Newbie to HST - Have I got this right? (pics included)

[Ramires]

Right hey everyone, this is my before and after pic to the following routine...

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I have been on a carb-cycling diet for the past few months with the below routine, I also perform approximately 30mins of core exercises roughly 3-4 times a week:

Monday - Chest and Back
Tues - Legs & 30mins cardio
Weds - Abs & 30mins cardio
Thurs - 25 min HIIT circuit & 30mins cardio
Fri - Arms & Shoulders
Sat - 25 25metre Hill Sprints
Sun - REST

I am now looking at a HST programme to build some muscle, but obviously I perform a fair bit of cardio, should I just stick with the standard M/W/F plan with no cardio as suggested?

And I am going on a 2 week holiday in August; hence I should probably use this as my SD period if I start the programme over the next few weeks?!

Many Thanks
R

[grunt11]

I wouldn’t cut out all Cardio since you will lose endurance faster than you lose strength. How much and what type of Cardio you do really depends on what you can handle and still recover from for your next workout. If you find that it’s hampering your recovery, most likely when things get heavy, then you might want to cut back but I wouldn’t drop Cardio completely.

If you are going to do HIIT and Hill Sprints I would probably do them right after your HST workout or alternately do an AM/PM split between HST and HIIT. Slow Steady State Cardio could be done any time but there is evidence that when done right after an HIIT style routine you may burn more fat.

Keep in mind that if you do include Cardio then you’re going to need to increase your calories to account for it to ensure you are getting enough to grow.