My Results

[jcny19x]

I just want to update my info to help people out who might have the same body type as I do. I have just finished my second cycle, and this cycle I skipped the 15s and went 12/10/6. ALSO, my routine was 6x a week mon/wed/fri upper tues/thurs/sat lower, AND I increased my frequency to two working sets - my second set I would usually get about 2 fewer reps. Unfourtunately, this routine was not for me. I felt like crap everytime I worked out, my muscles felt small for the most part, and nothing seemed to be working out. Unfortunately yesterday I hurt my shoulder dang rotator cuff. I want to let everyone know that if you are a tall person with long arms, FULL range of motion on bench can be VERY harmful to your shoulder joints...Therefore, I am now stopping 1-2 inches above my chest. Ok, now I am on a 3rd cycle, I have gone back to the basics and I LOVE IT, no more screwing around with the routine, and I feel a lot better, and I am making much progress. THANK YOU Bryan

Thank you Dkm for responding to all my posts

andI hope this is of help for people like me - you can look up my earlier posts for any info. Peace

 

[imported_dkm1987]

Quote[/b] (jcny19x @ Mar. 30 2005,11:03)]I have gone back to the basics and I LOVE IT, no more screwing around with the routine, and I feel a lot better, and I am making much progress.  THANK YOU Bryan  

 

Thank you Dkm for responding to all my posts  

 

Bryan wouldn't have designed it this way if it didn't work.

You're welcome, keep the shoulder safe

 

[Heavy Duty dude]

You had no gain at all with 6x a week? Are you sure you ate enough?

 

[precious_roy]

Quote[/b] ]I want to let everyone know that if you are a tall person with long arms, FULL range of motion on bench can be VERY harmful to your shoulder joints...Therefore, I am now stopping 1-2 inches above my chest.

Very true. In actuality, there is not much benefit to lowering the weight past the point where your upper and lower arm form a 90 degree angle. For those with shorter limbs, this may be very close to the chest, but for ectomorphs with long arms, this could be several inches above. I am in the same boat and actually had a similar problem. So listen to the man.

Quote[/b] ]You had no gain at all with 6x a week? Are you sure you ate enough?

Agreed. You do really have to eat a LOT to make 6x work well. Read Brian's article about eating for 6x per week (and you will realize that 3500 calories is more than you think!)

 

[Old and Grey]

A minor point but an important one...You didn't increase frequency. You still worked each body part thrice weekly. What you did was increase volume. I work each bodypart 10 times per week but with only one set per body part each workout and I feel great. However, if I tried to keep that same schedule and increased volume, I would be fatigued. You have to find the right balance between frequency and volume. Obviously, JC, you got out of balance with too much volume for the frequency you were working out. Since you were working each body part the minimum recommended times per week (3), your only remaining alternative is to decrease volume...which you correctly surmised.

Thanks for passing on the comments about long arms. It's important to adapt style to your body mechanics. What is good for John, may not work for Paul and, as you point out, could be injurious to him. The same is true for legs and the back. Always be careful if you go past parallel on any exercise that involves the shoulders, legs or back. Connective tissues are very unforgiving and have very long memories.

 

[jcny19x]

Dkm: Thanks, I hate learning the hard way (and painful), that's why I hope people like me will take this advice.
Heavy Duty Dude: Old and Grey is right, I messed up frequency with volume. My diet is not as exact as someone who keeps track of every single calorie, but I was eating basically 4000 calories a day split up over 6-7 meals. If I ate 6, I would eat a lot more during one meal.
Precious: I hear ya. 3500 is definitely A LOT of calories. However I am reaping the benefits of a fast metabolism, and I love eating; so I basically eat all day. Olive oil, milk, steak and potatos fried in olive oil make up most of my caloric intake.
Old and Grey: That's really interesting, and true, thanks for correcting me. I believe that ectos really do need to maximize the rest factor, taking into account that it takes a lot for us to build + maintain muscle - this is just something I feel, I don't really know if it's actually correct, plz correct me if I'm wrong. I have been lifting for 6 years now (on and off now since I am pre-med and I got a crazy schedule). Thanks to HST, I was able to gain about 10 pounds (less than a year) in addition to the 30 pounds that I had gained from my previous routines (the other 5 years). I am definitely sticking with HST.

 

[jcny19x]

grr sorry, I posted twice...
But I have a question of O and G: you said "I work each bodypart 10 times per week but with only one set per body part each workout and I feel great." So, you must do more than one workout per day on some days, but not others?

 

[Old and Grey]

JC, my routine is as follows 5 days per week with rest on 2 days:

AM:

Incline Bench Press
Weighted Chins
Seated Shoulder Press
Squats

PM:

Weighted Dips
Seated Rows
Shrugs
Leg Press

Obviously I have found that my body responds best to high frequency but low volume. For my next cycle, I am going to add one set of pull ups mid day to really hit my lats.

I also do a trunk routine about twice a week:

Weighted seated Crunch Machine
Lying Incline Leg Raises
Oblique Side Raises on a hyperextension bench
Weighted Hyperextensions

 

[vicious]

Quote[/b] ]In actuality, there is not much benefit to lowering the weight past the point where your upper and lower arm form a 90 degree angle. For those with shorter limbs, this may be very close to the chest, but for ectomorphs with long arms, this could be several inches above

Actually, going below is 90 degrees further stimulates pec development, due to stretch under tension. Unfortunately, due to the grip of the normal bench press, it also causes problems with the cuff (though using a parallel grip with dumbbells, or switching to dips solves the problem for most people.) And this is why the normal bench press is a rather inferior exercise for developing pecs. Of course, as you go heavier or use a wider grip, the difference shrinks. But if a person is strictly looking at a compound chest exercise for muscle development (as opposed to developing skill strength), the normal bench press probably should be near the bottom of the list.

jcny, you may want to shift over some of the olive oil intake toward more carbs. People with high metabolism tends to go through their glycogen stores at a faster rate than most of us. Generally on days you work out, it isn't just that your caloric intake should go up, but that your carb intake has to go up significantly well. Even if you try to compensate by increasing olive oil or meat intake, that won't (efficiently) refuel your glycogen stores, making you look rather flat as well as functionally fatigued for your next bout.

cheers,
Jules

 

[jww13]

vicious, which exercises would be at the top of that list? And would dumbbell benchpress be above barbell benchpress?

I've always felt that barbell press uses less chest than others, especially when using PL-style form.

thanks

 

[vicious]

Three things figure into quality of pec stimulation for compound movement:

1) Grip spacing. The wider, the better.

2) Depth. The lower, the better. Parallel grips enable you to go deeper without messing up your cuff.

3) Elbow/limb angle. Angle tends to shift recruitment and focus between the front delts, upper and lower pecs. Dips recruit lower pecs better than the flat press for this reason. Military press recruits front delts better than the flat press for this reason as well. Note that this will also effect your cuff, so work within your limits.

As you can see, dips win by default. DB presses come in second (parallel grip and flexibility in spacing.) And flat bench press is rather poor however you look at it. Of course, if you really want to speed up pec development, you'll include a fly movement.

cheers,
Jules

 

[jcny19x]

Quote[/b] (vicious @ April 01 2005,4:23)]

jcny, you may want to shift over some of the olive oil intake toward more carbs. People with high metabolism tends to go through their glycogen stores at a faster rate than most of us. Generally on days you work out, it isn't just that your caloric intake should go up, but that your carb intake has to go up significantly well. Even if you try to compensate by increasing olive oil or meat intake, that won't (efficiently) refuel your glycogen stores, making you look rather flat as well as functionally fatigued for your next bout.
cheers,
Jules

That's interesting that you say taht Jules. It does make sense. Carb sources you would prefer would be : sweet potatos, white ones, pasta, rice, oatmeal... etc. I also have some questions about my appearance. After a meal of roughly 500-700 calories, and about a couple glasses of water, my stomach is ENORMOUS, it seriously looks like I am pregnant. I never USED to get this when I was eating a lot like a few years ago (as best as I can remember), what do you suppose this is? Anything abnormal? It really does look abnormal though... THanks again Jules for your insightful remarks....

 

[precious_roy]

Quote[/b] ]Actually, going below is 90 degrees further stimulates pec development, due to stretch under tension.

Hmm...I guess I should have realized that, just reading about stretch point movements in the "customizing" thread and all.

Quote[/b] ]After a meal of roughly 500-700 calories, and about a couple glasses of water, my stomach is ENORMOUS, it seriously looks like I am pregnant.

Curious to see the anwser anyone has to this. I worked with someone who had the same problem.

 

[imported_dpr22]

Not that I am questioning your information, but if DB bench is better than Barbell Bench, then why doesn't HST advocate them specifically? Also I have seen on the forum that people advocate doing dips with "elbows out" does this mean with the legs out to the side as much as possible?

 

[precious_roy]

Just my thoughts, which are not by any means expert

Quote[/b] ]Not that I am questioning your information, but if DB bench is better than Barbell Bench, then why doesn't HST advocate them specifically?

HST Does not specifically advocate any particular exercise. But as Vicious said, you can use a parallel grip with dumbells while this is not possible with a barbell, and the fact that you can change grip spacing during the lift.

Quote[/b] ] Also I have seen on the forum that people advocate doing dips with "elbows out" does this mean with the legs out to the side as much as possible?

I believe that this means the elbows are "pointing out", as opposed to "pointing back". If your elbows are locked into your sides, there is little or no horizontal adduction and hence it is more of a primary tricep exercise. With your elbows "out", the motion will be more of a primary chest exercise. I think that this can be accomplished by rotating the hands more "around" the bars. That is to say, go more from a pronated grip to a more supinated grip.

 

[jcny19x]

any answers to the enormous stomach problem? It sucks really....

 

[vicious]

If it's really bothering you, then you may want to look at your bowel movements. Increase water intake, increase soluble and insoluble fiber (from fruits and vegetables) intake, and take in fish oil and such. When you drink water, you should literally feel the sensation of water going all the way down to the bottom of your stomach.

cheers,
Jules

 

[jcny19x]

Thanks Vicious, that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. When I was eating 7 meals a day about 3 years ago I wasn't getting as ENOrmous a stomach as I now get. But now that I think more, I was eating at least 1 salad per meal, with corn, broccoli, and other veggies. Now, I am barely eating any vegetables - although some fruits. I will add salads to my meals now. Thanks again...