My HST Cycle for Maximum Muscle Gains

R

RoastedToast

New Member
My HST Cycle + some Beginners Questions !

Hey guys, I'm new to HST.
I am 18 years old, been training for around 2 years.
I just went off a cutting cycle, now it's time to add some mass.

Maintenance : 2450 Calories
Bulking : 2900 Calories

Macros :
230gr Protein
360gr Carbs
60gr Fat




Week 1 & 2

Week 1

Monday : A 2x15
Wednesday : B 2x15
Friday : A 2x15


Week 2


Monday : B 2x15
Wednesday : A 2x15
Friday : B 2x15


Week 3 & 4

Week 3


Monday : A 2x10
Wednesday : B 2x10
Friday : A 2x10


Week 4


Monday : B 1x10
Wednesday : A 1x10
Friday : B 1x10


Week 5 & 6


Week 5


Monday : A 2x5
Wednesday : B 2x5
Friday : A 2x5


Week 6


Monday : B 1x5
Wednesday : A 1x5
Friday : B 1x5







A
​


Quads :
2 Sets Leg Press

Hamstrings:
2 Sets Leg Curl

Chest :
2 Sets Incline Dumbbell Press

Shoulder :
2 Sets Military Press ( Dumbbell? )
2 Sets Lateral Raises

Lats :
2 Set Pulldowns

Arms :
2 Set Bicep Curls ( Dumbbell? )
2 Sets Tricep Extensions

Calves :
2 SetS Calf Raise




Number of Exercises : 9
Number of Sets : 18


B
​


Quads :
2 Sets Squats

Hamstrings:
2 Sets Stiff Legged Dumbbell Deadlift

Chest:
2 Sets Dumbbell Flies

Shoulder :
2 Sets Dumbbell Press
2 Sets Lateral Raises

Lats:
2 Sets Seated Cable Rows

Arms:
2 Sets Preacher Curls
2 Sets Tricep Dumbbell Kickback

Calves :
2 Sets Calf Raises


Number of exercises : 9
Number of Sets : 18



Now, my questions are :
- What do you think about the exercises in RED? I prefer the dumbbell version over barbell version because it's easier on my wrists.

- Can i add Ab training aswell?

- What do you think of my split?

- I don't understand the concept about going to failure every 2nd week... Should I just have the same weight and try to do as many reps as possible?

- And in general, are there any tips/advice you could give me? Any modifications?
 
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Your questions aren’t being ignored but this isn’t a very active forum so getting answers sometimes requires patience.

I don’t have much time before work but I’ll try to respond and hope I don’t create more questions than I answer.

- What do you think about the exercises in RED? I prefer the dumbbell version over barbell version because it's easier on my wrists
Click to expand...
DB exercises are fine and in some cases can be better than BB because of the increased range of motion they allow. They can be an issue if they limit the amount of weight you can use to much less than a comparable BB exercise because it doesn’t allow for as much weight progression over the cycle.

- Can i add Ab training aswell?
Click to expand...
Yes, though often it’s not necessary if using sufficient weight on the big compound exercises unless you need to train abs for a specific reason like martial arts, powerlifting etc. . . .

- What do you think of my split?
Click to expand...
Full body splits won’t help your hypertrophy gains about all they do, with the exception of a few exercises is complicate your RM tracking and relieve boredom if you just don’t like to do the same routine 3 times a week. An exception to this is rotating exercises like Squat and Deadlift which for most people would be too much to handle done together if done every workout three times a week.

- I don't understand the concept about going to failure every 2nd week... Should I just have the same weight and try to do as many reps as possible?
Click to expand...
Nothing says you have to go to failure at the end of every two week micro-cycle. Many people do it to test their new RMs. It can also help a little in both hypertrophy and strength due to the added intensity but this works best if you have a zigzag built into your weight progression that gives you a little de-load after maxing out.

- And in general, are there any tips/advice you could give me? Any modifications?
Click to expand...
I would read through some of this thread:

http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?16246-Simplify-and-Win!

In a nutshell if you want to get big you need to lift big which means ditching the small isolation exercises and focusing on the heavy compound ones.
 
I agree with grunt, try and keep your workout as simple as possible and just repeat 3 times a week.

It's hard enough monitoring load progression on a simple plan so for your first cycle I would recommend you to stay away from splits. By using the same core muscles in every workout you can be sure of maximum hypertrophy gains as you increase the load throughout the cycle.

I'm on my third cycle now and come off a cut like yourself when I started. I wasn't too impressed with my first cycle, I seemed to put on more fat than muscle using similar macros to yourself. I quickly jumped from 10.5% bf to 15% and felt a bit disheartened, however the fat build up slowed down on my second cycle and my muscle gains were immense. It was as if my body needed to be at a certain level of fat to build muscle successfully.

I do the same workout every session and monitor my progress on an app called Jefit. It's really useful and you can get it on both android and the app store.

I'm just coming to end of my 15's and look forward to the 10's and 5's where I found the major gains were made. I will be looking to use HST to cut when I finish this cycle because I enjoy the workout so much.
 
grunt11 said:
Full body splits won’t help your hypertrophy gains about all they do, with the exception of a few exercises is complicate your RM tracking and relieve boredom if you just don’t like to do the same routine 3 times a week. An exception to this is rotating exercises like Squat and Deadlift which for most people would be too much to handle done together if done every workout three times a week.


Nothing says you have to go to failure at the end of every two week micro-cycle. Many people do it to test their new RMs. It can also help a little in both hypertrophy and strength due to the added intensity but this works best if you have a zigzag built into your weight progression that gives you a little de-load after maxing out.
Click to expand...

I didn't understand that quite well. I am doing an A/B/A workout through the week, nothing complicated about that. Maybe i didn't formulate my question well, I meant "What do you think of my workout routine?". I mean I just workout 3 times a week, using one time A, and another time B. Or am I doing it wrong?

What exactly do you mean with a zigzag? Anywhere I can read about it since I don't want to take too much of your time :)


@ wwazza
I'll be trying that app out ! Hmm according to Lyle a man should be around 10-12% Bodyfat to start bulking. I'm at around 15%, but I didn't want to cut any longer, my metabolism has slowed down a lot. After my first HST cycle I will probably go straight to a 4 week cut, then 2 weeks SD at maintenance calories, then another cycle. Sounds pretty reasonable.


Thanks alot for your answers guys ! Hope you can answer me those last questions :)
 
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To learn more if you haven’t already I suggest the FAQs are the best place to start.

Zigzagging is when the beginning weights of the next 2 week micro-cycle are lower than the ending weights of the previous cycle. This happen if you use the standard HST formula to calculate your weight progression and there isn’t enough difference between the beginning and ending weights for the whole cycle not to repeat some.

Overall I think your routine is too light. Arm isolation exercises are going to do very little to pack on muscle compared to the time they take up in your routine. My general recommendation for a first HST routine is to stick to heavy compound exercises specifically Deadlift, Squat, Chin Ups, Shoulder Press, Dips, DB Row, Shrugs and Bench Press. Add in a calf and middle delt exercise and you’ve got everything covered. I would do all these exercises each workout except Deadlift and Squat which I would alternate between workouts. For the Presses you could use either BB or DB your preference. Those are in the opinion of many the best mass building exercises.

There is nothing wrong with doing an A/B/A routine however if your goal is to build as much muscle mass as possible in the shortest time then doing an alternating routine just to squeeze in some isolation exercises you will shortchange yourself. If you are already about as huge as you want to be and are now trying to sculpt your body the certainly add in isolation exercises as appropriate. I hope this makes more sense.
 
Okay, I guess I'll change things up a bit then :)
Will do those major compound movements, and learn how to do them right. I'm a bit scared of deadlifts, got to overcome that fear by learning proper technique. I'll switch between squats and deadlifts. Bench/Shoulder press i'll be doing with DBs, I prefer them over the BB. When I am ending my cycle I'll see if I need a negative week or not, probably going to do it since I'm a big believer of negatives. After I find my RMs I will post up a log on this and on bb.com forums to keep track of my improvements. Right now focus is to learn proper form on deadlifts and squats.

My problem with dips is that I don't have a weight belt, I'll try placing a dumbbell between my legs and see if it works out.

So far my routine is :
SLDL/Squat
Incline DB Bench Press
DB Shoulder Press
DB Bent-over Row
DB Shrug
Dips
Lat pulldowb
Ab Crunch Machine
DB Lateral Raise ( really want to improve my shoulders)

Is that ok?

Important question : I've just figured out my 15RM, now added 20% to that, found out my 10 RM. Added 15% to that, found out my 5 RM. I am usually starting the 2 week cycle with the 1st workout being around 35% less than my RM, and slowly through 6 workout sessions increasing the weight to my RM. Am i doing fine here?

Thank you for the answers ! You can expect my log in a couple of days ! :)
 
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That looks like a better exercise selection. I still suggest at some point you start Deadlifting if you can.

As for Dips I just put the weights in a small backpack right now, though if I start adding anything above 30-40 lbs. I’ll probably use a belt so it doesn’t throw off my center of balance too much.

It sounds like your weight progression will be fine the way you have is set out.

Looking forward to you log to see how things work for you.
 
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