My very 1st HST cycle!

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imported_hotterdog

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25th Jun 2007, Mon. After 9 days of strategic deconditiong,
I'm trying out my very 1st HST cycle.

Hope I dun bore u all cause I dun really know
how to write a training log. Anyway, here's today's
workout. (warmup sets not recorded cause too light)

It's a 1x 15 (Wk 1, day 1)

1) Barbell squats - 85 ibs
2) incline bench press - 70 ibs
3) barbell rows - 70 ibs
4) behind e neck press - 52.5 ibs (end up
w 49.5 ibs cause hard to get xact weight combo)
5) barbell shrugs - 52.5 ibs (but 1 side had 1 xtra
2.75 ibs to get tat weight, will i be lopsided?)
6) side lateral raises - 5 kg
7) barbell curls - 50 ibs
8) close grip bench press - 85 ibs
9) calf raises - 60 ibs
10) ab cruches - bodyweight
11) deadlifts : 137.5 ibs

Afterthought: although I should take like 30 to 60 sec
in between sets but I felt good enough to go through
them without much rest. prob 30 secs or so but e
time spent in between was to move from one station
to another or loading/unloading weights or convertn
or addn e weights. I know i should have done it
b4 hand but e weights in my gym are mostly in kg
not ibs so while i got a rough idea, i try to be accurate
by addn them up.

It felt a little wee bit like a mini cardio session &
though e weights were light but i did feel e pump.
prob things will get tougher by end of this wk?
tounge.gif


ps: if this log gets boring, let me know, i'll stop posting.
 
Glad to see you got started! I don't know if you should put lopsided weight on, simply to meet a certain amount of weight on the bar. I'm not sure how much that would be a factor in shrugs, but I just don't think it's something good to practice and it can't be beneficial.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">ps: if this log gets boring, let me know, i'll stop posting.</div>

If your log gets boring, I simply will not read it. However, that's not the entire purpose of a log. The training logs are meant for 50% motivation, 40% analysis, 10% comments.
rock.gif
 
Now that I look it, I completely agree with Leige...

I would trim your exercises to this:

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">1) Barbell squats
2) incline bench press
3) barbell rows
4) behind e neck press
9) calf raises
10) ab cruches
11) deadlifts</div>

I would change behind the neck press to a standard military press that is slightly in front of you. Nothing good comes from behind the neck presses!
 
how bout if i modify it this way?

(actual workout in evening in proper gym)
1) Barbell squats
2) incline bench press
3) barbell rows
4) behind e neck press
5) barbell shrugs
6) barbell curls
7) close grip bench press
8) deadlifts


(lunch time workout in poorly equipped office gym)
1) side lateral raises
2) calf raises
3) ab cruches

u know, something like am/pm split but not
xactly. so that i only have to deal w 8 exercises
in e actual workout.
cool.gif
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ Jun. 26 2007,08:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Now that I look it, I completely agree with Leige...

I would trim your exercises to this:

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">1) Barbell squats
2) incline bench press
3) barbell rows
4) behind e neck press
9) calf raises
10) ab cruches
11) deadlifts</div>

I would change behind the neck press to a standard military press that is slightly in front of you. Nothing good comes from behind the neck presses!</div>
for e military press vs behind e neck press
i know it's going to have lots of against votes
but military press mostly work e front delts
&amp; i dun wanna overwork them. i'll work
w behind e neck for now &amp; c if all's well,
thanks for e pointers
biggrin.gif
 
btw, how i look in my avatar? (er ta's during my
cardio phase before i started HST)
tounge.gif
 
<div>
(hotterdog @ Jun. 26 2007,08:19)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">btw, how i look in my avatar? (er ta's during my
cardio phase before i started HST)
tounge.gif
</div>
Well you seem pretty jacked in the avatar picture, but that picture is so small that it doesn't mean much. There is a pictures thread stickied in the HST forum that you may post pictures at.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">
for e military press vs behind e neck press
i know it's going to have lots of against votes
but military press mostly work e front delts
&amp; i dun wanna overwork them. i'll work
w behind e neck for now &amp; c if all's well,</div>

Just curious... what nationality are you? People will give your horror stories about behind the neck presses and associated injuries to the neck. I have only tried the exercise a few times, but that was three years ago when I started lifting. As I recall it gave me a weird discomfort in my upper back and neck.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">how bout if i modify it this way?

(actual workout in evening in proper gym)
1) Barbell squats
2) incline bench press
3) barbell rows
4) behind e neck press
5) barbell shrugs
6) barbell curls
7) close grip bench press
8) deadlifts


(lunch time workout in poorly equipped office gym)
1) side lateral raises
2) calf raises
3) ab cruches

u know, something like am/pm split but not
xactly. so that i only have to deal w 8 exercises
in e actual workout.
cool.gif
</div>

I am actually all for this type of workout. Are you doing your calf raises with any weight? The seperated iso's scheme is something that Fausto thought of a year and a half ago. I incorporated that type of HST workout for two cycles and had moderate success. I would have done better if it weren't for my mis-managed diet.

The only exercises I would still change are the bench presses (incline and CG). Instead, I would do a flat bench press. I am not a fan of barbell curls either. I would either move that to the iso workout or replace them with CG chins. (CG = close grip)
 
&quot;Just curious... what nationality are you? People will give your horror stories about behind the neck presses and associated injuries to the neck. I have only tried the exercise a few times, but that was three years ago when I started lifting. As I recall it gave me a weird discomfort in my upper back and neck.&quot;

Reply: er, I'm singaporean, asian. I think it's something
to do w e rotator cuffs &amp; e arms being in an unnatural
position, but in e yrs i've trained I've been lucky.
no injuries w e rare muscle strain/pull. i've tried military press
but all it did was hit my front delts which I think I would have done through benchpressing.


&quot;I am actually all for this type of workout. Are you doing your calf raises with any weight? The seperated iso's scheme is something that Fausto thought of a year and a half ago. I incorporated that type of HST workout for two cycles and had moderate success. I would have done better if it weren't for my mis-managed diet.&quot;

Reply : erm currently 60 ibs x 15 reps. e calf machine at my gym is increment of 20 ibs, so dun wanna jump e weights up too fast.


&quot;The only exercises I would still change are the bench presses (incline and CG). Instead, I would do a flat bench press. I am not a fan of barbell curls either. I would either move that to the iso workout or replace them with CG chins. (CG = close grip)&quot;

Reply: erm is there a reason why? i wanna have more
upper chest thickness cause in e past when i just did flat bench press, when i raised my hands up or did a side chest post, i could hardly see any chest ! anyway, thanks
for e tips though, since i've started e workout might as well stick w it to see how it goes.

e one thing i've noticed is an increase in hunger pangs.
gotta observe &amp; see if it's just a one off thing.
 
27 Jun 2007 wed, week 1, day 2

1) Barbell squats - 95 ibs
2) incline bench press - 80 ibs
3) barbell rows - 80 ibs
4) behind e neck press - 55 ibs
5) barbell shrugs - 95 ibs
6) barbell curls - 50 ibs
7) close grip bench press - 95 ibs
8) deadlifts : 155 ibs

today's workout was finished in 35 mins.
although e reps remain e same but now
tat e weight have gone up like 10 ibs (cept
for deadlift), it din feel that fast throughout
each exercise. think as time goes on, e workout
will prolong.

it still felt like a cardio session but this time
i was panting harder in between &amp; was sweating
more than e last session. 30 to 45 mins after my
post workout shake, i was still sweating.

oh, another thing is i duno if it's cause of e
strategic conditioning before that, but now
u know like i'm working bit by bit towards
e 15 rep max instead of just say a 15 reps
max immediately over a few days to force e
body to adapt, it somehow feels different.

e bodyparts i work has like got a better pump
compared to last workout.

oh &amp; as mentioned, i moved my smaller bodyparts
like side delts, calves, abs to the afternoon. so as
u can see, main workout in evening only got 8 ex.
wow.gif
 
Yeah, you will definitely see that workout time increase. The HARDEST part for me, was adjusting from overtraining (before HST), to starting a cycle... it just seemed too little. The best advice I got about that, was to simply be grateful for the lighter workouts... because the pain, and longer workouts have yet to come
biggrin.gif
.
 
thanks for e encouragement! was going through my workout poundages after the workout &amp; was thinking
wow like are those poundages even possible when I hit
e 10's or 5's cause it's like u know e weights go up but e reps stay e same. got nothing to lose, so morrow is another day. will post again.
laugh.gif
 
29 Jun 2007 fri, week 1, day 3

1) Barbell squats - 105 ibs
2) incline bench press - 90 ibs
3) barbell rows - 90 ibs
4) behind e neck press - 62.5 ibs
5) barbell shrugs - 105 ibs
6) barbell curls - 60 ibs
7) close grip bench press - 105 ibs
8) deadlifts : 175 ibs

workout finished in 40 mins but today workout
started kinda late, had my preworkout meal
at 4.30 &amp; work ends at 5 pm on fri so i could
reach e gym by 5.30 which meant my meal
is like half digested

so went to meet my girl &amp; took transport
together so by the time i hit e weights
it was around 6.20 like almost 2 hrs after
my meal. I din feel really hungry but this
workout felt slightly different.

kept worrying bout if my glycogen stores
would run out soon haha.

okay, today's workout of course is another
poundage increment, but e body by now
din felt so &quot;struggling&quot; to keep up w e weights
compared to e 1st 2 workouts where it was
like just after e SD. I suppose e body had
gotten use to it by now?

for deadlifts right now it's still 3x a wk,
by e 10's or 5's issit still possible to do it
this way? or maybe mon &amp; fri only? if yes
then how i adjust e poudages?
wow.gif
 
<div>
(the_dark_master @ Jul. 01 2007,22:15)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">the  
wink.gif
</div>
Ah!
biggrin.gif
 
Just a quick observation:

For a guy who looks pretty powerful, starting your cycle squatting with just 85lbs seems a tad on the light side. Even if you increment by 10lbs each workout to the end of the 5s, with no zigzag, you will only be lifting 255lbs.

I know looks can be deceiving, so that might be what you are working up to. Just in case you're not, a good rule of thumb is to start each mesocycle with approx. 75% of your RM for that rep range (then a 5% increment for each of six sessions will get you to your RM).

Another good place to start your 15s is with around 50% of your 1RM for each exercise and work up from there. It's not written in stone but it's not a good idea to start off your cycle with loads that are too light.

If you find that deads 3 x weekly start to take their toll on your recovery ability (and your lower back) drop them down to 2 x weekly and then down again to 1 x weekly if necessary. Many of us here only do heavy deads once a week. The other days are for squats.
 
<div>
(Lol @ Jul. 02 2007,00:24)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Just a quick observation:

For a guy who looks pretty powerful, starting your cycle squatting with just 85lbs seems a tad on the light side. Even if you increment by 10lbs each workout to the end of the 5s, with no zigzag, you will only be lifting 255lbs.

I know looks can be deceiving, so that might be what you are working up to. Just in case you're not, a good rule of thumb is to start each mesocycle with approx. 75% of your RM for that rep range (then a 5% increment for each of six sessions will get you to your RM).

Another good place to start your 15s is with around 50% of your 1RM for each exercise and work up from there. It's not written in stone but it's not a good idea to start off your cycle with loads that are too light.

If you find that deads 3 x weekly start to take their toll on your recovery ability (and your lower back) drop them down to 2 x weekly and then down again to 1 x weekly if necessary. Many of us here only do heavy deads once a week. The other days are for squats.</div>
mmm thanks
smile.gif
but this being my 1st HST cycle, dun wana get overconfident cause very few good spotters in my gym.

as for my squats, well, i could squat quite a bit
(again, not many ppl squat properly there, or totally
avoid legs) but e max i ever went was 200ibs
considering my size so 255 ibs could be literally light
weights for u but not for me, so take it slow.

mm actually i've revised them to be 70% of my each
maxes.

ok will take note for the deadlifts part though, thanks for it.

on another note, will post e rest of my body pics
when i'm back. those were taken recently but not so recent.
tounge.gif
 
erm, i just did my cardio (incline walking
6.5 km/hr, at 15% incline, 20 mins)
along w e smaller bodyparts workout.

evening going to do my actual workout,
suicidal?
rock.gif


i know i shouldn't do cardio on same day
but i dun really have e time.
 
hey man good ta seeya postin here!!! ;)

yeah all the advice the guys gave is superrrb, i agree with em totally.
and yep, the 15s WILL feel like nothin much haha, but don't worry they're there for a purpose!
you're pretty strong dude (compared to a weakling like me haha), so yeah, i bet ya can't wait till the poundages go up up up hey haha.

and yeah, i reckon stick with incline bench, there's nothing wrong with that at all. cg chins are just an awesome compound exercise especially for bis, that's why colby2152 recommended it i reckon!
good work keep it up man, you'll see progress no probs just keep your nutrition in order too ok! ;)
 
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