How does my HST cycle look?

[imported_hotterdog]

someone posted this on another site for e mesocycles

Week 1: 15 Rep Mesocycle - 2x15 (5-10 lbs increments)
Week 2: 15 rep Mesocycle - 1x15 (10-20 lbs increments)
Week 3: 10 rep Mesocycle - 4x10 (5-10 lbs increments)
Week 4: 10 rep Mesocycle - 2x10 (10 lbs increments)
Week 5: 10 rep Mesocycle - 1x10 (20 lbs increments)
Week 6: 5 rep Mesocycle - 5x5 (5 lbs increments)
Week 7: 5 rep Mesocycle - 2x5 (10 lbs increments)
Week 8: 5 rep Mesocycle - 1x5 (20 lbs increments)


wk 6 5 sets of 5 reps looks a bit too many sets for a newbie like
me, issit ok if i were to lower it to say 3 sets?

& how does this workout look? (alternate between wks ie.
workout A done on m & f then workout b done on w then switch
over nxt wk)

workout A
full squats, s.l. deadlift, incline bench, barbell row, behind e neck press,
barbell curls, close grip bench press, barbell shrugs, calf raise, abs work

workout B
front squats, leg curls, decline bench, deadlift, side lateral/rear lateral,
preacher curls, skullcrushers, dumbbell shrugs, calf raise, abs work

i'm suffering from a cough now & recovered from flu,
so only managed to get my 15 rep max today at e gym.
issit a must to find my 10 & 5 rep max or can i refer
to my logbook to estimate e rep ranges? would it be accurate?

my last 3 mths workout was based on HIT but only manage to keep my basic shape & not grow on it.
did cardio too so lost some fats. appreciate any help.

 

[UFGatorDude30]

I still don't completely understand it. Are you reaching your rep maxes at the end of every week, or at the end of each rep range's meso cycle. 20 pound increments sound pretty large too IMHO. What site are you finding this on so I can take a look at it and maybe help you out a little more, as I'm confused

.

 

[imported_hotterdog]

<div>
(UFGatorDude30 @ Jun. 14 2007,11:55)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I still don't completely understand it.  Are you reaching your rep maxes at the end of every week, or at the end of each rep range's meso cycle.  20 pound increments sound pretty large too IMHO.  What site are you finding this on so I can take a look at it and maybe help you out a little more, as I'm confused  

.</div>
sorry to confuse u. I'm quite new to all this myself.

my rep maxes should be reached by e end of each
rep range's meso cycle. (wk 2, fri for 15 reps to start off)

website source :
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=2290611

it's on e 1st thread, i suppose e poster modify it, but
according to what i read &amp; what everyone else say
doing &gt;2 sets will only burn calories &amp; not fuel e growth
process. if ta's the case, why do they advocate progressive sets eg. 1x 15, 2x10, 3x5.

i have some questions from there as well, but nobody
seems to be answering them, maybe u guys could help?

&quot;another question,

if let's say u plan for 15 rep cycle

wk 1, mon - 50 ibs
wk 1, wed - 60 ibs
wk 1, fri - 70 ibs
wk 2, mon - 80 ibs
wk 2, wed - 90 ibs
wk 2, fri - 100 ibs

but if i had like 2 ex to switch around eg.
ex a - inlince bench/ ex b - flat bench
won't tat mean each wk u only get to hit like
alt poundages? eg. 50, 70 ibs in tat wk for ex a?

how to overcome it so u hit 50 to 100 ibs all e way?&quot;

thanks for reading

 

[Fausto]

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">why do they advocate progressive sets eg. 1x 15, 2x10, 3x5.</div>

Welcome

Because, it keeps volume more or less constant...make sense?

To get around your second question, plan your program into a calculator (if you don't have one download one from here, there are lots including one of mine).

When alternating you simply will have three hits on that exercise as opposed to the planned six, so plan your progression for three times (maybe you want to go for 15% instead of 5%).

One last suggestion for newbies...please go and read the FAQ e book and all other relevant info on this website not on other websites...please, before throwing these questions at us.

I have just answered a very, very similar question on another thread!

 

[imported_hotterdog]

Ok, did some reading &amp; calculations, decide to do this for my 1st HST
cycle. any comments is appreciated.

nxt wk (17 to 23 jun), do nothing but 3 alt days of cardio

actual HST starts from 24 jun that wk, on alt days of mon,wed,fri

calculations are based on 70% of end of each mesocycle's max
(eg. 70% 100 ibs means i start with 70 ibs at wk 1 mon &amp; end with
wk 6 100 ibs for 15 reps) here goes:

squats
15s- 70 80 90 90 100 100
10s- 110 120 130 140 150 155
5s- 155 155 165 165 175 175

s l deadlift
15s- 70 80 90 90 100 100
10s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
5s- 120 120 130 140 150 155

incline bench
15s- 70 80 90 90 100 100
10s- 100 110 120 130 140 145
5s- 120 130 140 150 155 155

barbell row (poundages look weird cause i kinda weak in this ex)
15s- 70 80 90 90 100 100
10s- 100 100 110 110 120 120
5s- 120 120 130 140 145 145

behind e neck press
15s- 52.5 57.5 62.5 67.5 72.5 75
10s- 75 85 95 100 110 110
5s- 100 110 120 120 130 130

barbell shrugs
15s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
10s-120 120 130 140 150 155
5s-155 155 165 165 175 175

barbell curls
15s- 38.5 43.5 48.5 52.5 55 55
10s- 52.5 55 60 65 70 75
5s- 70 75 80 90 100 100

close grip bench press
15s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
10s- 120 130 140 150 155 155
5s- 155 155 165 165 175 175

ok what do i do for
a) deadlifts (which i was adviced not to do often to prevent
burnout so i was thinkn 1x a wk probably end of e wk but
how many reps range so i can target e weight to use)

b) side laterals (which my gym poundages increment are
pretty weird, 2.5kg, 5kg, 6kg, 7.5kg, 10 kg then e increment
starts going 2.5 kg, in short i lack e 1 kg increment for this ex
if going by e calculations), calves (calf machine is increment
of 20 ibs, no 10 ibs available), abs (can just use bodyweight?)

i know it's a ton of questions but i really like to hear some
comments from u experts out there, thanks a million!!!

 

[Fausto]

I thought I'd answered this yesterday but something mustr have happened.

Workout looks ok, except behind neck presses, IMO they're not too good for you. Rather do military presses, opinions do vary though!

SLDL is not bad if you want to develop your hams,else do full deads. SLDL's are ok foreach day + squats, full deads are not once p/week is ample, in which case you'd progress 10% at a time, do not worry about the times vs. squats.

Normally we would not recommend lateral raises but rather military press, however the rule is 5% increases p/workout for isos,in the case of progression not being able to be done preciselly, simply repeat weights at least twice, then progress to the next one,in the case of the bigger jumps, repeat 4 workouts or so then progress.

 

[imported_hotterdog]

ok hi sorry it's me again, i just used this to calcuate
my rep maxes which I think this round is more accurate

http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=18

anyway, i've attached e HST cycle in word format
hope u dun get confused. just wondering if i should stick
to SL deadlift or regular deadlifts? can't decide.

 

[Fausto]

Looks fine to me

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">just wondering if i should stick to SL deadlift or regular deadlifts? </div>

SLDL's work the hammies and lower back, Deadlifts work the whole body it is a matter of choice,but if you're a begginer I'd regular deads.

 

[TunnelRat]

<div>
(hotterdog @ Jun. 19 2007,12:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">anyway, i've attached e HST cycle in word format
hope u dun get confused. just wondering if i should stick
to SL deadlift or regular deadlifts?</div>
I'd forego the behind the neck press. I find that over time it gives me shoulder problems. The regular front press works just fine and does pretty much the same thing.

With regard to SLDL's or Deadlifts, I can say that adding Deadlifts to my workouts has resulted in significant strength and weight gains for me.

 

[imported_hotterdog]

fausto: new to HST but not bodybuilding. thanks for pointers tink I'll do deadlifts, overall more benefical.

tunnelrat: mm, i tink there will be ppl supportn/against
behind e neck press vs military press. i got no shoulder problems &amp; read that if u dun go beyond half of yr ears
should be fine, but thanks for e warning.

one more thing i forgot to ask is if i were to use
load sets ie. 1x15, 2x10,3x5, i modify it to
1x15, 2x10, 2x5 issit fine? cause I'm afraid by the
time e poundages load up to e 5 reps, 3 sets of 5
will be too much for e CNS or me to handle.

 

[Fausto]

hotterdog

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">one more thing i forgot to ask is if i were to use load sets ie. 1x15, 2x10,3x5, i modify it to 1x15, 2x10, 2x5 issit fine? cause I'm afraid by the time e poundages load up to e 5 reps, 3 sets of 5 will be too much for e CNS or me to handle.</div>

What Bryan recommends here is that you drop down on the second week of 5's and negatives, up to you though, if I were you I'd go for 3 sets and see how it goes, afterall some volume is necessary to induce proper hypertrophy.

 

[imported_hotterdog]

ok understood, so i'll try e 3x5 in e end.
erm when they say u can go for negatives or
carry on e 5 reps in wk 7 &amp; 8, (if i wanna carry on
e 5s)

does it mean
u repeat everything e same (poundage wise)
from wk 5 &amp; 6 or just from wk 6 poundage?
(since e increment moves up from wk 5 &amp;
if u do wk 7 at wk 5's poundage is a bit like
moving backwards?)

 

[Fausto]

...dog

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">does it mean u repeat everything the same (poundage wise) from wk 5 &amp; 6 or just from wk 6 poundage?
(since the increment moves up from wk 5 &amp; if u do wk 7 at wk 5's poundage is a bit like moving backwards?)</div>

You can repeat for a week or so but the idea is to keep &quot;pushing the envelope&quot;, you get my drift? So you'll strat increasing poundage and slowly moving into 3 RM or even 2 or 1 RM and doing 5 reps even if clustered. That means your strength goes up, and you establish new RM's and Personal records.

The next cycle you'll be doing bigger poundages, intially this can be astounding (strength increases) but tapers down as you become conditioned and the increases are less but are good nevertheless!

 

[imported_hotterdog]

ok i'm into my last week of 3 sets of 3 after
which i'm taking the entire next week off.
(SD)

i'm going to start my 2nd cycle after tat.
for easy calcuation, i've decided to up
everything by 10 ibs be it big/small muscle
group.

the end of the 15 reps &amp; 5 reps projected
are 10 ibs each heavier

eg. squats 15 reps will be at 130 ibs
&amp; 5 reps will be at 185 ibs.

(the projected 5 reps max is
concidentally in my current
4 reps workout at wk 7.)

took me the entire day to redo
some caculation template as
i wanted instant conversion
between ibs &amp; kg as the weights
in my gym are a mixture but mostly kg
so it's irritating having to calculate &amp; calcuate.

wanted to have a A/B workout but figured
it was too troublesome so hell with it.

any comments pls? thank u !!!

 

[RUSS]

YOUR PLAN-
squats
15s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
10s- 135 135 145 145 155 155
5s- 165 165 175 175 185 185

incline bench
15s- 80 80 90 100 110 110
10s- 110 115 120 120 130 130
5s- 135 135 145 145 155 155

barbell row
15s- 80 80 90 100 110 110
10s- 110 115 120 120 130 130
5s- 135 135 145 145 155 155

behind e neck press
15s- 60 65 70 75 80 85
10s- 85 90 95 100 105 105
5s- 105 110 110 115 120 120

barbell shrugs
15s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
10s- 135 135 145 145 155 155
5s- 165 165 175 175 185 185

barbell curls
15s- 55 60 70 70 80 80
10s- 80 85 90 90 95 95
5s- 95 95 100 100 110 110

close grip bench press
15s- 90 100 110 120 130 130
10s- 135 135 145 145 155 155
5s- 165 165 175 175 185 185

Deadlift
15s- 145 165 175 185 195 205
10s- 205 215 225 235 245 245
5s- 250 260 270 280 290 290



A couple thoughts - Shrugs may be redundant and equal CNS sapping &quot;junk volume&quot; , as you've indicated 3x/wk deads , which I think is fine FOR NOW at those numbers - although you are right on the brink of when I would drop to 2x/wk - be sure to keep the option open of dropping a set (of deads) during the latter sets of 5's if necessary for recovery. Next cycle your numbers will be such that I would recomend dropping deadlift frequency - perhaps A/Bing with squats.
Also along the same reasoning I would drop CG bench and incline for either dips or flat (one or the other), not only will you get more mass building bang for your buck but seeing as you already have an overhead pressing movement in your plan , your tri's would be in danger of being worked to the point of diminishing returns , this will in turn effect all your pressing movements as your only as strong as the weakest link.
Recomending that someone drop curls always seems to stir up hostility , but honestly if your 5rm row is 155 - that would indicate a 1rm of 170 -178 , plenty of room to keep directing the energy towards bringing those up before the time to assess prioritizing bi's would be most productive - but really ( as the rest) - up to you.
Although the PC thing would be to lecture you about behind the neck press - I'll just say that load is king when mass building and regular military over head enables greater weight.
Hey , you asked for comments!!!

Good luck and have a great cycle!

 

[imported_hotterdog]

hi russ,

sorry me bad, forgot to metion this.
for deadlifts, i'll drop them to 2x a wk
when i reach e 10s &amp; 5s cause with my
ending 1st cycle, I carried on my deadlifts
3x a wk when i reached my 10s &amp; I paid
the price for it by falling sick, after tat
I only did them 2x a wk.

for the alternation of exercise, someone
did mention that since we'll only be like
tapping 3x instead of the 6x u pyramid
yr weight up, the recommendation would be
to up it by 15% instead of 5% each time.

so if i had say squats at
100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150
i should be doing 100, 120, 140 OR
110, 130, 150?

dropping bb curls due to rows being working
them, it doesn't matter for the grip right?

i might consider the military press vs the
behind the neck press, just worried it'll
work my front delts too much.