Hello friends,
First of all thank you to those that helped me start of my first cycle back in this thread:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?41350-Absolute-beginner-with-no-experience
I started out without any lifting experience except some really sparse and ad hoc trips to the gym every now and then. This is the first time I am following a structured lifting program.
Even then, there are more new questions everyday.
I hope you guys will be able to answer some of my questions/comments below.
All exercises are done 1 set.
1. I have completed my first HST cycle. My verdict are that I have experienced very considerable strength gains unlike previous ad-hoc lifting experiences.
2. In terms of size I also see noticeable improvements especially on the pecs and biceps which is also areas that I am targetting.
3. One issue that I am facing now is due to the fact of the very light weights that I am currently lifting, it can be sometimes hard to maintain a consistent weight increase progression in each 2-week block. For example, assisted machine pull ups only have plates in 5kg intervals. Sometimes I would have to stick with the same weight for 2 days before jumping up a notch.
4. Does it seem weird that in the beginning, my lifting weights for bench, squat, and deadlifts all seem the same? I only found enough strength improvement towards the end that my squat weights started pulling ahead of my benches.
5. The exercises that I used were meant to maximize as many compound lifts to increase overall bulk while still being able to target my intended areas eg. chest, arms, shoulder. However, do you think I should switch some of the core body exercises (one of the deadlifts) to something else? Also, are the hammer pullups I am doing now sufficient for good arm growth or should I swap that out with something else eg curls? I still do think compounds are superior to iso. Both in terms of feeling and results.
6. Do I have to increase the number of sets for some of the exercises? eg. bench or some of the upright rows.
7. I also do two sets of 10 x push ups as a 'cool down' routine after every session. Does it hamper the program in any way?
8. I am also just starting to wrap my head around the science of dieting. My goal is to look more muscular while trying to lose fat, most particularly the "love handles" and belly that I have. Hence I try to eat "clean" meaning really cutting down on carbs (rice in my part of the world) and maximising on solid food that gives protein. Basically I am just trying to substitute the feeling of "fullness" which traditionally comes from rice, to meat and other non-carbs. Generally, I take 4 soft boiled eggs in a day, with boiled chicken breast or canned tuna for lunch and dinner. I only take protein powder on lifting day 30 mins post workout, but not during rest days. I know the above means nothing if I don't start crunching nutritional numbers on my meals, but as a general direction it would be nice if someone could comment on the above? Especialyl on the cutting carbs part.
Again comments and critiques are very welcome. Below is my log sheet:
[removed]
First of all thank you to those that helped me start of my first cycle back in this thread:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?41350-Absolute-beginner-with-no-experience
I started out without any lifting experience except some really sparse and ad hoc trips to the gym every now and then. This is the first time I am following a structured lifting program.
Even then, there are more new questions everyday.
I hope you guys will be able to answer some of my questions/comments below.
All exercises are done 1 set.
1. I have completed my first HST cycle. My verdict are that I have experienced very considerable strength gains unlike previous ad-hoc lifting experiences.
2. In terms of size I also see noticeable improvements especially on the pecs and biceps which is also areas that I am targetting.
3. One issue that I am facing now is due to the fact of the very light weights that I am currently lifting, it can be sometimes hard to maintain a consistent weight increase progression in each 2-week block. For example, assisted machine pull ups only have plates in 5kg intervals. Sometimes I would have to stick with the same weight for 2 days before jumping up a notch.
4. Does it seem weird that in the beginning, my lifting weights for bench, squat, and deadlifts all seem the same? I only found enough strength improvement towards the end that my squat weights started pulling ahead of my benches.
5. The exercises that I used were meant to maximize as many compound lifts to increase overall bulk while still being able to target my intended areas eg. chest, arms, shoulder. However, do you think I should switch some of the core body exercises (one of the deadlifts) to something else? Also, are the hammer pullups I am doing now sufficient for good arm growth or should I swap that out with something else eg curls? I still do think compounds are superior to iso. Both in terms of feeling and results.
6. Do I have to increase the number of sets for some of the exercises? eg. bench or some of the upright rows.
7. I also do two sets of 10 x push ups as a 'cool down' routine after every session. Does it hamper the program in any way?
8. I am also just starting to wrap my head around the science of dieting. My goal is to look more muscular while trying to lose fat, most particularly the "love handles" and belly that I have. Hence I try to eat "clean" meaning really cutting down on carbs (rice in my part of the world) and maximising on solid food that gives protein. Basically I am just trying to substitute the feeling of "fullness" which traditionally comes from rice, to meat and other non-carbs. Generally, I take 4 soft boiled eggs in a day, with boiled chicken breast or canned tuna for lunch and dinner. I only take protein powder on lifting day 30 mins post workout, but not during rest days. I know the above means nothing if I don't start crunching nutritional numbers on my meals, but as a general direction it would be nice if someone could comment on the above? Especialyl on the cutting carbs part.
Again comments and critiques are very welcome. Below is my log sheet:
[removed]
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