leonardopm
Member
Hi.
Last Friday I finished my 5th HST cycle and I'd like to share my experience.
1 - TRAINING
I used a Vanilla HST since the first cycle. Only did 15's in one cycle and the other I followed the traditional 2 weeks of 10, 2 of 5 and 2 post 5. Usually took 9 days SD except when traveling.
I messed with different exercises but the last two months I was stick with this routine:
Deadlift
Pull-ups (or cable pull downs at the 10's weeks)
Bench press
Calf raise on leg press
Pendlay rows
Standing barbell press
Ab work
The last 4 weeks I've been doing metabolic sets for biceps and triceps, since I dropped (again!) direct arm training. It's early to be sure but it seems promising. Got back some arm size without the recovery issues of an arm training 3x a week.
2 - DIET
I've been bulking since the mid of first cycle until now. I started with a 3200kcal flat diet and after some months raised to a 3400kcal, going for 3600 on training days and 3200 on rest days. Nearly a month ago I changed for a 3500kcal being 4000kcal on training days and 3000kcal the others (I train early morning). In fact I've been trying to follow Jester advice and aiming for a 4000kcal intake in the 24hr window after the workout.
I started the diet without any monitoring of macros but actually I've been trying to get as least 1.75g of protein / lb of BW. Fats are usually 30% from the caloric intake. I supplemented with albumin for at least four months but I can't even smell it anymore. I'm taking only weight gainers and fish oil at this time and trying to get my protein from food. Lots of broiled eggs, ham, milk and meat.
3 - STATS
I started HST in late January or early February, not pretty sure. I was 193 lbs at 10,8% BF, resulting in 172 lbs of LBM.
Bench press @ 5 reps - 140 lbs
Barbell press @ 5 reps - 57 lbs
Pull-ups @ 4 reps - BW of 193 lbs
Currently stats are:
BW - 221 lbs @ 14% BF (LBM 190 lbs)
Bench press @ 5 reps - 190 lbs
Barbell press @ 5 reps - 92 lbs
Pull-ups @ 5 reps - BW of 220 lbs + 9 lbs
4 - OPINIONS
After almost 8 months on HST I can say that is the best routine I ever tried. I'm 38 yr old and actually my physique is better than my life-time best condition, since I was in college. I broke my PR on the bench press, barbell press, squat and reached a BW I never had (220+ lbs), almost 20 years older and training less than half the time.
The progressive overload philosophy also kept me far from diseases, injuries and really helped me to keep the focus on the training. When I used to train to failure all the time I was always around with colds and other health issues.
Well, that's my testimony on HST and I hope it can help those who are struggling on HST or not pretty confident on the program. I know there are tons of bigger guys here who also endorse HST but, hey, I needed to tell it to anyone!
I'll start my cut tomorrow and a whole new world is coming with lots of questions, but that's a point for another topic. Thank you for the patience and a special thanks for all users that helped me in the way.
Leonardo
Last Friday I finished my 5th HST cycle and I'd like to share my experience.
1 - TRAINING
I used a Vanilla HST since the first cycle. Only did 15's in one cycle and the other I followed the traditional 2 weeks of 10, 2 of 5 and 2 post 5. Usually took 9 days SD except when traveling.
I messed with different exercises but the last two months I was stick with this routine:
Deadlift
Pull-ups (or cable pull downs at the 10's weeks)
Bench press
Calf raise on leg press
Pendlay rows
Standing barbell press
Ab work
The last 4 weeks I've been doing metabolic sets for biceps and triceps, since I dropped (again!) direct arm training. It's early to be sure but it seems promising. Got back some arm size without the recovery issues of an arm training 3x a week.
2 - DIET
I've been bulking since the mid of first cycle until now. I started with a 3200kcal flat diet and after some months raised to a 3400kcal, going for 3600 on training days and 3200 on rest days. Nearly a month ago I changed for a 3500kcal being 4000kcal on training days and 3000kcal the others (I train early morning). In fact I've been trying to follow Jester advice and aiming for a 4000kcal intake in the 24hr window after the workout.
I started the diet without any monitoring of macros but actually I've been trying to get as least 1.75g of protein / lb of BW. Fats are usually 30% from the caloric intake. I supplemented with albumin for at least four months but I can't even smell it anymore. I'm taking only weight gainers and fish oil at this time and trying to get my protein from food. Lots of broiled eggs, ham, milk and meat.
3 - STATS
I started HST in late January or early February, not pretty sure. I was 193 lbs at 10,8% BF, resulting in 172 lbs of LBM.
Bench press @ 5 reps - 140 lbs
Barbell press @ 5 reps - 57 lbs
Pull-ups @ 4 reps - BW of 193 lbs
Currently stats are:
BW - 221 lbs @ 14% BF (LBM 190 lbs)
Bench press @ 5 reps - 190 lbs
Barbell press @ 5 reps - 92 lbs
Pull-ups @ 5 reps - BW of 220 lbs + 9 lbs
4 - OPINIONS
After almost 8 months on HST I can say that is the best routine I ever tried. I'm 38 yr old and actually my physique is better than my life-time best condition, since I was in college. I broke my PR on the bench press, barbell press, squat and reached a BW I never had (220+ lbs), almost 20 years older and training less than half the time.
The progressive overload philosophy also kept me far from diseases, injuries and really helped me to keep the focus on the training. When I used to train to failure all the time I was always around with colds and other health issues.
Well, that's my testimony on HST and I hope it can help those who are struggling on HST or not pretty confident on the program. I know there are tons of bigger guys here who also endorse HST but, hey, I needed to tell it to anyone!
I'll start my cut tomorrow and a whole new world is coming with lots of questions, but that's a point for another topic. Thank you for the patience and a special thanks for all users that helped me in the way.
Leonardo
