MuscleCircuit.com

an update to my progress using the HST (hyper-specific training) program.

Week 1

This is the week I found my 15, 10, and 5 rep maxes for each workout. I’ve never actually took the time to record my maxes in all major lifts so recording this is useful so I look back in a year and see how I’ve progressed. Doing 15 reps was much harder than I expected as it takes a LOT of energy out of you compared to 6-8 heavy reps.

Week 2

Took this week off (strategic deloading) as the program recommends. This was the hardest week; forcing yourself not to go to the gym when it’s so routine to you is a pain and makes you feel lazy, but it was necessary.

Week 3

This is the first week of my 15 rep block. It starts off with very, very light weight which feels a little silly, but every workout after gets heavier and becomes more challenging. 2 sets of 15 reps for all 8 exercises uses A LOT of energy and makes a full body 45-60 min workout very tiring.

What I like so far

• HST Calculator is great because it provides a stress-free roadmap of exactly what weight I’ll be lifting and how many reps
• Full-body workouts feel great compared to high-volume splits
• Lots of squating; 3x a week versus my usual 1x
• Very little training to failure
• Low volume ensures that I’m not overtraining
• Lighter weight allows me to focus on perfect form

What I dislike

• Any errors in your 15,10,or 5 rep maxes makes for annoying readjustments; You’ll either feel like the weight is waay to light or heavy if your maxes aren’t accurate enough
• You’ll use a lot of 2.5lb and 5lb plates; time consuming to load up bar

As you can see, there are a lot of things I like and only a few I dislike, so overall, I love the program and recommend it. It seems to be more geared towards bulking or building muscle but I am currently trying to lose bodyfat so it’ll be interesting to see the results in the coming weeks

I’ve hit a very hard plateau recently and have been searching for something new and refreshing. My previous workout routines consisted of 5 day body splits with lots of training to failure. Needlessness to say, I’ve been unimpressed with my results.

So it’s time switch it!

Meet HST, Hypertrophy-Specific Training. Here is the quick and dirty:

What is it?
HST is a proven and popular workout program and set of principals developed by Brian Haycock that has been used by tons of strength trainers and bodybuilders alike with impressive results.

What’s it good for?
Increasing muscle mass and strength or decreasing body fat. However, it’s slightly geared towards increases size rather than strength. But you can expect both size and strength if you’re in a calorie surplus.

What are the basics of the program?
It’s essentially a 3 day, full-body routine where you decrease your rep range slowly over 8 weeks while increasing the weight you use.

A Step-by-Step for the HST routine:

Step 1) Pick Exercises

Choose 8-12 full body exercises that you wish to use. I recommend keeping it to 8 to minimize time in the gym and overtraining. Here are my recommended ones:

Squat
Barbell Flat Bench Press
Stiff Legged Deadlift
Bent Over Barbell Rows
Seated Shoulder Press
Straight Bar Curls
Skull Crushers
Standing Calf Raise

Step 2) Find your rep maxes for 15,10, and 5 reps.

Find your 15 rep max, 10 rep max, and 5 rep max for each exercise. Don’t guess. Take a week to figure out your real maxes for every exercise for every rep range (15,10,5). For example, on Monday, find your 15 rep maxes, then Wednesday find your 10 rep maxes, and the on Friday find your 5 rep maxes.

*What’s a 15 rep max? It’s the heaviest weight you can lift for 15 reps.

Step 3) Take 9-14 days off

After you find your maxes, take the next 9-14 days off from training. This is called the “Strategic Deconditioning” in the HST program. Basically you’re “resetting” yourself and your muscles so they respond better during the next 8 weeks.

Step 4) Understand the rep routine

After you have all your maxes figured out, and you’ve rested for 9-14 days, you’ll be performing the full body routine 3 days week (M/W/F for example) and using different rep ranges every 2 weeks. The fist 2 week block you’ll be doing 15 reps, then 10, then 5. Example:

Week 1 – 15 reps
Week 2 – 15 reps
Week 3 – 10 reps
Week 4 – 10 reps
Week 5 – 5 reps
Week 6 – 5 reps

Sets: 2 sets for each exercise

Step 5) Figure out the weights you’ll be lifting

The actual weight you’ll be using for your each 2 week rep block will quite light and will gradually increase every workout to your max. Here’s an example for someone who’s 15 rep max is 185 pounds on squat:

Workout 1 (Week 1, Monday)- 110lbs
Workout 2 (Week 1, Wednesday)- 125lbs
Workout 3 (Week 1, Friday)- 140lbs
Workout 4 (Week 2, Monday)- 155lbs
Workout 5 (Week 2, Wednesday)- 170lbs
Workout 6 (Week 2, Friday)- 185lbs

Notice how the weight increases from light to your max over each 2 week segment. Increase each exercise 5-15lbs per workout. Compound movements (squat, bench) can be increased 10-15 pounds where isolated exercises (Curls, Skull Crushers) should be increased 5-10 pounds.

**Use this HST CALCULATOR to setup your entire routine. Plug-in 5-15lb for the “Inc” (incremental) and your “RMs” (rep maxes) and hit “calculate”.

View my sample HST routine here:

Hopefully you have your first 6 weeks figured out using the calculator. Now for week 7 and 8, you have a few choices. You can do 2 rep maxes, 5 rep maxes (just like week 5 and 6), or 5 rep maxes with drop sets.

Step 6) Start lifting!

I’ll be testing out this routine exactly how I described. I’m excited to see what results it brings (even though I’ll be in a caloric deficit). Feel free to follow along or start it up yourself.

Visit HST’s official site for more detailed information, http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com.

Feel free to ask questions

Protein is a big part of a bodybuilding diet. Sometimes it can be difficult to get all the necessary protein (1 - 1.5 grams per pound of body weight) throughout our busy days. I know it’s difficult for me at least.

That’s why I like to use my homemade protein bars when I’m on the go and don’t have time to cook (did that sound like an endorsement line?).

It’s far better than eating a semi-healthy restaurant meal and way better than fast food.

The problem is that most store bought protein bars are typically what I call “sugar-filled, over-processed, soy-protein filled, over-priced crap.”

What’s the solution?

Make your own!

It’s 10x cheaper and actually taste amazing (especially if you like peanut butter!). Here’s my recipe with pictures.

Ingredients:

• Whey Protein Powder
• Natural Peanut Butter
• Oats
• Milk

Instructions

1. Get Bowl

2. Add 3.5 cups of whole oats

3. Add 5 scoops Whey Protein Powder

4. Add 4 tablespoons of natural peanut butter

5. Add 1 cup milk

6. Mix it all together! It gets a little messy, so don’t be scared to dig in.

7. Important! Spray Pam on a separate plate.

8. Place contents on plate and play with it until it forms a rectangle shape.

9. Cut into 4 equal bars

10. Refrigerate for at least a few hours, and enjoy.

Voila.

Nutritional Information for one protein bar:
Total Calories: 530
Protein: 45 grams
Carbs: 57 grams
Fat: 14.5 grams

With a strenuous training program, supplements can be a useful tool to provide additional nutrients. I’ve outlined only what I feel are the essentials and what I’ve used and can vouch for. Don’t be fooled by advertisements and insane claims of “gaining 15 pounds of muscle in one month.” Here are some legitimate supplements.

Disclaimer: Supplements are only useful when your diet and training are intact. Focus on diet and training first, then use the following products to supplement additional nutrients.

1. SciVation Xtend

Ah, the wonderful, sweet taste of SciVation Xtend makes me recovery faster while satisfying my sweet tooth. This stuff is literally amazing. What makes this BCAA product so great?

• Proven science of Branch Chain Amino Acid (BCAAs) with respect to muscle recovery
• It includes Citrulline Malate which increases nitrix oxide production, reduces lactic acid buildup and increases aroebic performance
• L-Gluatmine which further enhances recovery
• Easy to mix with water and spoon
• It tastes freaking amazing!

I always take 2 scoops pre-workout and 1 scoop post-workout. I highly recommend the lemonade or watermelon flavor as well. Those two flavors blow me away and I haven’t gotten tired of them even though I used them everyday for around 65 days straight on different occasions.

1. Higher Power 100% Whey Protein

Higher Power Vanilla is a great blend of whey protein concentrate (the cheaper type) and whey protein isolate (the more expensive type). This makes for a nice balance of quality and price. Actually, it’s one of the best costing proteins I’ve found that contains whey protein isolate.

• A blend of whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate
• Nice balance of quality and price, $34.99 with a reliable brand
• 25 grams of protein per serving
• Comes in Vanilla, Chocolate and Berry (I can only vouch for the Vanilla flavor)

Keep in mind, however, I recommend you get the majority of your protein from whole food and supplement the rest with 1-3 scoops of whey protein everyday.

3. Controlled Labs Geen MAGnitude

Finally, a cheap, quality creatine product that actually lasts more than 30 days. Green MAGnitude is essentially a creatine product using 2 creatines plus a few extra goodies. It uses Magnesium Creatine Chelate and Dicreatine Malate which are 2 forms of patented creatine. Why do I recommend it?

• Solid creatine formula with little to no gain in water weight
• Very economical at 50 cents a day
• Easy to mix with water and spoon (no blender or shaker cup necessary)
• Juicy Green Apple flavor tastes like candy

The science behind these two creatines is harder to find than its popular cousin creatine monodrate (which tends to increase water weight more than this product). However, the anecdotal evidence is overwhelmingly positive from my personal usage and from the reviews of others I’ve read in the past.

Plus, you can expect to gain a minimal amount of water weight from it!

4. NOW EcoGreen Men’s Multivitamin

I couldn’t make an “essential supplement” article without including a multivitamin! It may be a given, but you shouldn’t forget to take your vitamins. NOW EcoGreen is a capsule based men’s iron-free multivitamin. Here’s a rundown of why I recommend it:

• NOW brand makes exceptional products for dirt cheap
• Iron-free multivitamin
• Includes all essential vitamins AND minerals
• Capsule based, giving better and faster absorption than press tablets

I have many exciting things to bring to this brand new blog in the upcoming weeks. With so many different aspects to talk about when it comes to bodybuilding, it’s difficult to decide!

What Articles To Expect This Month

MuscleCircuit.com official bodybuilding workout plan. This will include what exercises to do, how many reps and sets, how to switch it up, and what results to expect (which are definitely big).

Sample diets with pictures. I’ll show you what to eat, every single day. No matter what your goals are or what your metabolism is like, I have a diet plan made just for you.

Essential Supplements. There’s only a few supplements I like to recommend, but the ones I like are extremely helpful.

More motivational articles. These types of articles always seem to hit home with MuscleCircuit.com readers, so I’m posting more.

Beyond those basics, I have a few other extra ideas as well. But the problem is I need to know what you want to read.

I’d love to hear your comments and suggestions. Click here to make a comment now.