Getting Massive

O

OzMullet

New Member
After years of doing pyramid sets and not getting too far, i figured i needed something new. HST sounded like it was exactly what i needed. so i have my RMs, got my measurements, started counting cals and figured out a new routine (thanks Fausto & Tot - Simplify and WIN!).

The goals:
1. add 4Kgs
2. stronger deads and squats
3. add half an inch to Biceps flexed

The measurements:
Weight - 71.2Kgs
BF% - 15
Bicep (r) - 13.5 inches
Bicep flexed (r) - 14.5
Chest - 39.5
Waist - 32.5
Hips - 34.5
Thigh (r) - 21.5

the cals:
i'm going to try and stick to 3500 cals a day. i think this has been my biggest problem - not eating consistently. so i'm going to use fitday.com and try and be as strict as i can. macros at the moment are C:50% P:28% F:22%. i might try and get the fats up by taking fish oil or flaxseed oil.

the Routine:
gonna try and keep it simple. A - day 1, 3, 5; B - day 2, 4, 6

A Squats/LegCurl/CalfRaise/IncBenchDB/Chins/ShldPrsDB/Abs
B Deads/LegPress/CalfRaise/Dips/RowsDB/MilPress/Abs

the idea is to concentrate more on legs, i've been neglecting them big time.
my arms aren't that big either, but i'm going to avoid isos for the first cycle and see what happens.
if it doesn't work out i'll add isos next cycle.

The RMs (all Kgs):
A
Squats - 80 90 100
LegCurl - 50 60 70
CalfRaise - 105 125 145
IncBenchDB - 34 40 46
Chins - BW BW+5 BW+10
ShldPrsDB - 20 26 32
Abs - not too sure...

B
Deads - 80 100 120
LegPress - 150 200 250
CalfRaise - 105 125 145
Dips - BW BW+10 BW+20
RowsDB - 28 24 40
MilPress - 35 42.5 50
Abs - not too sure...

I start today after 9 days of SD. can't wait to rip in!
 
15s DAY 1

I did a warmup then either 1 or 2 working sets. all sets are denoted Weight(KG)*reps.
I found that for some exercises i couldn't get 15 reps on the second set. it was really surprising actually. i hope its because i'm not used to doing 15 reps.
Had to do chins first because all the benches and squat rack were taken.

Exercise - w/u, set1, set2
Chin - A33*12, A12*15, A12*10+4 - i f*cked these up. not used to using assisted chins. i think A12 is my new 15RM - only just managed to do the first set.
Squats - 20Kg*12reps, 55*15, 55*15 - could have done a couple more, but quads were like jelly after. pretty much had the shakes all through the rest of my workout.
LegCurl - 25*12, 40*15
CalfRaise - 55*15, 80*15, 80*15 - second working set burnt like hell
IncBenchDB - 22*15, 30*15, 30*12 - this surprised me the most. usually 30KG dumbbells are a walk in the park. the first set was ok but second was killer! i couldnt beleive it.
ShldrPrsDB - 8*12, 16*15 - warmup burnt like hell, working set was fine though (still burnt!)
Abs - 25*15 - wasnt sure so just went light. was pretty easy.

i finished with some foam rolling on legs and calves. going to get the missus to do some assisted stretches tonight. i think i need it!

First impressions - 15s are a lot harder than it sounds. i had some idea from doing my RMs last week, but i guess i wasnt prepared. plus doing every muscle group at once is intense. the squats, while pretty easy when doing them, gave me massive shakes after. it feels weird but good! i also felt my joints start to ache a bit. i think i'm just going to do one set of bench and chins from now on. i still want to do 2 sets of squats unless anyone thinks thats a bad idea? thing is if i dont do the sets, my workout is only 30 mins. i dunno...maybe another w/u set?

thing is i know it's just going to get harder... bring it on!
 
You have begun to familarize yourself to post-SD weakness. In a couple of sessions you'll feel more conditioned. How tall are you (cm/inches)? Your numbers are very close to mine, both in weight and lifting weights (RMs).
 
hey nkl, thanks for replying. i'm 5'5 (short ass!). yeah i figured it was a combination of SD and 15s. my missus confirmed it (she's a PT). she rekons my muscles arent used to the higher reps, plus the fact i am now doing squats properly. got mad DOMs yesterday - haven't had them so bad for ages, must have done something right!

i'm not to worried about how much weight i'm lifting on the 15s, but i am worried that by the time i get to 5s i'm going to lose all the gains in strength i managed to get before HST - my 1RM for flat bench was 120Kgs, i really can't see myself doing this after 5s, because it will be at least 3 weeks before i even approach this sort of weight again. i guess i have to stop worrying about getting stronger and just concentrate on getting bigger, which is the point of all this. i can always get my strength back i guess.
 
If you haven't gained strength by the time you get to the 5s then something is seriously wrong. Namely, your diet. Everyone always gets stronger by the time they reach the 5s unless they aren't eating enough or are cutting.
 
ok cool thanks Tot. i'm definitely eating a lot, getting around 3600 cals, even tried the old olive oil in the protein shake last night. hopefully thats enough. one other thing i'm not sure about - do i skip the 15s next cycle if my joints feel ok?

about to start my next sesh. after reading some more i think i'll stick to just 1ws. i might just add a few extra reps if it's easy. one other thing, while my bis got pretty worked from close grip chins, my tris didn't see much action. i guess that will change with dips today.
 
I rarely do 15s. Course now I'm having elbow pains, so who knows. You could skip them next cycle and see what happens.
 
Higher rep training need not nessecarily mean loss of strength. In Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 training strength is gained by doing higher reps. The key is going for rep PRs. Diet wise, 3500 kcals a day is plenty to grow on for your hight and mass (I'm 5'5 at 71 kg 15%BF too). For me that is roughly 1000 kcal plus. You shouldn't have a problem, other than buying new clothes...
 
cool thanks guys. just did my 2nd sesh

15s DAY 2

ok small disaster. deads were a nightmare. did a warmup on the bike for 5 mins (don't normally but thought it would be a good idea to start). did some leg stretches and started my 1 set of deads @60Kgs. should be a walk in the park. after about the 3rd rep i got a sharp pain on the inside and underneath my left knee. never had that before. had a break tried again. same thing. damn. tried it without weight and i could still feel the pain slightly. ok. tried some light leg press, they were ok. so whats going on? is it my hammies maybe? i dont know but i hope my deadlift days arent over... anyway here's the breakdown

warmup - bike 5mins level 10. not enough to break a sweat but almost

Deads 60*4 - sharp pain in left knee. tried again at the end of workout with 35KG, did 15. i guess not enough weight to trigger pain...
LegPress 50*15, 100*15
CalfRaise 85*20, 85*20
Dips A33*17, A12*17
RowsDB 26*16
MilPress 35*16 - f*cked up. this was supposed to be my max. anyway easy enough so i'll try 40 next sesh
Abs 27.5*20

so that leaves a few more questions. what do i do about deads? not a total disaster yet as i can probably just drop them and do legpress instead. not sure whats going to happen with squats on friday. maybe i just lose deads or do them really light, but whats the point. the real question is what the f*cks wrong with my bloody knee? it can't have been the 5 minute warmup could it? anyone had this before?

anyway the knee feels fine now, no matter how i move it - no pain. weird.
 
i did some stretching and foam rolling on my legs today. i even used the powerplate - apparently good for getting the blood flowing or something.
i can still feel a bit of soreness on the back of my left knee, but i wanted to test it out, so i did a couple of light deadlifts - 40Kgs. felt fine.
i wanted to really test it so i doubled it to 80Kgs and did 6 reps. felt good, no pain.

i changed two things that may have helped. firstly i've been wearing new shoes for the last two weeks and they are hurting the arch of my left foot,
so i changed them today to my old shoes - foot feels heaps better. also i changed my stance slightly so my feet are more parallel. this feels better too.
i think i have to check out proper form with deads, even though i've been doing them all year and felt fine (apart from the massive amount of DOMs of course).

so hopefully everything's cool with my knee and i just overreacted a bit. will see with squats tomorrow...
 
I deadlift without shoes. It is a lot safer and more comfortable. You should consider it.
 
Shoeless, I get pain in my heels even when using little weight. I guess it takes time to adapt.
 
Well at the very least, you should be using something with a solid, flat sole and not typical sneakers which have a squishy bottom. It's dangerous to have something unsteady like that when you are lifting heavy weights for deadlifts.
 
sweet thanks for the advice guys.

15s DAY 3

Better sesh than the previous 2, still struggling to get used to it though. my bench is really suffering. but i'm not too worried.

warmup - bike 5 mins L11

Squats 20*15, 65*15, 65*15
LegCurl 45*18
CalfRaise 65*15, 90*16, 90*15
Chins A26*16
IncBenchDB 22*15, 32*15 - only just got the last rep. i feel like my strength is fading on bench.
ShldrPrsDB 18*14 - did this after bench, struggled big time. only just squeezed out the 14th. will separate these next time.
Abs 30*15

overall was pretty good. still got shakes after squats and felt a bit sick. this really affected my bench and shoulder press. i feel like my chest is a lot weaker than it used to be due to lack of use. i might do these first next wednesday just so i can make sure i get the 15 out. i guess i just have to trust what you guys say and hope i get stronger after the 5s. one thing i could do is just do one set of squats and rep out a bit more. to all the guys who think that 1 set of 15s arent enough obviously aint doing them properly. they are killer!
 
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I do squats last in my workout. You might want to try that. Otherwise all my other lifts are compromised. Same with deads. Since I know I am all done afterward when I get to squats, I can give it my all knowing that I can go home after.
 
ok yeah sounds about right. i feel like crap right before bench so doing squats & deads last is probably the smart thing to do. thanks mate.
 
The other bonus for me, and I've tested this with myself and a trainee quite vigorously, is that as long as I don't do anything that really loads up the lower back real bad, then by the time I get to squats or deads, my performance is better than if I had done them first. I don't do any heavy leg pressing prior to squats, and the only rows I am doing right now are chest supported or machine rows, so that my lower back is strong for squats and deads. I've done a lot of comparisons and doing them last always works better for us. I think as long as you aren't going balls to the walls the whole workout, doing squats and deads means you are plenty warmed up and primed for moving some heavy weights when you finally get to them.

Contrary to what I said above, however, some people find doing them first works better. So experiment with your exercise order and see how it works for you.

From your last posted workout, here is the order I would use:

Incline Bench
Leg Curl
Chins
Shoulder Press
Calf Raise
Abs
Squats

You might move abs to after squats if you find it makes it harder to keep your core hard and strong while doing squats.
 
Now for your other workout, here is the order I would use:

Leg Press
Dips
Rows
Military Press
Calf Raise
Abs
Deads

If you find the DB Rows are straining your lower back, you might want to swap them with the chins on the other day. I find that pairing chins with deads and rows with squats works a little better usually for most people than doing deads and rows together.

Anyway, try it out and see if this works better for you.
 
ok cool. really appreciate it mate. i'll try the new order next week. when i start the 10s i'll change it up to pair chins and deads. i'm finding squats chins & bench really exhausting, so what you say makes total sense. legend! thanks Tot.
 
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