A brief summary year to date:
January to Feb:
Finishing a half hearted HST cycle, looking back I was almost certainly not eating enough to effectively grow, probably around the 2500 calorie mark on average.
February to March:
6 weeks DC/Doggcrap training – good strength gains but not eating enough due to being a little unsatisfied with my weight & bodyfat!(A relatonship does that to a man) I got on well with this program and liked the training style. Quite low volume meant workouts were quick (but by no means easy) which can be useful when other priorities get in the way of training. Rest pause was a refreshing approach, post set stretching has its benefits and widowmakers are gruesome.
March to June:
I cut down from just under 95KG to just under 85KG using CBL/CNS and carb cycling a long side a push/pull split. I didn’t train as wisely as I could have in terms of retaining strength which is a shame but won’t take long to recover hopefully.
July:
Now I’m on a quest to regain some of my strength previously lost and also stack on some size. Since moving a year and a half ago I hadn’t been particularly passionate about my training or diet but over the last 6 months that little flame has been reignited and I have quite a lot of drive again. I have some work committed professional exams in November with studies starting late August so my weekends are spoken for as will be a few evenings a week. I'm fairly determined to not let it get in the way of or affect my training or nutrition.
**************
The plan:
When I first did HST I saw good results in strength & size and was eating a little over maintenance so hopefully now my diet is better suited to my aims hopefully I will be pleased in 12-14 weeks time.
Ultimately my plan is for 2 cycles of HST (15/10/5 + 15?/10/5). I’m unsure if I will use 15’s on the second cycle at this point. Once HST is finished I plan to take advantage of my strength peak and push this further with 6-10 weeks of DC.
The food:
My prescribed diet is 2200cals/200p/100f/100c for off days and 3200cals/200p/50f/3-400c on training days. Chances are I’ll adhere to my off days more strictly than my training days and expect I’ll tip nearer to 3500-4000 calories on training days providing fat gain is kept to a satisfactory level! Thanks to CBL I quite literally can’t get full anymore!
The business:
Now normally I structure my HST programs to be as aerobic as possible to take advantage of the aerobic nature of a full body routine and to improve conditioning however as my primary aim is now mass and I would like to bring up some lagging areas, I will be training muscle groups in short or immediate succession and in some cases super-setting. Beauty is I can always easily re-work the order of things if I find it isn’t working or turns out to be a hindrance. Mixture of some machine work as they have their benefits! Some exercises will change between the 15’s and 10’s and 5’s due to becoming impractical in nature at heavier loads.
15’s as they stand as of yesterday: (Alternating A/B where ‘/’ is displayed, superset where ‘*’ is displayed)
Looking back these weights haven't changed much since my first ever HST cycle but that said I am not as strong as I have been as of late.
Current stats:
BW 85KG, BF 13-14%, 5’11”, 24yo.
Big 3 this year: 130KG, 185KG, 180KG
Big 3 PB’s: 135KG, 185KG, 205KG
I would like to crack 140KG bench and maintain my squat PB with my slightly changed form. Deadlift will take some work, my form is greatly improved but a little dysfunctional at the moment and I have neglected this lift for about 2-3 years so not expecting any short term miracles!
Don't expect daily updates, more likely weekly or fortnightly when I actually have something significant to report
Last edited:
it is do-able with a big helping of clean carbs in the evening but this might not always be the case so forgive the approximation. If I find I want to have something sweet then fats will ultimately be higher and carbs a little lower than optimal.
