Skerr's Training Log

S

Skerr

New Member
Hi Everyone,

New member here and was just made aware of Bryan's work a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for something to listen to on the Sustainable Self Development podcast. Having followed the Volume Landmark crowd for several months (RP Method) HST immediately appealed to me. I then listened to the Marconi interview with Bryan and cut my meso 1 week short so I could strategically recondition for 9+ days and spend that time studying and putting together and HST program based on the template provided on this site. That is how excited I got.

I am currently in my first week of HST, 3 day frequency and have knocked out my first two workouts. I was a bit surprised how my muscles responded to such low weight, low sets and 15 reps (and I guess that is the point). I am optimistic about future results though trying to keep my head out of the clouds with realistic expectations.

I am 6', 49 years old and have not trained seriously since my late 30's. I have been very dedicated recently with dialing in solid workouts, nutrition and sleep since Sept 1st 2019. My progress has been good in that I have dropped BF% (I estimate I was around 28-30%) and gained lean muscle mass though I am always confused on the appropriate amount of volume. I think the issue is with my little experience it is difficult for me to determine if I am doing too much volume which I am convinced now that I was.

Now having looked at lot of threads here I am wondering if I am doing too many exercises. Though I do not feel overly taxed I wonder if that will change as I hit the 10's and 5's. Please note at this time I do not plan on progressing in volume this first 6 weeks. The next Meso I may depending on how this one goes.

Here is the exercise selection I am currently doing.

1st workout Sunday 2/2/2020

Leg Press 2 sets 220lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 30 lbs
BB Bench 2 sets 90 lbs
Dips 1 set (145) lbs (assisted)
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 45 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (175) lbs
OH Cable Triceps Ext. 2 sets 20 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 30 lbs
Upright Rows 1 set 30 lbs
BB Shoulder Press 1 set 30 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 20 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 70 lbs

I now my weights are not impressive but naturally the goal is to improve them. I had a back injury 10 years ago and I enabled it to allow a sedentary life style and loss of much strength.

I noticed a lot of folks here focus on the multi joint compound exercises and keep them around 6-9 exercises total. I still manage to get this work out done in just under an hour (which is much shorter than the higher volume workouts I was doing). Also I had been doing squats and DL for the last 5 months, wanted to give those two a rest so I added some variation and plan to come back them next Meso.

My goal is Body Recomp over the course of a year. With my clock ticking I want to put on as much muscle as I can and get as lean as possible. With my high BF percent I could not justify bulking. Having yo yo'ed in weight since I was kid I am taking my time on the fat loss eating just under maintenance.

It is still pretty early in my cycle if I need to tweak anything and I would be eager to hear what the crowd here recommends. Also curious on Protein. I eat about a 1 gram per lb though it is at my target weight of 200 lbs rather than my current puffy weight of 235 lb. Oddly enough my weight is changing very little but my waist is getting smaller. Am I wrong on eating protein at target weight rather than actual weight?

Thank you everyone.
Scott
 
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Tuesday 2/4/2020 Day 2 of 15's

Leg Press 2 sets 230lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 35 lbs
Inc BB Bench 2 sets 95 lbs
Dips 1 set (140) lbs (assisted)
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 50 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (170) lbs
OH Cable Triceps Ext. 2 sets 25 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 35 lbs
Upright Rows 1 set 35 lbs
BB Shoulder Press 1 set 35 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 25 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 80 lbs
 
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Thursday 2/6/2020 Day 3 of 15's

Leg Press 2 sets 240 lbs.
Leg Curl 1 set 40 lbs.
Inc Bench Press 2 sets 100 lbs.
Dips 1 set (135) lbs.
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 55 lbs.
Pull Ups 1 set (165) lbs.
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 30 lbs.
BB Curls 2 sets 40 lbs.
Upright Rows 1 Set 40 lbs.
Shoulder Press 1 set 40 lbs.
BB Shrugs 1 set 70 lbs.
Face Pulls 1 set 30 lbs.
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 90 lbs.

On the really lighter weights (Triceps and Leg curls for example) I am doing 2 seconds on the concentric and 4 seconds on the eccentric (heard Bryan mention this on a podcast) so that they are more challenging.

Again, pleasantly surprised at the stimulus thus far. I took measurements before my workout last Sunday. Will post my results after I finish this meso. As I finish up week 6 I will decide if I want to extend for 2 more weeks into eccentrics or decondition and start a new phase with higher weight.
 
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Welcome to the forum Skerr! Great to have a new member on board :)

HST is awesome, routine looks great! I personally probably wouldn't have two exercises per body part (eg rows and chins), for higher frequency I like having just the one (unless you're specifically specialising and wanting to up the volume of a bodypart), and two sets instead of the one. Some people also alternate exercises with an ABA format. Really depends on your training history. The primary focus of HST is consistently applying a load frequently enough that's always increasing and keeping you ahead of adaption. Volume is kept a bit lower to achieve this, and so you don't overdo things.

But if you can keep up the workload and the duration doesn't get too long in the 10s and 5s, absolutely go for it! Enjoy bro :)
 
Thank you Simon! I appreciate your feedback. I did look at the sample routines on the HST Site and used it as a template so kept the same number of sets it had. My previous workouts used progressive volume increases over 3 full body days. Before I better understood auto regulation I was going up 2 sets every week in Chest and Back over a 4-5 week meso cycle. I realize now this was too much for my experience level and the lower volume of HST immediately appealed to me. Workouts that took 1 hour on week 1 took almost 2 hours in wk 4. So it is fewer sets than what I am used to though what is different is that I only adjusted the load once a week rather than each workout. Since I tend to overthink things I just went with the basic template,\ I will take your advise and see how difficult the 10's and the 5s are along with my recovery. I know I will make adjustments next cycle.

I got ill from Friday through yesterday so I moved workouts up a day to accommodate. I had strep, very little strength, lots of aches and pains. While I got antibiotics for the strep, have slept a lot my diet has not been great, mainly due to not having the energy to prep or cook so calories and protein were down the past couple days. I did eat quite bit yesterday to ensure I had energy for todays workout. While I am much better (and not contagious) I am not at 100% yet making todays workout a bit more challenging than expected.

Monday 2/10/2020 Day 4 of 15's

Leg Press 2 sets 250 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 45 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 105 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set of 105 lbs
Dips 1 set (130) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 60 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (160) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 35 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 45 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 45 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 45 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 80 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 35 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 100 lbs
 
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Wednesday 2/12/2020 Day 5 of 15's

Leg Press 2 sets 260 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 50 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 sets 110 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 110 lbs
Dips 1 set (125) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 65 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (155) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 43 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 50 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 50 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 50 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 90 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 43 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 110 lbs

I feel fully recovered from being ill over the weekend. Thankful that I did not miss a work out as a result.

I have a feeling my 15 rep max's are going to go up next cycle. :) Seeing good results as well thus far in the mirror.
 
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Friday 2/14/2020 Day 6 of 15's

During Wednesdays work out I got a slight pull in my lower back just to the left of the spine. My mobility was lessened for the day but a hot bath and some good stretching helped. The next day I was much better and today I had pretty much full mobility back though There is a serious knot. While it did not interfere in today's fitness performance I took out Bent Over Rows and Face Pulls from todays work out as I know it is not 100%. I believe if pulled it during bent over rows and need to improve my form.

Also of note I started week 1 undecisive on my chest exercise selection going back and forth a bit between BB Bench and Inc BB Bench for 2 sets. This week I decided on doing 1 set of BB Incline Bench and 1 set of BB Bench Press at the same weight and weight load progression. However today when I started my Inc Bench the load was unexpectedly harder than I expected and I barely squeaked out the finish. When I did my next set on the flat BB Bench the load and reps were easier and more in line with what I was expecting. Going back and looking at the weight rack I realized I accidently loaded the bar 15 lbs on Inc Bench over last session instead of 5, lol.

Looking forward to starting the 10's next. I am going back to my regular schedule of Sun, Tue, Thu this week so only 1 day of rest.

Leg Press 2 sets 270 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 55 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 125 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 115 lbs
Dips 1 set (120) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 70 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (150) lbs
OH Tricep Ext 2 sets 50 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 55 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 55 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 55 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 100 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 50 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 120 lbs
 
Sunday 2/16/2020 Day 1 of 10's

Leg Press 2 sets 250 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 50 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 sets 100 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 sets 100 lbs
Dips 1 set (135) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 60 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (160) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 30 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 40 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 40 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 40 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 70 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 30 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 90 lbs


When I first heard about HST and used the tools here to put together a simple program I was a bit curious about today, the first day of 10's. Specifically doing less weight and less reps than last workout, how effective it would be and how it fits I in the overall progressive picture. I did slow down the reps to 2/4 secs in a lot of cases and I did feel like my muscles did some work. I am really looking forward to week 2 of the 10's though so far so good.

After reading up on Zig Zagging I decided to increase weight 5-10 lbs per exercise to Day 2's (of 10's) workout (and increase from there) to reduce zz. For tomorrow's Day 2 I will match the 15 rep max leaving day 3 as an increase in overall load. Doing this increases my 10 rep max from the original plan and I will strive to increase weight all through the 10's. I will auto regulate as needed if I hit my 10 rep max before Day 6 though I am confidant I will hit these.
 
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Tuesday 2/18/2020 Day 2 of 10's

Leg Press 2 sets 270 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 55 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 sets 110 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 sets 110 lbs
Dips 1 set (120) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 65 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (150) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 43 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 50 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 50 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 50 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 80 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 35 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 120 lbs

Glad I increased weight to reduce the zz. Likely the state of the tissue was enough to illicit a response from what I originally planned though I believe I underestimated my 10 rep max. I will find out in a few days, lol.
 
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Thursday 2/20/20 Day 3 of 10's

Leg Press 2 sets 280 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 60 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 sets 115 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 sets 115 lbs
Dips 1 set (115) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 70 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (145) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 50 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 55 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 55 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 55 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 90 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 42 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 130 lbs

It is very interesting being on HST knowing I have reps in reserve while increasing loads to my max. What is somewhat surprising is the pump I feel after every workout and soreness I feel the next day. The soreness is not excessive though enough to tell me I am doing some quality work. This leads me to believe I was doing way to much volume per body part the past 4-5 months. I do not plan on increasing sets when I get the 5's this cycle though will gauge how it goes and will adjust accordingly next cycle.

My 9 year old son told me last night I was looking a lot more muscular and less fat, lol. A stranger at the gym told me today, unsolicited, that they have noticed I have made some serious progress the last few months. I am eating just under maintenance, (as best I can tell) about 2700 Kcal, as I am in the high 20% BF.

From Sept 1st 2019 until Nov 1st 2019 I went from 247 lbs to 230 and got my waist from 45.5 to 42.5 (tape measure not pant size). I was on a serious deficit during that time and hit a wall in Nov. Progress on my waist has stalled since Nov meaning it has not gone down since then but it has also not gone up. I took this time to readjust my calories (I was doing 1500 a day which was crazy in retrospect as I likely compromised gains and risked injury). In addition since November my weight has gone up 10 lbs back to 240 though my waist maintains at 42.5. I am taking that as a good sign? I expect some of that is just more carbs and water retention but I also think some is muscle. I notice a difference in the mirror particular on my delts, tris and biceps and feel a lot more muscle in my chest (still hidden by fat). My wife has certainly noticed a difference as well. :) Dress shirts feel tighter in the chest and arms and looser in the belly, another good sign.
 
You are definitely not doing too much volume, don’t stress yourself or risk overcomplicating matters worrying about.

Keep doing what you’re doing and see where you are at come the end of the cycle.
 
Thanks Jester,

Sunday 2/23/2020 Day 4 of 10s

Leg Press 2 sets 290 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 65 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 120 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 sets 120 lbs
Dips 1 set (110) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 75 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (140) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 57 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 60 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 60 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 60 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 100 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 50 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 140 lbs
 
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Exercise selection looks good! My only thought would be exercise order. Dips immediately after incline/flat bench doesn't sound that fun. Same with pull ups immediately after rows. Or shoulder press immediately after upright rows. Of course, your setup might be better than having them spread out more.

No evidence, just a guess, and mainly just personal preference, but I tend to think having rows and pull ups spread out would make the pull ups more effective because I could use more weight. That seems to follow the rationale for the studies that show longer rest breaks are more effective, unless the workload is equal, but it's easier to increase the workload with 2 minute breaks vs 30 seconds. Similar rationale with doing 3 workouts per week vs 1 with everything.

But, if you like the current setup, I certainly wouldn't change it!
 
Thanks Clayton, I was curious about that and wondered if it might have an effect if I split them up. Often times the order does get out of whack, like if someone is all ready using a piece of equipment I might move on to another exercise and go back to it when free as I have get my workouts wrapped up before taking the kids to school. Or sometimes I just go into Shrugs after Rows since I all ready have the bar, I can just change the load. Outside of that I do typically knock out legs then chest first. I might split things up next time.

I decided to measure my arm this morning for grins. I had not planned on it until I finished my 5's but reading people's progress I was just curious. Looks like my right arm, at rest, grew 1/2 inch. Granted this is a day after yesterdays workout so their might be some inflammation though I did not take my first round of measurements until the day after my first HST workout ( meant to do it before my 1st workout but forgot) so I probably have the same level of inflammation. Needless to say I had to double check my previous measurements and remeasure my arm when I saw that. Seems too good to be true. :)
 
Tuesday 2/25/2020 Day 5 of 10's

Leg Press 2 sets 300 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 70 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 125 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 sets 125 lbs
Dips 1 set (105) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 80 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (135) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 65 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 65 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 65 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 65 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 110 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 57 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 150 lbs

About to hit my 10 rep max on Thursday.
 
Thursday 2/27/2020 Day 6 of 10's

Leg Press 2 sets 310 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 75 lbs
Inc Bench Press 1 set 130 lbs
Bench Press 1 sets 130 lbs
Dips 1 set (100) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 85 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (130) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 72 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 70 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 70 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 70 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 120 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 65 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 160 lbs

Today was 10 rep max and by the time I got to my 2nd to last exercise I felt pretty beat up so I am guessing I did it right. I am glad I increased my 10 rep maxes early in wk 1 of the 10's as I hit them all except for Triceps (did 10, barely, first set and 6 the second set) and Biceps (did 9 the first set and 5 the second set). I was not too surprised as I thought those would be difficult to hit based on the workouts leading up to it.

For both tri's and bi's I feel like the weight today was at an excessive load and perhaps other muscles started compensating though I watched my form very carefully and it did not seem to break down until the very end. (Once my back started to swing a bit on the Bi's, first set 9th rep, I called it) I just did not feel a pump as I did at lighter loads though perhaps that may not mean much since I was still moving the weight at full ROM and stopped once good form started to falter? I certainly felt fatigued.

Maybe some of the more experienced lifters here can offer some perspective on if not getting as good a pump than lighter loads equates to less hypertrophy? Hope I framed that right.

My rookie take away is that my current 10 rep max goal for Bi's and Tri's should be the same for the next cycle of 10's since I was not able to bust out 10 for both sets. The goal being to hit 10's at those weights on Day 6 for Bi's and Tri's while increasing 10 rep max goals for all other exercises by 5 to 10 lbs.

Time for a 2 day rest before hitting the 5's.
 
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Sunday 3/1/2020 Day 1 of 5's

Leg Press 2 sets 300 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 70 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 120 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 120 lbs
Dips 1 set (105) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 80 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (135) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 50 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 55 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 55 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 55 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 110 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 50 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 140 lbs

Slowed reps down today due to going back in weight on day 1. Felt good.
 
Tuesday 3/3/2020 Day 2 of 5's

Leg Press 2 sets 310 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 75 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 125 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 125 lbs
Dips 1 set (100) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 85 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (130) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 57 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 60 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 60 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 60 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 120 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 57 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 150 lbs

Not much to report, moving right along.

After this 2 week set of 5's I plan to continue another 2 weeks of 5's adding 5-10 lbs each session. Once I hit a weight I cannot do 5 or struggle to get 5 I will stick with it for the rest of that 2 week block.
 
Thursday 3/5/2020 Day 3 of 5's

Leg Press 2 sets 320 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 80 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 130 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 130 lbs
Dips 1 set (95) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 90 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (125) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 65 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 65 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 65 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 65 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 130 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 65 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 160 lbs
 
Sunday 3/8/2020 Day 4 of 5's

Leg Press 2 sets 330 lbs
Leg Curl 1 set 85 lbs
BB Bench Press 1 set 135 lbs
Inc BB Bench Press 1 set 135 lbs
Dips 1 set (90) lbs
Bent Over Rows 2 sets 95 lbs
Pull Ups 1 set (120) lbs
OH Triceps Ext 2 sets 73 lbs
BB Curls 2 sets 70 lbs
Upright Rows 1 Set 70 lbs
Shoulder Press 1 set 70 lbs
BB Shrugs 1 set 140 lbs
Face Pulls 1 set 70 lbs
Standing Calf Raises 2 sets 170 lbs


Started week 6 of the 5 rep block today and feeling on track to hit my 5 rep maxes this Thursday though I expect bi's, tri's and face pulls to be the most challenging. Looking forward to week 7 and increasing 5 rep maxes by 5-10lbs where I can to see where I top off at. I am looking forward to putting together the next cycle when this one is complete. I've grown most body parts considerably thus far in this cycle and hitting maxes easier than expected.
 
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