a_welch503 WORKOUT JOURNAL

I told you the HST protcol would be good for you. The volume serves as a check to keep you from loading too much on the bar. That will minimize your chances of injury.

Will you be dropping the reps and upping the weight as time goes on like abarlament did?

I predict you will be pleased with your progress in 6 months from now.

How is froggy girl doing? Tell her I send my regards.

[.V.]

Yeah, yesterday's calories were a bit excessive - for me at this point.

I will be decreasing the reps on schedule with the weight increases. Next is 2 weeks of 10s then 5s then 2s. Hopefully by the time I get to the 5s and 2s I'll be ready for the heavy stuff. If not, I'll start over.

I'm even thinking ahead (you know how I think too much sometimes) about doing a repeat of it with the basic 4 - squat, bench, deadlift, row...maybe throw in some overhead work and some abs but without the specific body part work like rear delts, bis, tris... and so on.

Since switching to barbell rear delt rows, I've learned how the dynamic row from the floor can hit any part of the back and the biceps pretty hard depending on where you pull to. Closer to the face = rear delts, lower on the chest, rear delts/lats. Pull to the abdomen=lats.

Froggie girl spent too much time traveling and sitting in the AC this summer. She doesn't want to run or cycle until it cools off a little. She's still swimming though, but for fun, not a workout...as long as she's active - it's good.

[.V.]

HST - 15's...DONE

Squat.............150
Leg Extension.....105
Good Morning.......75
Calf Raise........215
Deadlift..........185
BOR...............135
Pullups.......SKIPPED
Bench Press.......135
MP.................80
Rear Delt Row......90
Shrug.............185
Curl...............95
Skull Crusher......80
Cable Crunch.......90


Nutrition
On track, will be close to 4000 at P-35%, C-47%, F-18%


Comments
Today was tough. In the end, it was the most intense workout I've ever had. Maybe there is something to this HST stuff after all. I don't forsee myself getting the 1/2-1" growth from this that others have reported, but I still like it.

[tim_mcf]

Good mornings, getting better at these...instead of just bending over and straightening up, I'm able to squeeze my glutes and hams to pull me up now.

I have found recently that it really helps to think of a hip thrust on these posterior-chain exercises...as you near completion of the rep, try to snap your hips in place.

Looking good, 15 rep sets is no joke.

[.V.]

Yeah Tim, that's kind of what I'm doing. I'm making sure I squeeze the glutes and hams - getting the contraction from them from the very bottom of the movement - this pulls the hip up. I think that's where the "popping" sound is coming from.

Glute/ham weakness is a pretty serious issue - Dave was right, that's what's been holding my squats back. The box squats have helped. Yesterday, for the first time, I did all my sets for warmups - starting with the bar, doing sets of 10 adding 20lbs each time up through 135 and they were true ATG squats, the deepest I've ever been able to do without falling over backwards. My working sets were back on the box to make sure I'm getting that glute/ham work done. Concentrating on the posterior has really helped with everything. The best part is I've been pain free for over a month now. Except for today, my legs are really sore, but that's not the same as injury pain. This is the good kind that I'm feeling today.

[.V.]

HST - 10's

Squat.............160
Leg Extension.....110
Good Morning.......80
Calf Raise........230
Deadlift..........200
BOR...............130
Pullups..........4x10
Bench Press.......130
MP.................75
Rear Delt Row......85
Shrug.............195
Curl...............85
Skull Crusher......85
Cable Crunch.......85

Comments
Moved on to the 10's today. Some of the weights went up as the reps went down. Some decreased by a few pounds. I don't really understand the reasoning behind this, but it said on the HST site not to worry about it just do it. So far I'm injury free and my former 15 rep max on every left is now my 3x15 max so it does seem to work. I'm staying right on track to see where it takes me. I can't do pullups the HST way because I can't really do them with less than body weight for the early part of each 2 week period. However, simply doing sets of 10 increasing each period by another set seems to be working. 4x10 pretty easily today AFTER doing all the other work.

Nutrition
Late start this morning but on schedule now. I'll meet all my caloric and macronutrient goals by bedtime. Got to work a football game and probably a fight tonight so I'll be up late with enough time to finish eating before bed.

[etothepii]

Glad to see you are liking it so far. I don't know about you, but for me, all I can think about is grabbing the measuring tape when i get in the 10s. For me, that's when I start seeing gains, and seeing the difference in the tape really gets me motivated!

[.V.]

No measuring tape...just waiting to see what happens. Although a co-worker did ask me tonight how much I'd gained. I said, "20 lbs". They said, "no, how much around your arms and stuff." I said I didn't know that I was just finally eating enough that my body didn't have to go through starvation and shrivel up any further. I'm calling my new plan a "recovery" plan until I'm able to get back to heavy lifting. We'll see what happens though, if I make good gains I may repeat it once or twice - riding it as far as it'll take me. Next time, I'll probably slow things down a bit and do just the basics like Squat, Bench, Dead, Row, OHP, and Chins, with maybe an extra hamstring exercise.

[.V.]

08-20-2006

HST - 3x10

Squat.............165
Leg Extension.....115
Good Morning.......85
Calf Raise........240
Deadlift..........205
BOR...............135
Pullups..........4x10
Bench Press.......135
MP.................80
Rear Delt Row......90
Shrug.............200
Curl...............90
Skull Crusher......90
Cable Crunch.......90


Nutrition - on track, the same every day.


Comments - Went heavier, getting all reps/sets, still feeling pretty good. Best squatting ever. Still doing warmups ATG then box squats for working sets. Getting ATG PRs every workout. Today was 150x2. Considering that not very long ago I would fall over backwards if I'd tried that with just the bar I think that's pretty good. Glute/ham strength must still be going up.

[.V.]

I've been asked a couple of times about results. Was going to sit on it until the end of the HST training cycle and post it then, but since apparently I'm doing it wrong, may have to change the plan a bit if I start showing signs of overtraining, I'll post what I've got to this point.

7/14 measurements in inches
Neck: 17.25
Chest: 41
Abdomen: 34.6
Thigh (L): 22.5
Thigh (R): 22.5
Calf (L): 15.25
Calf (R): 15.25
Arm (L): 14.75
Arm (R): 15.25
BF: 12
Wt: 179

8/20 measurements in inches
Neck: 17.5
Chest: 42.5
Abdomen: 33.5
Thigh (L): 24.25
Thigh (R): 24
Calf (L): 15.5
Calf (R): 15.5
Arm (L): 15
Arm (R): 15.5
BF: 10
Wt: 190 - 7 days ago

Strength: Squat - 15RM 150x1 up to 150x3.

Between 7/14 and 7/21 I was sick and lost down to 173.

Storm over, internet is back on, I'm back.

I think there may be some inaccuracy in measurements. I tried to be very careful to measure in the same place. However, did I manage to empty the same amount of air from my chest cavity when measuring? I don't know. There is also a strong liklihood that most of the increases are water. Remember, I was very sick, unable to eat, and dehydrated last month. I'm using creatine again to help move water into my cells, drinking 1.5 gallons of water a day, and eating more carbs than a cow does throughout my day...on my body that means mostly water and fat, only a bit of muscle. However, it's the only way I know to gain. More fat/less carbs = weight loss for me.

That's an amazing increase in your neck measurement. At that pace it won't be long before your neck is bigger than your chest.

[.V.]

yeah, I fixed that typo. A storm was coming in while I was typing so I went quickly and made a few errors. The post is now complete.

And I did say I was gaining lots of water and some fat. Remember the boobie song?

[etothepii]

Looks good to me. I don't see any gains myself until the mid to late 10s. You say you're gaining fat, but your bodyfat measurement is down??

[.V.]

Originally Posted by etothepii

Looks good to me. I don't see any gains myself until the mid to late 10s. You say you're gaining fat, but your bodyfat measurement is down??

Yeah, the US Naval circumference method isn't the most accurate in the world. But it's the only way I have to check at home. It's what had me undereating before. I guess it will help me track gains or losses though - keeping up with trends up or trends down. I don't put much stock in it to be 100% on though - it is after all just an estimate.

[.V.]

Aha - the gains explained.

OK, so after being injured, sick, unable to eat, nearly hospitalized with pneumonia, drastic/sudden weight loss, and dehydration - the 16lbs in the first month - especially with lots of carbs, creatine, and plenty of water was understadable. I was replacing missing water, replacing missing glycogen, and that stuff is heavy.

Now in the last week - I've gained 6lbs. 190-196 in a week.

The tape says my LBM is actually 176 instead of 171 - the tape lies. Next Dr. visit I'll have to get calipered again, should have had it done today but didn't think of it.

Did some food measuring. Me, Mr careful measurement has made a mistake. My canned veggies I've been using for convenience with two meals a day somehow I was counting 1 can as 1 cup...it's 1.87 cups instead.

Total miscalculation 1350 calories/day more than I thought. Oops.

6lbs in one week cannot possibly be muscle and water. 2lbs a week I can live with but not 6. I'll be more careful with measurements from now on.