Close to switching to HST

[[xeno]Julios]

Still haven't gotten around to switching from HIT to HST, just been too mentally busy to make the effort, since there are still some things I need to clear up.
However, I'm thinking my HST routine will go something like this:
MWF in listed order - no am/pm split - I have a fairly busy life.
*Squats
*Romanian Deadlifts
*Incline Presses (must learn how to do these tho)
*Bent over Barbell Rows
*One legged Calf raises (I use a weight belt and lean into squat rack for support - have to learn how to do this without hurting knees tho)
*Weighted Chins
*Weighter Leaning Dips
*Incline dumbell curls or standing barbell curls - might integrate both somehow with "strategic switching"
I wanna throw in some tricep work, but I don't know how to do skullcrushers properly - I've seen conflicting info on the form -
*should i follow the instructions give here? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExt.html
are there any amendments anyone would like to make to the form given there? Is it necessary to keep feet on bench? If so, why? - something to do with arch in back?
For shoulders, I have issues with military presses - I can't seem to do them without arching my back at the sticky points - even when i'm sitting down with back support. Does it look like I need some shoulder work based on my exercises? My shoulders are one of my stronger points...
Is the order of exercises decent? I tried to stagger muscle groups since I exhaust fast and take a while to regain strength (in my HIT workouts I can do 8 reps first set and sometimes only 3 in second set even after 4 min rest)
Should i throw in some crunches? What is the best way to do weighted crunches?
What about Cardio? I like swimming - should i do my cardio straight after workout? Should i eat in between lifting and cardio?
Here are some pics: - the first one is taken before I started working out - the second one is taken after 4 months of training (tho there is a 2 year gap between then photos, the gains are due only to 1 month of dieting + 4 months of training) I'm 25 yrs old, 5 feet 9.5 inches. In first photo i was just under 120 pounds, in second I was 150 pounds. It is now 1.5 months after second photo and i'm 160 pounds, though most of the weight is in my thighs and glutes. I'm starting to get a big bum!

- maybe it's coz I've been going really heavy with romanian deadlifts (5-8 reps of 230 pounds) whereas in squats I've been doing the 20 rep heavy breathing ones @ around 120 pounds. I have long arms and legs, and shorter trunk. I also took a body fat composition test last week at my gym (they do it once a semester) - was betwen 12 and 18 percent, so say 15% b.f.

I eat around 3500-4000 cals a day - 6 meals. No supplements or shakes - might start getting into protein/carb shakes for convenience tho. I get my protein from eggs, milk, tuna, yoghurt, and my primary source of carbs is from rice (and milk of course).

Any advice would be really appreciated

 

[mikeynov]

first piece of advice (will try to provide more later):
squats AND romanian deadlifts thrice weekly could backfire. it did on my first HST cycle consider alternating between the two, or doing, perhaps, squats and leg curls for extra hamstring work...

 

[[xeno]Julios]

Quote[/b] ]squats AND romanian deadlifts thrice weekly could backfire. it did on my first HST cycle consider alternating between the two, or doing, perhaps, squats and leg curls for extra hamstring work...

Ok, so say for the first 2 week block of 15's - would it go like this?:

M1 Squats/Leg Curls
W1 Squats/Romanians
F1 Squats/Leg Curls
M2 Squats/Romanian
W2 Squats/Leg Curls
F2 Squats/Romanians

Since I'm doing both leg curls and romanians at half the frequency of normal, should i double the rate of increment so as to attain the block rep max at the end of the fortnight?

Or would it be like this:

M1 Squats/everything else except Romanians
W1 Romainans/everything else except Squats
F1 Squats/everything else except Romanians
M2 Romanians/everything else except Squats
W2 Squats/everything else except Romanians
F2 Romanians/everything else except Squats

no leg curls in the above one tho.

I'm a bit confused - can u be a bit more specific as to how to alternate them?

cheers

 

[mikeynov]

Quote[/b] ([xeno]Julios @ June 15 2003,10:02)]

Quote[/b] ]squats AND romanian deadlifts thrice weekly could backfire. it did on my first HST cycle consider alternating between the two, or doing, perhaps, squats and leg curls for extra hamstring work...

Ok, so say for the first 2 week block of 15's - would it go like this?:
M1 Squats/Leg Curls
W1 Squats/Romanians
F1 Squats/Leg Curls
M2 Squats/Romanian
W2 Squats/Leg Curls
F2 Squats/Romanians
Since I'm doing both leg curls and romanians at half the frequency of normal, should i double the rate of increment so as to attain the block rep max at the end of the fortnight?
Or would it be like this:
M1 Squats/everything else except Romanians
W1 Romainans/everything else except Squats
F1 Squats/everything else except Romanians
M2 Romanians/everything else except Squats
W2 Squats/everything else except Romanians
F2 Romanians/everything else except Squats
no leg curls in the above one tho.
I'm a bit confused - can u be a bit more specific as to how to alternate them?
cheers

that is one way to do it, ie only do romanians every other session. if you did that, you'd use double the increment, as you guessed.

another option is to get rid of romanians in favor of leg curls. this would be the EASIEST option on your lower back.

you can probably handle both squats and romanians every session for a while, i just think it's going to catch up to you, perhaps by the end of the 10s. there's no real right answer, it depends how you can handle it...

if you limit volume of both squats and romanians, that might also help. my PERSONAL choice is to just do squats and leg curls, but that's because i'm working specifically on my squats.

 

[[xeno]Julios]

Thanks for the clarification - I'll look into incorporating your suggestions somehow.

 

[Kate]

Quote[/b] (mikeynov @ June 15 2003,10:39)]my PERSONAL choice is to just do squats and leg curls, but that's because i'm working specifically on my squats.

I did the same thing last cycle with deads and extensions in order to focus on my DLs.

Prior to that I alternated squats and glute presses with deadlifts and leg presses.

There really are a lot of options. The important thing is to err on the side of caution with the volume on deads and squats until you see what your back can handle.

Kate

 

[[xeno]Julios]

heh - i guess i'm just a bit weary of finding maxes for that many more exercises - and it's hard to find maxes of say Romanian DL's AND leg curls on the same day, since the same muscles are being used and will be exhausted.

this from the faq:

Quote[/b] ]If you are concerned about not using enough exercises, simply set up two sets of 6-7 exercises for the entire body. Use the calculator and get all your weights for each exercise. Then alternate between the two sets of exercises each time you train the whole body. So, if you train everything in one day, you would do one set of exercises on Monday, and the other on Wednesday, then repeat the first on Friday, followed by the second on the next Monday, etc, etc.

I guess this is what i should apply to the case of Romanians and leg extensions...

any advice on the cardio question?

Quote[/b] ]What about Cardio? I like swimming - should i do my cardio straight after workout? Should i eat in between lifting and cardio?

thanks

 

[mikeynov]

Quote[/b] ([xeno]Julios @ June 16 2003,5:11)]heh - i guess i'm just a bit weary of finding maxes for that many more exercises - and it's hard to find maxes of say Romanian DL's AND leg curls on the same day, since the same muscles are being used and will be exhausted.
this from the faq:

Quote[/b] ]If you are concerned about not using enough exercises, simply set up two sets of 6-7 exercises for the entire body. Use the calculator and get all your weights for each exercise. Then alternate between the two sets of exercises each time you train the whole body. So, if you train everything in one day, you would do one set of exercises on Monday, and the other on Wednesday, then repeat the first on Friday, followed by the second on the next Monday, etc, etc.

I guess this is what i should apply to the case of Romanians and leg extensions...
any advice on the cardio question?

Quote[/b] ]What about Cardio? I like swimming - should i do my cardio straight after workout? Should i eat in between lifting and cardio?

thanks

i recommend cardio either after lifting or on an off day. the precise timing of eating in conjunction with the cardio is irrelevent if you're more concerned about hypertrophy than fat loss (in my opinion). just make sure you're well fed/well hydrated. having a protein shake before/after cardio isn't a bad idea at all if you make that a seperate session, too.

 

[[xeno]Julios]

no what i meant about eating was this:

i realize it's best to have a carb/protein feed asap after a lifting workout. Now if i'm gonna be doing cardio after lifting, should i postpone that meal until after the cardio? (would make it more convenient)

 

[mikeynov]

Quote[/b] ([xeno]Julios @ June 17 2003,12:43)]no what i meant about eating was this:
i realize it's best to have a carb/protein feed asap after a lifting workout. Now if i'm gonna be doing cardio after lifting, should i postpone that meal until after the cardio? (would make it more convenient)

well, if you're literally doing cardio immediately after lifting, then yes, of course, eat after doing both

 

[[xeno]Julios]

k gotcha

btw my bum is getting *really* out of proportion big - it's coz my lower body is a more developed than my upper body.

I'm gonna cut out the romanian deadlifts and just go pure leg extensions instead.

any suggestions on how to balance out a big arse? I'm a skinny guy too! - short upper body.

 

[mikeynov]

Quote[/b] ([xeno]Julios @ June 18 2003,10:03)]k gotcha
btw my bum is getting *really* out of proportion big - it's coz my lower body is a more developed than my upper body.
I'm gonna cut out the romanian deadlifts and just go pure leg extensions instead.
any suggestions on how to balance out a big arse? I'm a skinny guy too! - short upper body.

i remember hearing that, allegedly, a man's @$$ was one of the first things that signalled to a female that he was fertile (don't ask how), and thus it's a subconscious queue for women to be attracted to you. homey got back?

 

[[xeno]Julios]

rofl

hehe yea i remember hearing something similar - i think powerful glutes translates into powerful thrusts

 

[[xeno]Julios]

Ok i'm gonna be finding out my maxes starting this monday. Almost there!
few more questions:

Quote[/b] ]I wanna throw in some tricep work, but I don't know how to do skullcrushers properly - I've seen conflicting info on the form -
*should i follow the instructions give here? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExt.html
are there any amendments anyone would like to make to the form given there? Is it necessary to keep feet on bench? If so, why? - something to do with arch in back?

Quote[/b] ]
For shoulders, I have issues with military presses - I can't seem to do them without arching my back at the sticky points - even when i'm sitting down with back support. Does it look like I need some shoulder work based on my exercises? My shoulders are one of my stronger points...

Lastly, I'm going for the antagonistic pairing approach

Quote[/b] ]When moving from one body part to the next try to alternate between opposing or antagonistic body parts – commonly known as antagonistic pairing. E.g. 1 set of chest, rest, 1 set of back, rest, one set of chest, rest, 1 set of back, rest etc. This way your chest, shoulders, and tris can rest while you hit your back and bis. After a while you will find your aerobic capacity going up as this closely resembles sort of a power circuit.

(from faq http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/cgi-bin....=13;t=4 )
so as for the order of my exercises, any suggestions on how to incorporate this as well as order the exercises in a sensible fashion?
Might be hard to answer this question as I don't have an exercise for shoulders yet...

 

[[xeno]Julios]

WOW - ok i just did my first PRE-HST day (calculating 15 rep maxes) -

I have NEVER ever felt so exhausted during a workout! - i felt lik puking halfway through, and was only able to complete it through sheer will. The squats and romanian deadlifts really took it all outta me - i'm definitely gonna be alternating with leg curls (and maybe leg extensions).

I must say tho - it's quite a bonus to have the post workout pump apply to all the muscles on the walk home from the gym - i usually split my biceps and triceps for different days.


weighed in at 165 pounds at end of workout - so that's a total of 46 pounds gained in 6 months - will be very interested to see if HST can bring me even further!