My Hst Log

Thanks guys ...

I'm definately going to drag it out as long as I can ...

My only concern is that I'm starting to feel really beat up and tired all the time ... And my lower back is feeling pretty frazzled.

That's why I was going to drop to triples next week with my 5rm and that'll serve as kind of a slight back off while I work up to my 3rms over the next couple weeks ...

I was planning to incorporate drop sets with the triples just to boost the volume a bit as I'm finding it very hard to keep the volume up at the moment especially when setting new RMs
 
Although you are feeling a bit beat up, you are making some big strength gains so I would keep going with the momentum but perhaps lower the volume slightly, and personally I wouldn't do the drop sets, but then my goal is purely strength and getting the numbers for the big 3 lifts up rather than time under tension for hypertrophy.

If it was me, I would remove some or all of the assistance work to reduce the level of fatigue, and/or swap the T bar rows for a chest supported row to save the lower back.

If you are aiming for hypertrophy I would suggest myo reps rather than drop sets.
 
Strength is definately my number 1 priority at the moment ...

But thats mainly because I've come to learn that more strength equals more hypertrophy potential ... Personally speaking In my case anyway.

I spent way too many years spinning my wheels on bodybuilding parameters and didn't really start looking like I actually lift until I started focusing on strength with the big compounds.

So I guess you could say my main goal is hypertrophy and aesthetics via strength lol

I'll definately keep at it and i may just cut things down to the absolute basics ... - squat , bench , deadlift , military press and chin ups.

Infact I think for my second cycle I'll just focus on those 5 lifts ....

I'm not overly familiar with myo reps so I'll have a quick read through the forums on those
 
Friday 25th November 2016

Post 5s phase - week 8

Weighted Chins - 15kg plate - 6 sets of 5
- Bodyweight - 1 set of 10
- Bodyweight - 1 set of 8

Squat - 105kg - 4 sets of 5
- 90kg - 1 set of 8
- 80 kg - 1 set of 10
- 70 kg - 2 sets of 10

Flat bench - 100kg - 1 set of 6
- 100 kg - 1 set of 5
- 90 kg - 1 set of 8

T bar row - 60 kg - 2 sets of 5
- 50 kg - 1 set of 8
- 40kg - 1 set of 13

Incline bench press - 100kg - 3 sets of 5

Incline DB press - 30kg Dbs - 1 set of 18


Awesome workout today ....

I was able to match my Pbs from Wednesday on squat and bench and even managed to crank out some extra volume ...

I didn't manage to fit in my military presses today but after hitting such a huge PR on Tuesday with them I figured they could use the rest ....

I might actually do them first on Mondays workout

Hit a ton of volume on my chin ups today which is good ...

The only downside is that I'm taking a lot of rest between sets and alternating exercises so the workout took about 2 hours
 
benben2356 said:
The only downside is that I'm taking a lot of rest between sets and alternating exercises so the workout took about 2 hours
Click to expand...

Thats not always a bad thing if you're aiming for strength, providing you have the time. Am I right in thinking that for the squats you did 4 sets of 5, then another 3 sets of 8, 10, and 10. If so you could drop those last 3 sets to save some time

Good work on matching the PBs
 
Browner said:
Thats not always a bad thing if you're aiming for strength, providing you have the time. Am I right in thinking that for the squats you did 4 sets of 5, then another 3 sets of 8, 10, and 10. If so you could drop those last 3 sets to save some time

Good work on matching the PBs
Click to expand...


Yeah the time isn't a problem for me ... I was just worried about Broscience claims like testosterone levels dropping and cortisol rising after 45 minutes lol

And yes after my 4 sets of 5 I followed with 3 sets of 8 , 10 , and 10 - pyramided down :)

I sometimes drop the down sets though if I'm feeling annihilated after the sets of 5 ... I just go by feel really when it comes to volume lately.
 
Monday 28th November 2016

Post 5s phase - week 9

Deadlift - 195 kg - 1 set of 6
195 kg - 1 set of 5
195 kg - 1 set of 4
200kg - 1 set of 1
205kg - 1 set of 1
205kg - 1 set of 1

Squats - 105kg - 1 set of 7 (New PR)
105kg - 4 sets of 5
90kg - 1 set of 10 (New PR)
80kg - 1 set of 10
70kg - 1 set of 15

Military press - 62.5kg - 1 set of 7 (New PR)
- 62.5 kg - 1 set of 7 (New PR)
- 62.5kg - 1 set of 5 ( PR)
- 65kg - 1 set of 4 (PR)
- 50kg - 1 set of 12 (New PR)

Weighted chins - 15kg plate - 1 set of 6 (easy)
- 15kg plate - 2 sets of 5 (easy)
- 20kg plate - 2 sets of 3 (easy)
- Bodyweight - 1 set of 10 (easy)

Incline bench press - 100kg - 1 set of 5

Dips - 1 set of 20



Okay today's workout surprised the hell out of me ....

I wasn't feeling that great beforehand but once I got started I ended up nailing some more PRs

I hit 3 sets on the deadlift at 195kg and then went on to do a few singles...

Then I did military press as my first pressing movement today and scored a PR on every set :) - very happy with that

Then I did my squats and not only matched last weeks 5 rep PR but somehow cranked out 7 reps on my first set for another new PR ... I then hit a further 4 sets of 5 with the same weight and then went in to do a few reverse pyramid sets

Got some good weighted chin ups in today which all felt really easy ...

Sadly by the time I got to my incline bench presses I was completely drained so I just hit one solid set of 5 and called it a day

- I'll probably pop down the gym tomorrow just to bang out a few sets on the incline bench and t bar row to make up for it

Overall though I absolutely smashed it today and I'm really seeing some fantastic progress in my squat and military press...

This is really starting to get fun now ...
 
benben2356 said:
Yeah the time isn't a problem for me ... I was just worried about Broscience claims like testosterone levels dropping and cortisol rising after 45 minutes lol

And yes after my 4 sets of 5 I followed with 3 sets of 8 , 10 , and 10 - pyramided down :)

I sometimes drop the down sets though if I'm feeling annihilated after the sets of 5 ... I just go by feel really when it comes to volume lately.
Click to expand...

I dont know the science involved, and if the testosterone thing is true or not, personally I dont think it is true, or if it is its only marginal. Most powerlifters I know, their sessions are nearly always 1 1/2 - 2 hours long, sometimes longer. I tend to have at least 3 minutes between working sets, sometimes 5 or more especially for deadlifts.

Great work on the last session! Smashing PRs all over the place! Nice one!
 
benben2356 said:
Yeah the time isn't a problem for me ... I was just worried about Broscience claims like testosterone levels dropping and cortisol rising after 45 minutes lol

And yes after my 4 sets of 5 I followed with 3 sets of 8 , 10 , and 10 - pyramided down :)

I sometimes drop the down sets though if I'm feeling annihilated after the sets of 5 ... I just go by feel really when it comes to volume lately.
Click to expand...


The testosterone/cortisol myth has been dispelled into oblivion. Don't worry about it at all.
 
Wednesday 30th November 2016

Post 5s phase - week 9

Deadlift - 195kg - 3 sets of 5

Bench press - 100kg - 1 set of 7 (new PR)
- 100kg - 1 set of 6
- 105kg - 1 set of 3
- 100 kg - 1 set of 5
- 90kg - 1 set of 8
- 80kg - 1 set of 10

Squat - 105kg - 1 set of 6
- 105kg - 1 set of 5
- 105 kg - 1 set of 5
- 70kg - 1 set of 15

T bar rows - 60 kg - 3 sets of 5
- 50kg - 1 set of 9
- 40 kg - set of 15

DB shoulder press - 30kg DBs - 1 set of 8
(new PR)
-30kg DBs - 1 set of 7
- 22.5kg DBs - 1 set of 12

Lat pull down - 2 sets of 10


Not a bad workout today ... Managed to hit a new PR on the bench press for 7 reps :)

Also scored a new PR on my seated dumbbell shoulder presses - I have hit 8 reps on the 30kg Dumbbells before , but I'm counting this as a PR because the form felt absolutely perfect and I didn't even hit failure....
so I'm counting this as a form PR

My legs were still feeling pretty sore and fatigued from Monday's squat PRs .... so i couldn't quite match my PRs on squats today...But I did hit a good set of 6 which is only 1 rep short.

I also kept the volume a bit lower on squats today as it really felt like they weren't quite recovered from Monday...

Overall it wasn't too bad a session .... Bit disappointed I couldn't quite match my squat PR but I'm sure I'll get it when fully recovered.

On the plus side I got a new bench press PR and DB shoulder press PR :)

So in total I've PR'd on 4 exercises this week ..
 
Friday 2nd December 2016

Post 5s phase - Week 9


Deadlift ( singles ) - 210kg - 1x1
- 210kg - 1x1
- 210kg - 1x1
- 200 kg -1x1
- 200kg - 1x1

Squat - 105kg - 1 x 7 (Matched PR)
105kg - 1 x 5
105kg - 1 x 5
105kg - 1 x 5
90 kg - 1 x 9
80kg - 1 x10

Incline bench press - 100kg - 1 x 6
- 100kg - 1 x 5
- 100kg - 1 x 5
- 90 kg - 1 x 8
- 80kg - 1 x 11

Standing military press - 65kg - 1x5 (PR)
65kg - 1x4
60kg - 1x8
60kg - 1x7
60kg - 1x6
50kg - 1x10

Weighted chins - 20kg plate - 1 x 4
15kg plate - 1x 5
Bodyweight - 1x 10


Okay so today was a pretty good session considering it was a morning workout :)

I decided to give my CNS a morning wake up call by ramping up to some heavy singles with 95% of my 1rm on the deadlift.

It seemed to work because I then went on to hit a new 5 rep max PR on my standing military press with 65 kg - I probably had a sixth one in me to be honest.

Also I matched Monday's 7 rep PR on the squats .... I might try for another new 5 rep max next week.

Incline bench was good and although I didn't hit any PRs the bar speed was much faster.

Sadly I ran out of time and didn't manage to get much back work in so I had to settle for a few sets of weighted chins ...

But I've hit some good sets and volume this week on back as well as deadlifting 3 times in one week ... So I'm sure it can use the rest lol

Next week will be my 10th week on this HST cycle and generally I'm very pleased with the gains I've made ...

My lower back is getting very tight & achy as I mentioned the other week so I may have to SD soon if that keeps nagging at me.

It doesn't feel like an injury as it's more of a persistent dull ache and overall tightness...

It's not effecting my performance and I barely notice it when I'm warmed up... but It's worth keeping an eye on ...

But we'll see how I feel by the end of next week .... If I'm still hitting PRs at the end of week 10 and my lower back can take it then I may push forward into an 11th week :)

Certainly going to invest in a sports massage and some pampering when I decide to SD..
 
Monday 5th December 2016

Week 10 - Post 5s phase

Weighted chins - 20kg plate - 1 x 5
- 20kg plate - 1 x 5
- 20kg plate - 1 x 4
- 20kg plate - 1 x 4
- 15 kg plate - 1 x 5
- bodyweight - 1 x 8
- bodyweight - 1 x 8

Squats - 110kg - 1 x 5 (New 5 rep PR)
- 110kg - 1 x 5 ( PR again)
- 100kg - 1 x 7
- 100kg - 1 x 7
- 90kg - 1 x 9
- 90kg - 1 x 8
- 80kg - 1 x 10

Bench press - 100kg - 1 x 7 (matched PR)
- 100kg - 1 x 6
- 100kg - 1 x 6
- 100kg - 1 x 5
- 90kg - 1 x 8
- 90kg - 1 x 8
- 80kg - 1 x 10
- 80kg - 1 x 10

T bar row - 60kg - 1 x 5
- 60kg - 1 x 5
- 60 kg - 1 x 5
- 50 kg - 1 x 9
- 50kg - 1 x 8
- 40kg - 1 x 14
- 40kg - 1 x 12

DB shoulder press 30kg DBs-1x9(PR)
- 30kg DBs - 1 x 8
- 30kg DBs - 1 x 7
- 30kg DBs - 1 x 6
- 22.5kg DBs -1x12
- 22.5kg DBs - 1x10


Awesome workout today .....

I smashed a new 5 rep PR on the squats and managed to repeat it for a second set - form felt rock solid on every rep and I didn't even hit failure ... Very happy with that.

Weighted chins were perfect - the 20kg plate actually felt pretty easy today.

Bench press was good .... I didn't set any PRs today but I did match last weeks 7 rep PR and did a lot more sets than usual staying above 5 reps on each set - I'm going I up the weight next time and hopefully set a new 5 rep max.

DB shoulder presses I hit new PR for 9 reps - but the 9th rep was a bit of a grinder - did lots of sets though and seem to be throwing it up easily so I'm definately going to up the weight next time for a new 5 rep max ....


Overall it's a good strong start to week 10 and by the end of the week I hope to have new 5 rep maxes for most of my exercises ... At this rate it shouldn't be too much of a struggle.
 
Wednesday 7th December 2016

Week 10 - Post 5s phase

Deadlift - 195kg - 1 x 8 (New PR)
195kg - 1 x 5
195kg - 1 x 5

Squat - 110kg - 1 x 5 (matched PR)
110kg - 1 x 5
110kg - 1 x 5
100kg - 1 x 8 (New 8 rep PR)
100kg - 1 x 7
90kg - 1 x 10
90kg - 1 x 10

Military press - 65kg - 1 x 6 (New PR)
- 65kg - 1 x 5
- 65kg - 1 x 5
- 65kg - 1 x 5
- 60kg - 1 x 7
- 60kg - 1 x 7
- 50kg - 1 x 12

T bar row - 60kg - 1 x 7 (New PR)
- 60kg - 1 x 5
- 60kg - 1 x 5
- 50kg - 1 x 10
- 50kg - 1 x 8

Incline DB press - 40kg DBs - 1 x 8
- 45kg DBs - 1 x 4


Very good workout today ...

I hit a new Deadlift PR on 195kg for 8 very solid reps - I'm going to try and hit 200kg for a new 5 RM next time

I matched Monday's 110kg 5 rep PR on the squats and it actually felt easier than Monday.

And I managed to do 3 sets with it this time hitting 5 reps each time all with beautiful form.

I also nailed a new 8 rep PR with 100kg on my back off sets ...

Military press I got a new PR hitting 6 reps on the first set and then managed to get 3 more sets with 5 reps before doing my back off sets ....

And T bar row also got a surprise PR today as I hit an easy 7 reps with my 5rm ..

Only downside with today's workout was that I couldn't get on the incline bench press because there was a big group of teenagers using it ...

So I just did a couple of sets with the Dumbbells instead ....

But by that point I was knackered anyway so I'll most likely pop down the gym tomorrow and just hammer out a few sets to make up for it....

I'm really stunned by the progress I've made In the post 5s phase ...

And I really credit these gains to my massive calorie increase ....

Somewhere around my second week of 5s I really started to struggle and could barely hit my tested maxes ...

So I threw in an extra 1000 cals to my typical daily diet and started using those maltedextrose carb gel sachets before workouts....

So I'm now taking in close to 4000 cals per day...

My daily diet was already 3k beforehand but I had been stuck at about 83kg bodyweight for over 2 years with that 3k diet

I'm now up to 88kg on the scales and my strength is really shooting up ...

I was initially worried about bumping up to 4k but I suppose that's what I must need to gain weight....

Those carb gel sachets really seem to be helping too ..... I take one about an hour before the workout and I really notice the difference.
 
benben2356 said:
Deadlift - 195kg - 1 x 8 (New PR)
195kg - 1 x 5
195kg - 1 x 5

Squat - 110kg - 1 x 5 (matched PR)
110kg - 1 x 5
110kg - 1 x 5
100kg - 1 x 8 (New 8 rep PR)
100kg - 1 x 7
90kg - 1 x 10
90kg - 1 x 10
Click to expand...

Have you thought about pushing your weights for squats even further? On average I would say that a deadlift is roughly 120% of a back a back squat. Your deadlift is soooo much stronger than your squats.

Great work on the PRs again though, you are killing it!
 
Browner said:
Have you thought about pushing your weights for squats even further? On average I would say that a deadlift is roughly 120% of a back a back squat. Your deadlift is soooo much stronger than your squats.

Great work on the PRs again though, you are killing it!
Click to expand...


Thanks @Browner ... I'm really surprising myself at this point.

I'm tempted to push the squat further ... But it's always been a weak lift for me.

At the moment I'm managing to keep perfect form but I know from the past if I try and get too greedy with the weight increases my form just ends up getting really ugly and I lose tightness at the bottom and start leaning forward too much.

it might be that I'm just being too form conscious and maybe that's what's holding me back ....

But the increased calories and bodyweight are certainly giving me a lot more power than I'm used to so maybe I could try and push it a bit and see what happens lol ...

I think when it comes to my deadlifting I must just have very advantageous levers for it ...
 
benben2356 said:
Thanks @Browner ... I'm really surprising myself at this point.

I'm tempted to push the squat further ... But it's always been a weak lift for me.

At the moment I'm managing to keep perfect form but I know from the past if I try and get too greedy with the weight increases my form just ends up getting really ugly and I lose tightness at the bottom and start leaning forward too much.

it might be that I'm just being too form conscious and maybe that's what's holding me back ....

But the increased calories and bodyweight are certainly giving me a lot more power than I'm used to so maybe I could try and push it a bit and see what happens lol ...

I think when it comes to my deadlifting I must just have very advantageous levers for it ...
Click to expand...

It may help to video your lifts and then you can see at what weight your form starts to break down. Given how strong your deadlifts are I would try and push forward and ramp up those squat weights, I think you may surprise yourself.
 
Friday 9th December 2016

Post 5s phase - end of week 10 ...


Deadlift - 200kg - 1 x 6 (New PR)


Squat - 115kg - 1 x 5 (New 5rm PR)
- 115kg - 1 x 5
- 110kg - 1 x 6 (New PR)
- 110kg - 1 x 5
- 110kg - 1 x 5
- 100kg - 1 x 8
- 90 kg - 1 x 10
- 80kg - 1 x 12


Bench Press -105 kg - 1 x 5 (New 5rm PR)
- 100kg - 1 x 6
- 100kg - 1 x 5
- 100kg - 1 x 5



Military Press - 65kg - 1 x 6 (matched PR)



Weighted chins - 20kg plate - 1 x 5
- 20 kg plate - 1 x 4
- 20kg plate - 1 x 4


DB shoulder press
- 32.5kg Dbs - 1 x 6 (New PR)
- 32.5 kg Dbs - 1 x 5
- 32.5 kg Dbs - 1 x 5
- 22.5 kg Dbs - 1 x 14


T bar row - 60kg - 1 x 6
- 60kg - 1 x 5
- 60kg - 1 x 5
- 50kg - 1 x 10


Dips - bodyweight - 1 x 20


Okay so that was today's mammoth workout

I was really on fire today ( ate some sultanas along with my Pre workout carb gel and It gave me an amazing workout)

First off I nailed a huge deadlift PR with 6 beautifully controlled reps on 200kg - this is insane for me as I wasn't sure I could even get 5 ....

Then I took @Browner Browners advice and bumped my squat up a bit to 115kg and I really surprised myself big time...

I managed to get 2 perfect sets of 5 without breaking form at all and I barely even felt the 5kg increase ...

So that's another new 5RM :)

Also on my back off sets I was able to hit a 6 rep PR with my previous 110kg and a couple more sets of 5 before dropping down for some higher reps ...

I set a new 5 rep max PR on the bench press today which I'm thrilled with as it was a 5kg increase .....

Also I threw in 1 set of military presses and matched Wednesday's 6 rep PR with better form ...

My weighted Chins seemed a bit tougher today as I was only able to get 1 set of 5 and a couple sets of 4

I increased the weight on my DB Shoulder press and nailed a 6 rep PR with it followed by a couple of sets of 5 and a burn set

And finally the T bar row was fairly average - no PRs on that one today but I was knackered by that point ...


So that marks the end of week 10 ...

I've successfully set new 5RMs and numerous PRs for -
Squat - up by 12.5kg
Bench press - up by 5 kg
Military press - up by 5 kg
Deadlift - up by 10kg
DB shoulder press - up 2.5kg each arm

This is a massive achievement for my first HST cycle and I'm absolutely over the moon with these results

I'm very tempted to keep going for an 11th week but my body is really craving a break.....

and there's a few days next week where I'm not going to be able to train as I have to go away with the girlfriend up to Doncaster.

So it seems like a good time to do my strategic deconditioning.

I'll be taking the week off and planning my 2nd HST cycle ...

Also I'm going to invest in a sports massage and practice some stretching / mobility work in preparation for Cycle 2 ...

So that's officially me done for a week ...

I don't even remember last time I did a deload (I used to skip them on wendler)

So this may prove pretty tough for me ..

I'll upload some physique update pictures later...
 
Day 7 of Strategic Deconditioning ...

This week has been really tough to get through.

Can't wait to get back in the gym on Monday.

It'll be 9 days in total come Monday so I hope that's adequate for the SD phase ... (Any longer would kill me lol)

My weight has dropped by a couple of pounds but that's my fault as I dropped my calories back to 3K for SD ...

Is it normal to feel really achy during the SD phase ?

I have no idea why but my joints have felt pretty achy all week ...

Anyways roll on cycle 2 ... I'll be planning it over the weekend :)
 
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