Question bout HST on Beginners

T

Tinyy

New Member
I have a question about HST. I was wondering if its only useful for people who are able to lift weights that are considerably high. I've been reading the posts on this forum and i see that everyones bench is 160+ for reps. Im a beginner and realatively small and my 10 rep max for bench is only 90. I was wondering if I would still be able to do use the HST process because of the unbelieveably low amount of weights I would be using for the 15 rep sets on the first day of the cycle. The same applies for my biceps and triceps. My biceps according to the increments of 5lbs every workout day, I would be starting off with 5 lbs for my first day of the 15s cycle. o_O Im wondering if the HST procedure would still have effect on me because of my low weight lifting capability.
 
Though HST was designed for experienced lifters who have plateaued using traditional training, there's no reason why beginners can't use it.

Load is relative to your current muscle size and strength. I train women who use 3kg DBs for bicep curls, and they have much bigger and well defined biceps after 6 weeks of training.

Just think in terms of progressing from about 70% of your 15RM, to your 5RM, and beyond if your strength increases enough. You will gain nicely as long as you eat enough. Because your weights will be closers together, just use the same weight for 2 workouts where necessary. Also don't worry about zigzagging for now, just get a few cycles under your belt.
 
Check the thread simplify and win, build up a likewise program and as Peak puts it, go for it regardless of teh fact that your weights might have to be repeated for some workouts and the gap between will be small initially.

You will in no time or more like before you really take notice be lifting beyond your wildest imagination provided you eat well and follow things as prescribed.

Go read the FAQ e book and rthe main articles and lte us see what you come up with...be specific then we will guide you!
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you dont have to do this
5,10,15,20,25,30,
you can do this.
20,20,25,25,30,30,
that way your beggining weight will be heavier, if the weight is heavy for you then it will make you grow and thats the idea,not how much is on the bar.good luck
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wow. i did found my maxs now and its even lower than i expected for the bench because on the article about HST, it was recommended to do incline bench over normal bench press so here are my calculations :

Everything is freeweight

My gym uses Olympic Ez Curl bar and Olympic barbell. My weights that ive calculated dont include the bar weight

The Barbell at my gym weighs 45 lbs and the Ez curl weighs 20 or 25 lbs.

15 RM

Inclined Bench Press : 15 lbs
Preacher Curls : 25 lbs
Lying Tricep extention : 5 lbs
Dumbell curls: 20 lbs
Shoulder press : 30 lbs

10 RM

Inclined Bench Press : 20 lbs
Preacher Curls : 35 lbs
Lying Ticep extention : 10 lbs
Dumbell Curls : 25 lbs
Shoulder Press : 40 lbs

5 RM

Inclined Bench Press : 30 lbs
Preacher Curls : 40 lbs
Lying Tricep Extention : 15 lbs
Dumbell Curls : 30 lbs
Shoulder Press : 50 lbs

heh, I looked at what i wrote and these are suprisingly low weights. I was able to do more but I got lazy after not seeing much result because I was ignorant and didn't want to change my routine because I thought that lifting as much as you could every work out would be best way to get big since there was no science behind it. But after thinking of it and not seeing much results, I quit because my hopes were somewhat crushed heh. After a 6 month period of not training, I decided to go to the gym again and find that all my RMs have gone down by 10 - 40 lbs.

Looking at these statistics, would anyone be able to assist me in making a schedule becasue Im not too sure how to work with these low numbers and I dont know what would be the best schedule for me.

Thank you in advanced
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^^^^ those were all upper body work outs. I havent incorporated the lower body into the work out yet. Im pretty sure i wil have no problem with that however. And for the chin ups for Im only able to do 6 maximum. so its kind of impossilbe to do the 15s or 10 rep maxes for chin ups. I also cant add weight because it would make the amount i can do even lower. Im planning on increasing the amount of chin ups Im able to do by doing them more often.

If anyone knows any other way that Id be able to increase my maximum chin ups, suggestions would be nice
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Sorry for so many posts but I forgot to add that Im a generally small guy. ( weight wise) Im 5'10" weighing at only 140 lbs. Im trying really hard to bulk up. Ive been eating A LOT of healthy foods that have lots of proteins, calories and carbs. drinking lot of milk and water. however, i dont really see much of a difference.

I keep going up and down on that weight range. One day, Id be 140 lbs then the next 135 then 140 again then 135. Its really awkward, I never seem to go higher rather than stay in that weight range
 
You need to calculate your weights including the bar.

I'm only on my second HST cycle but this is what I would recommend.  I would do 3 increments per rep  (two workouts for each increment) to keep your weights up as high as possible but still increment.

Exercises:
Squat
Dead Lift (with shrug)
Flat Bench
Barbell rows
Military press

And that's it for exercises.  Keep it simple for the first few cycles.  You don't need to do a bunch of exercises and you will grow with these.

It also sounds like you need to eat more.  I posted some spread sheets in another thread a couple weeks ago that will help you calculate your calorie requirements.  But just eat, eat, eat.  I wouldn't worry about keeping your diet real clean beause you need to make sure you are getting enough food in each day.  Once you get used to eating more you can work on cleaning up the diet.  Now I say don't worry about eating clean but I'm not saying to eat a bunch of junk food either.

Maybe some of the more experienced HST guys will speak up.
 
Stop trying to eat healthy, just eat a ton of food, make sure a lot of it is meat. Include a lot of fats because they are high in calories. Better yet - learn to count calories and start doing that.

Listen to the guys about simplifying your routine. You don't need to do curls right now. Focus on big compounds and getting those weights up there. It may seem like you are really weak right now, but if you apply yourself and keep at it, you will be benching 200 lbs in no time.
 
So, I dont work out the arms for now? and I eat a lot of food I really mean by eating healthy as in, I dont eat candy and junk food like chips and such.
 
Junk food is not as bad as you might think. McDonalds Diet

As Tot says you need lots of calorie dense foods. So, if you make a salad make sure there's a decent amount of olive oil on it.

If you do a routine like Bulldog suggests then stick deads at the end. That way your lowerback will be less fatigued for rows and you will have recovered a bit more from the squats by the time you get too them. Do the presses standing up so you can use your legs a bit during post-5s to get a bit more weight on the bar. Then control the descent. Yup, forget arms for now. They will be worked well enough with back, chest and shoulders.

Personally, I would alternate rows with chins and bench with dips but right now there is no real need to do that. You just need to lift constantly and get your eating right. You should be able to gain a lb a week. If you are not then you need to eat another 500 cals extra a day (around 2 large eggs and a pint of milk).

All the best.
 
You should do the seefood diet. If you see food, eat it!
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Ok, but seriously its good that you try to eat a lot, but if you dont gain any pounds you have to eat even more. Its good to eat healthy but if you dont get any results you should try to eat "unhealthy" food too (as Tot suggested), like pizza, hamburgers and such because its easier to get calories from those sources.
Btw, milk is great, it has protein and calories and is nutritious too, dont use the low-fat ones.
 
Something else I just thought about that I don't think was mentioned.

Make sure you are getting a pre-workout and post-workout shake.  The extra protein is absolutely necessary at these times if you are having a hard time eating enough food.

I also recommend you take a good multi-vitamin and either some flax or fish oil to make sure you are getting the essential fats your body needs.  I was absolutely amazed how much better I felt after I added the flax oil to my diet.  But don't waste your money on any other supplements.  Spend your money on food.
 
You notice how almost all the advice is for food? Wakeup call: no food, no sleep, no growth. Are you sleeping?

I used to weigh 165, I'm now bouncing around 200-210. I'm 5'11" tall and 53 yrs old.
No sniveling.
 
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(Tinyy @ Nov. 15 2006,23:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">So, I dont work out the arms for now? and I eat a lot of food I really mean by eating healthy as in, I dont eat candy and junk food like chips and such.</div>
Oh yeah, you'll be working your arms. When you do pullups you are pulling 140...can you curl that much? Even if you can't do pullups yet, I'm certain you'll be pulling more on the lat pulldown than you can curl.

Same for triceps, no matter how weak your bench and overhead press are compared to some huge guy that's been lifting forever...it's still heavy for you and it's still going to be waaay heavier than you can do tricep extensions with.

To be perfectly honest, I did a sh*tty thing. After reading all the great posts on here about less being better I experimented with some of my people (I don't call them clients because I'm not a real trainer and I train them for free). I put them on a very minimal workout with only Squat, Dead, Bench, Row, Overhead press, Cable Crunch 3 times a week, using mostly HST principals...they all did very well and in only 8 weeks had big visible body changes. Now I'm going to be doing it instead of my 4 hour/day workout. You should consider trying it too.

Now about not gaining - you do that workout and eat enough to support your lifting, lifestyle, metabolism, and cardio - you will gain.

Many advise no cardio while bulking. They are correct, you will grow better without it. But I feel this is bad advice, I tried it myself and learned that when you get out of breath while squatting, you can't squat as much or with as much intensity, so keep the cardio and eat more.

Same about diet - don't eat garbage just to gain. I lift to live, not live to lift...that means I want to end up healthier than when I started, not get big and destroy my health in the process.

Eat at least 16 calories/lb, maybe even up to 20/lb. If you are using gear or between 16 and 21 years old (and male) you may be able to handle up to 25 calories/lb without getting too fat.

Start at 16 and work your way up.
Carbs 45%, Protein 35%, Fat 20%. Adjust according to the results you get. Simple carbs should be eaten before and after workouts, the rest of the day eat more complex carbs with your protein and low fat meals.

If you need to lose fat you eat more fat and less carbs.

To track your intake and nutrients open a free account at www.fitday.com and use it every day until knowing the values of what you eat is automatic.

Often when we think we are eating a lot of food, it's not enough. There are very few hardgainers but a great many undereaters.
 
Thanks a lot for the advice guys. For the work out part, Im going to start simplifying as you guys said. For the eating part however, im still trying to figure out what to do for my diet. Basically what I do now, is eat 6 meals a day. And try to eat whatever I see. I eat LOTS of peanut butter w. whole wheat sandwhiches. 2 per meal. along with other stuff. I find the whole counting calories and nutrients to be very complicated. I will be trying to fix my diet using that site you provided vagrant. I just find that to eat a lot, I have to spend lots of money on food. Money that I cant get too easily because of school and the work that I have to do causing me to be unable to get a job. Also, Im in school so that takes up a lot of the time that I could be out eating.

Thanks a lot on the advice guys, I will be updating you guys on my progress
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