The S.H. Dial-It-Up Log

S

Sam Hell Jr.

New Member
Hi, everyone – nice community you’ve got here, and I’m hoping to jump in.

My history: I’m 27, 5-foot-9, go about 165 with a 33.5-inch waist. Been training with some purpose for maybe three years now. Ran the gauntlet of hybrid “aesthetic athlete” programs – Built for Show, Huge in a Hurry, EDT; I also test-drove Power to the People and Del Monte and Ferruggia’s stuff.

I’m certainly guilty of programming ADD, so I won’t pretend to render judgment of any of those coaches, but I will say that I’m disappointed in my hypertrophic progress. My impression looking through my photos and training logs is that I hit some kind of “advanced beginner” stage after that first year, and that I’ve sort of been effing around with about the same weights ever since. (Note that I’m limited in my lower-body training by a dinged-up right hip, so programs which lean on heavy squats and deads will eventually throw me out of the saddle.)

I ended up here via Lyle, whom I discovered through Everything Strength. I’m really optimistic that HST will be the breakthrough for me. Bryan’s read of the research literature really brings into focus some of the issues I’ve had while training and jives with observations I've made about my successes and failures in the gym. Here’s what I’ve cooked up for my first run at HST; I’m not planning on keeping a strict log, but I’d love to hear any thoughts or insights you’re willing to share.

EXERCISE: 1x15 RM, 2x10 RM, 3x5 RM
Goblet reverse lunge: 35, 45, 55
BB Romanian deadlift: 45, 65, 85
Seated cable row, neutral grip: 55, 70, 85
Cable pulldown, wide grip: 55, 70, 85
DB incline press: 25, 40, 55
DB shrug: 30, 45, 55

I want a lot of emphasis on posterior chain, back, and shoulders as you can see -- I'm narrow-chested and wide-hipped for a guy, and I'm always fighting cubicle-farm posture. I'm also doing steady state cardio for the first time since ... Lordy, I can't even remember. My goals are exclusively of the look-good-nekkid variety.

As I get through a few cycles, I anticipate that I’ll switch to alternating knee- and hip-dominant movements for legs, and that I’ll start tweaking grips and angles on the pushes and pulls, but otherwise this is the template I plan to stick with until my strength levels necessitate some specialization and an A-B split.

Thanks for your time.
 
And, for future reference, my starting measurements, cold, unflexed, in inches...

Neck: 15.5
Chest: 39.5
Waist: 33.5
Thigh: 22.5
Calf: 15
Arm: 12.5
 
Welcome to the forum. I don’t think I’ve ever recommended for someone to include more pushing movements in their routine, and I know you want to emphasize back but I think you would benefit from adding Dips. I’ve found they really help complement Incline Presses for chest and shoulder development and are also better for building the triceps. Additionally you might want to consider adding some sort of lateral raises for your middle delts. They will not only balance your shoulder development helping to prevent injures but also make your shoulders look wider which makes you look better with or without a shirt on.
 
If you like Lyle, you'll probably enjoy this forum.

I agree with Grunt11 about the dips. I'd also suggest you switch your cable pulldowns to chins, once you get your strength up. Chins are great for developing your back.

Sorry to hear about your squats and deads -- they form the very foundation of my workouts. However, the iron can be very forgiving if you're willing to find a way to work around your problems.
 
I don’t think I’ve ever recommended for someone to include more pushing movements in their routine, and I know you want to emphasize back but I think you would benefit from adding Dips. I’ve found they really help complement Incline Presses for chest and shoulder development and are also better for building the triceps.

Dips were a late scratch from the lineup; I've got a bad habit of "shrugging" my left shoulder up and in on pushing movements that's burned me in the past which I'd like to quash from the get-go. Definitely they'll be one of the first adds in later cycles. FWIW, I've been doubling the volume on the DB presses.

Additionally you might want to consider adding some sort of lateral raises for your middle delts. They will not only balance your shoulder development helping to prevent injures but also make your shoulders look wider which makes you look better with or without a shirt on.

I'll confess I'm just embarrassed to play with the pink weights. I'll conquer my fears and start doing them.
 
I agree with Grunt11 about the dips. I'd also suggest you switch your cable pulldowns to chins, once you get your strength up. Chins are great for developing your back.

Absolutely. Look forward to being strong enough to make the switch.

Sorry to hear about your squats and deads -- they form the very foundation of my workouts. However, the iron can be very forgiving if you're willing to find a way to work around your problems.

Yeah, it was a blow. I'm fortunate in that I've got thicker legs genetically, so as long as I can get some lower-body work in, I count my blessings and get on with life.

Where do you lift in Toledo, if I may ask? I'm in Monclova.
 
Some thoughts from my first week of HST:

-I have definitely been missing out on the recovery benefits that light off-day cardio can provide. That said: stay the hell off the stair climber if you value your life and dignity. I can think of better ways to make my knees hurt. That said: the risk of falling off the bottom of the steps in front of a dozen cardio bunnies is a powerful motivator.

-After some beard-scratching and experimentation (specifically, with short, intra-workout static stretching of the shoulders and chest), I've found there's room in this routine for dips and lateral raises. Certainly there is room on my torso for better pecs, tris, and delts.

-I'm up to two sets per exercise for my 15s after starting with just one per Bryan's beginner recommendation. Good stuff. For what it's worth, I've always responded well to 2-3x15. Possibly that's just a knock on how I treat my joints over the rest of the week.

-Having referenced the HST resources regularly for the last week, I'm struck by the fact that he doesn't charge for it -- it's not even a $20 PDF like 5/3/1, though certainly there's enough content to make it one. I don't have any further comment except to say, thank you, Bryan. I am tired of buying padded-out programs with too-brief-to-matter exercise descriptions and puffed up autobiography and rambling philosophical musings, but you're highly enough recommended that I might've sprung for another in a moment of weakness if it had your name on it. I will drop an extra $20 in at mass next week instead.

-Had a nice little supplement purge this afternoon. The highlights...

Milk Thistle -- Anti-estrogenic! Also, made my nipples hurt. "Opposite of intended effect," anyone?

Resveratrol -- Seemed really interesting until I found out it's not bioavailable in homo sapiens. Maybe the grape vine at my grandma's house is interested.

Maca -- Test-boosting superfood! Here's a question for my maca-buying self, 2 years back: Why would an essential human sex hormone have any particular chemical relationship with a root vegetable native to Central America? And, more to the point, how would that relationship be strengthened in pill form?

Vit E -- Man, almonds taste better. Plus, prostate cancer or something.

Nattokinase -- Native Japanese diet blood clots something something. Don't ask.

That leaves me with just...

Carlson's Cod Liver Oil -- I'm switching to something cheaper when this runs out. I appreciate that I'm only getting sustainably caught deep-water Lutheran fish from Carlson's or whatever they promise but also it's hella pricey.

Vit C -- Picked this up to help with muscle soreness before I found out I'm 27 and not all that susceptible to DOMS. Maybe for when I get a cold.

Zinc -- Ditto.

Vit D -- Wish I had a lamp and/or didn't live in Ohio.

Tribulus -- Probably crap but I had a coupon. I'll get back to you.

Creatine -- Doesn't agree with my digestion much.

And of course my multi-vit and the protein powder.
 
So, bad news first: I'm fat. Specifically, I'm about 20% bodyfat. In keeping with my new "follow Lyle and Bryan with unswerving devotion" plan, that means I've got to drop to the 10% range before I embark on a hypertrophy plan in earnest.

Let me know if I'm doing this right. At 160-some pounds and 20% bodyfat, I've got lean mass of 130 or a little over. So at 10%, I should weigh mid- to upper-140s. Ballparking it: I need to burn about 15 pounds.

Bitter pill to swallow. The last time I was that light, I was 18 and running about 40 miles a week. Plainly the weight ought to be distributed a little more attractively now that I'm lifting, but ... bummer.

Especially since my eating is already pretty good. I've got a few easy places to cut -- knock off the handful of fast-food meals I eat in any given month, and pass on the holiday candy -- but other than that, I already do some form of training every day, and my diet is already pretty clean, so there's nothing for it but to eat less per meal and make peace with hunger.

On the brighter side, I'm really enjoying HST. I'm into the first week of my 10s now. I elected to repeat my max 15 weights rather than zig-zag the resistance -- frankly, I've been goofing around with in the same basic weight-range for so long that I'm scared to "backtrack." Of course, at my low strength levels, it ought not to make much difference. It sorts itself out as you get stronger, right?

But, on the list of things I enjoy ...

-Repeating workouts. I'm uncoordinated as all get out. I need to hit an exercise several times per week or I will straight-up forget how it feels to do it right.
-Steady linear progression. In my experience, undulating periodization in the hands of a beginner is an excellent excuse never to pick up something heavy.
-Low volume. Again, uncoordinated. I rarely have more than one or two good sets in me anyway.
-Efficiency. Maybe it's just how I do them, but this program has great "get in, work hard, get out" potential. When you're not banging around for 8 sets, you take care of business.
-Intra-workout variety. Fewer sets means more types of exercises per workout. Very ADD friendly.
-Confidence. I've "already" hit every weight I'm lifting because they're all sub-maximal. (Even the micro-phase maxes are sub-maximal by the time you get to them.) So the pressure to have a bull-busting workout every day is off. I spend more mental energy on execution and less on worrying about intensity. That's good.

For the first time ever, I'm not trying to radically change my programming for a cut. I'll take it easy on the volume as the weights get heavier, and I'll keep doing some moderate conditioning work on my off days, but otherwise, I've accepted It's the Calories, Stupid.
 
My most recent workout looked like this:

goblet reverse lunge: 2x10x25lbs
BB Romanian deadlift: 2x10x30lbs
seated row, parallel grip: 2x10x55lbs
assisted dip: 2x10x(25)lbs
pulldown: 2x10x55lbs
DB incline press: 2x10x25lbs
DB shrug: 2x10x35lbs
lateral raise: 2x10x5lbs
reverse crunch: 2x15xbw

The RDLs are tough ... mainly because for the first time in my life, I'm trying to do them right. I've resolved not to push them. I'll get stronger when I get stronger. I also really like the reverse lunge as a glute movement, provided that I keep my chest perpendicular. I'm also getting in the habit of doing some static pec stretches throughout the workout to counteract my desk-sitter disease. It's really helped me feel the push-pull movements better.
 
Oh, and here's how I'm keeping myself from worrying too much about how "small" I'll be at 10% bodyfat. If that leaves me 5'9", 147 or something ... well, that would make me about the same size as a UFC featherweight like Jimy Hettes. Nobody calls that guy small. Not to his face, anyway. ;)
 
Just checking in. Finished the "climb" on the my first cycle with no setbacks; 2 weeks of my 5RM now, which will take me to to the end of the year.

Really, really enjoying this protocol, though when you're doing it right, there's not much to discuss, other than, "Yep, checked another one off in the log."

Have a safe holiday, everyone.
 
It does get a little redundant, but seeing where you end up in relation to where you started is always exciting. The last two weeks each workout you say to yourself " I bet I could add another 5 lbs" and by the end your like wow, how much was that? HST is just awesome
 
Sam Hell Jr. said:
Where do you lift in Toledo, if I may ask? I'm in Monclova.
Click to expand...
I lift at the Powerhouse Gym on West Central. I used to workout at the YMCA on Summit; then I tried the one on Tremainsville. Eventually I came to the Powerhouse Gym because the Y always made it so hard to deadlift with their silly rules about socks and chalk, etc.

BTW, if you're embarrassed by the little pink dumbbells, wait till you get to switch to the powder blue ones with lace...
 
Just one workout left in my first cycle. Lots to like, here. Exceeded all my posted 5RMs, no pain.

Body comp progress was not bad at all, considering I've mostly been eating maintenance. I'm down 4 pounds to 161; I've put on the better part of an inch around my chest, and dropped about a half-inch on my waist, with everything else holding steady.

Consider me a fan.

I will say that I've learned my lesson about exercise selection: less is more. Here's what I have in mind for my next cycle:

bb reverse lunge
db incline press
seated cable row (parallel)
RDL
db side press
lat pulldown (underhand)
plank

I'd like to take a few weeks and finally get my plank up to 2 minutes. After that, I'm open to suggestions as to good ab exercises to add resistance to. I like the woodchop movements okay, and I haven't done weighted Swiss ball crunches in a while; I'm partial to reverse crunches, but can those be weighted without a slant board?
 
are you experienced w/ the dumbbell side press? I've been thinking of giving that one a shot but do not know much about it...
 
Picked it up during my flirtation with "Power to the People," which I still think is the best resource on the lift. In practice, it's really just a unilateral standing military press with some side bend (not twist, but bend) away from the working arm. My shoulders have never much cared for strict overhead pressing; I found that by incorporating some torso lean, it opens up the movement for me. The trick is to keep your chest and hips in alignment, and to "push yourself away" from the weight; otherwise, it's just a goofy-looking triceps extension. Pretty easy to learn, and in my experience it's a very natural way to get weight overhead. Start light.

My understanding is that doing it with a barbell is another matter entirely. Maybe once I get the poundage back up I'll play with that again. I guess another option would be a fixed barbell, if some idiot in a Tapout shirt isn't "running the rack."
 
Just sticking my head in. I discovered over these last few months that my exercise form sucks, primarily because my upper back was so weak. I've been using Casey Butts's beginner routine with a few modest tweaks. It's a three-day total-body routine, if you're not familiar ... mine looks kinda like...

DB reverse lunge 2-3x10
BB bent-over row 2-3x8-10
DB bench press 2-3x8-10
DB shoulder press 2-3x8-10
BB curl 2-3x8-10
BW glute bridge 3x10+
reverse crunch 2x10+

...with some dedicated upper-back work as a warm-up/off-day routine. Not much to say about it except that I like it, it's working fine, and given how light I've had to start, I'll be on it until, oh, 2014 or so.

Seriously though, roughly four years into my lifting career, and I finally feel like I'm getting clean reps.
 
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