HST with Clustering Log (goal: 148 to 160lbs)

I completely agree with what you said, iwealth. I think constantly lifting at a RM and trying to advance it isn't conducive to the type of hypertrophy or strength increase noted in the article. That is, unless you have a massive caloric surplus and supplement like crazy. I dunno - no doubt this will work for a segment of the workout population. I think you and I both have cycle layouts that work better for our individual goals.

Regardless - a good experiment, no?
 
I completely agree with what you said, iwealth. I think constantly lifting at a RM and trying to advance it isn't conducive to the type of hypertrophy or strength increase noted in the article. That is, unless you have a massive caloric surplus and supplement like crazy. I dunno - no doubt this will work for a segment of the workout population. I think you and I both have cycle layouts that work better for our individual goals. Regardless - a good experiment, no?
Click to expand...

Yes, I don't regret trying this. But I'm starting to dread these workouts.

I think going into a workout knowing I have to hit a 6RM and being forced to stick to very defined rep ranges (6+2+2+2) causes a lot of mental anguish, particularly if I don't reach a previous max or if the first 2-3 reps feel a bit heavier than expected.

It would seem that I'm eating at a pretty good surplus now. Weighed in at 151.2 pounds this morning from a starting weight of 146.4. Nearly 5 pounds in a little over 3 weeks. Too bad I wasn't eating at this surplus with my previous cycle. I can't really compare results.

2.5 more weeks...then I start over.
 
Workout #15

Incline bench
45, 65, 95, 110, 130x6+2+2+2 (PR)

 Squat
45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 165x6+2+2+2

Standing barbell press
45, 65, 85, 100x6+2+2+2 (PR)

Dips
BW, +10, +20, +30, +45x6+2+2+2

---------------

Improved on the bench and shoulder press today and I was thrilled with that. Squat was pretty good too although the hip flexor pain sucks. Felt strong, good workout.
 
Workout #16

Pullups
BW, +7.5, +15, +22.5, +32.5x6+2+2+2 (PR)
(The 32.5lbs + clothing, etc totalled 191 pounds...in January I could do 1-2 pullups of my 155 pounds of bodyweight...and in mid-2009 I could do zero pullups of my 160-165 pounds of bodyweight)


Deadlift
Skipped

One arm row
45, 55, 65, 75x6+2+2+2

Dumbell shrug
Skipped

-------------

I'm at a crossroads here. I'm experiencing a lot of hip flexor and left-lower back discomfort. The lower back issue is more prevalent when deadlifting and the hip flexor pain when squatting.

I skipped deadlifts out of fear of aggravating something back there. Tough for me to diagnose what caused the problem. Maybe form deterioration due to the weight increasing...maybe my slight build is telling me to cool it with the double deadlift/squat sessions every week.

I'm debating cutting this cycle off at 4 weeks, taking a week to SD (keeping myself loose with cardio, abdominal, and some resistence band workouts), then going back to a HST/Myo-rep program.

I'll see how everything feels Monday. On the bright side I've seen some nice strength increases from this program. I've also been eating a big calorie surplus though so I guess that is to be expected.
 
Unfortunately, I am going to cut this off at 4 weeks instead of 6. My deadlifts and squats are causing me a lot of pain. The squats in my hips and the deadlifts in my left/lower back. I'm sure it is a combination of form issues, lack of flexibility, and the increasing weights.

So this week I plan on:
1) decreasing calories to about 2800-2900/day (maintenence) with somewhat less carbs than normal
2) do a p90x stretch video every day to see if I can address some of these hip flexor issues I've been having
3) run 3 miles on the treadmill every day
4) do some light work with resistance bands to prevent my muscles from completely forgetting what tension feels like
5) test a few rep maxes

Then starting next week I'm going to start a Myo-reps/HST routine that I'll outline here in a day or 2.
 
Aw man, iwealth. When you lift, how much stretching do you do before and after the WO? Also - what's your typical warmup routine for squats and deads?

I sure hope that you heal up soon. No matter what, you made some very nice progress this cycle strength-wise.
 
My warmup routine is pretty much built in to the HCT-12 structure. Before everything I do a 10 minute jog on the treadmill.

Squat
45, 95, 115, 135, 155, 165x6+2+2+2

Means 45x6, 95x6, 115x6, etc...up to my max. Same with deadlifts and everything else. I would have figured that would be enough warmup reps.

I need to stretch though a lot more than just freestyle stretching for 5 minutes before I lift. I hate to say it but bad backs and knees, etc., is a common problem in my family. I'm 30 years old, having never really lifted or worked out in my entire life beyond the past 9 months. Maybe I've just overshot a bit.

--------

Tested my flat bench 1RM today to be between 170-175 pounds. I was pleasantly surprised with that.
 
OK - couple things.

First - if bad backs and bad knees run in your family, you may want to add some iso work to really strengthen those joints. I have horrible knees, and when things get bad (usually after an extended period without squats), I do single-leg extensions. For your back, reverse hyperextensions, regular hypers and stiff legged deadlifts likely should be added to your workout week every so often to give those muscle groups and joints a bit more support for core lifts. Over time, as you get stronger with both squats and deads, those isos will become much less necessary. Stay the course and all will be fine.

Next - stretching. You honestly don't have to go nuts with stretching - you just have to be smart about it. 30 seconds per stretch, moving into the stretch as time goes on, and hitting every muscle for a big lift with the stretches will do the trick. Do the same thing when you're done - ESPECIALLY your knees and back when appropriate.

Lastly - many congrats on the 1RM number! Outstanding work, iwealth.
 
Tim, the hyperextensions/reverse-hypers/SLDL is a fantastic idea. With this new plan I'm only going to deadlift and squat once per week despite doing a 4-day split. I will work in those other exercises on the off-days.

Ironically squats, deads, and any other lower body exercises seem to have no bad effect on my knees. I feel no pain whatsoever. I feel it though when I play racquetball, run, overuse the elliptical...that type of stuff. It's too bad because I really don't want my overall fitness to be hampered by something I may have no control over. I guess you have to play the card you are dealt though and make the best of it.

I have to admit, the strength gains on this HCT-12 program have been pretty phenominal for only 4 weeks. I'm a bit hesitant to give up on it so quickly, but I think the intensity is too much considering I'm still a beginner trying to perfect my form, get my joints up to speed, etc.
 
Here we go again...

I'm doing a Myo-reps style workout, but not quite as rigid on the rep ranges. 4-day push/pull split. I am going to try to auto-regulate my weight increases but use the following structure.

20-25 reps activation - 10 second rest - +5+x+x
15-20 reps - 15 second rest - +5+x+x
12-15 reps – 20 second rest - +4+x+x
10-12 reps – 25 second rest - +3+x+x
6-8 reps – 30 second rest - +2+x+x

The activation sets are whatever weight I can lift for that # of reps. I will increase weights as I reach the higher end of the rep range. When I increase weights and graduate to a new rep range, I'll then stay within that range until I increase weights and graduate into the next rep range. A little confusing...I'll explain if anyone cares :confused:

The +5+x+x means I will do a max of 5 reps in a cluster and continue until I'm too beat up to continue.

I will be using the following exercises:

Push
Incline bench
Barbell shoulder press
Dips
Squat
Cable tricep pushdown

Pull
Pullups
Deadlifts
One arm rows
Shrugs
Some curl variation that I haven't decided on yet

Squats/Deadlifts will be treated differently on this cycle, and I'll only be doing each once per week. I'll be rotating in some hyperextensions and SLDL's on my off days. I also won't be using the activation+cluster structure for squats/deads. 3 sets, as many reps as I am comfortable with until I'm physically able to approach these exercises hardcore.

Diet 3250 calories daily. Clean, 200g carb/day max. Except maybe one or two days/week when I go out to eat...maybe 250g carbs those days :mad:

---------------------------
Workout #1:

Incline bench - 75lbsx25+5+4+1
Shoulder press - 45lbsx25+5+4+3
Dips - 154lbsx25+5+3+2
Squat - 95lbsx10,10,10
Tricep push - 30lbsx26+5+4+3
-----------------------------

I know those weights look puny, but holy crap was I ever wiped out from those activation sets. And those clusters were max effort. I picked the weights well...everything worked out to about 25 reps. Of course that means the weights go up a bit on everything next workout.

I took it very easy on the squats. Sadly I have to. Even did them with one of those big exercise balls under my to make sure I was going parallel. I'm sure my legs won't grow much this cycle but I'll be damned if I don't get past the issues I've been having with squats and deadlifts.

One thing I absolutely need to do with this workout is keep consistent breaks between exercises. I may go ahead and take 5 minute breaks between these things considering how fast the sets are and how much of a beating they put on me.
 
Workout #2 (Tues, 8/31)

Pullups 154lbsx10+4+3+3+2
Deadlift - 115lbsx10,10,10
One arm rows - 40lbsx28+5+5+4+3+2
Shrugs - 45lbsx18+5+4+4+3
Bicep (skip)

Wow this workout is tough. Those extremely high rep activation sets are awesome but hard. I decided to do pullups with my bodyweight rather than try to use assistance. I'm in the 10-12 rep range there, so once I hit 12 reps on that activation set I'll add some weight and see if I stay in the 10-12 range or drop to a lower range.

I had absolutely no energy to attempt a bicep targeting exercise so I didn't. No pain on deadlifts, concentrated hard on my form. I will probably up to 135 lbs next workout though so I can work with the larger plates.
 
Workout #3 (Thursday, 9/2)

Incline bench - 77.5lbsx24+5+3+1
Shoulder press - 47.5lbsx23+5+4+3+2
Dips - 158.5lbsx22+4+3+2
Tricep pushdown - 32.5lbsx23+5+3+3+2

No squat today. Only once per week.

I think I'll up the weights a smidge next workout and try to get closer to 20 reps for that activation set. Then probably stick with those weights for another workout.
 
Workout #4

Pullups 154lbsx10+4+3+3+2
One arm rows 45lbsx25+5+5+3+3+2
Dumbell shrugs 45lbsx20+5+4+4+4+2
Dumbell curls 15lbsx25+5+3+3+2

I'll be upping the weight on the rows, shrugs, and curls next workout. No progress on pullups, so I'll be keeping it at bodyweight.
 
Workout #5

Incline bench 80lbsx22+5+4+2
Shoulder press 50lbsx21+4+3+2
Dips 161lbsx18+4+3+2
Tri pushdown 35lbsx20+5+3+2
Squats 100x10,10,10
 
Workout #6 (Tues, 9/7)

Pullups 155lbsx10+4+4+3+3+2 (small increase in cluster reps)
One arm row 50lbsx22+5+4+4+4+3
Shrugs 50lbsx17+5+5+4+3+3
Bicep curl 17.5lbsx23+5+3+3+2+2

Did not deadlift...will be doing that tomorrow.

I really do enjoy this workout. The sets totally wipe me out. It's amazing to me how difficult that 5th rep is on the first cluster set after pumping out 20+ reps in the activation set...10 seconds isn't much to recover I guess.

My weight is holding around 150 lbs...149.4 this morning.

My calorie intake has been closer to 2900 daily versus my 3200 target. I need to force the surplus. I just feel terrible when I do ha. On a side note, it is absolutely amazing the difference eating clean makes in maintaining weight. I did 2000 calories daily for 6 months with intense exercise to get from 167 to 145. Skinny-fat to skinny. But for the past 3 months I don't think I've held back much with food quantity - just upgraded the quality significantly - and gaining the weight back has been an absolute chore.

I guess cutting out a daily half gallon of sweetened iced tea, ice cream, and going from 80% carbs to 25% carbs makes a big difference.
 
Workout #7 (Thurs, 9/9)

Incline bench
82.5lbs x 22+5+2+2 (+2.5lbs -2reps)

Shoulder press
52.5lbs x 21+4+3+2 (+2.5lbs +0reps)

Dips
161lbs x 19+4+3+3+2 (+0lbs +4reps)

Tricep pushdown
37.5lbs x 17+5+4+3+2 (+2.5lbs +1rep)

Starting to keep track of my weight increases from week to week along with total rep count.
 
Workout #8 (Friday, 9/10)

Pullups
154lbs x 11+4+3+3+3+3+2 (+0lbs +3reps)

One arm row
52.5lbs x 17+5+4+4+3+3 (+2.5lbs -6reps)

Shrugs
50lbs x 18+5+5+5+4+3 (+0lbs +3reps)

Dumbbell curl
20lbs x 15+5+4+3+3+2 (+2.5lbs -7reps)

---

Did some deadlifts on Saturday...a few sets of 135 pounds. Did 1 rep of 185 to make sure I can still pull that sort of weight.

My left lower back still doesn't like these, even at 135 pounds. Not tightness...not a muscle pain...feels like some sort of bone on bone twinge. Not particularly painful, just uncomfortable.
 
Workout #9 (Monday, 9/13)

Incline bench
85lbs x 21+5+2+2 (+2.5lbs -1reps)

Shoulder press
55lbs x 20+4+3+2 (+2.5lbs -1reps)

Dips
163lbs x 20+3+3+2 (+2lbs -3reps)

Tricep pushdown
37.5lbs x 19+4+3+3+2 (+0lbs +0reps)

Squats
135lbs x 10, 10, 7

Very happy with my progress on squat form. The 135 feels very light and my reps are slow and controlled. Stopped at 7 that last set because I definitely had the bar positioned strangely on my back and my left arm started to fall asleep :mad:
 
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