First Cycle of HST

Epif

New Member
After a lot of reading and planning, I started my first cycle of HST today. The gym that I go to isn't the best - no squat rack and limited amount of weight to actually use - but for someone like me who isn't going to use particularly heavy weight for at least a few more months, it's fine. And since I can already hear the question, the gym is Planet Fitness; I've looked for a few other gyms, but they didn't seem much better (for different reasons). I'm 20 years old; 157 lbs (21 percent body fat); and using Creatine monohydrate, which I mix with grape juice. I've worked out on and off for a few years, which led me to 155 lbs (15 percent body fat), but my goal is near or above 200 lbs (less than seven percent body fat).

The exercises and weights (15RM, 10RM, and 5RM):
Squats | 60 lbs, 70 lbs, and 85 lbs
Bench Presses | 65 lbs, 75 lbs, and 90 lbs
Close-Grip Presses | 55 lbs, 60 lbs, and 75 lbs
Drag Curls | 48 lbs, 55 lbs, and 62 lbs
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts | 68 lbs, 80 lbs, and 95 lbs
Seated Military Presses | 26 lbs, 30 lbs, and 36 lbs
Bent Rows | 42 lbs, 49 lbs, and 59 lbs

----

Today's workout went well, but I need to be eating more before and after, I think. Well, definitely more pre-workout, but I don't want to overeat (after beginning taking Creatine m., I've been gaining weight, so I'm just a bit more concerned than normal about what I eat).

A while back, my doctor determined that my shoulder and upper back muscles were spasming strangely, so he prescribed me muscle relaxers. I got off of them around the beginning of November, but my shoulders are definitely a weak spot compared to other muscle groups.

The exercises and weights for 2s15r:
Squats | 30 lbs
Bench Presses | 35 lbs
Close-Grip Presses | 25 lbs
Drag Curls | 30 lbs
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts | 40 lbs
Seated Military Presses | 16 lbs
Bent Rows | ~24 lbs (cannot recall correctly)
 
Good luck for the first cycle. A couple of quick notes:

-Creatine use will put a couple of kilo's on via water retention (it brings water into your muscles with it). There isn't anything wrong with this 'weight'. If you drop off it, you'll lose it, stay on it and it will stay as well. 5g/day is all you'll need. Do a 'loading' week if you like, and there's no need to 'cycle' it.

-200lbs at 7%bf is very specific, but more than that, it's pretty big&shredded. I would worry about cutting down the fat once you're done bulking up. You have to commit to the bulk and putting on muscle to get there, that means eating enough to do it. Don't be afraid of that - too many ppl walk into that mistake and then wonder why they aren't putting on mass.
 
I didn't mean to imply that I didn't know the weight increase from the Creatine, but it's always pleasant to be reminded that the extra pounds are normal.

I'm the kind of guy who second-guesses himself into oblivion, so thanks for the advice. I've been willing to commit to the bulk without really knowing what to expect the transformation to look like. I'll be sure to eat plenty - I've already noticed the skyrocketing frequency of meals and hunger pangs.
 
I thought today's workout was fine, but I hadn't noticed the dearth of juice. Essentially, no Creatine pre-workout this time; I still haven't had Creatine, but I ought to be going to the grocer's later on. My shoulders are much better than they were two days ago, and I'm looking forward to developing them.

I need to work on my technique for the bench presses, I suppose, because I couldn't complete the second set (2s15-6r).

Squats | 40 lbs
Bench Presses | 40 lbs
Close-Grip Presses | 30 lbs
Drag Curls | 30 lbs
Deadlifts | 50 lbs
Seated Military Presses | 15 lbs
Bent Rows | 30 lbs
 
Your rep maxes are pretty anemic, which is common as a novice. You might be better off doing some sort of strength program for the first few months. Don't get me wrong, you will get stronger on HST too, but you may get stronger and grow faster in the beginning stage by doing your maxes every workout, something like "starting strength".
So just do your max every workout, and add weight as you complete all the sets and reps. Just one idea to throw at you.
 
Sci may have a valid point.

However, I'd still recommend HST just for the simple fact that you are doing this on your own with no coach, so doing HST your first couple cycles will help you develop good workout habits that will serve you well later on. I did HST for my first cycles, worked pretty well for me. I did eventually switch over to 5x5 strength training though after probably 5 HST cycles, and did that for a while.
 
Yeah, HST has a brilliant structure for progress in both strength and hypertrophy, although it's obviously geared towards the latter. I do think it's important to learn how to perform key compound movements with good form and that will likely make 15s not the best choice for someone brand new to lifting. Build up of fatigue towards the end of a set of 15 reps might well make it more difficult to keep consistent form and to develop consistent motor patterns. The Starting Strength program sticks to 5 reps so form break down due to fatigue is less of an issue.

If I was starting out again now, without any lifting experience and without a coach—and with the goal of adding some strength and size—I think I'd get myself a copy of Starting Strength and follow Ripp's linear progression program, learning to perform the main compound movements like the deadlift, squat, clean, press, bench, row and chin. I'd do this until my neural conditioning and motor coordination had improved in all the important lifts. Then, when my weekly strength increases had stalled out, I'd switch over to HST and get about 5 cycles under my belt. I would remain focussed on the big compound movements and get my diet sorted for growth. After that, I'd start to address any weaknesses or begin to focus on things that I wanted to do more of.

Training becomes a lifestyle; build a good foundation from the start and you will have many productive years of training to look forward to. Set goals and work towards attaining them; be consistent in your training and you will get results. Oh, and eat... a lot! :)
 
Yeah, I figured the weights I've been using were pretty light. I've been working out off and on for a couple years, but I never really knew what I was doing. Thanks for the advice; I'll look into the linear progression stuff, but honestly, I'll probably just perform the maxes instead. I've seen the Starting Strength book around, but I wasn't sure whether its program was better for me than this one.

Yesterday's workout (I didn't see the advice until today, by the way):
Squats |40 lbs
Bench Presses | 45 lbs
Close-Grip Presses | 35 lbs (someone stepped in between sets, so I only got in 15 reps total)
Drag Curls | 40 lbs
Deadlifts | 50 lbs
Seated Military Presses 15 lbs
Bent Rows | 35 lbs

Recently, there was an issue with my shoulders (the muscles, not the tendons); they're better now, but I don't want to hurt 'em again, so I kind of intentionally under-train them.
 
Yeah Epif, keep it simple. Just do your regular HST routine, 3x/week, but instead of starting submaximally, just do your maxes every workout. Eventually you will stall out, and then you can do regular HST.
 
... I've seen the Starting Strength book around, but I wasn't sure whether its program was better for me than this one.

...

Recently, there was an issue with my shoulders (the muscles, not the tendons); they're better now, but I don't want to hurt 'em again, so I kind of intentionally under-train them.

Starting out with weights is a lot to do with learning good form. That's where Ripp's Starting Strength is a great help, as he talks you through all the exercises in a very clear and understandable way. Of course, there's nothing magic about sets of five reps but they do allow you to learn a movement without fatigue spoiling your ability to keep each rep fairly consistent. Even then, by the time you are actually close to true 5RM loads, your form will break down a bit. In the initial stages of training, though, you are training your nervous system more than your muscles. You have to learn to coordinate every muscle that's required for a particular movement and that doesn't happen over night. Once you are able to keep your bar path consistent and you are able to continue to increase the load on the bar, you will really be getting stronger due to changes in muscle fibre CSA.

WRT shoulder exercises, the same thing applies: learn good form (that usually means ensuring the movement is as efficient as possible); learn to maintain a smooth and consistent bar path. Any shakes, wobbles and tendencies to let form slip once fatigue starts to kick in, will reduce greatly as you learn to control the movement.

For shoulder health, it's always a good idea to do some light work for the rotator cuff muscles to complement your heavier deltoid work.
 
I haven't been around here for a while, so I feel like I should mention what's happened with my routine and why I haven't been around much. The last day of the HST cycle went according to plan, but as soon as I got in the car to go home, I had intense, shooting pain in my chest. Suffice it to say, I did not want to workout at all until meeting with a physician. To make a long story short, we don't "know" what happened, but there's no real reason to worry.

Sometime in March, I decided to begin working out again. I started another cycle of HST, but my workout days haven't been on schedule much. I'm keeping them on a "train-every-other-day-with-a-two-day-rest-after-the-third-workout-day" basis, which is essentially the same as the three-times-a-week thing anyway.

Before, I was building up from the bottom to 15RM. I forgot about the advice I got here, so that's what I did this time. I'm already done with the 15RM bit, though the Military Presses and Drag Curls were noticeably not the 15RM. Tomorrow is another workout day, and I'll be sure to check in with these forums before going to the gym in the morning.

Yesterday's workout:
Squats | 70 lbs
Bench Presses | 55 lbs
Deadlifts | 70 lbs
Seated Military Presses | 30 lbs
Drag Curls | 40 lbs

I cut the other chest exercises so I could build a foundation for my chest, but I'm not sure when a good time to work on the other parts of my chest would be. I'm planning on reintroducing my upper back to exercise soon, but every time I perform a Bent Row, I just want to punch someone in the face (I really dislike Bent Rows, but I dislike most of the machines and pulley exercises even more).

And that's that for now; as always, I appreciate any comments about my routine. Thank you (in advance because I gotta go and won't be able to reply until later tonight).
 
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