New in HST.. please review routine

B

bong_ilong

New Member
Ey guys! I'm about to start using HST and i'm about to measure my RMs later.. so please comment on my routine before I tire myself out finding my RMs
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( / indicates alternating routines)
Inclined Bench Press / Inclined DB Press
Dips
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns
Seated Rows
Smith Machine Shoulder Press / DB Shoulder Press
Upright Row / Lateral Raises
Dumbell Curls / Hammer Curls
Skullcruhers / Close-Grip Bench Press
Squats / Leg Extensions + Leg Curls
Calf Raises
I'm going to be doing 2 sets on 15s and 10s, and 3 sets on the 5s..
Is my routine alright? Also, my gym doesn't have power racks so i'm limited to the smith machine for the squats. How do i squat using the smith machine to avoid injury?
Thanks!
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A few things, IMO it seems like you have a bit overload on upperback with Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns & Seated Rows, and maybe too much shoulder work with the upright rows and shoulder press... but more importantly, I was waiting to see a line that said squats / leg press .

Here's a suggestion about the isolated arm movements that has been a buzz around the forums... try doing them (skullcrushers/close grip and curls) in the 15's and 10's only.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ] How do i squat using the smith machine to avoid injury?
Click to expand...

http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/SMSquat.html

That should give you a full description on how to do them. The Smith machine gives you all the balance and alignment in the world and is actually really good for squats IMO.

-Colby
 
How do i minimze the load on the upper back and shoulders? Should I limit my back and shoulders to just 1 exercise per day? How come it is not recommended to perform isolated exercises in the 5s?

So far, my revision would be:
squat / leg press

Thanks for the link!
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It is not recommended to not do isolations during the 5s during HST. Many of the guys on the forum have decided to either drop isololations out of their routines, or limit them. Like Colby said it is simply a buzz around the forum.

I would run HST the way Bryan has it layed out for your first cycle and start "tweaking" after that. Even the amount of alternative exercises you are using can become a little tricky in my opinion. I find the load to be tracked easier with the same movements.

I believe most guys on here think that the compound work that is done with heavy weights will "take care" of everything.

Joe G
 
Here is my update routine and my target muscles:

Inclined Bench Press (Chest, Front Delts)
Dips (Lower Chest, Triceps)
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns (Lats, Biceps)
Seated Rows (Inner Back, Lower Back, Rear Delts)
Upright Row (Traps, Side Delts)
DB Curls (Biceps)
Skullcrushers (Triceps)
Squats / Leg Press (Quads, Hamstring)
Calf Raises (Calves)

Is my target muscle group for the routines correct? Please tell meif i'm overworking or underworking some muscle areas. Comments and suggestions from you guys are greatly appreciated.
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It looks good although I think seated rows don't really hit the lower back. I would incoroporate some hyper-extensions or deadlifts.
 
that looks a lot better...only drop isos if you want to, or when you get to the 5s and its taking to long in the gym..remember most of the compounds will take care of the arms when you get to the heavy weights..good luck :D
 
I would probably choose a more compound exercise for shoulders instead of upright rows, maybe some form of shoulder press.
 
I just thought that the inclined shoulder press would cover some part of the delts worked by doing shoulder presses, while the rest would be covered by the upright row. I also thought of using upright rows instead of shoulder press since it would target both traps and side delts. :)
 
True, there is some overlap, but that shouldn't be much of a problem, especially if the bench is only slightly incline. My biggest concern is the amount of weight that can be used with each exercise, as well as the number of possible increments. This will probably become apparent during the heavy phases, i.e. 5's and negatives, where compound exercises usually leave more room for progression. You can use shrugs for trap development, if you like. I would have mentioned it before, but I thought that for your first cycle we should keep your routine pretty basic.

Anyway, it's your call. Good luck and keep us posted. ;)
 
Also, I'm not really comfortable doing shoulder presses. I don't understand why my neck hurts every time i do them, even when i'm seated. So another reason i didn't include shoulder presses is because i might not be able to lift heavily, especially during the 5s, because of my neck.
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Is there a connection between doing shoulder presses and straining the neck?
 
bong_ilong

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Inclined Bench Press (Chest, Front Delts)
Dips (Lower Chest, Triceps)
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldowns (Lats, Biceps)
Seated Rows (Inner Back, Lower Back, Rear Delts)
Upright Row (Traps, Side Delts)
DB Curls (Biceps)
Skullcrushers (Triceps)
Squats / Leg Press (Quads, Hamstring)
Calf Raises (Calves)
Click to expand...

Man...you have done your home work and have listened up...good...and welcome mate! :D

W/O looks good, for now keep it simple.

One thing we have been pondering on was to drop iso's at the heavy weight stage, or at least me, because by then you are doing 3 sets and it just takes too long, on the other hand the weight is heavy enough to hit those muscles you are trying to motivate with the iso's.
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I'm not really comfortable doing shoulder presses. I don't understand why my neck hurts every time i do them, even when i'm seated.
Click to expand...

It is a pity, mil presees for instance is a very good compound for the shoulders, sounds like you may have a pulled muscle or something, shoulders are very sensitive to injuries, IMO and because of the injury danger involved with uprights, I would rather use sometiing else, but it is your choice.

Just make sure you don't pull the weight too high (below nipple level like the beggining of the rib cage is cool), specially as it gets heavier, and use a slightly wider grip, some guys have opted to use d/b's.
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Hope this helps....and happy lifting :D
 
Thanks for all the comments!
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I'll measure my RMs later and with regards to my shoulder routine, I'll check later which work-out I'm comfortable lifting heavy.

Thanks for all the help and see you around the forums! :D
 
My one recommendation would be to not start your laterla raises until you reach the 2nd week of 10s or 1st week of 5s. The reason for this is that if you start earlier in the 15s or 10s, you will likely be unable to increment for the last 3-4 weeks of the cycle.

Alternatively, during the 15s and 10s you could do burn sets, choosing a weight to use for 20 reps each workout (would be great for the shoulder joints) and then start incrementing normally once you reach the right phase.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]One thing we have been pondering on was to drop iso's at the heavy weight stage, or at least me, because by then you are doing 3 sets and it just takes too long, on the other hand the weight is heavy enough to hit those muscles you are trying to motivate with the iso's.
Click to expand...
Fausto, that's what I've done this cycle. During the post-5's (continuing with 5RM), I started feeling irritations/pain in the elbows and wrists while performing skullcrushers and barbell curls. I thought it was due to too much volume, as I felt that my arms received a fair amount of work from just the heavy compounds. So I decided to drop arm isolations and concentrate on the compounds. I am currently continuing with 5RM or 3RM and clustering, and I have absolutely no problems at all (no irritation/pain). Plus I added a bit more volume to selected bodyparts (specialization) because of the additional time which was previously devoted to arm isolations.

So, my opinion for now is this; Incorporate arm iso's right from the beginning, continue with them up to (and including) the 5's, and during the post-5's/negatives drop (almost) everything except for the heavy compounds and try to push the envelope with them. As mentioned above, this approach also frees up some time which can be used for additional volume/specialization.

Regards,
Dimitris
 
Wow - this idea of iso's in the 15's and 10's only is sweeping the forums. I don't know how much of a difference it will make. I actually dropped them in the 2nd day of 10's. It'll be interesting to see everyone's results after this.
 
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