My HST routine - critique and opinions needed

M

manimal

New Member
I'm currently doing the SD till the 22nd of Sept which I will be starting another cycle. I wanted to see what you guys thought, where it could use improvements, changes etc.

As a basis, I will be doing 1 week of 15 reps 1 set, 2 weeks of 8 reps 2 sets, 2 weeks of 5 reps 3 sets. I will be alternating exercises for muscle groups throughout the 2 week blocks. a/b/a b/a/b

A) chins/B) close grip chins
bar rows/t bar rows
bench/db press
Barbell Prone curls/alt curls
Dips/overhead tri rope ext
Db shoulder press/side laterals
Squat/leg press
Face Pulls/Rear delt

Am I being a bit too ambitious with the chins and rows each training session or should I alternate them too? I would be doing a total of 18 sets per session for back weeks 4 and 5. Not to mention an additional 9 bicep sets per week too. I'm concerned that my arms aren't going to keep growing with this amount of volume. Maybe I should hit the arms only twice a week throughout the routine? Or should I experiment with a basic compound version of HST?

chins/close grip
Bar rows/t bar rows
Bench/db press
Squats/leg press
Military Press/Shrugs

I will add that I am lifting naturally, only using supplements.
 
Your first program looks good. Obviously it's very heavily upper-body oriented, but if that's your goal, then it's ok.

You said in your log that you didn't gain any weight last cycle. You are going to have to increase calories if you want to see hypertrophy, if you don't purposely gain weight during your HST cycle, you won't grow at all, and just spin your wheels. So I think your training should be fine, but you should focus on tracking calories and making weight gains. (Unless your goal is to lose bodyfat obviously, then you'd have to cut calories)
 
Yeah unless you are specializing on upper body then you definitely need more work for the legs. I don't really care if you don't work legs hardly at all, that's your choice. Just don't expect to have symmetry between upper and lower body with the current routine you have. Also I would be concerned about imbalance between quads and hams with your setup. More leg exercises also helps you to actually have an ass, unlike many guys these days, which assists greatly in keeping your pants from falling down when you walk/run/etc.
 
Sci said:
Your first program looks good. Obviously it's very heavily upper-body oriented, but if that's your goal, then it's ok.

You said in your log that you didn't gain any weight last cycle. You are going to have to increase calories if you want to see hypertrophy, if you don't purposely gain weight during your HST cycle, you won't grow at all, and just spin your wheels. So I think your training should be fine, but you should focus on tracking calories and making weight gains. (Unless your goal is to lose bodyfat obviously, then you'd have to cut calories)
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Agree, like I said in my training log the last cycle was just to get myself up around where I was before my surgery. This next one is where I'll start hitting the weights hard and eating 3400-4000 cals per day. I'm going to try and get more eggs into the daily diet too. I do track my daily calories, proteins etc. 9 days of SD just seems like a long time. I might just go ahead and do some calorie cycling while I'm waiting.


adpowah said:
What's the goal with so many upper body isolations and not doing deadlifts?
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The goal is to get a bigger upper body which is why I asked if I should hit up a compound version. Where would you suggest putting in deads?


Totentanz said:
Yeah unless you are specializing on upper body then you definitely need more work for the legs. I don't really care if you don't work legs hardly at all, that's your choice. Just don't expect to have symmetry between upper and lower body with the current routine you have. Also I would be concerned about imbalance between quads and hams with your setup. More leg exercises also helps you to actually have an ass, unlike many guys these days, which assists greatly in keeping your pants from falling down when you walk/run/etc.
Click to expand...

Playing ice hockey for 15 years has given me thick muscular legs so I'm not worried about having a prison body with ostrich legs. My upper body has always lacked compared to my lower body, but i agree I should do more hams though for the record I've got an ass on me :D
 
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I typed out a routine but honestly I am not experienced enough to offer that much, I will say that for me Dead Lifts have been incredible at building muscle as it is a big compound exercise that pushes your whole body. Don't forget to eat enough if you want to grow.
 
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