Hi all.  1st HST workou today!!

[tonesofhome7578]

Hi all. I did my first HST workout today....went well. Take a look at my program and see if there's anything you would change/revise. I also started AAS 2 weeks ago so i've modified my program to start at 70% 8RM and incline from there over 4 weeks and then to 5RM. I've also added volume as per the AAS facts from Bryan's post.
2 sets of Squats 180 x 8 ----- superset Deadlifts 150 x 8
2 sets of leg ext 140 x 8 ----- superset Leg Curls 140 x 8
3 sets incline Bench 175 x 8 ----- superset bent over rows 140x8
3 sets dumbell press (flat) 70 x 8 superset pulldowns 125 x 8
1 set shrugs 180x8 superset stand calf raises 8 x 270
3 set front dumbell shoulder presses 8 x 70 superset incline situps 8x20
3 set lateral raises 8 x 25
2 sets sitting dumbell curls 8 x 35 superset tricep dumbell raise 75 x 8
2 sets hammer curls 8 x 45 superset with pressdowns 8 x 120

It took me 45 minutes in an empty gym with 60 sec rest inbetween sets. I would like to do pullups and military press but i'm recovering from a partial rotator cuff tear. Anyways, what do you all think.
Cheers.

 

[Old and Grey]

That's a heck of a workout to do in 45 minutes considering that 1/2 of that time would be used up with the 60 second rest between sets!    

 

[Owndawg]

Id say you got too many isos, and I think the breaks may bee too short, Id prefer to go for fewer exercises and rather rest more between sets so that Id bee able to get max power for each set.

Are you planning 5`s off your AAS-cycle btw?

 

[tonesofhome7578]

I'm not sure if i'm planning 5's or not at this point. So you think i should get rid of the iso's? Should i maybe add another compound exercise instead. I like lateral raises as my shoulder is still recovering and i feel they help. As far as the rest inbetween i've trained with superset's for the last 4 years even with a 2/day split. I feel that because they're opposing muscle groups that it has little effect on the weight i can push. I still use strict form on every exercise i do.

 

[Lol]

Welcome tones. If you are starting out at 8 reps how are you planning your progresion and over how many weeks? Bryan and Blade talk about guys like Boris finishing their cycle on 8 reps as they got so strong that the loads got a bit scary for only 5 reps but that's because they are huge!

Are your loads in kgs or lbs? I'm guessing lbs because of the iso loads. In which case I think you should focus heavily on compounds until you get your strength up. If you can do dips I think you should add them in instead of flat bench but keep inclines.

Too many arm isos IMHO. Don't worry about those so much. One of each would be fine and you can always alternate if you want more variety. Try to use a bicep and tricep exercise that maximises the stretch in the muscles worked (eg. skulls & incline db curls).

No sense in supersetting squats and deads as you want to really maximise the loads you can shift for those two exercises and they both use similar muscle groups. You will compromise the poundages you can use if you do this.

Rest between sets becomes more of an issue the heavier the loads and the nearer you are to your RMs.

How has progress been over the last 4 years of training? No offence intended but I'm a bit surprised that you are only squatting with 180lbs after all that time (that's why I was wondering if the loads were kgs). You may be a very young guy though? Any more info you can share would be very helpful so we can all be more helpful.

Cheers,

Lol

 

[tonesofhome7578]

I'm currently 215lbs at 10 percent BF and 6 feet tall. The 180 lbs is only 70% of my 8RM which is also just the plates not the bar. My 8RM with squats below parallel is around 315lbs with the bar. I can bench 8 reps with 310lbs and military press 225 around 8 times as well. Now this was about a month and a half ago BEFORE i ripped my left rotator. As far as arm iso's i don't view hammer curls as an iso and i'm doing the other curls inclined already. My main tricep movement is a compound movement (sitting dumbell extension). I agree that skullcrushers are excellent but as stated i have a recovering left rotator cuff and skull crushers and dips are very dangerous in such a state. So should i add more compound exercises then? In the facts it stated when using AAS you were best to bypass the 15's and do more volume per workout. I just cant help feeling if i don't keep the volume up i will sabotage my gains.

 

[Peak_Power]

Man I would have waited for my injury to heal before hitting it hard, but then I wouldn't hit the juice either

The AAS should actually help your injury heal quicker, it'll be interesting to hear how the AAS makes a difference in your gains and progress. Keep us posted.

 

[tonesofhome7578]

Ideally, it would have been best to wait but I'm hoping that this program and the AAS will help it heal.  It basically happened as a result of over-training so i think that the decreased volume and increased frequency of HST will strengthen my RC's.  On off days I'm also doing around 20-30min of rotator specific exercises as well.  As for the AAS this is my 2nd 10 week cycle in 3 years and i'm staying to low androgen compounds to minimize sides.  I know there's always risks but i always do my homework.  I just have that more is more philosophy stuck in my head about training so HST seems too good to be true.  Thanks.

 

[Old and Grey]

<div>
(Peak_Power @ Oct. 16 2006,03:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The AAS should actually help your injury heal quicker, it'll be interesting to hear how the AAS makes a difference in your gains and progress. Keep us posted.</div>
Actually using AAS with an injury can be very bad if you are not extremely careful. Most injuries are tendon or cartilage related and AAS allows your muscles to work with heavier weights than your connective tissue is prepared to hande...especially with an injury. Not a route I would normally recommend although I am sure there are loads of people, especially AAS users, who would disagree with me. Just be careful, especially as you approach new maxes. Roids won't do you any good if you can't work out.    

 

[Peak_Power]

Yes that's an excellent point O&amp;G, tones sounds like a responsible intelligent guy, but many a responsible intelligent guy has injured himself by doing something stupid

So AAS is a double edged sword...who would have thought

tones are you using anything for anti-est?

 

[tonesofhome7578]

Thanks for the responses guys! I work as a nurse practitioner in a busy ER so i am quite familiar with the body and how it works. To be fair, there isn't a lot of info on AAS that we learn in school so most is from 2nd hand sources. I'm actually doing my cycle with my buddy who is a MD in the ER that i work.

Peak, I'm using 2 anti e's. One is called AIFM which is a topical AE used 2 times a day. The other is Nolvadex which really isn't an AE but binds with the receptor in certain places (breast tissue mostly). I probably don't need the Nolvadex but it has also shown to improve your lipid profile while on AAS.

As for my rotators there are 3 exercises that cause me grief that i cannot do:
Pull-ups (my favorite)
Dips
Military Press
I'm trying to base my workouts on compound movements I CAN DO. Now, do you guys think i should decrease the exercises per workout? Will i still make gains? Thanks everyone!

 

[Peak_Power]

Its more diet you have to worry about, as the FAQ explains you need to make sure you eat enough to maximise your gains.

 

[Old and Grey]

It doesn't get any better than having your own Doc as a workout partner!

 

[tonesofhome7578]

Yeah that's always a problem. I eat really clean but it's difficult for me to eat more than 2500 kcal/day. I'm going to add a couple MRP's per day as well.