Hey guys. I'm new to HST.

A bit about me:
A week ago, I was displeased with my current state of muscle during my cut.
My muscles looked soft and I felt like I wasn't making any progress cut-wise or muscle-wise. Whether this was due to the improper gymbrogohard6daysaweek training I was doing with a ridiculous amount of sets hitting my muscles from "different angles" or because I was in a caloric deficit, I wasn't sure.

Anyways, I decided that I would do 1 bulking cycle of HST for 6 six weeks and see how it went from there. A lot of people seemed to like HST and the more read about it, the better it sounded.

Last week, I tested all my maxes as suggested per the HST Book. This week, I'm supposed to start my SD.

Problem is, I was just alerted by my family that they want to go on a vacation with me to Mexico from 6/10 to 6/17. Exactly a week. Now, this seems like the IDEAL time to start my SD. No need to work out and seek a gym during this time and just relax as opposed to doing my SD this week.

I'm not really sure what to do anymore...do another program? Stick with HST but in a modified manner?


I really appreciate any help I can get. Thank you so much!

FYI my bulking plan is to have 3 high-carb days, 4 low-carb days as per carb cycling. Low-carb days, I hit maintenance calories and high-carb days I go 20% over maint cals.
(I know, it's the daily/weekly macronutrient goals that affect body composition the most but on a day-to-day aesthetic basis, my face looks really bloated if I eat carbs and don't exercise.)

During my SD, I was planning on having a low-carb week with maintenance calories.
On track practice, I would up my calories by a bit and carbs by a smidgen but the week is still primarily high-fat.
Protein doesn't change no matter what.

I've been reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe to improve the form of my lifts. It's done wonders for my squat. I no longer hate squats, thanks to him.

However, I cannot do presses as he describes thus: "The lockout position is correct when there is a perfectly vertical relationship between the bar, the glenohumeral joint, and the mid-foot."

My shoulders are so tight (and always have been, to my recollection) that, when I raise my arms up "over" my head, they are actually forward of my head by a good 15 to 20 degrees. If I lie down on the floor with my arms by my side and raise my arms up off of the floor in an arc until they stop, they stop well before they reach 180 degrees unless I really arch my back.

I do have very mild kyphosis, so perhaps that is contributing to the issue. In any case, I'm trying to do some stretches that will give me more shoulder flexibility to complete the press better. Do you have any suggestions for the best stretches for this problem?