your results with HST...

Here's a report on 1.5 cycles, I have done in the past (10/14/02-1/2/03), I was hypocaloric the entire time, I went: 15/12/10/8/5/neg - 7 days off - 10/8/5.
 10/14/02  1/2/03
Waist   33   33
Hips   39   37
Chest   42   43.25
Shoulders 49   50
Neck   15.25   15
flexed Arm 15   15.25
Calves   16   15.5
Quads   24 23.25
Weight   185   179
BF %   13.2%   12.2%
LBM   160.8   157.2
LBM Change -3.6lbs
BF Change -2.4lbs
I went on vacation (SD) then I performed another cycle at maintenance calories. Didn't perform measurements, but did track bodyfat:
Weight: 186.5 185
BF %: 14.5% 12.8%
Change in LBM: +1.86
Change in BF: -3.4
Not to downplay results, but I gorged myself on a cruise previous to starting most recent cycle, hence the 14.5% bodyfat.
 
OK, I finished my first cycle of HST. I went a little high on the calories for the first 4 or 5 weeks (about 3000 cal per dayat 170 lbs) and put on a bit too much fat, but I did see a few gains.
before after
weight 167lbs 181
waist 36 " 38
chest 37 38.5
bicep 12.5 13
forearm 10 10.25
thigh 22 23
hips 37 39

The other measurements were about the same. My bodyfat went up, but I'm gonna have to fine tune my measuring technique before the next cycle. I was just using one site and I think I was drifting from one place to another while measuring. Anyway, I know that stuff on my waist is not muscle.
 
My second week of 5s has been curtailed by a bout of bad flu.

But as at this moment, I had lost 2 kilos in weight and dropped 3% in bodyfat. Pretty good considering I had not been vigilant in counting calories and had done nothing in the way of intentional aerobics.

It was interesting though, the increase in appetite I experienced when I starting training twice a day. Morning and evening workouts make you really hungry, and a typical day's intake would go like this:

Breakfast: Six whole egg omelette with tomatoes, fried in butter, 1-2 apples or plums.

Morning tea: An apple, 2 slices of steak each the size and thickness of my palm.

Lunch: Same as Morning Tea.

Afternoon tea: Same as Lunch.

Dinner: Chicken drumsticks, 4-6 of them depending on their size, one large apple or mango, small piece of chocolate or candy bar.

Pre-workout: Primer (with water, extra malt cocoa powder and a little sugar) and creatine taken a half hour before workout.

Post-workout: Driver with water.

Other supplements: Fish oils, Vit E, C, Antioxidant Blend, Magnesium, Ginger Extract, Folic Acid, B complex, CoQ10, E/C,

Visually, I can see an increasing degree of thickness and my delts and traps are really beginning to take shape. My belly has shrunked slightly, and might have shrunked more if I had bothered to measure my food intake and perhaps, limited myself to no more than ten servings of carbs per day on refeeds days rather than ten servings of carbs per meal...

Overall, another profitable cycle, truncated nonetheless but will embark on another cycle very soon but this time, with measurement of calorie intake and more controlled refeeds. Also, if I can get my hands on a digital camera I will take some pics. Nothing spectacular yet, this body of mine but already a very nice silhouette is forming and perhaps encouraging that your average Joe plus HST equals a not so average Joe.

Godspeed, and happy HSTing :)
 
Hi
Well I've been doing this since the new year after seriously plateuing in my split training. I have put on 10lbs in weight and would say this is all muscle as my stomach is showing more and more of my abs!

I must admit i have not really tried to up my calorie intake at all and my cardio work is very hard and very often as I enjoy playing football (soccer) twice a week and frequently go jogging! Thank you Bryan for this excellent programme, I'm getting bigger, have hardly any fat, and, without even worrying too much about my diet (dont even take protein powder) or the amount of other sporting activities i follow!
 
This is my second attempt at the HST training principles

BW 170 to 174 + 4lbs
Waist +1.5 inch
Bis + 0 inch
F.A + 0 inch
Calf +0 inch
Thigh +0 inch
Chest +0 inch

This is the program
Squats
Lying leg curl
Flat Bench
Inclind DB Press
Chins
Dips
T-Bar Row
Shrugs (Smith machine)
Standing Calf Raise
Incline DB Curl
Tricep Press down
Shoulder Press
Bent Lateral Raises

Basically I think I have gained 3-4 lbs of Body Fat
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (bluenoser @ Mar. 30 2003,1:44)]This is my second attempt at the HST training principles
BW 170 to 174 + 4lbs
Waist +1.5 inch
Bis + 0 inch
F.A + 0 inch
Calf +0 inch
Thigh +0 inch
Chest +0 inch
This is the program
Squats
Lying leg curl
Flat Bench
Inclind DB Press
Chins
Dips
T-Bar Row
Shrugs (Smith machine)
Standing Calf Raise
Incline DB Curl
Tricep Press down
Shoulder Press
Bent Lateral Raises
Basically I think I have gained 3-4 lbs of Body Fat
Click to expand...
Bluenoser, I'm curious about the size of the increments you used and number of sets per exercise and total volume. Care to elaborate?
 
restless

I used increments of 5 lbs on all exercises except shrugs and squats for these two I used 10 lb increments. One set per exercise for the 15's and 2 sets per exercise for the 10's and 5's. I train every other day not taking any two day breaks, for the chins and dips I use additional weight still going up by 5 lbs each work out
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (bluenoser @ Mar. 30 2003,3:55)]restless
I used increments of 5 lbs on all exercises except shrugs and squats for these two I used 10 lb increments. One set per exercise for the 15's and 2 sets per exercise for the 10's and 5's. I train every other day not taking any two day breaks, for the chins and dips I use additional weight still going up by 5 lbs each work out
Click to expand...
That might be the reason for not having gained any muscle. a five pounds increment on a load like 200 pounds (assuming you use bodyweight plus 25 pounds for chins and dips) is a 2,5% increment. Doesn't exactly meet the recomended percentages. Maybe you could consider using larger ones next cycle? If you are willing to give it another shot that is.
 
restless

I will be giving it another go, but this time I will take your advice and go with some larger increments. I will try 20 lbs on legs and 10 on everything else. With the exception of the chins most likely have to stick with the 5 lbs


Thanks for the help
 
Increasing the increments would be ok, here's a more rounded off way to see things (from the FAQ):

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]In the end it isn't necessary to focus on how big of an increment to make. What will determine your success is more dependent upon how wide the range is between your effective starting poundages during the 15s and your ending poundages used for 5s or negatives. So your goal for continued success, cycle after cycle, is to increase that range - by either decreasing the effective starting weight and/or increasing the finishing weight of the cycle
Click to expand...

By focusing on your increment size, we assume that:
1) your nutrition is proper
2) you are not underestimating your max weights
3) you rest properly
4) you are not hindering progress by any other activity
5) you are not anywhere close to your genetic potential
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Sharivan @ Sep. 06 2002,7:29)]I did a search to find success stories with HST and found some testimonies but there are too many threads, and some people reported their gains on others board... why not simply put your results in ONE thread ?! (this one  
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)
I'm sure many people would like to read such a thread and Bryan could also use some of the testimonies.
HST worked or didn't work for you ?! Post your results but only if you did HST (I mean something close to the "official routine" or close to what Bryan suggested to optimize HST), not YOUR own HST (as I did) !!!
Please post your restults (I know some of your already posted 2-3 times theirs results but in 2-3 different threads....) I'll also search on others boards if I can find testimonies (both positive and negative). But nearly all testimonies I read about HST were positive
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ok thank you all  
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Click to expand...
I'm almost done with my first cycle of 15's. Even though not hitting all the groups yet and I'm still dieting (Lowish Carb) I still got decent results over the last 2 weeks. I gained 2.2lbs AND lost 1" off my stomach(32inch down to 31inch). I'm hovering around 180.6lbs at 6' right now. I eat around 1800-2000C with about 180g protein, 100g Carbs (30-40 fiber) and the rest fat. About 10g fat comes from flax. About 30 minutes before the workouts I have 4 packs of smarties. Before I added those I could not finish 1 set of fifteen. It was not a weight issue being at 40% my max. Afterwards I was able to get 2 sets of 15 without blinking. Next cycle I will not be dieting and will include more excercises. Really the only thing I'm doing HST with right now is Deadlifts :)

Eric
 
I just finished my first cycle of HST (stopped after 8 weeks, no negatives). The pinches indicate a LBM gain of 4 pounds and fat gain of 4 pounds.

I'm impressed.

This compares very well against other things I have tried. My standard rate of gain over the last 2 years has been 1 pound of LBM per month when trying to add muscle.

I'm looking forward to a smoother cycle next time after a good 12-day SD.

Thank you Bryan.
worship.gif
 
VERY HAPPY WITH 1ST CYCLE RESULTS!!!!!! :D
Completed full 8wk cycle in standard HST form, 2wk block each of 15's, 10's, 5's, and repeats of 5maxes/2rep max and negatives on some exercises for the last 2 weeks. Used dropsets and loaded stretches at the end of 2nd set of every exercise I performed. I trained 2 times a day every other day straight through the weekends with no cardio on off days. This cycle was a maintenance/slight caloric reduction (1800-2500cal) per day. Used Lyle McDonald's CKD version with a 12hr refeed only on every 6th day. Kept protein @ 150g per day and carbs @30g per day or less with the remainder of calories coming from good monounsaturated fats (olive oil, mac. nuts, and flax oil) Used HSN creatine, 25mg of dhea, klein becker topical pro hormone for two weeks (last week of 10's first week of 5's only), vitamin and calcium supplement, egg white protein powder before and after workouts. Used baking soda as a buffer and to keep my potassium/sodium ratio high. Took 8 grams of fish oil per day and drank only water.
 
Blew most of my 5rm maxes out of the water for my very first HST cycle!
wow.gif
Here are my strength increases on my exercises I used in my AM/PM split routine...
AM workout (20-30min in duration) 5rm max
plan end result
pullups 30lbs 55lbs for 2rm/3ecentric
inc bench 185lbs 195lbs
shrugs 225lbs 225lbs
lat raise 23lbs 25lbs for 2rm/3ecentric per arm
rear deltoid flyes 15lbs 17.5lbs for 2rm/3ecentric per arm
wrist curl 43lbs 50lbs per arm
reverse wrist curl 23lbs 23lbs
PM workout (20-30min in durantion) 5rm max
plan end result
wgt dips 65lbs 100lbs for 2rm/3ecentric
deadlift 255lbs 300lbs
military press 110lbs 120lbs
barbbell row 90lbs 100lbs
ez bar curls 77lbs 87lbs for 2rm/3ecentric
Quit tricep extensions because of elbow pains in the last 2 weeks of 5's/negatives
I did 2 sets on the following exercises...pullups, inc bench, deadlifts, dips, military press, barbbell rows, ez bar curls. I did one set on the other exercises which were mostly isolation movements. (20 total sets per day)
 
Hi,

Forgot to add my cycle 1 results here....so:

Trained M W F, 2 weeks of 15's, then 10's then 5's followed my two weeks of dropsets. Supplementation wise I'm taking creatine and protein shake before and after WO.

Results are a gain from 66.1kg to 70.8kg. Thats 4.7kg increase in 8 weeks. Or 10lb. No noticable fat increase. Waist unchanged at 30.5.

I am amazed. Thanks to everyone.

Workout as follows:

seated leg press x2
dumbell press x2
dips
wide grip pulldowns
narrow grip pulldowns
shoulder press
lat flyes
dumbell curls
dumbell shrugs
skull crushers
calf raises x2
 
4th cycle results

After a promising start, the cycle turned out rather disappointing: BW about the same, but probably ca. 1-2 lbs LBM gain, ca. 1-2 lbs fat loss (as compared to my "best" weight during the 3rd cycle, not after deconditioning). Additionally, I was able to beat my all-time records (5RM) in bench and dips slightly (2,5kgs).

The main reason for the slow gains is that I got worried about BF mid-cycle and so started lowering my calories and upping cardio.

I used a linear progression scheme with just one workset per exercise. I didn't use any rep ranges, but just stopped 1-2 reps short of failure all the time, which had me starting with 30 reps in some exercises. I got nowhere near CNS overtraining, but I think the volume was too low, especially in the second half of the cycle (didn't use any dropsets). The problem is that after a dozen sets or so, I have a really hard time training productively. Also, I hate multiple sets when I have to do several exercises for each muscle group: I always feel the later exercises suffer too much.

I stopped using controlled cadences and just went by feel, which upped my tempo from 5 seconds per rep to 3 or 4 seconds per rep in many exercises. Not only could I use more weight (thereby increasing number of increments), but also some exercises felt much better. A 3-second descent in dips, bench press or one-arm rows just felt like slow motion to me.

Resolutions for next cycle:
1) I will return to a more conventional progression scheme with 15s, 10s and 5s and some zig-zagging.
2) I will use two alternating routines, so I'll be able to use larger increments. I'll have two workouts at 70%, 85% and 100% intensity in each repetition range.
3) I will use just one major exercise per body part and workout. This way, I should be able to deal with 2-3 sets per exercise (which will be my first serious attempt at multiple set training for almost three years).
4) I'm reluctant to call this a "cutting cycle" (sounds too serious), but my main goal will be decreasing BF for 2-3 percent. In order to measure my progress, I have already set up a spreadsheet including some body measurements, skinfolds etc. I didn't do this in the past, which makes progress evaluation very difficult if not impossible (see first paragraph). I'll save "bulking" for the winter when I don't have to be worried about BF. I'll do a short HIIT session after each workout and light cardio training (walking, cycling) on off-days occasionally.

My next Routine will look like this:

A-Day: chins, incline bench, deadlift, skullcrushers, standing calf raise, cable crunch
B-Day: BB rows, dips, squats, EZ curls, standing calf raise, cable crunch

For those who have read my "abbreviated routine" thread: I couldn't resist including some direct arm work. Maybe I'll drop it in the second half of the cycle, we'll see. Still I have not included direct shoulder work – I think they'll get enough stimulation from working chest and back.
 
Quick summary after 1.67 cycles (HST for ~2 months):
Increased wt 165 -> 171 lbs.
Decreased bf 23.4% -> 17.6% (based on self administered caliper tests.)
Subjectively I feel much leaner, bigger overall, esp arms, chest and thighs.
I've been doing a pretty standard HST routine, 3 times per week with cardio a couple times per week. Trying to increase calories from 2000 ->2600.
Overall extremely pleased ! Thanks to all for this great website and group of people.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (bluenoser @ Mar. 30 2003,8:55)]restless
I used increments of 5 lbs on all exercises except shrugs and squats for these two I used 10 lb increments. One set per exercise for the 15's and 2 sets per exercise for the 10's and 5's. I train every other day not taking any two day breaks, for the chins and dips I use additional weight still going up by 5 lbs each work out
Click to expand...
blue, what was your daily caloric intake like (and what sort of foods were you eating), and how long of a strategic deconditioning did you take before training?

even the most retarded of training programs should have produced better results than what you're reporting. no offense.
 
Hello, I am currently on sd after my 2nd cycle. At the end of my 1st cycle I weighed 220 lbs, now I am 238. I am a type2 diabetic. Unfortunately i didn't keep track of my calories and I gained more fat than I would have liked, but I am extremely happy with my results to say the least. I don't know how accurate it is but according to the zone method I put on equal amounts of muscle and fat-162-169 lbm. My shoulders have exploded! I'm sorry I didn't take measurements, will do that before next cycle. Here is my routine
Sq
Sldl
db row
db bench
mil press - lowered to eye level
db curl
abs
I used 15's 10's 5's, with a drop set during 2nd week of 5's. I alternated sq and sldl, but next cycle I will do them both together. I repeated the last 3 w/o's of each rep range. Sorry for the long post, but I am very excited about hst and can't wait to start my next cycle!
Mark
 
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