XFatMan's Second HST Cycle

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XFatMan

New Member
Today I have started my second HST cycle. During this cycle and afterwards, I hope to get some feedback to improve my results.

I came into bodybuilding in June 2006 at 42% body fat and have been cutting ever since. Currently, I’m at 17.5% and would like to get below 16% by the end of this cycle. The thing is that I don’t have a real diet. I just count calories and avoid simple carbohydrates.

I don’t want to bore you, so let’s have some statistics:

Body Part cm / Kg in. / lbs.
Neck 39.0 cm 15.4 in.
Biceps (not flexed) 35.0 cm 13.8 in.
Forearm 29.5 cm 11.6 in.
Chest 108.5 cm 42.7 in.
Waist 84.5 cm 33.3 in.
Hips 96.5 cm 38.0 in.
Thigh 59.5 cm 23.4 in.
Calf 38.5 cm 15.2 in.
Body Weight 77.1 Kg 177.2 lbs.
Body Fat Percentage 17.5%

I have selected the following exercises and number of sets so that I can get through the workout in less than 60 minutes. I can’t do split workouts – morning and afternoon – as time is really short. Your feedback on this selection would be really helpful so I can make changes for the next cycle(s).

Exercise / Number of Sets
Squat 1
Hamstring Curls 2
Leg Press Calf Raises 2
Dumbbell Inclined Bench Press 2
Chest Dips 1
Bent-Over Barbell Rows 2
Dumbbell Overhead Press 1
Lateral Raises 1
Barbell Curls 2
Barbell Shrugs 1
Lying Triceps Extensions 2
Cable Crunches 2

Cardio will usually be walking. I hate walking on treadmills, so my cardio will be done outside. The rainy season is about to begin here in Brazil, so I will have to replace some walking sessions with rope jumping.

I will be doing one hour of cardio every day except Sundays. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I will do an extra 30 minutes of cardio in the afternoon. So that will give me 7 hours of cardio per week. Your comments / thoughts on my cardio work would be very interesting.

Since I want to cut, I’ll start at 13 calories per lb of bodyweight, which is nearly 30 calories per Kg of bodyweight. I’ll go with this for one week and see if it needs to be adjusted. But please, feel free to suggest something here.

Week 1

Monday (15 reps @ 60% of 15 RM)

I’m going to start with the 15s at 60% of my 15 RM because those are the approximate values that gave me an almost unbearable burn and muscle soreness in my first cycle. And just for the record: the 15s rep range gave me the greatest size gains not only during my first HST cycle, but during my entire bodybuilding life. When I got into HST, I had come from Max-OT and went straight into my first HST cycle without SD for over six months. I have learned my lesson and have been SD for 17 days.

All exercises were easy to finish except for barbell curls. The second set gave me such a burn that I wasn’t able to do more than 8 reps. I got out of the gym in 50 minutes.
 
congrats on your success man! that's seriously commendable. very impressive. I'm sure you've learned a lot about diet, lifting, and yourself. that's awesome!

are your goals simply to continue leaning out or are you looking to add some muscle? ...if muscle, I'd allow myself more than 5 mins per movement, drop most (or all of the isos), add deads, and focus on quality over quantity.

what was your last cycle like? (w/ regard to the weights & exercises you were using)
 
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(fearfactory @ Nov. 05 2007,20:05)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">congrats on your success man!  that's seriously commendable.  very impressive.  I'm sure you've learned a lot about diet, lifting, and yourself.  that's awesome!

are your goals simply to continue leaning out or are you looking to add some muscle?  ...if muscle, I'd allow myself more than 5 mins per movement, drop most (or all of the isos), add deads, and focus on quality over quantity.

what was your last cycle like?  (w/ regard to the weights &amp; exercises you were using)</div>
Actually, I didn't know anything about dieting when I started and did it all wrong. After a visit to a nutritionist, I just started by counting my calories for two weeks. After having done the math, I knew that I was having 22 calories per lb bodyweight - too much. Then I slowly cut - one calorie per lb of bodyweight until there was no fat loss anymore for a week. I just cut one more calorie, and so on, and so on. And right now, I'm at 13 calories per lb of bodyweight.

I think at 17.5% body fat I'm a little chubby, so cutting more would come in handy. That's why I don't rest more than 60 seconds between sets and no rest at all when switching exercises.

My last cycle was pretty much the same. I didn't know anything about HST so my initial weights were actually too low. But that's fixed thanks to the info you can find here.

Personally, I love the deadlift. But I think that would come a bit heavy - squats and deadlifts. I find it gets a bit messy in terms of calculating the weights to be used when splitting the routine.

Week 1 - Tuesday

My hamstrings, calves, and arms are pretty sore. The funny thing is yesterday I felt the tendons burning like the devil in my left arm during the barbell curls. And today, my left elbow is also sore. That should be a little joint problem that the 15s are supposed to fix.

I practically didn't sleep last night. So today will be all but funny. Although the rain was fairly strong, I went for a 45-minute walk, which made me feel a little better.
 
Week 1
Wednesday (15 reps @ 70% of 15 RM)
Oh man, am I sore in my biceps and triceps! Seventeen days SD did the job quite well, it seems. In fact, I was so sore in my arms that I couldn’t do more than 13 reps on the first and 6 reps on the second set for the biceps. Aw boy. All other exercises went fine and I was out of the gym in 45 minutes. I then had my one-hour walk for cardio work which was a bit funny at first because somehow my legs were a bit wobbly from the squats.
 
Week 1

Thursday

I just feel slightly sore now in my arms. As it was raining – again – I just went for a 45-minute walk. Since I got to know a very pretty girl on the way, I guess that cardio work was successful.

One thing that seems to be related to lifting is insomnia. It really seems that I can’t sleep on lifting days. The night from Monday to Tuesday was terrible, and from Wednesday to Thursday wasn’t much better. Perhaps I’m doing too much? I don’t really know, so it would be cool if I could get some advice on this.
 
How do you measure your bf%? Either way, the #'s are very impressive, especially since August (loss of .3 lbs, and loss of 4.5% body fat!)
 
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(XFatMan @ Nov. 08 2007,09:50)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Week 1

Thursday

I just feel slightly sore now in my arms. As it was raining – again – I just went for a 45-minute walk. Since I got to know a very pretty girl on the way, I guess that cardio work was successful.

One thing that seems to be related to lifting is insomnia. It really seems that I can’t sleep on lifting days. The night from Monday to Tuesday was terrible, and from Wednesday to Thursday wasn’t much better. Perhaps I’m doing too much? I don’t really know, so it would be cool if I could get some advice on this.</div>
The addition of a pretty girl into a cardio session is the only way I know to make it a pleasurable experience.
biggrin.gif


Re sleeping problem: You have 12 exercises listed for a total of 19 sets, which is quite a lot for a single session but not crazy by any means; and about half of the exercises are isos which are far less taxing on your CNS. Do you feel shaky after your w/os?

You could try dropping out some of the isos for a session and doing the remaining exercises. eg.

Exercise / Number of Sets
Squat 2
Dumbbell Inclined Bench Press 2
Chest Dips 1
Bent-Over Barbell Rows 2
Dumbbell Overhead Press 2

If you feel great after that you could add back in:

Barbell Shrugs 1
Leg Press Calf Raises 1

That'll drop the total sets down to 9 (or 11) whilst keeping in the main hard work. See how you sleep after that.
 
I don't feel shaky at all after my workouts. In fact, I feel so well that I do my one-hour walk about fifteen minutes after that.

Tomorrow is my next workout and I will follow your suggestion of dropping the isos and concentrate more on the remaining lifts. Thanks for the input here.
 
Another thing to try - after your workouts, stretch! Do lots of it - count to 30 with each stretch - I had a physical therapist tell me that once. That may really help your DOMS.

OUTSTANDING progress. I hope you're proud of yourself and are starting to feel much better!
 
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(XFatMan @ Nov. 08 2007,08:54)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I use body fat calipers and take measurements every day. Once a week I calculate averages.</div>
This is what I do, and definitely consider what Tim said. Stretching not only before, but after a workout can be very beneficial.
 
The DOMS aren't too tough; I just feel them a bit more in my arms (biceps, triceps, and forearms), which is definitely from the isolation exercises. But I will certainly follow the suggestion and stretch. I had no idea it was that important and actually never really stretched. Thanks for the input. Very much appreciated.
 
Personally, I love DOMS. BTW, you may want to look into pharmaceutical grade fish oil as a remedy for your sleep problems.
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Nov. 08 2007,13:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Personally, I love DOMS.  BTW, you may want to look into pharmaceutical grade fish oil as a remedy for your sleep problems.</div>
I don't mind DOMS either. I just found it strange to get them in my arms because I usually get them anywhere but in my arms.

I'll look into this fish oil thing, thanks, colby.

Week 1

Friday (15 reps @ 80% of 15 RM)
Last night, sleep was okay. I just woke up in the middle of the night because I had gone to bed pretty early as I was dead tired. But then I was able to sleep a bit more and now I feel all right. Anyway, I followed Lol’s advice and cut back on exercises. I even cut a bit more than suggested. That’s what I did:

Squat – 1 set
Dumbbell Inclined Bench Press – 2 sets
Chest Dips – 1 set
Bent-Over Barbell Rows – 2 sets
Dumbbell Overhead Press – 1 set

And I was out of the gym in 25 minutes. I must say I felt a little guilty of “laziness”. But hey, the Max-OT program I had followed before I came to HST was about the same – 20 or 25 minutes and – bye-bye.

The funny thing is that I can’t complete some exercises because I seem to lack strength. For instance, I did the first set of Dumbbell Inclined Bench Press without any trouble yet didn’t get the expected burn for 15 reps. But then, on the second set, I was able to do only seven reps because I really didn’t have any more strength to move the weight up. The first thing I thought was that I had made a mistake in the calculation. So I lifted what I suppose would be my new 1 RM on that exercise. No problem. And I guess I could even have added a few pounds. That is really weird. The same happened on the single set for the Dumbbell Overhead Press. I just let it go and prefer not to worry about it yet unless some of you knowledgeable guys give me reason to do so.

I must admit that I felt much fresher after the super-short workout. Then I went on my one-hour walk, which actually turned into a 50-minute walk because of the rain. But well, this afternoon I’ll put in another 30 or 40 minutes.

[Edit]The cardio in the afternoon became another 45 minutes.[/Edit]
 
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