HST with Clustering Log (goal: 148 to 160lbs)

Pretty amazed my bench was so bad. I've done as high as 150x5 as recent as a few months ago. 130x6 seems really bad. Maybe those flyes take more out of me than I give them credit for.

If the 150x5 was without Flyes first then that’s at least part of the problem. You could also just have had a bad day. Also if you didn’t keep working in the higher intensity low rep range you could have lost some ground in that weight range since your muscles will tend to adapt to the rep range you spend the most time working in. Another possibility if it persists is that you could be overtraining and/or not recovering enough between workouts.
Have to give up the DB bench next workout. It's just too difficult for me to get those 55lb dumbbells in position and I don't have a spotter. Plus the reps are very grindy and shaky. Not 100% sure what I am going to replace that with.

I’ve been in your situation in previous cycles and there are two things I’ve done. If I feel I’m overtraining then I just drop the DB Presses, otherwise I just switch over to BB presses which should allow you to handle more weight.

Sure it should get harder as the weights get heavier but it seems to get really hard very suddenly. And the aches and pains creep up instantly. Best way I can describe it is that my joints and bones feel totally overwhelmed by heavier weights. Particularly in push movements.
I’ve had the same thing happen to me. The pain runs so deep it feel like my bone marrow hurts. I found that cutting the frequency and or volume some helped out a lot. For example in my first two cycles I did simple push/pull/leg full body workouts every day until I couldn’t progress. Then keeping the same exercises I rearranged them so each body part was getting worked every other day until I stopped progressing and finally rearranged the exercises again so that I was working out each body part once every third day. Another way I did it was to drop some isolation exercise as things got very heavy.

Try experimenting around and listen to what your body is telling you. You’re already using Myo-reps/clustering which requires you to pay attention to your body so you can push close to the limit without burning out. Try doing the same thing by experimenting with the volume and frequency of your exercises.
 
It was definitely a combination of bad day + pre-exhaustion. I'm sure today will be better working on a full night of sleep and better diet.

But I'm still trying to put something together that will address the strain/pain issues. Starting to wonder if working in the 5RM range just isn't for everybody.

I always tried to attribute the issues to form and overtraining. But I can take a week off doing nothing but sleeping and eating, and even with proper warmup, stretching, and perfect form, I will have shoulder pain trying to press 100 lbs. This all despite being strong enough to put up 3-5 reps. And this has been consistent regardless of the structure of the workout.

Starting to wonder if I should just focus on that 8+ rep range where I never experience these issues. I'm sure I'll still progress and eventually I'll be pressing 100lbs for 8+ reps.
 
I wouldn’t give up completely on the 5s. like I think I mentioned I found that by cutting back both volume and frequency I could manage things pretty well though I never actually made it through the post 5s or extending the 5s for 2 more weeks without needing to stop and SD.

Another thing that’s helped me is to cut back, eliminate or keep the rep count higher on the more arm intensive compounds. So for pushing movements stick with a wider grip. Use rowing movements instead of chin/pull ups. Cut out or keep the arm isos above 8 reps, the same would go for the arm intensive compounds.

You could also experiment with only taking one pressing movement up the 5 rep range and keeping the others but at a higher 8-10 rep range.

For your shoulder try Seated Incline Press. I find it puts less pressure on the shoulders than straight up pressing. Also come down only to about the chin and not all the way to the chest if that helps. I think it’s TOT who actually does Upright Rows rather than presses because of his shoulders though for many people it’s the opposite.

There are lots of options and there is no one-size-fits-all template that works for everyone so take some time to experiment and find out what works for you. I’ve been doing some form of HST for almost a year now and I’m still experimenting on what works best for me.
 
Shoulders are fickle! I don't know anyone that doesn't have one issue or another with them. It is really individual and you just have to go what works for you. I have been using DB's for presses and keeping them directly over my shoulders and not out in front of me. Any kind of press where the bar passes in front of my face tends to give me joint pain. Like G11 said just go with what works for you and experiment with different things and you will find what's right for you. Hang in there and good luck!
 
2 workouts to report on.

10/8/11 - BW 154.0

Press - 95x6, 80x7, 65x9, 45x13 (Goal: 6,8,10,12)
Upright Row - 80x8, 65x11, 55x13 (Goal: 8,10,12)
Cable shrug - 130x13,12 120x14 (Goal: 8,12,16)
Lateral Raise - 17.5x10, 12.5x11, 10x14 (Goal: 8,10,12)
FM Squat - 220x4, 180x9, 140x12, 100x16 (Goal: 4,8,12,16)
Leg Curl - 85x10,9 70x12 (Goal: 6,9,12)
Calf - 240x10, 220x12, 200x14 (Goal: 8,12,16)
Tri Pushdown - 50x10, 47.5x10, 40x12 (Goal: 8,10,12)
BB Curl - 50x12, 45x10, 40x10 (Goal: 8,10,12)

Far too much volume, took 1:15.

and

10/10/11 - BW 154.4

Bench - 135x8, 115x10, 100x13 (Goal: 8,10,12)
DB Incline Bench - 50x8, 40x10, 30x12 (Goal: 8,10,12)
Atrainer Flyes - 30x8, 25x10, 20x12 (Goal: 8,10,12)
Pullups - +17.5x6, +5x6, BWx7 (Goal: 6,8,10)
Deadlift - 205x5,5,5 (Goal: 5,5,5)
Cable row - 100x8, 90x10, 70x12 (Goal: 8,10,12)

Better, was out of the gym in 50 minutes.

------

Pretty standard hypertrophy set/rep ranges. And very little pain. Slept very well after the Saturday workout. Thinking the same will happen tonight.
 
10/13/11 - BW 154.2

Still experimenting a bit, but still increasing the weights. Taking the advice of the masses to lower volume. Doing that by reducing to two sets per exercise, also reducing the weight in the second set so as to be in the 8-12 rep range. Did at least 3 warmup sets per exercise as well with increasing weight. I felt no pain whatsoever during this workout.

I think I'm still adhering to HST principles by increasing the weights in the first set every workout and focusing on chronic rather than acute stimuli. I'll be doing this every other day, I much prefer the day off in between.

Workout time: 58:00

FL Bench
140x7, 120x9

BB Press
100x4 (no pain!), 80x7

Pullups
+20x7, BWx8

Cable Flyes
40x6, 30x8

BB Upright Row
85x7, 70x11

Squat (real squat..)
155x5, 135x8

Cable Shrugs
140x7,7

Cable Row
110x8, 90x10

Calf Pushdown
260x11,8

BB Bicep Curl
60x10, 45x11

Next workout I'll alternate a few of the major lifts.

Inc Bench
BB Press
Pullups
Atrainer Flyes
Lateral Raise
Cable Row
Shrugs
Deadlift
Calf
Tricep
 
10/15/11 - BW 155.2
--------------------
- 8 very strong reps at 210 lbs on deadlift. Not totally sure I needed that second set of deadlifts. Not too sore today though so I don't think I did any damage.

- 105 lbs on the overhead press wasn't great. Next workout I may do 110x1 just to expose my nervous system to the weight. Then cycle back to 95lbs and head back to 110 for one more exposure. After that I'll be starting my SD.

- Alternating cable rows between the more standard cable row usually attached to the cable crossover machine and a freemotion cable row machine. Next cycle I may switch this out for 1-arm DB rows.

- I'm sure overhead press + shrugs + plate raise seems like overkill for the delts/traps, but I need to fill in this area around my clavicles. It's an uphill genetic battle.
--------------------
Workout time: 59:00

Inc Bench
125x7, 115x7

BB Press (+5 lbs)
105x3 (very grindy last 2 reps), 80x8

Pullups (+5 lbs)
+25x7, BWx8

Cable Flyes (+reps)
40x9, 35x9

Plate Raise
35x7, 25x12

Cable Shrugs (+10 lbs)
150x7, 140x9

Cable Row
60x6, 50x9

Deadlift (+5 lbs)
210x8, 185x7

Tricep Pushdown
55x10,8
 
10/17/11 - BW 154.4
--------------------
- Felt much stronger than normal on the flat bench. 145x7 is a PR at that weight. My past experience with benching is that once my rep speed starts to slow, I almost immediately run out of juice and need to stop. That didn't happen today. Started slowing down 3-4 reps in and was able to comfortably complete 7.

- Got 2 pretty solid reps pressing 110. Never attempted pressing that much weight before and finished with a strong 80x10.

- Squatted 185x3, and then 205 for two single reps. Never attempted a squat at that weight before. But more than 1 rep at that weight was out of the question. So my 1RM is probably 215 or so.

- All in all had great progress today. Maybe this workout structure is going to work out (no pun intended).

- Have to watch form on a few of these exercises as the weight increases. Lost a few inches of ROM on the upright rows at 90 lbs. Also I find any type of rowing exercise becomes questionable as the weights get higher and I lose some ROM. Very hard for me to determine when I should stop increasing the weight and "master" the current weight before moving on.

- On a sad note, a family member passed away unexpectedly yesterday and I'll be traveling for the next 5 days with no gym access until Sunday. Was hoping to get 3 more workouts in before taking an SD, but unfortunately this will be the last workout of the cycle. Thanks to everyone for all of the help and suggestions! BW is up, strength is up, little to no pain, and I'm finally feeling like I am progressing.
--------------------
Workout time: 1:08

FL Bench

Previous: 140x7, 120x9
Today: 145x7, 120x11

BB Press
Previous: 105x3, 80x8
Today: 110x2, 80x10

Pullups

Previous: +25x7, BWx8
Today: +30x6, BWx9

Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
Previous: 40x9, 35x9
Today: 45x6, 35x10

BB Upright Row
Previous: 85x7, 70x11
Today: 90x7, 75x9

Freemotion Cable Row
Previous: 110x8, 90x10
Today: 120x7, 100x9

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
Previous: 150x7, 140x9
Today: 150x7, 140x10

BB Back Squat
Previous: 155x5, 135x8
Today: 185x3, 205x1, 205x1, 135x8

Freemotion Calf Pushdown
Previous: 260x11,8
Today: 280x9,9

BB Bicep Curl
Previous: 60x10, 45x11
Today: 65x7, 50x12
 
Last edited:
Sorry to hear about your loss, hang in there.

Good job on all the PRs, they really help to keep the motivation up since size gains don’t happen so obviously. If you haven’t I recommend taking pictures to compare later on so you can actually see how much progress you are making rather than just looking in the mirror which always seems to make me feel smaller.

I’m not a fan of most partial reps. In some cases like rack pulls which serve a specific purpose I see the value even for hypertrophy but if possible I’d stick to weights you can perform for full ROM. Also remember that the heavier the weights the longer you can repeat the same weight before repeated bout effect minimizes your gains.
 
My thoughts go out to you and your family. Looking forward to seeing you progress even more next cycle. Best of luck to you.
 
Thanks for the condolences guys. I'm back and ready to get moving again.

10/26/11 - BW 154.2
--------------------
- This workout was a bit rushed. It was shockingly difficult and I felt very beat up at the end of this.

- Only did 1 set of deadlifts. 2nd wasn't going to happen without vomiting. Ha, oh well. 1 set is probably enough anyway.

- Intended to do vbar seated rows but did the cable rows instead due to availability and time restrictions.

- This is my version of the 15's. I'll be doing an A/B split, adding weight every workout. When I can no longer perform the same weight for at least 8-10 reps in the second set of these exercises, I'll drop the weight to stay within that range. So I will eventually have one heavy set and one set in the hypertrophy range.
--------------------
Workout time: 41:30

Inc Bench
85 x 15,15

BB Press
55 x 15,9

Pullups
-40 x 15,11

FM Cable Flyes
20 x 15,15

Plate Raise
25 x 15,15

FM Cable Row
70 x 15,15

FM Cable Shrugs
90 x 15,15

Deadlift
135 x 15

Tricep Pushdown
35 x 15,15
 
Welcome back!

The first workout after time off usually feels like crap to me, but it usually comes back quickly.
 
Thanks grunt!

10/28/11 - BW 155.2
--------------------
- Some family is in town on vacation so this was another even more time constricted workout. I left out squats, a calf exercise, and curls. Left out squats because I had to walk around Epcot Center all day yesterday.

- Going to stick with V-Bar cable rows as my rowing exercise on both A/B days and remove the Freemotion machine cable rows.

- Felt some discomfort in my left trap during the cable shrugs. I'm hitting my traps hard and seeing great results. Finally starting to gain some mass around my clavicles. We'll see how it goes with today's workout.

- Diet has been crap with the vacationers in town. Crap meaning I've been eating a -lot- of crap. At least it's during a bulk.
--------------------
Workout time: 32 minutes

FL Bench

95 x 15,15

BB Press
60 x 15,9

Pullups

-34 lbs x 15,8

Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
25 x 15,15

BB Upright Row
55 x 15,12

V-Bar Cable Row
35 x 15,15

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
100 x 15,15

BB Back Squat
Skipped

Freemotion Calf Pushdown
Skipped

BB Bicep Curl

Skipped
 
10/30/11 - BW 156.4

Treadmill: 2.91 miles in 30 minutes. (5 minute warmup at 4 mph then 1 minute at 10 mph, 2 minutes at 4 mph, 1 minute at 10 mph, 2 minutes at 4 mph etc.)

10/31/11 - BW 156.0
--------------------
- Trying to do some treadmill time on off days, so it was treadmill yesterday. Doing this because I noticed my blood pressure starting to climb a bit over the past few weeks. Not sure if I should be worried about it affecting my recovery.

- I switched out tricep pushdowns for narrow grip dips.
--------------------
Workout time: 46:00

Inc Bench
95 x 15,12

BB Press
65 x 10,10

Pullups
-28 x 15,10

FM Cable Flyes
30 x 15,13

Plate Raise (actually a two-handed dumbbell raise today)
30 x 15,14

V-Bar Seated Row
40 x 15,15

Deadlift
145 x 15

FM Cable Shrugs
110x 15,15

Narrow Grip Dips
-28 x 15,15
 
11/1/11 - BW 156.8
----------------------
Treadmill: 1.95 miles in 20 minutes

11/2/11 - BW 154.8
----------------------
- My stomach has not been right for a few days now. Been quite irregular. Not sure if it has left me dehydrated or what. This was a problem I suffered from daily for quite some time before I started working out regularly and eating better 2 years ago. It alarms me that it seems to have returned. I may get a test for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). Apparently this is a condition that can stay with you forever once you get it. Many people can cure it with a round of antibiotics; however if you are prone to the condition it will likely return. I've dealt with nearly the entire list of symptoms for years, so may as well get it checked.

- Another relatively quick workout due to the light weights and low rest times.

- Left out an isolation bicep exercise. I think there's enough of it strewn throughout the workouts.
--------------------
Workout time: 38:30

FL Bench

105 x 15,15

BB Press
70 x 10,8

Pullups

-22 lbs x 13,10

Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
35 x 13,9

BB Upright Row
60 x 15,12

V-Bar Cable Row
42.5 x 15,11

BB Back Squat
105 x 15

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
120 x 13,10

Freemotion Calf Pushdown
180 x 15,15
 
11/4/11 - BW 156.4
--------------------
- No cardio on Thursday, 11/3
- Switched out the plate raise for side laterals.
- Placed pullups before press.
--------------------
Workout time: 49:45

Inc Bench
105 x 13,11

Pullups
-16 x 14,9

BB Press
75 x 12,7

FM Cable Flyes
40 x 11,9

Side Laterals
10 x 15,12

V-Bar Seated Row
47.5 x 15,15

Deadlift
155 x 15

FM Cable Shrugs
130x 15,11

Narrow Grip Dips
-16 x 15,15

--------------------------------

11/7/11 - BW 156.4
----------------------
- No cardio over the weekend. Lots of food and drink consumption at Epcot instead. I rarely drink, the hangover was vicious and surely unproductive. Oh well, at least I got my calories in and then some.

- My legs were ready to do more than 10 squats at 115, but it's a chore from a cardio perspective. Took a quick break and did 5 more for 15 total reps.
--------------------
Workout time: about 45 minutes

FL Bench

115 x 15,11

Pullups
BW x 11,8

BB Press
80 x 11,7
Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
45 x 9, 40 x 10

BB Upright Row
65 x 15,12

V-Bar Cable Row
50 x 15,10

BB Back Squat
115 x 10,5

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
140 x 15,14

Freemotion Calf Pushdown
200 x 15,15
 
Lots to catch up on!

11/9/11 - BW 155.4
--------------------
- Put a pause on the cardio for now.
--------------------
Workout time: 1:00

Inc Bench
115 x 12,9

Pullups
+5 x 10,7

BB Press
85 x 10,7

FM Cable Flyes
50 x 8, 40 x 8

Side Laterals
12.5 x 15,9

V-Bar Seated Row
55 x 14,12

Deadlift
170 x 15

FM Cable Shrugs
150x 13,12

Narrow Grip Dips
BW x 15,11

--------------------------------

11/11/11 - BW 156.2
----------------------
- I'm just terrible at squatting. The 135 felt heavy, so I split 15 reps into 3 sets. Sort of embarrassing.

- Lessened weight on the flyes. By supinating the elbows I can really focus the chest and I seem to get less delt involvement. But any heavier than 35 lbs seems to force bad form and recruitment of muscles I don't want to use.
----------------------
Workout time: 1:06

FL Bench

125 x 11,10

Pullups
BW+10 x 8,7

BB Press
90 x 8,6

Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
35 x 10,9

BB Upright Row
70 x 15,11

V-Bar Cable Row
60 x 10,9

BB Back Squat
135 x 5,5,5

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
160 x 11,8

Freemotion Calf Pushdown
220 x 12,12

--------------------------------

11/14/11 - BW 155.6
--------------------
- I'm definitely starting to see some aesthetic changes. My traps have filled in a bit and the muscle directly underneath my collarbone is starting to show up a little bit. In a nutshell my bony shoulders aren't looking quite as bony.

- Starting to back off the weights on the second sets where necessary.

- Did not intend to use +10 for pullups. That was a mistake, should have started with +15.

- Got rid of dumbbells for side laterals and used a cable machine. Doing this but in a slightly different machine: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidLateral/CBLateralRaise.html - better for me than dumbbells.
--------------------
Workout time: 1:03

Inc Bench
125 x 9, 115 x 9

Pullups
+10 x 9, +15 x 6

BB Press
95 x 6, 85 x 7

FM Cable Flyes
35 x 14,8

Cable Side Laterals
7.5 x 13,11,8

V-Bar Seated Row
65 x 10,8

Deadlift
185 x 10,5

FM Cable Shrugs
170 x 9, 150 x 12

Narrow Grip Dips
+10 x 10,9
 
Hang in there! You will get better at them. I was just looking at my logbook I started at the end of last December and 10 months ago I couldn’t Squat 135 lbs. for reps, but a month ago I got 350 lbs. while only focusing on a bodybuilding program. That weight would have crushed me a year ago assuming I could even have un-racked it.

As you build up a base of strength all your lifts but especial things like Squats will start improving. I was just fortunate to already have a good base of strength from running hills and mountains a lot, but be patient and it will improve.
 
Thanks grunt. Squat is very strange for me. Almost no amount of weight feels "light." Before my most recent SD, I squatted 185x3 and a 205x1. That felt very heavy of course, but it strikes me that 135 should feel a lot lighter than it does.

Not necessarily interested in hypertrophy for my legs, so I think I will continue with 3x5 for squats.
 
11/16/11 - BW 155.4
----------------------
- Admittedly I've laid off the calories a bit lately. For the past 2-3 weeks it's been non-stop digestive distress. All of my life I've had a sensitive stomach, particularly before I changed my diet and started working out 2 years ago. An extended period of low/moderate carb dieting seemed to fix my problems and I've been good for a long time. Now whatever it is seems to be rearing its ugly head again. Of course I try to self-diagnose, and my symptoms seem to match those of a small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It can be chronic if untreated and stay with you forever. Going to be looking into this a bit more.

- On the bright side, my strength is still increasing. 135x11 on the bench is a few reps better than I've ever done at that weight. Going to bump it to 150 on Monday. I'll be missing 2 training sessions after that when I travel home for Thanksgiving.

- I'll have a 6-day or so SD, but I'm not going to start over completely. Going to plan it so I can progress to new maxes right before I take a 12-day Christmas SD.

- Added those cable side laterals to this workout, did not do calves. Squat felt better. I just need to focus on contracting every muscle I have in my lower body.

- Probably going to eliminate the barbell upright row. Not great for my elbows. Would just leave the cable side laterals in there instead.

- Also during my shoulder press, I tried bringing my grip on the bar in closer to make it a true military press. I squeezed 4 reps out and probably could have done another, but I felt this strange snapping feeling in both inner forearms on every rep when lowering the weight to my collarbone. Not painful, but uncomfortable, as if there was a somewhat loose rubber band in my arm and someone pulled it and let it go. I've had this before when using dumbbells. Wide grip on the bar fixes this.

- Rep quality is seriously hampered on the v-bar row at 70 lbs and the cable shrug at 180 (and even a bit below) lbs. I am going to lighten these up and progress upward again.
----------------------
Workout time: 1:02:45

FL Bench

135 x 11,7

Pullups
BW+20 x 7, BW+10 x 7

BB Press
100 x 4 (narrow grip, weird problem), 100 x 4 (wide grip), 90 x 6 (wide)

Freemotion Cable Flyes (supinated elbows)
35 x 9,8

BB Upright Row
80 x 12,8

Cable Side Laterals
7.5 x 11,9

V-Bar Cable Row
70 x 7, 60 x 10

BB Back Squat
155 x 5,5,5

Freemotion Cable Shrugs
180 x 8, 150 x 9
 
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