New to HST, need help getting started!

P

Pedrossi

New Member
Hi everyone,

I'm 18 years old, 6ft tall, and 162 lbs. I don't have a 6 pack but I'm not chubby either. I would say my upper body is underdeveloped compared to my lower body. I'm a black belt in karate and have always needed powerful kicks and fast punches to survive in tournaments, so my quads are muscular but my biceps/chest need a lot of work!

Anyway, I heard about HST and have been reading about it, but a lot of it right now is over my head. The guides on this website have been somewhat helpful, but I'm still confused about how to setup my workout.

I really want to get into HST and build some upper body mass in the next few months. Can anyone get me started on a workout plan of some sort? That calculator application on this site didn't really help :-/

Also, is it really important for me to consume protein before/after a workout, or to follow some specific diet (other than a healthy one)?

Thanks a lot for your help guys, and I look forward to being a part of this community!


-Pedro
 
To build mass on HST (or any weight training program) will require that you overeat to the point where you are gaining at least a pound a week.

Do you know how to execute the basic lifts; deadlifts, bentover rows, bench press, chinups, military press, squats, etc? If not, you should find someone to teach you. If so, then great.

A great routine would be:

Deadlifts
Weighted chinups
Bench Press
Military Press

or something along those lines. You can add in curls, tricep extensions and shrugs if you feel the need to.

Have you read the FAQs yet? You can download the FAQs in pdf format, just check this thread to find out how. The FAQs should explain everything, but if not, then you can check out this old thread HST for Dummies which is pretty good for explaining in simple terms how to setup a cycle.
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">'m 18 years old, 6ft tall, and 162 lbs. I don't have a 6 pack but I'm not chubby either. I would say my upper body is underdeveloped compared to my lower body.</div>

When I found HST, I was 19 years old, 6'1&quot;, 170 lbs, and same build as you.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Also, is it really important for me to consume protein before/after a workout, or to follow some specific diet (other than a healthy one)?</div>

Ample protein centered around your WO is the most important factor about your diet. That and the actual amount of calories you consume.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">The guides on this website have been somewhat helpful, but I'm still confused about how to setup my workout.</div>

Start it out simple...

Deadlift
Bench Press
Chins
Shoulder Press of some type
Dips
Calf/Abs work

That's right, there are no isolations outside of direct calf work. I left out squats intentionally because of your lower body size. With the correct diet, you will have gains in no time.

Start at about 70% of a given rep max for an exercise. For example, say you can do 200 lbs on bench press for 5 reps.

During that mesocycle, you will have 6 WO in 2 weeks.

140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 200

OR

140, 140, 170, 170, 200, 200

As long as there is a linear progression every other WO, you are following HST principles.

15's, 10's, 5's, post-5's/negative reps only

That last 8 weeks... don't forget to SD before you start the cycle if you are currently lifting. SD means no lifting, sprinting, swimming, or karate (you could spar, that's about it)

HOPE THIS HELPED!
 
Thanks for the help guys.

I just have a few more questions.

So you mean I should completely stop exercising for a full 8 weeks?? Or is it once every 8 weeks? sorry I'm a little confused there.

Also, as far as protein consumption goes, my friend who is a doctor told me protein shakes really mess up your liver later on in life, so after my work out I suppose I'll go home and eat a few pieces of chicken or steak? Or is it before the workout? How do you guys do it?

Also, didn't quite understand this part:

&quot;15's, 10's, 5's, post-5's/negative reps only&quot;


Thanks!
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">my friend who is a doctor told me protein shakes really mess up your liver later on in life</div>

Wow. That is total BS. Ask him to cite the studies that prove this.
 
Ok... so can anyone recommend a good protein shake (that Whey stuff seems pretty popular)? And do I drink it before or after workout?
 
Ok... so can anyone recommend a good protein shake (that Whey stuff seems pretty popular)? And do I drink it before or after workout?

Also can anyone please clarify the whole 8 weeks thing?

Thanks!
 
I think any Whey protein will work. There is also egg white powder and casein powder. For now though, I'd just go with Whey, unless you feel like researching different protein powders. I'm sure there are lots of existing threads on this here already, if you do a search.

I think the standard recommendation on when to take your protein is 45 to 60 minutes before your workout, and immediately after your workout.

If you are an experienced body-builder, then I believe that the 8 week layoff is recommended. If you are a beginner and haven't lifted before or haven't been lifting for long, then this 8 week layoff is not mandatory. However, this may not be practical for you, since you are probably doing martial arts training fairly often throughout the week, and it doesn't sound like your goal is to be a professional body builder.
 
I think the layoff to which you refer is the period of &quot;deconditioning&quot; following an HST cycle. it's basically a break from lifting that lasts 9-14 days before you start another &quot;cycle&quot; of lifting.

you should not lay off lifting completely for a period of 8 weeks. unless, of course, you are injured in some serious way.

there are a million opinions on the subject...

javacody, I thought you were going to start a log!
 
Milk protein isolate is good to. It is a mix of whey and casein. I remember seeing a study comparing pure whey to pure casein to MPI. The conclusion was that MPI was superior to both. Whey had a big spike in protein synthesis, but was counteracted by an increase in protein breakdown. Casein caused a drop in protein breakdown and a mild increase in protein synthesis. The difference in synthesis and breakdown was about the same for whey and casein IIRC. In the study MPI retained the benefits of the increase in protein synthesis from whey and the decrease in protein breakdown from casein, although both were somewhat muted. The end effect was a larger difference in protein synthesis and breakdown than either whey or casein alone. This is all from my memory. I will have to look for the article later. For all I know it could have been an MPI advertisment in disguise.
 
Thanks very much for all the info guys. Can you explain what deadlifting, training to failure, and negative reps mean? I come across these terms in the posts and articles but have no clue what it specifically means.
Thanks!
 
I think the dude just doesn't know anything about lifting weights and weight training. It's all gibberish to him. Like it was for me. Not because it is written that it is written well. Or concise. Or in plain english. Or intended for noobs. Or explicit. Or relevant.

http://www.trygve.com/weightsglossary.html

That link above will allow you to learn a whole bunch of terms and what they mean. Just like any dictionary, browse what you need, leave what you don't need. Check out youtube for videos of all kinds of lifts such as the deadlift, pendlay row or overhead press. Below are a few concepts that will help you understand quickly.

1RM : one rep max, the heaviest weight one can lift for a single repetition.
5RM : 5 rep max, the heaviest weight one can lift for 5 repetitions.
10RM : etcetera. Now you know what we mean when we say 5's, 10's, 15's.
Failure : momentary muscular failure, when the muscle stops responding because of lactic acid or temporary lack of fuel or temporary lack of oxygen or a combination of all three. Inability to complete one repetition with good form because of previous.
Good form : proper technique to be used for the lift. Deadlift, squat, row, etc., all require good form to load the muscles properly.
Cycle, mega-cycle, meso-cycle, micro-cycle : refers to periods of time within a general program. We usually use cycle to denote one full progression from 15's to SD.
SD, strategic deconditioning : a period of time of inactivity intended to decondition the muscle to allow them to be more sensitive to lighter weights such as those used for 15's.
Mechanical load : the weight on the bar. The meaning is deeper specifically for HST, read the FAQ. That which stimulates growth.
Load progression : an increase or decrease in mechanical load from one workout to the next. Specifically used for each exercise. That which stimulates growth. Read FAQ.
Food : that which allows you to grow. Muscle comes from somewhere.
Rest : period of time during which the muscles grow. Usually means sleep and days off.

Read.
 
Thanks for defining &quot;food&quot; for me, I had no idea what that was
rock.gif

Seriously though thank you all for your help, and yes I am very new to weight lifting, and a lot of it is gibberish to me, but I'm hoping it won't be for much longer!
 
This alternate definition of food, while it may not seem like it, is at times necessary. In terms of building muscles its best to think of food as a tool, as a means to an end. Most weightlifters dont realize that food/diet is probably the most important aspect of building muscle.
 
<div>
(bgates1654 @ Jul. 29 2007,17:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This alternate definition of food, while it may not seem like it, is at times necessary. In terms of building muscles its best to think of food as a tool, as a means to an end. Most weightlifters dont realize that food/diet is probably the most important aspect of building muscle.</div>
Yep. Seriously, if your goal is to build muscle, then there is no point in training at all if you aren't going to eat enough. It may seem obvious, but a lot of newbies think that lifting causes muscle to just grow, not realizing that this would violate natural laws.
 
Ah, I see...

How do you keep from building too much fat by eating more, though? is it by doing cardio?

I heard you have to be careful with doing cardio so you don't lose too much muscle (there's a poster in my gym that says you should limit cardio to 25 minutes... not sure how reliable it is?)
 
To avoid gaining fat while gaining muscle, you simply have to make sure your extra caloric intake does not exceed the energy your body needs to build muscle based on the stimulus created by exercise. There is no way to correctly predict this amount for any given person because it relies on so many factors. This is one you are simply going to have to find out for yourself. 500Cals over maintenance is a good starting point unless you are worried about fat enough to limit your muscle gain. If you feel that way then start at 250Cals over maintenance and start from there.

Cardio burns energy. This means that if your calories are limited properly you are hurting your muscle gains. If you over eating a little bit then it will help stave off fat gain.
 
BMR : basal metabolic rate, the amount of energy (calories) you require each day without having lifted a finger yet. We call it maintenance. You must eat more than your BMR when you want to grow. As you grow, you must eat more than you did before to keep growing because your BMR increases as you grow. Consider protein as your source of surplus calorie. Muscles require protein to grow. It doesn't suffice to simply eat more sugar, for instance.

Lift weight, eat more. Stimulate growth, satisfy growth stimulus.
 
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