Infra's Training Log

I

Infra

New Member
Hey Everyone ,

I'm 18 years old , 172 cm and weighting 73 kg(160 lbs).Over the coarse of 2 years , using low carb and later ketogenic diet , I lost nearly 40 kgs.Needless to say after such a long cut I was really exhausted,suffering a lot of loose skin(still am),my exercise weight was not moving forward for over a year , it was time for a bulk.In October I started Starting Strength + eating calories on plus , which added 5 kilos body weight and 45kg(100lbs) increase in weight on my squat .Benchpress , shoulder press also got quite a boost,overall strength was greatly improved.Which lead us to here,after reading here I was convinced that HST is the way to progress , it had science backing it up , people backing it up and a very knowledable forum.So here I am starting my first 8 week HST cycle:

Food Plan - using 33% carbs , 33% fat , 33% protein diet.It has 3500 kkal - 285g carbs , 135 fat , 280g protein.

1.100 grams Oats + 1 Banana + 300 ml milk + apple juice
2.Protein shake with 300 ml milk
3.200 g chicken breasts + 1 table spoon olive oil + 400 g raw tomatoes
4.(Pretraining) 70g oats + 1 egg + 3 egg whites
5.(Aftertraining) 70g oats + Protein shake + 300 ml milk - all blended
6.200 g chicken breasts + 1 table spoon olive oil + 400 g raw tomatoes
7.50g Almonds(100 on training days)

Food Adds
Creatine,Beta-Alanine,Taurine,Protein,Scivation Xtend,Gaspari Super Pump 250 and multi vits.All taken as they should be :).


Training Program

A

1.Squat
2.Flat Bench Press
3.Barbell row
4.Leg curls
5.Dips
6.Military press
7.Abs
8.Seated calf raise


B
1.Regular deadlift
2.Incline bench press
3.Pull Ups
4.Leg extensions
5.Dips
6.Shoulder press
7.Abs
8.Calf
(Old program can be seen below)
Sets 2x15,2X10,2X5,1X5

Huge thanks to the people from Simplify and Win thread!


I'll do the optional exercise only if I have enough time ( workout has not passed 1 hr ) and the energy for them.I can't really do 15 chin ups so just gonna do as much as I can with my BW.

Light cardio on off days .Weight Increments - 2.5 kg uppper body , 5 kg lower body.
Some zigzagging but I believe that's OK.
Measures:Havent taken em , will do ASAP.




Training program used during 15's

A
1.Squat 15 reps 55 kg |10 reps 70 | 5 reps 82 ||||||||||||||SW* 15 - 40 kg|||10 - 55|||5 - 65

2.Bench Press 15 reps 50 kg | 10 reps 60 | 5 reps 65| |||||||||||||SW 15 - 38|||10 - 48 |||5 - 55

3. Barbell row 15 reps - 40 kg | 10 reps 55 | 5 reps 70 ||||||||||||||SW 15 - 32 |||10-42|||5-55
4.Dips 15 reps BW | 10 reps BW+7 | 5 reps + 10 BW

5. Millitary press 15 reps 32 kg |10 reps 38 | 5 reps 45 ||||||||||||||SW 15 - 28||| 10 - 35 |||5-40

6.Triceps Extension(Optional) 15 reps 22 kg| 10 reps |5 reps

7.Biceps curls(Optional) 15 reps 25 kg |10 reps | 5 reps

8.Calves

9.Abs 15 reps



B
1.Romanian Deadlift 15 reps 65 kg | 10 reps 80 | 5 reps 100 ||||||||||SW 15 - 52|||10-65||||5-80

2. Incline Bench press 15 reps 45 kg |10 reps 52 |5 reps 60 ||||||||SW 15-35|||10-40|||5-45

3.Leg extension 15 reps 30 kg | 10 reps 40 kg | 5 reps 55||||SW 15 - 25 |10-35|5-45

4.Chin Ups 15 reps BW |10 reps BW | 5 reps BW
5. Seated Shoulder Press 15 reps 32 kg | 10 reps 38 |5 reps 45|||||||SW 15 - 28||| 10 - 35 |||5-40

6.Triceps extension(Optional)

7.Biceps Curls(Optional)

8.Calves

9.Abs


Sets 2x15,2X10,2X5,1X5
SW*-Starting weight and then going up as time progresses.It will be 70% from the desired RM.
 
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First of all, well done on your initial weight loss! thats awesome. Your excercises look really good. I would personly swap leg extension for leg press as I find leg extension very tough on the knees, especiialy when you try and go heavy. But that is just a personal thing.

Keep up the good work!
 
Yup, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your weight loss. Don't worry about that loose skin; things tighten up over time.

Your workouts look okay, especially if you drop out the frills when your time runs long. RDLs work okay during your 15s, but I prefer regular deadlifts for the 10s and 5s.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome guys.Good idea about the leg press , usually leg extensions give me a hell of muscle soreness , so gonna test out which will work the best and decide later on.As far as the deadlifts go , I do prefer regular but since this is my first cycle and everything is pretty cloudy , it will be trial and error until I find what suits me best.

My 1st training session went a bit messy.
1.Squat 2x15x40kg

2.Bench Press 2x15x38kg

3. Barbell row 2x15x32

4.Dips 3x15,10,10 BW

5. Millitary press 2x12,12x30kg

6.4xAbs

7.Seated calf raise

I got carried away and did 3 sets of dips which then reflected on the press , need to focus more:mad:
I don't know if it was the SD or me not doing an intensive workout in the last 7 months but I was totally busted at the end.Couldn't even think about the isolation.Total workout time was around 55 minutes.A mistake I made - tried to do maximum 60 sec rest time , it worked until the dips . I reached failure there , then took a 5 minute brake until the press..total mess up.Next time as workout progresses I will extend rest times,balance it well,so that I can actually complete the sets.
Food was spot on.Adds as well.
 
Infra said:
I don't know if it was the SD or me not doing an intensive workout in the last 7 months but I was totally busted at the end.Couldn't even think about the isolation.
Click to expand...
Yup, I'm always surprised by how the dinky, little, weeny, warm-up weights just kick my butt after an SD...!

Don't skimp on your rest time between sets. Fatigue does not help you to grow.
 
Hehe you certainly were right!Today's weights still felt rather heavy but at the end I still had some power left , didnt feel like I need an ambulance :)

Workout was:
RDL 2X15x50
Leg Extension 2x15x25
Incline Bench - 2x15x38
Pull ups - 2x10 BW
Shoulder press - 2x15x30
Triceps/Biceps - 2x15x20(just the bar)
Abs
Calf's

Well I did the optional ones because I felt like my tank had more in it.It wasn't anything serious - just some quick sets with light weight and little rest.I will probably drop the seated shoulder press and just switch to standing shoulder press - somehow I feel its better , cant back up that claim tho - just a feeling.

Food , water etc was top notch.Just hoping I can keep my diet clean after couple of weeks.
 
Been busy a lot these couple of days.Gonna post my friday workout now.

1.Squat 2x15x45kg

2.Bench Press 2x15x40kg

3. Barbell row 2x15x35

4.Dips 2x15,12 BW

5. Millitary press 2x12X32

6.3xAbs

7.3xSeated calf raise

Think I will spread the dips - 1 set in A workout and 1 in B.Another thing that really wears me out is the barbell row , might throw it at the end of the workout.
By the way should I rotate workouts like A B A B A B or just stick with A B A repetitions for the 8 weeks?
EDIT: Saw this thread http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?40517-Need-backup-with-A-B-routine&p=223507#post223507 , so I should use A B A B A B but extend each micro cycle with 2 weeks so that I will get 6 increasments in a Microcycle with both A and B , what about the negative rep cycle , perhaps then there should just 1 variation?
 
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The basic principles of HST, Progressive Load, Training Volume, Training Frequency and Conditioning (SD) do not require 2 weeks and/or 6 increments. That’s just a basic template for getting started because it’s simple and fulfills the basic principles.

If you get to the 6th increment of a micro-cycle there is no reason you have to stop that cycle right then if you can still manage the reps with more weight. You could just keep going until you hit your true rep maximum for each micro-cycle. If I did that I would probably adjust the starting increment for the next micro cycle to be a little higher but you wouldn’t have to.

As for doing A B A, B A B or just A B A each week it all depends on your exercise selection and goals. ABABAB keeps both routines even which might be the best thing for certain exercise choices. But say you do Squats on your “A” routine and Dead Lifts on your “B” routine but otherwise they are the same then ABA, ABA each week might make sense if you don’t want to end up doing Dead Lifts twice a week.

For the post 5s you could simplify things and go with one routine or stick with both A and B it just all depends on how your body is recovering and what you might gain or loose by changing things around.

My routine changes several times throughout the cycle. The exercises all stay the same but what days I do them on changes so that at the beginning I’m pretty much doing full body workouts every day for 6 days straight but by the end when things are heavy I’m doing a Leg/Pull/Push/Leg/Pull Push/Off split. However, it’s still HST because it adheres to the basic HST principles above, just adjusting the frequency and volume to allow for adequate recovery based on the intensity (amount of weight).
 
Thanks for the timely and informative response! So after reading I decided to stick with ABA throughout the whole cycle , but do bigger increasments on B workout so that it progresses accordingly and fit the proggresive load principle , that should work right?
 
Yes that should work fine. It’s exactly what I do with my Squat and Dead Lift since I alternate those doing them only once a week each while all the others get done twice a week.
 
grunt11 said:
Yes that should work fine. It’s exactly what I do with my Squat and Dead Lift since I alternate those doing them only once a week each while all the others get done twice a week.
Click to expand...
You've been a great help mate.I've read some of yours other posts - really insightful.A specific one was the balancing squat+leg curls and deadlift+ leg extensions.It makes sense.So as suggest before ill incorporate regular deadlift in the place of RDL and add leg curls in workout A.Even though im not a big fan of curls ill add em , will still try to keep my hip drive in a good shape so the squat wont get quad dominant(really hard to do when you are doing max weights).Workouts will be like

A

1.Squat

2.Bench Press

3. Barbell row

4.Leg curls

5.1xDips

6.Millitary press

7.Abs

8.Seated calf raise


B
1.Regular deadlift
2.Incline bench press
3.Pull Ups
4.Leg extensions
5.1XDip
6.Shoulder press
7.Abs
8.Calf

Looks good to me.Ill start using it next week in 10's.


Ok enough with the plans.

Today's workout:

Squat 2x15x50kg
Bench press 2x15,13x45
Mill.Shoulder press 2x12,11x35
Dips 1x15xBW
Barbell row 2x15x38
Triceps extension 1x22
Abs
Seated calf till it burns :) x30kg

It was ok except for the bench and shoulder press - on the bench I skimped on the rest time and couldnt do the last 2 reps , the shoulder press is another story - I did rest 2+ mins but still could not do more then 12 - I made a mistake , should of stayed at 32 kgs for 2 more workouts and then move on.
All of this raised a question , which I hope you guys can help me with.Is it fatal if I miss out a 2-5 reps of the set , like I did with the bench and shoulder today?I mean it mainly for the 15's and to a lesser extend the 10s(1 rep miss max there).Thanks in advance.
 
Infra said:
It was ok except for the bench and shoulder press - on the bench I skimped on the rest time and couldnt do the last 2 reps , the shoulder press is another story - I did rest 2+ mins but still could not do more then 12 - I made a mistake , should of stayed at 32 kgs for 2 more workouts and then move on.
All of this raised a question , which I hope you guys can help me with.Is it fatal if I miss out a 2-5 reps of the set , like I did with the bench and shoulder today?I mean it mainly for the 15's and to a lesser extend the 10s(1 rep miss max there).Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about failing to make the rep count while testing maxes or during your cycle?

If I had failed to make a lift while testing, as long as I was within 3 or 4 reps I'd probably set that weight as my goal - then set up my weight increments leading to that goal. By the time you get to max day, you'll probably be able to lift it. I've gained strength during both HST cycles and pushed my maxes up above where they were when I started.

If I can't make the rep count during the cycle, I'll repeat that weight again the next session and see if I make it. So far, I've made it the next time every time.

If I make the rep count on the first set of a particular session, but can't the 2nd or other subsequent sets I just cluster the remaining reps after a short rest (less than 30 seconds, if possible).
 
I was talking about failing to meet the 15 rep during cycle and will that hinder hypertrohy in some way.Yeah I knew about the weight repetition but it slipped my mind and now I will most likely have to do 3 times with the same weight.Also what exacly "cluster the remaining reps" mean?Today's training consisted of 40 mins of light cardio - 15 mins jog and 25 incline brisk walk.Food hasn't been so good lately , constantly attacking sweets.
 
Infra said:
I was talking about failing to meet the 15 rep during cycle and will that hinder hypertrohy in some way.Yeah I knew about the weight repetition but it slipped my mind and now I will most likely have to do 3 times with the same weight.Also what exacly "cluster the remaining reps" mean?Today's training consisted of 40 mins of light cardio - 15 mins jog and 25 incline brisk walk.Food hasn't been so good lately , constantly attacking sweets.
Click to expand...

By 'cluster the remaining reps' I meant if you only manage 10 reps but were aiming for 15, complete the remaining reps after a short break - either in a set of 5 or a set of 3, then a set of 2 - or however you can manage it. But try to lift the remaining reps with very little rest - 10 to 20 seconds or less. I'm assuming you are only doing 1 set of 15s, am I right? If you can't complete the initial set of 15, cluster the reps to a total of 15 reps with little rest and then repeat that load for the next session to see if you can make 15 reps. If you can't, decrease the load.

The program is built on the principle of progressive load. As long as you are increasing the weight from one session to the next you are going to promote hypertrophy. If you stall on a weight and can't increase it for more than a couple of workouts, progressive load is stifled.
 
Sorry for the inconsistent posting.I will try from now on to keep it more updated.
About clustering - I tried it and it seems to hit muscle pretty good + complete the set.I only had to do it , as expected , on shoulder presses.
Anyway here are the last 2 workouts:

B
RDL 2X15x60
Leg Extension 2x15x30
Incline Bench - 2x15x40
Pull ups - 2X10,1X6 BW
Dips1x15BW
Shoulder press - 2x15x35(last 3 reps from both sets had to be clustured)
Abs
Calf's

A
Squat 2x15x55kg
Bench press 2x15X48
Barbell row 2x15x40
Dips 1x15xBW
Mill.Shoulder press 2x15x35(again last 3 - cluster)
Abs
Calf raise

Well that is for the 15's , I'm very glad that they are over.I enjoy doing lower number of reps and higher weight ( I guess everyone do tho? :) ).I edited 1st post with the modified version of the workout for the 10's.
 
Todays Workout A:
Squat 2x10x60
Bench press 2x10x50
Leg Curl 2x30x10
Barbell row 2x10x42
Dips 1x10 BW
Mill.Shoulder press 2x10x35
3X40 Crunches
Standing calf raise 3x30x100kg
Forearm workout

Well today was pretty easy.It was almost identical weight as last workout but 5 reps less.Problem I had was the N.O booster.Man did it give me gas and stomach pain.Good thing was that I kept squeezing my glutes and my lower back was tight all the time.
Another problem , a more severe one , is that I'm feeling very bad pain in right my arm - right between triceps and shoulder.I had this condition since I started doing power cleans.Instead of just letting the weight down I lowered it with my hands and it caused some sort of twisting of the muscle.I only feel it when I extend my hand up or try to reach my back(over the sideways) with it.It was not so serious until a month ago when it started to increase.Most likely will have to go and visit a doctor tomorrow as it is very painful when doing shoulder press.
 
Skip the N.O. booster. Most supplements just make for expensive urine. Creatine is good, not much else.

Glad you're going to the doctor. Sounds like you may have a shoulder impingement. Best of luck there...
 
As far as the N.O goes it's the 1st time it gave me such bad gas and it was mostly my fault - should of went to the toilet after I took it.
Anyway I went to see a doctor about the arm and I was told that it was a light myositis in the triceps and a week off + plus some gel to apply on the problem area should solve it.I dont want to give up on training in the middle of the cycle so what I'm going to do is exercises which do not put strain on the triceps - I'm thinking of squat+deadlift.Bench/shoulder press and dips are out for a week.
Last workout was

1.Deadlift 2x10x70kg
2.Inciline bench 2x10x45
3.Leg extension 2x10x35
4.Pull ups 2x10
5.Dips 2x10xBW+3kg
6.Shoulder press - skipped
7.Calfs
8.Abs

For the next 2 sessions
1.Squat
2.Deadlift
3.Leg curls
4.Leg extension
 
Infra said:
I'm thinking of squat+deadlift.Bench/shoulder press and dips are out for a week.
Click to expand...
Squats and deads make for some effective workouts.

I've recently agitated my shoulder again. I'm waiting to get in to see my physician, but in the meanwhile, I shall forego bench, overhead press, and dips, as well.. :(
 
That sucks mate.I hope its nothing serious.

Last workout:

Squat 3x10x65
Deadlift 3x10x75
Leg extension 3x10x35
Leg curl 3x10x35

A problem I have with deadlifts is my weak grip(even with pronated).Around 6-7 rep I have to leave the bar down and reset my grip.
My arm is improving slowly - applying the gel and ice , if all is good Ill be able to resume to my normal routine and most likely I will extend the 10's microcycle with 1 week more to compensate for the delay.If the pain persists I'm just gonna drop the whole cycle and get more in-depth treatment and start over.
 
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