Creating my first HST routine

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imported_etothepii

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I'm new to weight lifting. I used to lift years ago, but didn't know what I was doing. I've recently lost 45 lbs, and I am working on getting body fat down a little more before I try to gain muscle mass. At 34 years old, I know it's unrealistic to expect to gain a lot, but from what I've read, if I'm going to add any size, HST is the way to go. (Abarlement turned me on to HST, by the way.)

So anyway, I'm planning on doing a cycle when some travel/schedule issues get resolved and when I loose the desired amount of fat. I am somewhat limited in my resources/equipment, and I work out alone, so my routine may not be what a lot of you think is optimal. None the less, I could use some tips. Here's what I'm thinking:

Legs:
--Lunges -- Seems safer than squatting alone, plus I can do it holding dumb bells. Also, I really feel lunges in the quads and hams.

--Standing Calf Raises

Chest:
--Parallel Bar Dips

--Pushups -- As a newbie, I can't bench a whole lot yet, and I won't have a spotter. For safety and versitility, I can put plates in a backpack for progressive loads.

Back:
--DB rows -- I figure I can follow HST principles with this exercise. I'm weak with pull ups, barely managing 3 sets of 5 right now, unweighted. Can I work on pull ups during the cycle, even though I won't be able to utilize HST principles?

Shoulders:
--Either bar bell press or dumb bell press.

Traps:
--Shrugs

Biceps:
-- DB Curls

Triceps:
--Skull Crushers or BB presses

Abs:
--Situps -- Done on "off" days, prior to cardio workout.

Other questions: I want a simple workout. I've read about eliminating bicep/tricep exercises, as they get a lot of work from the other exercises. Should I maybe consider that?

Also, should I only do one exercise for the chest? How about alternating? I've read about people alternating every other workout, but I'm not sure how to progress the load. I guess you would still just figure the various maxes for each exercise and work your way up to those maxes, right?

Am I missing anything important?

Finally, anyone gracious enough to respond to this LOOOONNGGGGG newbie post ... THANKYOU!!!!
 
Welcome to the HST forum,

1 You can still gain a lot at 34!

2 pushups, thats cool, dont go to failure and add weight gradually, it will work

pullups, yes, just stop a couple of reps close to failure from your strongest position, should be underhand close grip, and keep progressing!

3 I would eliminate the direct bi/tri work if you want a simple workout

Your fine with pushups only for the chest

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Hey eto. As long as you have the strength levels and weights needed to continually progress the weights, that routine should be fine. Remember to keep your eye on the classified ads to get some more weights for your barbell, haggle em down to a low enough price.
 
yes haggling is a required workout factor; you know what they say 'if you gottem cheap, you trainem hard'

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You're probably better off deadlifting than doing lunges. Deadlifts and power cleans will improve your pulling strength. That should help you with pull-ups. You could also start with weighted negative pull-ups, start with 5 lbs and add 2.5 or 5 lbs each workout.
 
Welcome to the boards! I'm 34 year old ectomorph so I can feel your pain. Don't quit...you can succeed in this!
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I agree with liegelord. Deadlifts are easy enough to do alone without risking death, and you can move more weight with them than lunges. If you have to use dumbbells for them, you could, but I would try getting enough weights for your barbell. You may be surprised how deadlifts will positively effect your strength in other lifts.
If all you chin is your bodyweight, I would do them anyway but stay away from failure like style said. You could start doing them negative style like liegelord suggest, or do bodyweight with however many reps you can until the 5s or so, then start doing them negative style. Either way, the weight you use for them will likely be effective for your entire cycle anyway.

I would dump the arm work if I were you. I don't think it's necessary this early on. If electing to do deadlifts, you can drop the shrugs as well, since deads hit the traps better than shrugs do in my experience.
 
I'm doing assisted pull ups for 15's and 10's -- just resting my feet on a ladder. I'll give less assistance during the 10's than the 15's. Then I'll do unassisted during the 5's, and weighted negatives during the last 2 weeks. This isn't terribly scientific, but it's keeping with HST principles as best I can manage right now.

About the DL's. What do you all think single leg dead lifts? That would effectively double the amount of weight I have to work with. I'm not terribly strong yet, so it's not like I need a ton of weight to make advances.
 
Oh forgot: I'm working p-bar dips into the workout, similar to the pullups. Assisted 15's, less assist 10's, weighted 5's, weighted neg's.
 
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(etothepii @ Apr. 03 2006,12:54)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">About the DL's. What do you all think single leg dead lifts? That would effectively double the amount of weight I have to work with. I'm not terribly strong yet, so it's not like I need a ton of weight to make advances.</div>
OK, About single leg DL's ... unweighted, they're a great dynamic stretch, but ther's no way to do them as a lifting exercise. Stability, balance, risk of injury ... forget about it!!!!
 
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