendation of 1-2 sets during the 1st week of each rep-range, then 1 set during the 2nd week of each rep-range.  If you find that you can easily do more, then do an extra set of your compound exercises, and see how you respond.  Just as an automobile has gauges to monitor engine performance, you must keep an eye on your body performance so that you don't cross over red-line before your cycle is over.

One other thing to keep in mind:  because HST spreads the training volume out across each week, you may feel that you are not working hard enough during each workout.  Don't be fooled by this sensation--you're still doing a lot of work and if you start doing too much, you'll fall apart during the heavier weights once fatigue catches up.  This is why I like the whole engine-gauge analogy.  Ideally, you will come very near red-line performance at the end of your cycle, then you happily SD.
 
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