TangoDown's HST Cluster Log

A lot of DOMS in glutes and hamstrings. Less external rotation of the legs makes a huge difference, it seems. Will keep that in mind.
 
Get 10 reps. Work sets clustered 3 minutes apart.

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 180lb x 5 (PR), x 3, x 2, 135lb x 15

Leg Press (non-plate loaded): 335lb x 5, x 5

Weighted Pullups: Belt + 35lb x 5, x 5
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FINALLY PR'd on flat bench. Think I'm going to stick with this weight for a couple more sessions. I think one of the reasons I have trouble progressing is because right when I PR, I push up 5lb and end up working with a 3-4RM and maybe going to failure for a couple of sessions. So I'll see if I can hit at least 4 reps on the 2nd cluster of 180lb before I push to 185lb, assuming I don't start accumulating a considerable amount of CNS fatigue.

Started leg press deload and still progressing back up to my 5RM with weighted pullups.
 
Today's session was alright. Moving back up on deadlifts, though I think I should stop bouncing. It's easier to keep tight when there's bouncing though. We'll see what I can do.

Incline Bench, 170lb x 2, then 5 minute rest and then got 3. Think I can hit more next time. Deadlift left me pretty fatigued so I've got to give myself some more rest before I jump into the next lift.

Weighted Pullups: Belt + 40lb x 5 were pretty easy and actually felt easier than Belt + 35lb x 5, so it seems like the deload is again working well for these.
 
I'm about to SD.

As the designer of the modified program I was on, do you have any idea about how I could implement both conventional and sumo deadlift into my next cycle?

Right now the leg split is sumo deadlift/leg press/sumo deadlift. I was thinking something along the lines of placing a light deadlift day on my leg press day. So heavy deadlift day, I'd pull conventional, then light deadlift day, sumo, then heavy deadlift day sumo, then light deadlift day, conventional.

So I'd be cycling in and out of both movement patterns. My concern would be too much deadlifting, as it is CNS-intensive. But I'd like to use both movements and I'd think that cycling in and out each week, meaning only doing one type each week, would result in not a lot of practice for either lift and thus not as much strength gain.
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Happy to respond mate.

I would probably restrict heavy deads to once per week. I've just found that they're so CNS intensive that even with 3 days spacing in between, that my gains stopped coming for a little while there.

I was doing A-A-B-A-A-B-A etc. just working out every other day, Rack Pulls for A, Deads for B (obviously letting my form go a bit sloppy for Rack Pulls in the last week was dumb, but not really relevant here either).

What you're really talking about here is probably better to be looked at in terms of weeks:

Wk 1: A - Heavy Conventional
Wk 1: B - Light Conventional

Wk 2: A - Heavy Sumo
Wk 2: B - Light conventional

Repeat


I think that's fine. If you have to skip a work out, skip the 'light' days. Frankly, I find high rep deads to be killer, so I wouldn't make it too high and if the heavy days get affected, I'd dial back either the rep count or the load on light days.
 
So a normal week would look something like:

Mon: Heavy Conventional

Weds: Leg Press

Fri: Light Conventional

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Also, why is sumo done only once in a 2 week span? Do you think I should focus primarily on conventional and utilized sumo enough so that it's maintained as a movement pattern?

If this is the pattern you think I should do, then maybe light days should linearly linearly progress from say, 70% of my 5RM, whilst doing maybe shooting for 15 reps. Light would go up 5lb each week so it doesn't get too heavy, and can be used primarily for CNS recovery and practice.

How should I handle a strength disparity between sumo and conventional? Should I use the weaker lift's (most likely conventional since I haven't done it in months) weight for both lifts so I don't hit a wall on sumo before I'm done progressing with conventional?

I think I'm going to test my conventional 5RM and then end out the cycle.
 
End of Cycle Results (6/14 to 8/31):

Note that I deloaded all movements during the cycle, so essentially this cycle was a hybrid of 2 mini cycles.

Body Weight: 170lb ---> 175lb at 5'8".

Sumo Deadlift: 295lb x 1 ---> 315lb x 5. Was a new movement pattern which was why I started weak. Need to keep tight during the lift. If I let my thoracic spine round, I can push past 315lb x 5. But I need to check my ego.

Flat Bench: 175lb x 5 ---> 180lb x 5. My hardest lift to improve on, as you can see from how much incline bench shot up this cycle.

Incline Bench: 145lb x 5 ---> 165lb x 5. Shot up a ton relative to my flat bench.

Weighted Pullups: Belt + 40lb x 4 ---> Belt + 47.5lb x 4. I was just short of 5 reps last session. If done on a pullup bar that isn't so fat, I think I could get all 5. Not going to cheat myself though so I'll consider Belt + 45lb my 5RM.

Leg Press (non-plate loaded): 320lb x 5 ---> 365lb x 5. Started these about a month after the cycle started to replace squats.
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Overall, a successful cycle for certain movement patterns (pulling, incline bench) and a dreadful cycle for others (flat bench, squats [which I dropped mid-cycle due to ankle issues and being stuck 20lb under the previous cycle's 4RM for some reason]).

Going to test my conventional 5RM and end out the cycle.

I'm definitely not skinny anymore, but I'm not chubby, so I guess I can deal with another 5lb-10lb of fat on my frame before I decide I've had enough with what I see in the mirror.

Going to try to get on creatine and maybe up to 4000 calories a day if I can muster it. Any of you guys have any advice on creatine, let me know.
 
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TangoDown said:
So a normal week would look something like:

Mon: Heavy Conventional

Weds: Leg Press

Fri: Light Conventional

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Also, why is sumo done only once in a 2 week span? Do you think I should focus primarily on conventional and utilized sumo enough so that it's maintained as a movement pattern?

If this is the pattern you think I should do, then maybe light days should linearly linearly progress from say, 70% of my 5RM, whilst doing maybe shooting for 15 reps. Light would go up 5lb each week so it doesn't get too heavy, and can be used primarily for CNS recovery and practice.

How should I handle a strength disparity between sumo and conventional? Should I use the weaker lift's (most likely conventional since I haven't done it in months) weight for both lifts so I don't hit a wall on sumo before I'm done progressing with conventional?

I think I'm going to test my conventional 5RM and then end out the cycle.
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Is that what you're asking? One week conventional, one week sumo? You can go heavy conv., light sumo Wk 1, and vice versa for week 2, not a lot of difference there IMO.

I like leg press a lot for getting deads off the floor and into the stage of the lift where the back takes over.


I would think something like this:

M: H-Conv.

W: Leg press

F: Leg press + light conv/sumo

M: H-Sumo

W: Leg Press

F: Leg press + light sumo/conv



Leg press's obviously sticking to normal heavy-cluster range and progression


Handling strength difference b/t conv and sumo is no different to managing b/t flat and incline; it's all relative to the lift, not across lifts.


I wouldn't think you're raising the load for 'light' lifts v.often. You're keeping it lighter intentionally, no? 15 reps at the most. 10 would be enough, I think.
 
Thanks for the clarification.

I'll try this out and see how it goes. 2 heavy leg press days in succession should be interesting.

I only brought up the disparity between strength in lifts because I haven't pulled conventional in 3 months, so at least for the first few weeks, I'll still be getting back into the grove with that. Sumo and conventional feel like completely different lifts for me.

Good point with the light lift. I'm doing it for lift practice and a bit of recovery. I guess I can keep the load around 70% of my 5RM, continuously, which means it'll only go up with a PR and not continuously each week.
 
Tested conventional DL today. There's a considerable disparity between conventional and sumo, which makes sense considering I haven't pulled conventionally in months.

And so comes the SD. I'll be back lifting 2 Weds from now.
 
Back at it today. Felt weak as hell, but that's expected considering the SD. Let the gainz begin.

All work sets clustered at 10 reps.

Sumo Deadlift 135lb x 5, 225lb x 5, 285lb x 5, x 4

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 170lb x 5, x 3, x 2, 135lb x 5

Weighted Pullups: BW x 5, Belt + 35lb x 5, x 3, x 2
 
All work sets clustered at 10 reps

Incline Bench: 95lb x 5, 135lb x 5, 155lb x 5, x 5, 115lb x 15

Leg Press (non-plate Loaded): 250lb x 5, 320lb x 5, 345lb x 5, x 5

Weighted Pullups: BW x 5, Belt + 35lb x 5, x 5

Decline Crunches: BW x 10, 25lb Plate x 9
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Went well. Considering shifting in these decline crunches for some direct ab work. We'll see.
 
All work sets clustered at 10 reps.

Light Deadlift: 135lb x 5 Conventionally, 225lb x 5 Conventionally, x 5 Conventionally, x 5 Sumo

Bench Press: 115lb x 5, 135lb x 5. 175lb x 5, x 3, x 2

Weighted Pullups: BW x 5, Belt + 40lb x 4
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Dunno why I did what I did with deadlifts. Guess I was just trying to get a feel for which I liked better. I still don't like the idea of switching off between sumo and conventional every other week...do I get enough practice with each lift?

Bench, building strength back up from the SD.

Same goes for pullups, though disappointing that it dropped so low. Sticking with Belt + 40lb until it's back being easy.

Forgot to do leg press, and forgot my jacket at the gym :(.
 
Haven't posted here in a while.

I think I've tapped out on my gains at this weight, and I can't seem to gain any more weight despite taking in 3500 calories a day. Been eating a surplus for a billion years now, so my metabolism probably hates me now. This cycle has barely produced anything in the way of strength so I think it's time to go on a nice long cut. Started on Creatine. Loaded it this week (5g 4 times per day for 5 days), and it seemed to give me about 3lb of added water weight but not much in the way of strength gains for the majority of my lifts. I'll still keep on it.

Where I'm at:

Currently weigh 178lb at 5'8". Guessing I'm about 17-19% body fat.

Incline Bench: 165lb x 4 (went down 1 rep and I can't seem to get it back up to 5).

Sumo Deadlift: 315lb x 4 (I can probably get 5. Just focusing on having as neutral back as possible so I don't cheat myself). My 5 rep max last cycle was this but done with notably rounded upper back, which I didn't like.

Flat Bench. Stopped doing heavy flat bench because I wasn't making any gains and I have long arms. I do do my 15RM set for this after my clusters for whatever chest movement I'm doing that day. That actually is up from 135lb x 15 last cycle to 145lb x 14.

Dips: Just started these, cycling these out every other session with incline bench Up to Belt + 45lb x 5. Will probably hit Belt + 50lb x 5 sometime soon as I'm still adjusting to these. These will definitely shoot up as I start dropping weight.

Weighted Pullups: Belt + 47.5lb x 5, PR'd here. I think I'd be able to hit more if the bar at my gym wasn't so fat.

Leg Press: Gym changed up the machine so it's still non-plate loaded but you're pushing yourself away from the platform as opposed to pushing the platform away from you. Feels a bit more like a squat. 365lb x 4 here. I think it goes up to about 500lb.

Decline Ab Crunches: Do these 3 times a week just because. 30 reps first set, and as many as I can muster next set.

Bent-over Rear Delt Row: Done as a prehab movement. Was doing sets of 10 with 70lb DBs, and now doing sets of 15. Not close to failure. Just doing these to keep the shoulder girdle healthy.
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How do you guys (specifically Alex and the other HST vets) think I handle a cut? I care primarily about strength. Should I do a standard HST cycle with 12-8-5 rep range and no SD (since I won't be gaining any muscle)? I think I'll continue on the creatine (5 grams a day). Calorie intake? Protein? I'm probably looking to cut down a good 20lb. I'm guessing it'd be healthy to lose about 4-5lb a month?
 
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TangoDown said:
Bump. Any ideas on how I should handle a 20lb cut, diet/program-wise? Hit Dips Belt + 50lb x 5 today.
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Lift heavy to retain muscle, volume can be low.

You can lose up to 2 pounds/week, just keep protein high and don't go too fast.

It's pretty simple, the hard part in cutting is the hunger cravings.
 
Keep lifting the same, make the cuts in your macros 'equally', so to speak. You need the same high protein, want carbs pre-WO (general window) to sustain energy, and don't drop fats substantially or your hormones are going to get shot to $hit.
 
AlexAustralia said:
Keep lifting the same, make the cuts in your macros 'equally', so to speak. You need the same high protein, want carbs pre-WO (general window) to sustain energy, and don't drop fats substantially or your hormones are going to get shot to $hit.
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I don't count carbs or fats, and I don't restrict them either (with the exception of saturated fat). I think I get more than enough and probably will get more than enough during the cut. Protein is probably the only thing I need to keep track of. I should probably get me some casein.

Thanks folks.
 
No need to get casein - just buy whatever meat source is cheapest; chicken breast, minced beef/pork etc.

If you aren't counting for intake, then cutting is just not going to happen with any degree of effectiveness or efficiency.
 
AlexAustralia said:
No need to get casein - just buy whatever meat source is cheapest; chicken breast, minced beef/pork etc.

If you aren't counting for intake, then cutting is just not going to happen with any degree of effectiveness or efficiency.
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I count calories (forgot to imply that in the last post), but I'm not up on carb/fat macros. I eat a variety of food throughout the day, and I can estimate calories/protein fairly well, but not carbs or fat. I'll eat a carb item preworkout, but I think I can just rely on the notion that I'll definitely be taking in enough fat/carbs, as my diet tends to consist of a lot of dairy and bread items. So I'll count protein/calories as I've been doing.

As for meat source, I'm out most of the day from early morning until night, so it's a lot more convenient for me to take in a lower calorie protein shake of my creation (for this cut, otherwise I wouldn't make it low calorie) in the morning and at night so I can not have to worry about being 40grams under my protein macro whilst having already met my reduced-calorie intake for the day, all by 10pm. Of course these shakes won't be the only protein source I take in.
 
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