Hello all,
Rick here, aka Toolman. This post, my first on this forum, serves as my personal introduction to the forum as a new member, and outlines my goals and current HST program.
I'm a 53 year old bodybuilder living in Palm Springs California. I have been training on and off for most of my life but have never been satisfied with my progress. I have been self-employed as a handyman, hence "Toolman", for the last two years since I was laid off from my job as a project manager for a software company. For me this was the best thing that could have happened, and IMO being self-employed is the only way you can survive the US economy any more.
Bodybuilding Background
I have been a bodybuilder wannabe for about 30 years, but never stuck with any training program long enough to make the kind of consistent muscle gains necessary to be competitive. I would typically work out for about three months, usually using a 3 or 5 day split, and training to failure or near failure on almost every exercise. As you might expect, overtraining and I were well acquainted and no matter what I did I would keep training until the old symptoms of overtraining reared their ugly heads: constant fatigue, insomnia, loss of motivation. Only once did I train consistently and long enough to get into decent enough shape to enter a contest, and more than anything it was the contest itself that gave me the motivation. I learned a lot about goal-setting from that experience.
A few years ago when I discovered HST most of my problems with overtraining went away. This is the only program I've been able to stick with without entering an overtrained state. I stay motivated throughout each training cycle with none of the symptoms. In addition, usually starting around the end of the third week, the first of the ten's, I would be so pumped all the time that I find myself doing posing practice almost daily. Now the only reason I haven't achieved my bodybuilding goals is because I had an injury about a year ago, and have only been back to a full training schedule since May of this year.
Right now I'm nearing the end of my fourth HST cycle and while my weight and measurements haven't changed significantly, I can see major improvements in the mirror, and in the way my muscles feel - hard and tight. I am also smashing personal records in my lifts, though they may not be as impressive for most bodybuilders, they are for me. Today, for example, I benched 170 for two sets of 3-5 reps (this is week 7 of the cycle), and curled 100 pounds. Not too shabby, I must say. This is the first cycle where I've added an extra week of low rep sets, 3 or less per set, and I have a feeling that this is going to stimulate some explosive growth! Can't wait to see how I look next week!
Here is my exercise selection for the current cycle:
Cycle Four - 7 Weeks - 3 Workouts per week
Leg Press
Leg Curl
Calf Press
Machine Pullover
Pulldowns
Bench Press
Dips
Barbell Press
Bent over laterals
Tricep Pressdowns
Barbell Curls
Abs
Now I'm seriously thinking about entering some competitions next year, and there are four that I'm considering: One each next June, August, October and November, or 32, 40, 51, and 56 weeks out respectively. Currently, I weigh 185 at about 15% BF. By my calculations, if I can pack on about 10 pounds of muscle in the next 16 weeks, then cut down to 5% bodyfat over the 16 weeks after that, I'll come in at the top of the Middleweight class in the June show. Post competition, I thought I'd take advantage of the rebound effect, skip the second show, the one in August, and put on even more muscle and come in as a Light-Heavy for the show in October, then keep up the diet for the final show in December.
Here is what I'm considering as my next cycle:
Cycle Five - 7-8 Weeks - 4 Workouts per week
Workout One (Tuesday/Saturday)
Lunges
Leg Extensions
Calf Raise
Pulldowns
Wide Grip Low Rows
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl
Workout Two (Wednesday/Sunday)
Bench Press
Cable Crossovers
Barbell or Dumbbell Press
Laterals
Front Raise
Tricep Extensions
This is the first time I've done a split routine on HST, so I don't know how my body will respond. I'm doing it early enough in the pre-contest prep phase so I can make adjustments. Needless to say, any advice, suggestions, words of wisdom, or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.
Where I think I'll need more help is later as I transition into the pre-contest dieting phase. I'd be interested to hear from other HST'ers who have competed, and how you integrated HST training into your prep. I'm thinking of using only the first four weeks of HST, the Fifteens and the Tens, and skipping the Fives and SD. I'll try to time it so my contest falls at the end of the fourth week of an HST cycle. This seems to be when I'm at my most muscular. These ideas may certainly change over the next couple training cycles as I get more understanding how my body responds to the routine.
Hope to hear from others with similar interests and share knowledge and experience. Feel free to post here or send me a private message anytime.
Here are my pics, current as of 10/31/2010:
And for comparison here are some links to this years pictures of contests I'm planning to enter. At this point, I can enter any or all of the Open and Novice Middleweights, Over 40, and Over 50 classes in each show. (Surely I gotta get some hardware out of it!):
Border States
Pacific USA
Excalibur
Rick here, aka Toolman. This post, my first on this forum, serves as my personal introduction to the forum as a new member, and outlines my goals and current HST program.
I'm a 53 year old bodybuilder living in Palm Springs California. I have been training on and off for most of my life but have never been satisfied with my progress. I have been self-employed as a handyman, hence "Toolman", for the last two years since I was laid off from my job as a project manager for a software company. For me this was the best thing that could have happened, and IMO being self-employed is the only way you can survive the US economy any more.
Bodybuilding Background
I have been a bodybuilder wannabe for about 30 years, but never stuck with any training program long enough to make the kind of consistent muscle gains necessary to be competitive. I would typically work out for about three months, usually using a 3 or 5 day split, and training to failure or near failure on almost every exercise. As you might expect, overtraining and I were well acquainted and no matter what I did I would keep training until the old symptoms of overtraining reared their ugly heads: constant fatigue, insomnia, loss of motivation. Only once did I train consistently and long enough to get into decent enough shape to enter a contest, and more than anything it was the contest itself that gave me the motivation. I learned a lot about goal-setting from that experience.
A few years ago when I discovered HST most of my problems with overtraining went away. This is the only program I've been able to stick with without entering an overtrained state. I stay motivated throughout each training cycle with none of the symptoms. In addition, usually starting around the end of the third week, the first of the ten's, I would be so pumped all the time that I find myself doing posing practice almost daily. Now the only reason I haven't achieved my bodybuilding goals is because I had an injury about a year ago, and have only been back to a full training schedule since May of this year.
Right now I'm nearing the end of my fourth HST cycle and while my weight and measurements haven't changed significantly, I can see major improvements in the mirror, and in the way my muscles feel - hard and tight. I am also smashing personal records in my lifts, though they may not be as impressive for most bodybuilders, they are for me. Today, for example, I benched 170 for two sets of 3-5 reps (this is week 7 of the cycle), and curled 100 pounds. Not too shabby, I must say. This is the first cycle where I've added an extra week of low rep sets, 3 or less per set, and I have a feeling that this is going to stimulate some explosive growth! Can't wait to see how I look next week!
Here is my exercise selection for the current cycle:
Cycle Four - 7 Weeks - 3 Workouts per week
Leg Press
Leg Curl
Calf Press
Machine Pullover
Pulldowns
Bench Press
Dips
Barbell Press
Bent over laterals
Tricep Pressdowns
Barbell Curls
Abs
Now I'm seriously thinking about entering some competitions next year, and there are four that I'm considering: One each next June, August, October and November, or 32, 40, 51, and 56 weeks out respectively. Currently, I weigh 185 at about 15% BF. By my calculations, if I can pack on about 10 pounds of muscle in the next 16 weeks, then cut down to 5% bodyfat over the 16 weeks after that, I'll come in at the top of the Middleweight class in the June show. Post competition, I thought I'd take advantage of the rebound effect, skip the second show, the one in August, and put on even more muscle and come in as a Light-Heavy for the show in October, then keep up the diet for the final show in December.
Here is what I'm considering as my next cycle:
Cycle Five - 7-8 Weeks - 4 Workouts per week
Workout One (Tuesday/Saturday)
Lunges
Leg Extensions
Calf Raise
Pulldowns
Wide Grip Low Rows
Barbell or Dumbbell Curl
Workout Two (Wednesday/Sunday)
Bench Press
Cable Crossovers
Barbell or Dumbbell Press
Laterals
Front Raise
Tricep Extensions
This is the first time I've done a split routine on HST, so I don't know how my body will respond. I'm doing it early enough in the pre-contest prep phase so I can make adjustments. Needless to say, any advice, suggestions, words of wisdom, or constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.
Where I think I'll need more help is later as I transition into the pre-contest dieting phase. I'd be interested to hear from other HST'ers who have competed, and how you integrated HST training into your prep. I'm thinking of using only the first four weeks of HST, the Fifteens and the Tens, and skipping the Fives and SD. I'll try to time it so my contest falls at the end of the fourth week of an HST cycle. This seems to be when I'm at my most muscular. These ideas may certainly change over the next couple training cycles as I get more understanding how my body responds to the routine.
Hope to hear from others with similar interests and share knowledge and experience. Feel free to post here or send me a private message anytime.
Here are my pics, current as of 10/31/2010:
And for comparison here are some links to this years pictures of contests I'm planning to enter. At this point, I can enter any or all of the Open and Novice Middleweights, Over 40, and Over 50 classes in each show. (Surely I gotta get some hardware out of it!):
Border States
Pacific USA
Excalibur
