Hst

[hangh]

Anyone tried the Hypertrophy Specific Training, If so what were your gains? I myself have gone with HIT and had pretty nice gains but I think it's time for some variation and will be trying HST soon. share your success stories peepels

 

[Shafty]

Yep, here's a guy who swears by HST!
I've experimented with several types of BB programs, and found HST to be the quickest way to pack on muscle... even though it's not necessarily the best alternative if you're looking for massive strength gains. I've gained about 50 pounds of mostly lean mass within a period of 7.5 months, and I owe it all to HST. Great program, really delivers what it promises.

Too bad I sprained my left pec today while doing the last workout of the 15 rep block. That 90kg x 15 bench was a bit too much for me... I'm probably gonna have to go through the 10 rep block without any pec exercising... :O

 

[hangh]

damn dude, those gains are awesome, What kind of increment increases each workout do you use? I'm blown away.. 50 pounds in 7.5 months, dude! I'm just figuring out my 15,10,5 RM's .. done on sunday and then il'll do SD and start around Jan 7th or so

And please do give tips or hints that are good to know, just in general

 

[bigbutnottoo]

Can someone post a link to a good resource for this type of training?

Thanks.

 

[hangh]

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

Read through the site and there's a forum with a good search button

 

[Shafty]

damn dude, those gains are awesome...

Well, some of it was due to the fact that I had taken some time off of bodybuilding (2.5 months) before starting out with HST, and once I got back into the swing of things I started seeing the type of growth that rarely happens unless there's muscle memory feedback involved. Nevertheless, I've still made great gains, and gone far beyond the size I was before that break! :bottumsup

Anyways, I usually go for 2.5 kg increment increases per exercise, although I change that accordingly if I have to lower the starting weights of the block too much. I might for example do the first two workouts of any given block with the same amount of weights for a certain exercise, and only start adding more weights after that. This will keep me from going too easy on the first couple of workouts in each block.

Other than that, I just improvise as I go along. I don't even bother to figure out my RMs, I just take my best guess, and if the workouts prove to be too harsh or too easy I either prolong the block with one extra workout session, cut the block short by a workout or just add/decrease the weights.

I usually don't go below 5 reps... preferably 15, 10, 6 and 5, since the risk for injury is at its highest in the low rep blocks.

I hate the 15 rep block though... I've already puked my guts out twice while on it... man, that lactic acid overdose just fucks you up!

The 10 and 6 rep blocks are the most enjoyable to me.

Anyways, what else is there worth mentioning... well, I just stick to a sensible bodybuilders diet, with a macronutrient split of about 40 carbs/40 protein/20 fat, and I try my best to include plenty of fruits and veggies in there. The fat comes straight from a bottle (disgusting, huh?? )... I take about 1 spoonful per meal to slow the digestion process and also to get the essential omega acids.

My supplements include multivitamins, potassium, extra C+B (post workout), whey protein (post workout also), and 45% furastanol tribulus terrestris, which I consume about 6 grams every day, divided evenly among the meals (2 tribulus pills per meal). That's pretty much it, although I do have some topical
4-AD/1-Test in store, which I'm planning on using sometime next year.

But hey, I wish you luck with your HST experience. You've made a fine choice my man... I truly believe it's one of the best BB programs out there!

 

[hangh]

Originally posted by Shafty
Anyways, I usually go for 2.5 kg ncrement increases per exercise

Just what i thought, On the bigger compound exercises like bench, squats you go with 2.5kg every session of 2 week block and on the smaller ones like biceps, triceps you could to something like 20 20 22.5 22.5 25 25 etc

I hate the 15 rep block though... I've already puked my guts out twice while on it... man, that lactic acid overdose just fucks you up!

I'll have to agree with you on that one, I did a day of 15s on friday and I felt like shit afterwards (did deadlifts and squats right after eachother ? )

The 10 and 6 rep blocks are the most enjoyable to me.

Agreed. :bottumsup

And thanks for the other stuff too! :fight:

 

[Shafty]

No problem man!

BTW, I warmly endorse tribulus as a bodybuilding and Penis Enlargementing supplement. It's all natural and safe, and it can be found in most herbal/health stores. It's relatively cheap, too! Give it a try if you're interested! It gives your libido a nice boost... I've been horny 24/7 while taking it!

 

[hangh]

hehe, i'm pretty much horny all day without the tribulus :s What kind of warm-ups do you do for 15,10 and 5? I usually don't do that much warm-ups for 15 and 10, maybe a few sets squats, bench, and such. How about 5's?

 

[Shafty]

I'm also kinda lazy about doing proper warm-ups... most of the time it's just some stretching and flexing, and a quick spin on the elliptical trainer to get the blood pumping. Before each heavy compound exercise I do a quick set with about 2/3 of the weight that I'm using, although with the isolation exercises (biceps etc) I skip that completely.

Like you said, it's really not necessary to do any warm-ups in the 15 block, since the high rep exercises themselves serve that purpose. In the later blocks however it would be beneficial to warm up properly to avoid any possible spraining or injury... :fight:

BTW you mentioned you do deadlifts? I've never done those myself... from what I understand they can build you a bulky lower back, diminishing the much sought after V-shape of the body.

Do you ever feel like you're overtraining when you have to do 3 seperate compound exercises each workout? I personally probably couldn't handle that... squats and benching plus all the other exercises are more than enough for me!

 

[hangh]

overtraining? nah, I do all my exercises with a barbell mostly because i'm training at home until my weights run out here then I'll probably start going to a gym or something, but I really like barbell stuff, and I have sucky dumbells, too lazy to switch weights all the time on both the dumbells

Bulky lower back? Hydromaxm, I don't really know, But I have to train my back a bit so that it won't die on me I wonder, How long will it take to achieve that V-shaped back? What exercises serve for that purpose?

 

[Shafty]

Well, I've started to develop a nice V-shaped back... a couple of years ago I only worked out my pecs and biceps (that's what most men start off with I suppose), so my back still has a little bit of catching up to do.. but I'm almost there! Barbell shrugs (behind the back) and dumbell rows have been the foundation of my back workouts. Oh yeah, and I also do military presses without any back support nowadays: you have to use less weight, since a lot of the small supporting muscles are more involved in the exercise, but it targets more muscle groups than the standard seated press with back support. The best way to do it is by sitting on the stairs, with your lower back somewhat supported by the steps. It's a killer exercise for your rear delts and your upper back, as opposed to the frontal delts which usually take the brunt of the strain if you use full back support. Trust me, you don't want to strain your frontal delts too much with the military press, since they get more than enough of that when you bench. Besides, the rear and mid portions of the delts are the essential muscles that make the shoulders look broader. The frontal delts just make them 'lean' forward, if you know what I mean!

Concerning the amount of time it takes to achieve that V-shape, it's kinda hard to make any accurate predictions. It depends on what kind of genetics you have, i.e. how high your testosterone receptor density is back there. Some men develop their arms and chest faster, some get bulky legs or a wide back with little effort, while others struggle to gain any mass at all.

BTW, since you do squats there is really no need for exercises that specifically target the lower back, since it gets indirectly stressed when you're squatting.

 

[hangh]

Yeah, I suppose squats give me some but i'll go with deadlifts too this HST cycle I think ¨

The Exercises I do >>

Barbell Curl
Squats
Deadlift
Military Press (behind neck)
Bench Press
Close-grip Bench Press

That's all I do, I've already gotten some v-shapeness, but I have to flex for that to show, I'll have to incorporate those Barbell Shrugs. What kind of weight do you use for those? Does the weight match Military press more or Bench? So that I have a hint

And I do Military Press standing up :yellowbou

Edit: Btw, How do you train your abs when you're on HST? I don't have any fancy machines or cable machines here so I can't really increase the weight and reps that much, And having weight on my chest doesn't feel that much. How do you do it?

 

[Shafty]

The Exercises I do >>

Barbell Curl
Squats
Deadlift
Military Press (behind neck)
Bench Press
Close-grip Bench Press

Looks like you have pretty much everything covered there... I also work out at home, and I've found that most if not all of the fancy machines at gyms are useless, and can be easily substituted with a decent bench and a pair of dumbells! Here's my current list of exercises:

Squats
Barbell Curls
Skullcrushers w/ dumbell (for the tris)
Military Press w/dumbells (without back support)
Dumbell Rows
Bench Press
Barbell Shrugs

I don't do abs either , since they also get indirect strain from squatting and skullcrushers as well (these force you to flex your ''deeper'' abs which are the muscles that hold your gut in).
Not working out my abs has never been a problem for me though, since stop reduction of fat is a myth, and all you need to have great abs is a low enough BF%. I'm sitting at approx. 13-14% BF when measured ACCURATELY, and when I say accurately I mean it. A lot of people claim they have 5-6% BF, when in reality it's closer to 10-12%. I mean, MY abs at 14% BF are somewhat visible... not shredded to the bone, but visible still, and a bodyfat of 5-6% would look sickly and disgusting... like paper thin human skin wrapped too tightly around nothing but muscle, bone and veins. Even pro bodybuilders rarely go below 6% when competing... and you know how they look... inhuman :O

Anyway... I'm getting a little sidetracked here, heh!

Barbell shrugs are an excellent exercise, and you could really benefit from them, since deadlifts mostly target the lower back and hamstrings. Getting that triangular shaped body takes a LOT of upper back work.. and barbell shrugs target pretty much all the muscles in your upper/mid back, including the lats and spinal erectors. The amount of weight that should be used is closer to how much you bench, I suppose...
I can't really make a comparison with my own stats since my bench is wayy overdeveloped in relation to the other exercises I do, but here's a rough estimate:

For example, if your 10 rep bench max was 80 kilos, then you might wanna aim for something like 40 kg with the shrugs...

(I bench way more than I squat, BTW! )

 

[hangh]

cool. thanks for the help dude! :bottumsup

 

[Godsize]

The best exercise for the V shaped back is good ol' fashioned pull ups. Use a medium to wide grip and do as many as you can do, trying to do more reps each workout. Don't bother trying to pull yourself up so the bar is behind your head, you'll only wreck yourself. Keep the bar in front of you and pull your body all the way up (chin level with the bar, at least) Cross your legs and bend your knees so they're out of the way and they don't swing.

Soon you'll be able to do a lot of 'em. They really hit the "wings" hard. Rows and stuff are good for thickening up the back, but pull ups get you wider. Try it.

 

[bigbutnottoo]

all you need to have great abs is a low enough BF%.

Provided you have muscle size. I dont work my abs much either, but I think the reason to work any muscle is to build muscle, not spot reduce fat ( though many try).