LDU's 1st HST training cycle (LOG)

[LDU]

session 2 of the 5rep max 2nd half

Rack Pull Deadlifts 140kg/308lbs x 5 reps, 145kgx 2 sets x 5 reps 319lbs PB 145kg/319lbs
Barbell shrugs 120kg/264lbs, 2 sets of 5 reps
Lying Tri press, 45kg/99lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps + Drop set, 35kg/77lb x 15 reps

Been feeling tired in the mornings lately, feeling real drowsy for the first 20 minutes im awake. Once into the session im not too bad. Getting around 6.5hrs sleep each night, need to try increase that.

 

[Lol]

Congrats on the PB - for two sets of 5 too!

Agree about sleep; if you can get 8 hours you should feel the difference. Wish I could take my own advice!

 

[LDU]

Congrats on the PB - for two sets of 5 too!

Agree about sleep; if you can get 8 hours you should feel the difference. Wish I could take my own advice!

thanks Lol, feeling strong at the moment, im heading for 150kg deads next session!

Yer i need more, its tough with work, wife, 2 year old. Getting up each day at 5.40am really hurts me!

 

[LDU]

Session 3 of the 5RM

Did the full session today as i want to take the weekend off to recover a little. Been felling pretty tired and have some lower back soreness. Feels like a nerves been pinched and makes my right leg feel a bit heavy and tingly. Anyone know anything about this type of feeling/soreness?

Decline bench (smith) 80kg/176lbs. 3 sets, 5 reps, 5 reps and 4 reps. Dont know the bar weight.
Pulldowns 87.5kg/192.5lbs x 2 sets x 5 reps
Shoulder press 30kg/66lb per dumbell x 3 reps. 27.5kg/60.5lbs x 4 reps, DS 17.5kg/38.5lb per DB x 8 reps. the 30's felt real heavy today, must be carrying over some fatigue, not to sure.
Bicep curls 45kg/99lbs x 2 sets x 5,4 reps. DS 35kg/77lbs x 5 reps, DS 25kg/55lbs x 6 reps. Like shoulder press struggled with this today.
Tri push down, 35kg/77lbs x 5 reps, 38kg/83.6lbs x 5 reps, 41kg/90.2lbs, DS38x 8 reps, DS 24x 7 reps
T bar row, 110kg/242lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Barbell Shrugs 80kg/176lbs x 2 sets (smith machine, no barbells free) used less weight as it felt real dodgey unhooking it off.
Ab crunch 75kg/165lb x 2 sets of 12
Leg raises x 1 sets of 10

notes
-Looking noticeably fuller, shirts feeling alot tighter
-tendonitis or whatever it is in forearms was pretty full on today when releasing grip from the EZ bar when curling.
-Lower back was alright during session, aggrevated a little now sitting down
-Previous bicep injury/soreness when doing pulldowns is now completely gone.
-General fatigue is ok from the last few weeks of 6 days on, 1 off. Pretty tired upon waking, however it is 5.30am. Not too bad during the day.

 

[Bryan Haycock]

Congrats on the progress, however I would encourage you to take care of your low back and forearms. You can take care of your low back with leg press, extensions and curls or even split squats. For your forearms, I would use dumbbells as long as your forearms are bothering you.

Even though you are making gains (e.g. shirts fitting tighter) it's not worth it, nor is it necessary, to ignore signs from your joints that they need a break. Like I said above, a break doesn't necessarily mean to stop training a bodypart, it can be as simple as switching from using a bar to using dumbbells.

Just my $.02

 

[LDU]

Congrats on the progress, however I would encourage you to take care of your low back and forearms. You can take care of your low back with leg press, extensions and curls or even split squats. For your forearms, I would use dumbbells as long as your forearms are bothering you.

Even though you are making gains (e.g. shirts fitting tighter) it's not worth it, nor is it necessary, to ignore signs from your joints that they need a break. Like I said above, a break doesn't necessarily mean to stop training a bodypart, it can be as simple as switching from using a bar to using dumbbells.

Just my $.02

Thanks for the info Bryan, Ill put that advice into action next session.

Appreciate all the advice yourself and others have given me.

 

[electric]

Did the full session today as i want to take the weekend off to recover a little. Been felling pretty tired and have some lower back soreness. Feels like a nerves been pinched and makes my right leg feel a bit heavy and tingly. Anyone know anything about this type of feeling/soreness?

At what frequency have you been lifting? It seems that you are splitting your workouts and training everyday. If that is the case I'd recommend you unsplit them and give your body a day's rest between workouts. Specially considering you are using high intensity. Reduce volume if you need, remember that with higher intensity you need lower volume.

 

[bamx]

Keep up the good work. I start tomorrow my 5's but I dont think i have seen much of a difference like you. I have lost a couple of pounds but I dont know if its fat as i am already skinny (5'9 158 pounds) I will measure at the end of the cycle and see. Any gain will make me happy. Also, i had nights where i just cant sleep but i still get my full sleep in the weekend or some other day and my diet is not as awesome as yours , is more basic ( rice with something, whatever there is available). Anyways, I take this first cycle more as a test drive than to expect significant results. I apologize if I hijacked this thread, I just felt lonely with my HST routine

 

[LDU]

At what frequency have you been lifting? It seems that you are splitting your workouts and training everyday. If that is the case I'd recommend you unsplit them and give your body a day's rest between workouts. Specially considering you are using high intensity. Reduce volume if you need, remember that with higher intensity you need lower volume.

ive been doing 6 days on, one off. Just worked in a little better time wise. I agree with you and think i need to go back to the full workout each session with a day off between. Felt pretty good today with the 2 days over the weekend rest but still carrying some fatigue.

Ive only got 2.5 sessions left before SD, with my work schedule it will be easier to continue the 6/1 split for the last 2 sessions, my back is feeling better and im replacing deads with back extensions, also i used DB's today for arms and the tendonitis was barely noticable so i think i can manage it safely for the rest of the week.

Everything felt fine until the 5RM week, so next cycle i will change it to one on/one off split when i get to the 5RM or Negs.

Also ive dropped the volume back on most muscle groups 1 set as you have suggested.

Thanks for the advice i appreciate it.

 

[LDU]

Keep up the good work. I start tomorrow my 5's but I dont think i have seen much of a difference like you. I have lost a couple of pounds but I dont know if its fat as i am already skinny (5'9 158 pounds) I will measure at the end of the cycle and see. Any gain will make me happy. Also, i had nights where i just cant sleep but i still get my full sleep in the weekend or some other day and my diet is not as awesome as yours , is more basic ( rice with something, whatever there is available). Anyways, I take this first cycle more as a test drive than to expect significant results. I apologize if I hijacked this thread, I just felt lonely with my HST routine

Hi, thanks for dropping in.

If you have lost weight then you must be in a cloric deficit and therefore have no real chance of building any muscle. I know from taking measurements and monitoring my diet that unless i get an excess of calories each day i wont gain any muscle at all. For your weight try get around 2800calories per day and monitor you weight weekly, i aim for a gain of around 2lbs. I dont gain that ill increase, i gain more ill decrease calories. I use www.fitday.com You gotta get your diet right.

As you can see by my measurements taken a few posts back i gained a good amount and its my first cycle.

good luck

 

[LDU]

session 4 of the 5RM - 1st half

Decline smith bench
80kg/176lb x 3 sets, 5, 5, 4reps not including bar.
Drop Set 60kg/132lbs x 5 reps
Drop Set 40kg/88x 8 reps

Pulldowns,
90kg/198lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps

Shoulder Press,
27.5kg/60.5lbs per DB x 3 sets, 5, 5, 4reps
Drop Set 17.5kg/38.5lbs per DB x 5 reps
Drop set 12.5kg/27.5lbs Per DB x 8 reps

DB Bicep Curls
17.5kg/38.5lbs per DB x 3 sets x 5 reps
Drop set 12.5kg/27.5lbs x 8 reps

Ab crunch machine, 85kg/187lbs 2 sets x 12 reps

can really notice the size increase especially in arms and shoulders, the biggest ive been. Will take final progress pic after session 6.

 

[bamx]

Yeah, if it were for me I would eat all the calories I could. I am not working right now so money is an issue, I should be better once I get a job. Your progress is really inspiring, keep it up. Hopefully i'll post my progress sometime soon! it may not be as impressive as you but hey, at least I got some pictures!! everybody like pictures right?

 

[LDU]

it makes it tougher without the extra dollars, foods like rice, eggs, chicken, milk are relatively cheap and can make bulking a little less expensive. Or if you can afford a weight gainer protein that can also help out and isnt that expensive. I have a friend who has trained for 3 years, really hard, every week, and has hardly increased strength or size at all beacuase he eats about 1000 calories less than he need to maintain size. Diet is so important. My diet is ok, calorie wise, i have too many protein shakes and need more whole foods, however if i dont have the time the choice is a shake or nothing.

Post some pics, then we can see the great progress you'll be making.

any questions just ask mate

 

[LDU]

Session 4 , 2nd half.

Back extensions 3sets , Body weight + 5kg x 8 reps x 3 sets.
Just took these easy as ive never done them before, replacing deadlifts for a while to nurse my lower back. These felt great.

Shrugs, 100kg/220lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps. Nice and slow reps.

Tri push down, 41kg/91lbs x 5 reps x 1 set, 43kg/94.6lbs x 2 sets x 5 reps PB. Drop Set 31kg/68lbs x 8 reps, Drop set 21kg/46.2lbs x 7 reps

Ab crunch, 75kg/165lbs x 10 reps x 3 sets.

2 more sessions to go before SD!

 

[LDU]

Session 5 1st half.

Weight 93.6kg/205.92lbs

Flat barbell chest.
90kg/198lbs x 3 sets 5 reps.
Struggled today, weight felt really heavy, was hoping to be able to increase the weight but not just yet. Did flat bench as the decline was being used.

Seated DB Shoulder Press
27.5kg/60.5lbs per DB x 3 sets x 5 reps. Drop set 17.5kg/38.5lbs x 5 reps, Drop set 12.5kg/27.5lbs x 5 reps
As with bench just scraped out my 3 sets of 5 reps, possibly the flat bench took more out of the delts than i realised.

DB Bicep Curls
17.5kg/38.5lbs x 3 sets of 5 reps. Drop set 15kg/33lbs x 5 reps, Drop set 10kg/22lbs x 5 reps
Put biceps before pulldowns today and was alot better, form was really good and will up weight to 20kg/44lbs next session.

Pulldowns

90kg/198lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets

Seated Calve Raises
80kg/176lbs x 3 sets of 5 reps.

After working legs at light weights and really high reps for the last 12 months due to injurys, i feel they have recovered and are in good enough shape to start adding them back into proper training.
I got massive cramp though on the 5th rep of the 2nd and 3rd set, no sure of why this happened.

Squat machine Done yesterday but forgot to list
150kg/330lbs x 3 sets x 5 reps
Slight knee soreness when squatting, ok after.

So im back into legs, so far so good. Last time i did calf raises i had alot of pain through the front of my shins at less weight and today was all good apart from the cramp.

Ab machine 90kg/198lbs x 2 sets x 12 reps

Also for fun tried some chin ups, as im training at a gym over the colder month i should utilise having somewehre to do them.

Chin up x Body weight x 5 reps

 

[LDU]

Session 5, 2nd half

 

[LDU]

Session 5, 2nd half

Back extensions, 9kg+BW x 10 reps x 3 sets

dumbell Shrugs 40kg/88lbs per dumbell x 3 sets x 8 reps. Couldnt get on the barbells for heavy shrugs so did what i could.

Tri push down ri push down, 43kg/94.6lbs x3 sets x 5 reps . Drop Set 31kg/68lbs x 8 reps, Drop set 21kg/46.2lbs x 7 reps

Ab crunch 85kg/187lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps


Lower back still has that pinched nerve feeling, also got a tingling feeling in my left hand, only the middle index and thumb. I did some research and seems alot like carpel tunnel. Im thinking ill have tomorrow off and do a full session saturday to finish off the cycle.

 

[electric]

Lower back still has that pinched nerve feeling, also got a tingling feeling in my left hand, only the middle index and thumb. I did some research and seems alot like carpel tunnel. Im thinking ill have tomorrow off and do a full session saturday to finish off the cycle.

Re the lower back thing, have you tried some foam/tennis ball rolling in the area? It might be a tight muscle that is pulling on the nerve. The rolling might release the muscle and help somewhat.
In any case, consider taking a break. If things are starting to hurt and bother it is not worth pushing through for too long or you might get yourself injured and losing much more then if you SDed now.

 

[LDU]

Re the lower back thing, have you tried some foam/tennis ball rolling in the area? It might be a tight muscle that is pulling on the nerve. The rolling might release the muscle and help somewhat.
In any case, consider taking a break. If things are starting to hurt and bother it is not worth pushing through for too long or you might get yourself injured and losing much more then if you SDed now.

no i havent tried anything like that, will give it a go when i get home tonight. I went to the physio/chiro yesterday and they didnt really give me an answer other than saying all my joints are really tight. They worked on it for a while and it does feel a little better.
I think the hand tingling was related as its 99% gone now also. Im having today off and will train tomorrow leaving out any back work, will just hit shoulders, arms and chest.

Appreciate the advice,

Thanks electric

 

[LDU]

Finished the 8 week HST cycle, heres the results

after the 15's
right bi 37cms - 14.6inch
left bi 36cms - 14.2inch
chest 102cms-40.2inch
shoulders 118cms - 46.5inch
waist 92 - 36.2inch

After the 5RM , 8th week
right bi 15.1inch/38.3cms
Left bi 15inch/38cms
Shoulders 118.5cms, 46.75inches. +.5cms/.25inch
Chest 106cms/41/7inch
Waist 95.5cms/37.6 inch
weight 93.8kg/206.36lbs

Totals
Right bi +1.3cms/.5inch
left bi + 2 cms/.8inch
Shoulders +.5cms/.2inch
Chest/back + 4cms/1.6inch
Waist +3.5cms/1.4inch
Weight + 5.8kg/12.7lbs from start of cycle. (8 weeks)

Really happy with the results, will definitely continue on with HST. Looking forward to 9 or 10 days SD before resuming.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice throughout this cycle. Ill try get a progress pic tonight and update tomorrow.

Cheers