electric's log

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imported_electric

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Hello HSTers, after following this forum for a while unable to post here I am. I have to confess that following this and not being able to post had me somewhat anxious. Anyways, here goes the bio: I am 28, 1.70cm (5'7") weighting 69kg (152lbs) and I am from Brazil.
After many years away from lifting weights I have restarted 6 months ago doing routines suggested by the gym employees. I decided to start using HST as I like the fact that it is based on scientific research.
Since I am a newbie I'll be doing the vanilla HST routine. 3 times a week (M, W, F), 2 week mesocycles 1x15, 1-2x10 and 3x5. I'm using A/B split but just to vary the exercises.
 
Welcome, Electric! Hopefully you've read the articles and searched out any questions you might have, but we're still here and happy to help with any confusion.
Listen to your body, pay attention, and keep a log with you if you can. Don't ignore pains. Soreness is okay, but pain is a warning. Your log is your most valuable tool, keeping you on track.
 
April 7th

First HST workout. All weights were very light.

The workout:

Squat (smith machine) 1×20 (30 kg)
BB Flat bench press 1×15 (40 kg Plus Bar)
Seated Machine Row 1×15 (42.5 kg)
Seated Leg Curl 1×20 (45 Kg)
Seated Calf Raise 1×20 (35 kg)
Preacher BB Curl 1×20 (12 kg Plus Bar)
Incline Reverse Crunch 1×15 (BW)

The workout itself took about 30 minutes or less. Had 5 minutes stationary bike warmup, trying to maintain cardio training heart rate (155 bpm).

All weights were pretty light, specially the calf raise. I might have been conservative on the weights for this exercise due to heel tendon pain. I also avoid overstetching the heel on the eccentric part. Fortunatelly, no pain.

The preacher curl although light made me feel the right elbow again. It might be the range of motion that is forcing my elbow too much. Maybe I should switch to standing curl and see what happens.

30 minutes before the workout I had a protein shake with 1 scoop of isolated whey protein, 1 scoop of maltrodextrin and 5g of glutamin. Right after the workout I had another equal shake but instead of the glutamin this one had 5g creatine.
 
April 9th

Second day of HST workout, also very light weights like the last one. Since I am doing A/B routines this was a B routine. Some exercises were changed but basically the same muscle groups are used.

Incline DB Bench Press 1×20 (16kg each DB)
V-Bar (Triangle) Chin Cable Pulldown 1×20 (50kg)
Barbell Deadlift 1×20 (20kg Plus Bar)
Cable Triceps Pushdown 1×20 (45kg)
Seated Leg Curl 1×19 (50kg)
Seated Calf Raise 1×20 (40kg)
Decline Reverse Crunch 1×20 (BW)

The Deadlift was light but the number of reps got me pretty worn out. Had same pre and pos WO shakes.

No heel pain on the calf raise but both elbows bothered me on the triceps pushdown. Maybe this is still due to the Preacher Curls on Monday. I am taking Advil and applying ice (when I remember to). Will replace the Preacher for Standing Curl on Friday and see if the pain subsides by next Monday.
 
April 11th

I weighted myself at the gym and I was at 68.7kg. I think my nutrition is not very good or enough for bulking since I even lost a little weight recently although I am not conscientiously restricting calories. I believe I eat plenty. Of course I always see a lot of volatility in my weights, maybe it is water retention and stuff like that.

Here is the workout:

BB Flat Bench Press: 15×48kg (last two kind of cheated)
Seated Machine Row: 15×47kg (easy on the arms/back, but grip started failing on the last two)
Smith Machine Squat: 15×50kg (tried ATG, but couldn’t with this weight, so went parallel) 10×40kg (more ATG)
Standing BB Curl: 15×16kg plus bar (actually I went over 15 reps but stopped couting)
Seated Leg Curl: 15×50kg
Seated Calf Raise: 20×45kg (still very light, but I don’t want to ruin HST’s weight progression)
Incline Reverse Crunch: 15×2kg

Since the weights are lower I am trying to improve form, specially on the Bench Press (bar touching chest) and Squat (going ATG). It’s impressive how correct form can make the weights heavier (at least initially).

Same pre and post workout shakes, but to try and increase fat and calorie intake I added two tablespoons of olive oil.

Didn’t feel the elbows doing the standing curl, lets see if they will whine tomorrow.
 
After suffering medial epicondilitis, probably from heavy preachers, I and some others have found that simply not extending the full ROM for curls is a good practice, and won't lessen your bicep development anyway. This is one exersize where full ROM can be a bad idea.
Fat intake around the workout slows digestion. This is when your proteins synthesis is upgraded, and you want faster digestion, as I understand things.
 
Quad, thanks for the info. I have replaced the preacher with standing curl and the pain went away (for now), so I'll stick with standing curl.
About the olive oil, I read in this forum somewhere someone recommending that to increase daily calorie intake, so maybe I will move the olive oil from the w/o shakes to some other time like before bed. Since I am a hardgainer I believe that my gains are limited by the amount of good calories I take. It is worth mentioning that the last time I got my bf% measured (6 months ago) it was at 8.4%, haven't rechecked it but since I gained around 9kgs since then I'd bet I'm around 10% now.
 
W/O day:

Stationary Bike 5min WU

Incline DB Bench Press 15, 10 @ 20+20kg (44+44lbs)
V-Bar Cable Chin Pulldown 15, 10 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Standing Cable Triceps Pushdown 15, 10 @ 50kg (110lbs)
Deadlift 15, 10 @ 30kg (66lbs)
Seated Leg Curl 15, 6 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Seated Calf Raise 20, 20 @ 50kg (110lbs)
Incline Reverse Crunch 15, 10 @ BW+4kg (8.8lbs)

This is probably the 3rd time I've done deadlifts, they are light but I don't want to ramp weights too fast so I can work on the form progressively.
 
<div>
(electric @ Apr. 14 2008,10:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This is probably the 3rd time I've done deadlifts, they are light but I don't want to ramp weights too fast so I can work on the form progressively.</div>
That is very, very smart, Electric. Take it slow - you'll be amazed how fast the lift can change once you start going heavy. You'll realize quite quickly how strong your core is!

Take it slow, memorize the form, and the loads will come up in due time.

Welcome to the forum! I hope you find all the help and encouragement that you need!
 
Welcome to the forum, electric. Your training is about to go to a different level if you stay here and be consistent. Good luck!!
 
<div>
(electric @ Apr. 14 2008,10:33)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This is probably the 3rd time I've done deadlifts, they are light but I don't want to ramp weights too fast so I can work on the form progressively.</div>
Yup. Take your time and learn form properly. The deadlift is the lord of the weightroom. Do it right and it will serve you well.
 
I am not sure if I thanked everyone for the greetings yet, so thank you all for the warm welcome.

Today I had another of the 15s, 5th HST workout. I also found out the weight of the bars so I'll add it to my lift weight. BW @ 70kg (154lbs).

5 min bike warmup.
Flat BB Bench Press - 12, 5 @ 71kg(156lbs) 10 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Seated Machine Row - 15, 10 @ 52kg (115lbs)
Smith Machine ATG Squat - 15 @ 40kg (88lbs)
Standing BB Curl - 12, 7 @ 30kg (66lbs)
ATG Squat again - 10 @ 40kg (88lbs)
Seated Calf Raise - 20, 15 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Incline Reverse Crunch - 15, 15 @ BW+6kg (13lbs)

Bench and Curl weights now include the weight of the bar.
I couldn't reach the goal of 15 reps in the Bench, probably because I tested the 15RM without going bar to chest and decided to do bar to chest when I started this cycle. Also didn't get the 15 reps on the BB Curl but I have to admit I used more then my 15RM weight (greedy). I also didn't want to cheat the remaining 3 reps without proper form.
I decided to remove the leg curl from the workout, at least on the days I do ATG Squat.

I'll also start making an effort on eating even more. I should buy one of those fat calipers to keep track of bf. I want to bulk but I don't want my body fat to skyrocket since my main goal is definition.
 
<div>
(electric @ Apr. 13 2008,5:17)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Hello HSTers, after following this forum for a while unable to post here I am. I have to confess that following this and not being able to post had me somewhat anxious. Anyways, here goes the bio: I am 28, 1.70cm (5'7&quot;) weighting 69kg (152lbs) and I am from Brazil.
After many years away from lifting weights I have restarted 6 months ago doing routines suggested by the gym employees. I decided to start using HST as I like the fact that it is based on scientific research.
Since I am a newbie I'll be doing the vanilla HST routine. 3 times a week (M, W, F), 2 week mesocycles 1x15, 1-2x10 and 3x5. I'm using A/B split but just to vary the exercises.</div>
You are 1.7 centimeters? How is life with the smerfs? I am sure you meant meters, but I had to pull your chain on that one! Welcome to the HST forum.
tounge.gif


The log will help you stay motivated and structured. Best of luck!
 
Colby, hehe, I was so worried with the conversion from metric to foot/inches that I paid little attention to the metric itself.

Today was my last day of the 15s of my 1st HST cycle. I can't wait to get to the 5s. The workout:

30o Incline DB Bench Press 15, 15 @ 48kg (106lbs)*
V-Bar Cable Chin Pulldown 15, 15 @ 60kg (132lbs)
Deadlift 15, 15 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Standing Cable Triceps Pushdown 15 @ 60kg (132lbs) **
Seated Leg Curl 15 @ 60kg (132lbs)
Seated Calf Raise 20, 20 @ 60kg (132lbs)
Standing BB Curl 15 @ 30kg (66lbs)

* Added weight of both DBs.
** Ops, should have used 55kgs but made a mistake. Form was not 100% on the last reps.

This was a so and so workout. I did manage to get all reps to 15, maintaining mostly good form. I did not sleep very well so I was pretty tired yawning the whole workout. The rest between the sets was huge otherwise I couldn't have gotten those reps in. The 2 sets of 15 for Deads made me gasp for air like I was running a marathon. I thought of giving up midway in the workout but kept going and only left out the abs crunches.

Next workout I'll start with the 10s, but I'm still not sure what to do about the Squat, since some people have told me not to do Squats in the Smith and there is no rack in my gym. I can keep doing them anyway at least until the end of this cycle, I can switch to leg presses although I'll have to figure out the weight to use, I can also try to clean the bar from the floor and front squat but I've never done cleans before or I can just stop doing Squats and instead do deads all workouts (I'm not going that heavy on deads).

After removing the preachers the elbows have quieted down, although they are not 100% pain free. The heel is still bothering me a little even after reducing the ROM on the calf raise. I have to apply some ice now and then.
 
Today was supposed to be my first day of the 10s but it is a holiday here today, so my gym was closed. I didn't want to not workout so I went to my club's &quot;gym&quot;. They basically only have treadmills, bikes, one of those station machines where you can do many different exercises and some dumbells up to 10kgs which are not very useful.
Since all I could do was use the station machine and even it's weights were cryptic (the plates were only numbered 1, 2, 3...) I have to confess I deviated a bit from my plans. Since today was my first 10s the weights were supposed to be somewhat light but since I could not correctly use the planned weight I just started lifting the heaviest I could on the machine.
I did end up doing benches, leg presses, rows, biceps curls and triceps extensions but can't even log the weights used. Even the pre and post workout shakes were skipped  
sad.gif
 I did push it to the maximum on the benches and rows, lets hope it doesn't compromise my next workouts.
 
2nd day of the 10s, 1st HST workout.
The gym was opened so I could workout as planned... but didn't quite. Today I had Squat planned but since many of you people are against Squatting in the Smith Machine and there is no rack nor squat cage in my gym I cleaned the weight and did a front squat. Both the clean and the front squat were first timers, so I just used some light weight. Also got tired of the incline DB bench press so decided to switch it for dips. Removed the cable pushdown chin and decided to do real chins with BW. The seated calf raise was annoying me so decided to try standing one-legged calf raises and that reverse crunch was a little embarrassing, getting my bottom raised like that, so changed it to regular laying crunches.
Since I don't have the maxes calculated/measured for these new exercises I'll play it by ear, and try to keep the load progression and test the maxes on the max day.
The Workout (BW = 70.3Kg = 155lbs):
V-Bar Cable Chin Pulldown - 10 @ 60kg (132lbs)
Chin - 15 @ BW
Dips - 15 @ BW, 10 @ BW+6Kg (13lbs)
Front Squat (BB cleaned from floor) - 10 @ 25Kg (55lbs), 10 @ 35Kg (77lbs)
Standing BB Curl - 2x10 @ 28kg (61lbs)
Standing Cable Triceps Pushdown - 2x10 @ 55Kg (121lbs)
Seated Leg Curl - 2x10 @ 55Kg (121lbs)
One legged standing calf raise - 10 @ BW+20Kg (44lbs), 10 @ BW+24 (53lbs)
Crunch - 15 @ 12Kg (26lbs), 15 @ 14Kg (31lbs)

I am not halfway between my first HST cycle and am already changing every thing... but got to keep things interesting.
The front squat was ok, but I have to study the form before venturing into heavier weights. I felt the wrists a little from the seemingly awkward position will look into it.
I did the calf raise standing in a platform with my heel outside, holding a DB on the hand the same side of the leg that was doing the work and extending the calf. Felt ok albeit light.
Did the crunch hugging a DB of the specified weight.

Dips were fine and chins too... I noticed in the chins the usual: first few reps feel way too light, by the time I get to the 14th  and 15th reps the weight feels so heavy that it looks like someone is pulling me down. I know what fatigue is, but it seems like such an extreme shift so fast...

Anyway, I enjoyed this new exercise setup.
 
Ok, it seems that one of my mistakes in the front squat was that I was holding the bar with my hands instead of placing it on my upper chest/shoulders. My elbows were low just like in the &quot;wrong elbow position&quot; example in exrx.
 
<div>
(electric @ Apr. 23 2008,8:14)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Ok, it seems that one of my mistakes in the front squat was that I was holding the bar with my hands instead of placing it on my upper chest/shoulders. My elbows were low just like in the &quot;wrong elbow position&quot; example in exrx.</div>
I had the same problem. Amazing how much stronger a person feels when they get over that. It helped me to envision holding the bar close to my throat - just really nestling the bar back in there.

I think that increasing your front squat helps with everything from OHP to cleans.
 
3rd day of the 10s.

Some treadmill warmup (8 minutes jog).
BB Flat Bench Press - 9, 10, 4 @ 75kg (165lbs) - some clustering had to be done
Bent-over BB Row - 2x10 @ 55kg (121lbs)
Deadlift - 2x10 @ 75Kg (165lbs)
Standing BB Curl - 2x10 @ 30kg (66lbs)
Standing Cable Triceps Pushdown - 2x10 @ 60Kg (132lbs)
Seated Leg Curl - 2x10 @ 60Kg (132lbs)
Standing one-legged calf raise - 2x15 @ 28kg (62lbs)
Crunch hugging DB - 2x15 @ 20kg (44lbs)

Had to cluster the Bench press. I wasn't used to benching bar to chest, and the RMs were taken without going bar to chest, but when I started the cycle I decided I would do bench with the bar touching the chest to get greater ROM so the weights feel a little heavier. Had to cluster and the last reps were partial. I won't raise the weight until I can manage to do the reps correctly without clustering.
Changed my seated machine row to a Bent over BB row. Not sure if form was perfect, but it felt ok. Doing this row followed by the deadlifts really got my lower back.
I think my deadlifts form is not very good, I didn't feel the quads pumped from them but felt the lower back muscles really pumped. Maybe it is supposed to be this way, maybe it was because of the Bent-over Row.

Comments and suggestions on my routine are appreciated.
 
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