First time HST user

COTTMAN

New Member
Hi there, firstly hello everyone, i'm new to the board and this style of training. I've been weight training with a clue for coming up to 2 years now & couldn't imagine life without it. I picked up on this training style through a link on another board that i'm a regular on. I was looking for something different and this fitted the bill nicely. I've just started my 3rd week (1st of the 10 rep block) & have been keeping a progress journal since the beginning. Trouble is there arn't many people with much confidence in this training style so i'm finding it difficult to get any good feedback. I must say i'm 100% convinced this is going well and feel i've seen good gains already after only 2 weeks.

So that was the background, here's a link to my journal so far.....Muscletalk

There are questions throughout i've asked that havn't been answered. I would appreciate it greatly if you could have look through and give suggestions as to where i'm going right/wrong.

P.S I'm English so all weights are in KG.
 
Edbanger

Looks ok to me, just one thing, is this the order of the workout?

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Deadlift/Lat pull down/Bent over BB row/EZ bar preacher curl/Incline DB Bench/DB Flyes/Skullcrushers/Squat/
Leg curl/Crunches med ball/DB shoulder press/DB Shrugs

If so, I'd make a few changes
butbut.gif
here they are:

Deadlift/Squat - these 2 should never be done together - alternate and do one p/workout

I see this loner (Leg curl) lying somewhere in the middle. I usually by the 10 or even only at the 5's include this and superset it with deadlifts.

the same with squat and leg extensions.

Incline DB Bench/DB Flyes can be done throughout the program, unless you include other variants.

Lat pull down/Bent over BB row - these two can also be alternated p/workout.

DB shoulder press/DB Shrugs - most of us don't worry too much with shrugs as they can be done in one with the deadlift at the top of the movement.

EZ bar preacher curl - use throughout or alternate with other variants (incline bench curls etc)

Skullcrushers - use throughout or alternate with other variants (overhead cable extension, d.b extensions etc.)

Crunches med ball - abs is a matter of personal choice there are literally thousands of variants to use.

Last but not least, do not despair, you are on the right site and we will guide you as you go along, HST is a dang good choice, pitty so many people out there don't give it a try or even read the theory behind it! :confused:

Furthermore, enjoy the results and do not worry if you have over judged some tweek as you go along, maybe repeat the weight over two workouts but get to your goal
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Ciao

(By the way I though the English used pounds, but hey I am Portuguese and also like Kgs)
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Deadlift/Squat - these 2 should never be done together - alternate and do one p/workout

I see this loner (Leg curl) lying somewhere in the middle. I usually by the 10 or even only at the 5's include this and superset it with deadlifts.

the same with squat and leg extensions.
I think some will argue with you on the squat/deadlift thing, although I don't do them together myself, several people do with no ill effects on recovery.
 
Cheers for the info, good to know i'm not too far off track! That lone Leg curl was in there coz there was 2 people chatting whilst using the leg raise machine. I was too impatient to wait! :)
 
Ed

I was just trying to give you some direction on a proper HST routine, but it seems that you have got it somewhat there :D

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I think some will argue with you on the squat/deadlift thing, although I don't do them together myself, several people do with no ill effects on recovery.

Here is the take: we at HST believe that it adversly affects each other and leads to CNS stress whether immediate or after a while that is another thing altogether.

After all you get a whole lot of different people at gyms, some will even give "free advice" which is actually dangerous for a novice to hear and maybe believe that to be the "gospel"
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[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Cheers for the info, good to know i'm not too far off track!

De nada! pal, it is part of this wonderful site that we help each other no matter what!

You are right on track so keep going, forget about what this and that one is saying, and maybe after a while, the very same people will start asking, hey...what was that routine you used to talk about? I see you have really picked up, WOW...how did you do it?
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Not uncommon questions from what i have read around this site
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Hey...time to go...nice to hear from you again.

And by the way, if you want here's my next routine:

Ciao
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fausto @ June 10 2005,6:25)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I think some will argue with you on the squat/deadlift thing, although I don't do them together myself, several people do with no ill effects on recovery.
Here is the take: we at HST believe that it adversly affects each other and leads to CNS stress whether immediate or after a while that is another thing altogether.
We at HST? I'm not saying you are wrong, but I am not saying you are right either. Doing deads on the same day as squats is a personal preference, and the only way to know if it will affect someone negatively is to let them learn the hard way. Again, I don't do them on the same day, but that is because I use deads for back and do them on my upperbody day. I also don't do traditional deads, I do partials from the rack, so little different perspective I guess.
 
I do deads in the am and squats in the pm with no problem. Thats 6 times a week, at the moment. So it all depends on the person.
 
Hell, ok biz,
tounge.gif
 , I tried and it was just too much, so I alternate them.
Its no big deal though! I am sure there are as much who agree as would disagree, as you said depends on the individual, I'll be more careful in the future to rather quote myself and not others. :confused:
Totentaz
You are one hell of a guy, and you find it ok?
Hopefully you wont eat as much when you SD, else you will blow up!
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Only kidding, how else can you do it, if you  are not getting enough "fuel" :confused:
 
I figured I would just add my post onto this thread... I split my training regiment across 2 days to add different exercises, I am testing my maxes right now, so any changes can be made now..


DAY A
Squats
Shrugs
Weighted Hyperextensions
Lat Pulldown
Close-Grip Bench
Preacher Curl
Shoulder Press
Incline Bench
Oblique Twists
Tricep Dips

DAY B
Leg Press
Calf Raises
Pec Flys
Back Flys (same machine as above ex)
Skull Crushers
Barbell Curl
Flat DB Press
Seated DB Press
Weighted Crunches

1) Are 9-10 exercises too many?

2) Should I scrap the idea of this split and do 8-9 compound exercises each day.. if so which ones should I take out of my routine?

3) I had an earlier post about this with no feedback.. is there a better exercise for my abs than weighted crunches?

Thanks,
Colby
 
Well... I'm not doing 15s, which helps a lot. Right now, during the 10s, it isn't much problem, but I attribute that primarily to doing the split. We'll see how I feel when I go into the 5s and add another set to each every day.
 
Colby

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]I figured I would just add my post onto this thread... I split my training regiment across 2 days to add different exercises, I am testing my maxes right now, so any changes can be made now..

I don't see much wrong with your program mate
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, just one thing, why are you doing leg press and squat and not any deadlifting? Any particular reason? They are both good exercises but they hit the same area [quads] what about the hammies?

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]1) Are 9-10 exercises too many?

No its just dandy, I am doing 12 - 14 includiung abs, from the 5's onwards, only 6 during 15's and, yah that feels like enough if you do 2 sets of each.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]2) Should I scrap the idea of this split and do 8-9 compound exercises each day.. if so which ones should I take out of my routine?

As I said above, I don't see deads for one, also what are these? "Back Flys (same machine as above ex)" maybe you should do some chins if at all possible or else bent over rows or T-bar rows, they hit the back well.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]3) I had an earlier post about this with no feedback.. is there a better exercise for my abs than weighted crunches?

Man, there is a variety of people who like weighted crunches, I feel that they end up growing the abs outward which is not my idea of cool, so I prefer non-weighted exercises, if you want go search for "australian abs", I have put a zip file in that thread which you can download, there is a big variety of exeercises to choose from.

There is also another downloadable file called "Ab Training for Athletes and Babe Hounds" which has a few good ones.

As for your split I think it is fine, it alternates the basics, there are some exceptions which I would have added but choice is a very ambiguous subject
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Hope this helps

Fausto
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Fausto @ June 14 2005,4:20)]I don't see much wrong with your program mate
happy.gif
, just one thing, why are you doing leg press and squat and not any deadlifting? Any particular reason? They are both good exercises but they hit the same area [quads] what about the hammies?

As I said above, I don't see deads for one, also what are these? "Back Flys (same machine as above ex)" maybe you should do some chins if at all possible or else bent over rows or T-bar rows, they hit the back well.

Thanks for the great feedback..

Well, I am not doing deadlifts because I have read a lot here in this forum that you shouldn't mix deadlifts and squats.  Maybe that applies to them being done on the same day... so should I scrap leg presses and doing deadlifts during that day?

Back flys?  Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what to call them either, but it's doing a seated row by using a Pec Fly machine and sitting the other way around on it to work your back.
 
Why bother with oblique twists? Unless some resistance machine is being used I doubt they do anything, and if you are using resistance and inducing hypertrophy then it seems you will end up growing your waist.
 
I agree that oblique twists are a waste of time. They might be beneficial to a long distance endurance athelete but not to a body builder. However, I do think it is important to work the obliques with resistance to help stabilize the spine. I haven't found that my waist has grown appreciably working the obliques but I have noticed a lot more definition to my abs. That definition and the spine stability gained outweighs, at least in my opinion, any small amount of increase in my waist width. I usually do one set of weighted side crunches (i.e., one set per side) on a hyperextention bench twice a week.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Dood @ June 14 2005,9:24)]Why bother with oblique twists?  Unless some resistance machine is being used I doubt they do anything, and if you are using resistance and inducing hypertrophy then it seems you will end up growing your waist.

I do use a machine with resistance at 90lbs and up to work my obliques. Would it be better to do weighted side-crunches on a hyperextension bench or does it matter?
Also, just restating a question from my last post.. should I ditch doing leg presses and replace them with deadlifts?
 
Colby, I am not familiar with the machine you mention to work your obliques so I cannot say if it is effective or not. Try the side crunch hypers and see what works the obliques more directly and the hardest.

Personally I would recommend that you switch leg presses to deadlifts. However, if your lower back starts to complain, switch back to leg presses and then next cycle switch the squats to deads for a change of pace.
 
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