Seeker's Quest for Success!

Oh, I'm far from that hahahaha. I guess I can go up a lot more, but I don't do warm ups I do dynamic stretching beforehand. Should I start doing warmups then my sets/reps and if I am not too tired I should do one more set same reps but higher the load?
 
I think you should do a mix of both dynamic stretching and warmups. The stretching will get your joints good and loose, and the warmups will get your fibers good and warm. Both are very effective injury prevention techniques, and at the same time help you to reach your fullest potential as a lifter. Warm muscle fibers are more prone to react favorably to stress - and as the loads go up, so does the stress. Warm up effectively all around and you'll see your maxes increase nicely up to your natural (genetic) potential.

To answer your question about the extra set... My opinion - yes, do the extra set. That's only if you have a tremendous amount of energy left; don't go nuts and overextend; that goes against the HST principles 100%. You need to apply enough stress to induce hypertrophy, and that does not mean training to maximum exertion. It does, however mean that you have to train enough and that may just call for an additional set or two. Or three. OK - I'm getting ahead of myself here, but you get the point.
 
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At your 15/10/5RM should the RPE be about 9/10?

Also, I would like to start increasing my chest as much as possible. Any suggestions other than proper form?
 
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Yes - RPE for a near max-effort 10 or 15 rep set should be in the 9-10 range.

Chest size requires four things - muscle density, lots of blood, time and good genetics. So - to increase your chest size as much as your genetic code will allow, strengthen your pecs as much as you can using bench press as the primary lift and both incline and decline movements as assistance lifts, and do metabolic work from time to time focusing on the chest as a part of the metabolic work. That will accomplish the goal - so long as you are patient through the process. This could take some time - just be prepared for that.

Assistance lifting is always done with a medium rep count (8-10) with loads that don't incur massive RPE over 3-5 sets. Usually work with 75-80% of your RM for whatever rep range you choose, and progress as you see fit. You never want to compromise your core lifts with assistance lifts.

Metabolic work is done with very light weights or BW with a very high rep count across a couple exercises done in circuit without stopping. The best results usually come from time-based work, where you try to get as much done as you can within a certain amount of time. Pick 3-4 movements, predetermine your target reps per segment, and get to it.
 
When should I perform metabolic work and how does it do anything? I'm pretty new to that concept...

Should I do assistance lifting on off days?

During SD should I do dynamic stretching everyday to warm up the joint and help repair them? What would be the best way to maximize the speed and effectiveness of joint repair? I am planning on only waiting a week since my joints are barely hurting.

Also, what do you mean good genetics?

Can I do ab work outs during my SD?



Anyways.

Here's what I did today, I don't feel like writing the other days cause I'm lazy and today I incoporated WU(warm ups)


30mins Dynamic Stretching

Front Squat:
2x5x100lbs(WU)
1x5x120lbs

Dips:
2x5x40lbs(WU)
1x5x65lbs

Wide Rows:
2x5x115lbs(WU)
1x5x135lbs

Narrow Rows:
2x5x65lbs(WU)
1x5x90lbs

Wide Gripped Shoulder Press:
2x5x80lbs(WU)
1x5x100lbs

Behind Head Shoulder Press:
Skipped because I could barely finish Wide Gripped...

Shrugs:
2x5x180lbs(WU)
1x5x200lbs

Curls:
2x5x70lbs(WU)
1x5x90lbs
I didn't do the last set because that max is way off and needs to be adjusted but I won't be doing it anymore so screw it :p

Tricep Extension:
2x5x40lbs(WU)
1x5x60lbs

Calve Raises:
2x5x220lbs(WU)
1x5x240lbs
 
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TheSeeker07 said:
When should I perform metabolic work and how does it do anything? I'm pretty new to that concept...

Should I do assistance lifting on off days?

During SD should I do dynamic stretching everyday to warm up the joint and help repair them? What would be the best way to maximize the speed and effectiveness of joint repair? I am planning on only waiting a week since my joints are barely hurting.

Also, what do you mean good genetics?

Can I do ab work outs during my SD?
Click to expand...

Metabolic work is used for fat loss and air/blood delivery to the muscle groups affected. Inject it into your training where you see fit; at the end of a workout week is usually good.

Assistance lifting is not a concept used in vanilla HST. I more or less just introduced that concept to you in response to your question about increasing chest size. If you want to read up on assistance lifting concepts, I'd encourage it for future lifting cycles. It's something used in SST cycles most of the time.

SD is all about rest and resetting the CNS. The only activity done during this time would be LIGHT cardio. SD's can be very hard to complete if you're used to going to the gym, but the science behind it is very sound.

What I meant about good genetics is that we all have genetic limitations as to how much we can grow in different ways. For instance, I will never have Arnold's arms in Conan by way of good nutrition and lifting. I will also never be 6'5" tall, no matter how much I eat. How big you can get naturally (ie with good nutrition, no chemical assistance and regular training) is limited by your genetic makeup. You likely have no way of knowing exactly what that size is unless you've been training for a good number of years.

I hope that answers your questions.
 
I hope this is getting to be an annoyance, I love asking you quesitons and getting answers :p I get quite excited for your replies in all honesty.

Yeah, well, I am used to working out now but I guess I can give it a one week rest. Do you happen to know any good articles about Assistance lifting then? If you encourage it in future lifts then I wouldn't mind incorporating it in my next cycle possibly.

Back to the metabolic work....is it like aerobic stuff? What are some good exercises you would do for metabolic work?

Did you think my last workout was good in terms of Warm Ups and dynamic stretching? Is there a specific percentage I will wanna hit for WU's?
 
This isn't annoying at all - I'm glad I can help.

The best descriptions about assistance lifts that I know are in a book called Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. If you really want to learn the fundamentals of lifting and designing cycles, I'd highly recommend you read it. Many here on the forum are Rippetoe disciples - for good reason.

A component of metabolic work is aerobic, yes, but due to the stress you're putting on your muscles as well, it's also anaerobic in nature. There are a ton of articles on the internet about it - this is maybe one of the better ones in terms of providing a definition and some guidelines.. http://getmonsterfit.blogspot.com/2009/07/metabolic-conditioning-defined.html

Warmups are something that I think you should do by feel; I'm sure that there is a predefined warmup routine out there, but at the end of the day you should do as many sets as you feel necessary to prepare for work sets, without compromising the work sets.
 
What's the difference between aerobic and anaerobic? What's anaerobic?

Can you link me to the book via Amazon?
 
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Thanks _tim! That helped a lot!

So, I can basically do at the end of the week or after each work out a metabolic workout.

It could look something like this:

Bench:
2x15x15RM@45%

Squat:
2x15x15RM@45%

Deadlift:
2x15x15RM@45%

Run:
300meters

All under 30 minutes.


Would that basically be how I should do it or should I do it differently?
 
Yes, Seeker - that's it if you want to use compounds. That would absolutely do what you need it to do. You want to do it in a circuit fashion. So, you'd structure it like this...

Bench x 15
Squat x 15
Deads x 15
Run 150 meters

REPEAT, do it for time. Get 'em done as quickly as you can.

Here's the caution - if you do this in the course of a cycle, it may get kinda boring because you're doing the same lifts as you do in your cycle.

Here's another one, without weights that could absolutely induce vomit...

Bulgarian Split Squat (bopdyweight only) x 15 (here's a vid for reference) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg-KqBelS7Q
Push-Ups x 15
Crunches x 15
Chins x 15

Do 4 rounds for time - and when that gets easy, add 2 more rounds. Alternate legs for the Split Squat with each set.
 
Which one would get everything I want to get done, done?

I was doing pullups during my HST instead of chin ups, so I'm not sure if I can do 15 or not. I wasn't able to do 15 pullups.

Would it be a good idea to alternate the type of pushups you do?
 
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Any program of high intensity work will accomplish what you're looking for. See, that's the thing about training - there are a ton of ways to get to a desired result. It's just that some are better than others in some regards. When it comes to metabolic work though, it's whether or not you do the work at a high intensity that determines the outcome. Try them both, Seeker. Heck - rotate 'em over time. Come up with new fun ways to make yourself vomit. When it comes to metabolic work, if you're not exhausted, grasping for all the air you possibly can, and in general miserable at the end of the routine, you didn't do metabolic work.

On the chins/pullups thing - you have a choice to make. You could lower the target to 10 for that part of the routine, or you could cluster the reps. In the spirit of the routine, it's the pace of the overall effort that matters. That's why you keep track of your time each time you do it - to see progress. Chins or pullups are fine - some form of vertical pulling is the only criteria.

I'd do one kind of pushup. Keep in mind - this is stress beyond stress for a short period of time.
 
"Come up with new fun ways to make yourself vomit." - hahahahahahaha, that was so freaking funny! :D

Okay, well, I'll do the one you made up because I gotta agree it would get boring to do the same routine. Thanks for the help.

Wouldn't that increase all my muscle mass cause the blood flow? How does that have a lasting effect so muscles (chest) size grow?
 
Wouldn't that increase all my muscle mass cause the blood flow? How does that have a lasting effect so muscles (chest) size grow
Click to expand...
Metabolic workouts do a bunch of things, Seeker. It primarily develops cardiovascular endurance and burns fat, but that's not all. Let's look at your first question...

Increased blood flow delivers nutrients to muscle tissue, which in a sense feeds it. This helps in a bunch of different ways - most importantly recovery and growth. Metabolic workouts deliver blood to the muscle groups local to whatever movement you're doing, yes. BUT - you're not going to see as much hypertrophy from metabolic work as compared to an HST cycle. What you will see is an overall increase in your fitness level and body composition, which in turn will help you develop more quickly and hit your goals that much faster.

Increasing your chest size will honestly come with time. You have to develop a certain amount of strength before you see noticeable growth occur - and HST is perfect for that.
 
Oh, okay. I didn't really catch on to the blood flow delivering nutrients etc.

Too bad I didn't have my schedule prepared like my upcoming schedule...
 
First Week - 15s

Pre-Work Out Dynamic Stretches 30mins

Bench:
2x10x90lbs(WU)
2x15x110lbs

I wasn't able to complete my second set, I got stuck after 12 so I waited 30secs and did three more reps. I noticed that my WU's were pretty close to my real sets, I need to be more careful when I do my WU's.

Deadlift:
Forgot WU haha...
2x15x135lbs

This was very tiring, second set was actually easier. I don't know if the WU would've helped, I'm sure it would've...Oh well.

Chins:
2x1negativexBW(WU)
1x5xBW
1x2xBW

I went up super slow and went down super slow, that's what I meant by negative. I'm not too good with chins, I'll just try my best..

Shrugs:
2x10x125lbs(WU)
2x15x170lbs

It was tiring, not hard, just tiring.



Diet/Supplement Plan:
30mins pre-workout PMD creatine
AMP wheybolic post-workout drink (drink as much as can w/o getting sick)
6 meals a day; eat eggs in morning every morning w/ oatmeal, during day I'll eat pasta w/ chicken or chicken or tuna or other good stuff I can find to cook that good in carbs/protein. Most important is that I eat above my limit so that I have a surplus of calories.
Drink 8, 10oz of water daily.

Overall:
It was just tiring, cause it's 15 reps...It's definitely a work out now though haha. I'm pushing myself. A nice diet plan/supplement/work out plan I should have a lot more growth.

Hard work pays off.
 
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Pre-Work Out Dynamic Stretching 30mins

Shoulder Press:
2x10x40lbs(WU)
2x15x65lbs

It wasn't too bad..

Squat:
2x10x95lbs(WU)
2x15x120lbs

It wasn't too bad either haha, it wasn't easy though.

Pendlay Rows:
2x10x45lbs(WU)
2x15x85lbs

Very tiring...it was tuff.

Clean and Jerks:
won't do until 10s


Overall:
It was tiring, not too hard, but not easy.
 
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Friday

30mins - Dynamic Stretching

Bench:
2x10x80lbs(WU)
2x15x115lbs

Deadlift:
2x10x115lbs(WU)
2x15x140lbs

Shrugs:
2x10x135lbs(WU)
2x15x175lbs

Chins:
No Warm Up
2x15xBW(Negative)

I just went down REAL slow then I used a stool to position myself again. It was tuff still.

Metabolic Work

4 cycles
Bulgarian Split Squat:
15 reps

Push Ups:
15 reps

Crunches:
15 reps

Run 200 meters



Overall:
It was tiring as crap.

Philippians 4:13


Monday

30 mins - Dynamic Stretching

Shoulder Press:
2x10x45lbs(WU)
2x15x70lbs

Squat:
2x10x95lbs(WU)
2x15x125lbs

Pendlay Rows:
2x10x50lbs(WU)
2x15x90lbs

Overall:
FUN! Not...It still isn't as tiring as when I do deadlifts haha.
 
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