Wemake Green log

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wemakegreen

New Member
Just got back from afghanistan and have been waiting to give HST a shot. Now I got the time. Right now working on finding my 15, 10 and 5 RM. Ill use my upcoming leave for my SD time. Im 5'10 164lbs with 14-16% BF.
Here's my routine right now.... feel free to comment

m/w/f
squat x 2 set
deadlift x 2
incline barbell x 2
wide pull down x 2
machine rows x 2
reverse flies x 2
shrugs x 2
curls x 2
skullcrushers x 2
seated calf raise x 2
decline weighted crunch x 2
 
Hey Man - Firstly, thanks so much for your service in Afghanistan. I'm not sure what country you represent, but thank you.

To your program - I think you're doing too much, to be honest - too many exercises. Deadlifts will take care of your calves and core - so take out the calf raises and crunches. Any type of bench work will take care of your triceps - so take out the skull crushers. The pulldowns/rows will hit your biceps, so take out the curls. I'd alternate rows and pulldowns so as not to overtax your back.

If you really want to do iso work, do it with different rep/set ranges than you do for the vanilla HST model, but do so mindful of the potential impact on your core lifts and overall recovery between workouts.

Good luck with your training.
 
I agree with tim. I am not sure exactly what you mean by 2 sets (is it 2x15, 2x10 and 2x5?) but it seems like too much. If you want/need extra volume (for example if you have been lifting for a long time using high volume) then you can go with 2x15, 3x10 and 3-5x5 but reducing the number of exercises. I recommend you use an A/B kind of split in which you use your A routine on monday, B routine on wednesday, A routine on Friday, back to the B routine on Monday and so on.
The routines would me set like this:
A:
Squat
Flat Bench
Rows
Shrugs

B:
Deadlifts
Dips
Chin-ups/pull-ups/pull downs
Military press

Remember to get enough food and rest and you'll get results. Good luck.
 
I like electric's exercise choices but, if you want to add some isos do them after you've hit your main compounds. As the cycle progresses you may find that the main compounds take all your energy and you have little left to give to isos. Play it by ear.

One or two sets for isos should be plenty, except maybe for calves. On the subject of calves: I do think that the better exercise choice for calves is the standing rather than the seated variety -- you will work the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles and will be able to use more stretch when standing (or when using a leg press), and probably more load in greater safety too -- I pulled a calf muscle once when using a seated machine and couldn't get out of the darn thing. Vowed never to use it again. YMMD. :)
 
thanks for the advice. considering i havent tried a cycle yet ill look to refine a bit. it seems like 4 exercises at 2 sets, 3 times a week is very low though. In afghanistan we didnt have access to gyms so i did ALOT of bodyweight, crossfit style. maybe its just got me used to doing high volume high intensity
 
wemakegreen said:
it seems like 4 exercises at 2 sets, 3 times a week is very low [volume] though.
Click to expand...
That's totally relevant. If you are used to much higher volume then bear the following in mind:

From the HST FAQ: How many reps and sets? said:
Increase volume if:

You are never sore
You are never tired
You are not growing

Maintain volume if:

You are slightly sore most of the time
You are tired enough to sleep well, but not so tired you lose motivation to train.
You are noticeably “fuller”

Decrease volume if:

You are experiencing over use pain, and strain symptoms in joints and/or muscles.
You are tired and irritable all the time, yet don’t sleep well.
Strength levels are significantly decreasing.
Click to expand...

What a lot of folks do is try to maintain a certain rep count throughout a cycle. So if they start with one set of 15s they'll end up doing 3 sets of 5. However, if you are doing a 'Simplify & Win' type routine where you are only doing 3-5 compound exercises each session (plus the odd iso if you fancy) then you might need to start with 2 x 15 per exercise. However, attempting to maintain 30 reps over the course of a cycle will probably prove quite difficult, esp. during 5s. So, it would make sense to decrease total reps as the cycle continued in order to spare your CNS from too much fatigue accumulation. Again, use the guidance on volume quoted above from the FAQs to help you decide.

Hope this hasn't confused you more! :)
 
some good info from the guys as usuall,if you want to do electrics workout but add some extra isos in do that,and when you get to the 2nd wk of the 10s or 5s you can always drop them,good luck.
 
well today starts week 2. I decided to follow advice and do electric's split routine, even though it seemed light in volume. I underestimated what the SD phase would do. Was fairly sore after the first day, though, less on day 2 and virtually none after friday, though still built up a good sweat as a fully body routine should.
 
well just got back from todays workout. definitely went pretty hard at it today. focused on form and really squeezing the muscles at the end of every rep. It hurt. Been using a scale to measure weight and bodyfat every week. I dont believe it to be too accurate on the body fat but it should give me a base. Before I started I was 165lb and 19%. Im now 169lb and 16.8%. Probably has a lot to do with my change of diet from my letting loose on my leave as its a little early in my cycle to see any progress. The next 2 workouts should really hurt.... looking forward to it.
 
Hi there wemakegreen - could you post your workouts? It's be great to see how you progress load-wise.
 
Absolutely....

WO#1
Squat - 115 x 15 x 2
Flat bench - 95 x 15 x 2
Rows - 85 x 15 x 2
Shrugs - 60's x 15 x 2

WO#2
Deadlift - 115 x 15 x 2
Incline - 75 x 15 x 2
Pull downs (Very wide) - 85 x 15 x 2
Military press - 75 x 15 x 2

WO#3
Squat - 125 x 15 x 2
Flat - 105 x 15 x 2
Rows - 95 x 15 x 2
Shrugs - 65's x 15 x 2

WO#4
 Deadlifts - 125 x 15 x 2
Incline - 85 x 15 x 2
Pull downs - 95 x 15 x 2
Military press - 85 x 15 x 2

Which brings us to today where ill be doing:
Squat - 135 x 15 x 2
Flat - 115 x 15 x 2
Rows - 105 x 15 x 2
Shrugs - 70's x 15 x 2

All workouts I focus on perfect form, and really squeeze the muscles at full extension. Should really feel todays workout, Ill report back afterwards.
 
Just finished my first HST block of 15 monday starts the 10 reps. Came back today and wanted to yarf everywhere. Deadlifts always seem to have that effect on me. Im already excited about my next HST cycle. Adding in pieces here and there, with a cleaner diet. Question for everyone.... how many cycles will you normally do of HST. Once I get to a certain size i plan on working on getting lean and strong. Much more athletic. Ideally Id like to see 175 and under 10% BF. Got a ways to go for that though. Heres todays workout....

Deadlift - 135 x 15 x 2
Incline - 95 x 15 x 2
Wide pull downs - 105 x 15 x 2
Military press 95 x 15 x 2
 
Agree on high rep deads - they make me want to puke too.

As far as how many cycles you do goes, it all depends on how fast you get to the size you want to be. Stick with the HST model until you're 100% happy with how you look and feel, and then transition to either a strength-based cycle (Wendler/Korte/Doggcrap/Westside/Pendlay/etc.) or even Crossfit if you're looking to get that lean. Diet is going to be the key factor in your success regardless; to grow you need to be eating above maintenance. To keep what you've built, you need to eat at least at maintenance. Leaning out is going to require an interesting dance between calories, metabolic workouts (start researching Tabata now - and begin preparing mentally for the pain that is to come...), and "maintenance" workouts where you essentially work to maintain your strength levels achieved during HST. This is all 100% doable if you really dedicate yourself to it - and we'll all be here to help you through.

Keep posting! I like seeing your work documented.
 
been a busy week, so ill play catch up here....

Monday, trying to keep as regular weigh in as possible (same time, same day, once a week) weighed in at 172 17% BF. As I said before, I believe BF fluctuates a lot, with the scale, but its a nice base to keep. I think this is fairly accurate read though. It seems like ive got some size added in my shoulders... still a little early and I might just want to be believing it so therefore i see it, but thats part of the game i think. Anyways.....

Monday's WO
Squat - 145 x 10 x 2
Flat - 120 x 10 x 2
Rows - 110 x 10 x 2
Shrugs - 75's x 10 x 2

Today's WO
Deadlift - 150 x 10 x 2
Incline - 100 x 10 x 2
Wide pull downs - 110 x 10 x 2
Military press 100 x 10 x 2

Played with the weight increase a bit different for the first few workouts so I didnt just stay at the same weight with less reps. Wanted to keep increasing weight. Workouts were fairly easy but still got a good pump. Also, question about weeks 7 and 8. I lift alone so I wont be doing reps and will be continuing my 5 rep for 2 more weeks. When this is done, I should just keep my 5 rep max going for an extra 2 weeks (total of 7 WO's at the 5 rep max) This seems to go against the whole progressive load idea, does it not?
 
wemakegreen said:
Also, question about weeks 7 and 8. I lift alone so I wont be doing reps and will be continuing my 5 rep for 2 more weeks. When this is done, I should just keep my 5 rep max going for an extra 2 weeks (total of 7 WO's at the 5 rep max) This seems to go against the whole progressive load idea, does it not?
Click to expand...

Transition to another rep range and continue to progress the loads. Try 3's for week 7 and 2's for week 8.
 
Start the next rep range at 85% of your previous range rep max. So - start your 3's at 85% of your 5RM. Same thing for 2's - start them at 85% of your 3RM.
 
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