Sci's HST Log
- Thread starter Sci
- Start date
Sci
Well-Known Member
I feel awesome, but also pretty sore and beat up after last night's workout. In a good way. lol.
I decided to keep all the exercises from last night, but also throw in the DB preacher curls, as they really seem to target the bicep harder than any pulling compound. If my elbows protest, obviously I will have to drop these, but I have never really had problems in the past, except with the brachoradialis inflamed from work and such, but they have been fine fro a long while now.
I was always just lazy to do curls, and I have relied on compounds for biceps and triceps. However, lately I feel my triceps are getting plenty thrashed during weighted dips, but I never really get a hard bicep workout, except during pulldowns or chinups, but even then, it is secondary to the tension on the lats. My biceps are lagging behind my triceps at this point, and so I am finally going to put preacher curls into my HST program. I am hoping the direct arm training will also carry over into better pulling strength for rows and pulldowns and such.
Oh, and if anyone is looking for the god of tricep exercises, I found it...weighted dips.
I decided to keep all the exercises from last night, but also throw in the DB preacher curls, as they really seem to target the bicep harder than any pulling compound. If my elbows protest, obviously I will have to drop these, but I have never really had problems in the past, except with the brachoradialis inflamed from work and such, but they have been fine fro a long while now.
I was always just lazy to do curls, and I have relied on compounds for biceps and triceps. However, lately I feel my triceps are getting plenty thrashed during weighted dips, but I never really get a hard bicep workout, except during pulldowns or chinups, but even then, it is secondary to the tension on the lats. My biceps are lagging behind my triceps at this point, and so I am finally going to put preacher curls into my HST program. I am hoping the direct arm training will also carry over into better pulling strength for rows and pulldowns and such.
Oh, and if anyone is looking for the god of tricep exercises, I found it...weighted dips.
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Great to see you making some PR's, Sci. All the best with your continued cutting. Get those lats out in a future pic. 
The only PR's I get on a cut, irrespective of carbing-up and coffee, are bodyweight exercises. Dips and chins get easier, as do bar-muscle-ups. The nearest I ever got to a single-arm chin was right after I finished cutting down to sub-10% bf and then picking up my cals for a few days.
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Yeah, totally due to weight reduction.
That's what I meant. My top level strength always drops off as my bodyweight decreases. Some of it must be due to intramuscular fat loss which would cause a little loss in work efficiency but I think that would be small. It must surely be mainly due to some muscle loss though. You can skew things in favour of fat loss and preservation of lean tissue, but not entirely. I think that's what happens to me.
Sci
Well-Known Member
Ok, so I am being real here, I have NEVER been really "ripped" in my life. When I was young I was skinny-fat, and then i bulked up and put on muscle, but because I am so lazy at counting protein and calories, I was never able to get my bodyfat down very low without losing muscle.
SO, now that I realize that counting protein and calories is absolutely essential for me as a natural to get to 10% bodyfat or lower. I am going to keep a detailed diet journal with me all day from now on. I hardly eat anything lately on my cut, so at least it will be easy at first! lol.
Training tonight also. Going for some more PRs.
Bodyweight is around 192 lb.s Roughly 14% bodyfat based on the mirror, and scale.
When I started training last summer, I was 192 lb.s, but probably closer to 18% bodyfat.
SO that would mean I went from 157 lb.s of lean mass, to my present 165 lb.s of lean mass. So I gained 8 pounds of muscle, in 6 months, and now I am shedding some fat, before I bulk again. My target is to hit 180 lb.s, and try not to lose much lean mass. I f I can get down to 180, and only lose a small amount of lean mass, lets say my lean mass gets down to 162 lb.s, that would put me at exactly 10% bodyfat, and from there I am going to continue trying to bulk up some more muscle.
SO, now that I realize that counting protein and calories is absolutely essential for me as a natural to get to 10% bodyfat or lower. I am going to keep a detailed diet journal with me all day from now on. I hardly eat anything lately on my cut, so at least it will be easy at first! lol.
Training tonight also. Going for some more PRs.
Bodyweight is around 192 lb.s Roughly 14% bodyfat based on the mirror, and scale.
When I started training last summer, I was 192 lb.s, but probably closer to 18% bodyfat.
SO that would mean I went from 157 lb.s of lean mass, to my present 165 lb.s of lean mass. So I gained 8 pounds of muscle, in 6 months, and now I am shedding some fat, before I bulk again. My target is to hit 180 lb.s, and try not to lose much lean mass. I f I can get down to 180, and only lose a small amount of lean mass, lets say my lean mass gets down to 162 lb.s, that would put me at exactly 10% bodyfat, and from there I am going to continue trying to bulk up some more muscle.
Sci
Well-Known Member
Hammer Pulldowns: 250x5
Machine Dips: 290x5
Cable Rows: 190x5
Machine Flyes: 240x5
WG Pulldowns: 160x5
Arnold Press: 55s x7
Preacher Curls: 70x8
Leg Press: 500x5
Seat Calves: 125x9
I downloaded a macronutrient counter app.
I just ate my normal diet and recorded. I tried to focus on protein, but still got way too much fat and carbs... I am glad I am doing this though.
259 protein
150 carbs
96 fat
2500 calories.
Machine Dips: 290x5
Cable Rows: 190x5
Machine Flyes: 240x5
WG Pulldowns: 160x5
Arnold Press: 55s x7
Preacher Curls: 70x8
Leg Press: 500x5
Seat Calves: 125x9
I downloaded a macronutrient counter app.
I just ate my normal diet and recorded. I tried to focus on protein, but still got way too much fat and carbs... I am glad I am doing this though.
259 protein
150 carbs
96 fat
2500 calories.
Sci
Well-Known Member
How does one specialise a bodypart? The extra volume//a million exercises approach obviously doesn't work (or we'd all be HIT, once-per-week nutjobs). Reduced # of exercises in total (more food per worked muscle or something) ... ? Just curious
By focusing the lion's share of your training toward a certain BODYPART...priority training, first to train in workout, more exercises, sets, or such, the idea is to basically train for maintenance for the other body parts, while retraining for maximum hypertrophy in the target "specialized" muscle.
In my case I do 1 exercise for each major muscle, but I will do 3 exercises that target the lats and back from different angles, and put them in the front of the program.
Make sense? I got the gist if the idea from Lyle McDonald's specialization training ideas on his forum.
When I specialize for muscle groups, it typically follows Lyle's reasoning somewhat. I cut volume back on the muscle groups I am not specializing in so that they will simply be maintained - or in my case with legs, I simply eliminate them altogether since I know that my legs won't shrink - and then reallocate that volume to the muscles I am specializing in. I don't just add the volume all in as working sets at top weight though, although a lot of it will be - I also add some of it in as higher rep volume to get metabolic work in alongside the heavy work.
I figured it went something like that.
Sci
Well-Known Member
First couple of days tracking calories, I tried to get in 1.5 grams of protein per pound of LBM, and I tried to keep carbs and fats to a minimum, but I actually GAINED a little weight. Also I found myself eating way more protein than I normally ever eat. I am cutting my protein down to 1 gram/ pound of lbm, and cutting fat also. That should be plenty of protein still, but a lot less calories.
Hope to get around 1800 calories, that should put me at fat loss.
Hope to get around 1800 calories, that should put me at fat loss.
Sci
Well-Known Member
Geez, sub 2k is really low ... applying for a magazine cover in your near future?
Good luck w/the cravings mate.
Yeah, but I seem to be maintaining or gaining on 2400+ calories. I just want to get the fat off in a reasonably rapid fashion.