Before I start my first cycle, I wanted to make sure experienced people like you saw my routine and could confirm it's soundness or point out any potential flaws that would inhibt success.

Orginally, I had planned on doing this routine:



However, when I maxed out for 15, 10, and 5 reps it took me over 75 minutes to do finish.
Seeing as HST routines are done 3 times a week, I was very concered that this much volume (10 exercises) would be way too much.

I did some further research which indicated that most good HST routines have 7 or 8 exercises, not as many as my orginal workout.
I know from talking to other people that working out for over 40 minutes, most certainly an hour, is counterproductive.


I thought after all this, maybe it would be best if I cut 2 to 3 exercises out.
The only problem I had with this is that I wanted to hit EVERY muscle group to fullest extent I could.
I wanted to make sure all the muscles got ENOUGH attention and none were overlooked.
Therefore, could you please tell me what you think of this routine?




Could please let me know if this routine is good or not?

1) Is this enough exercises, or too many still?

2) Are my legs getting enough work?
Is it alright to drop SLDL (which I didn't have great form with) and have Squats as the sole real leg exercise (calves are a different muscle group)?

3) Same thing with my chest, is it getting enough work with just one exercies, DB Incline Bench?
Can I do that with no dips and not hurt my chest's growth?

Basically, I am doing enough work for each muscle or not?

I should add, I plan on doing 2 sets for 15s, 2 the first week of 10s and 5s, and 1 set the second weeks of 10 and 5 reps.

How does this sound?
Do I have your blessing?

Try a six day split possibly. That is what I plan on doing once I finish my SD this week. Muscles still get loaded three times a week and your work outs will be much shorter. Making it easier to include a few more exercise here and there. Here is my example:

Split:
M- Pull,Cardio
T- Push
W- Pull, Cardio
Th- Push
F- Pull, Cardio
S- Push
Su- Off

Routine:
"Pull"
Squat: 2 Sets
SLDL: 2 Sets
Donkey Calf Raises: 2 Sets
Wide Grip Pullup: 2 Sets
Bent Over Barbell Row: 2 Sets
DB Curl: 2 Sets
Cardio

"Push"
Incline DB Bench Press: 2 Sets
Dips: 1 Set
Seated DB Press: 2 Set
Seated DB Side Lateral: 1 Set
Barbell Shrug: 1 Set
Lying Tricep Extensions: 2 Sets
Reverse Crunches/Crunches/Twisting Crunches: 2 Sets
(Alternate exersice each workout)

Just go with what you feel is best for you and experiment! That's what this is about. Finding what works best for you.
~Stormrider

Add:
1. SLDLs (or a leg curl) for hamstrings
2. Decline (or flat) bench or forward-leaning dips
3. A pulldown of some sort (chins, pulldown machine, etc.)
4. Abs if you wish

Watch your rest time between sets. In 15s, it should be 60 sec or so. In 10s, 1-2 min, and in 5s 2-5 minutes (depending). There is no way that in 15s, 11 sets should take you 75 minutes.

Since this is your first HST cycle I would not recommend you doing any sort of 6-day push-pull split at this. You can try these later after you have done a "vanilla" cycle or two to see how you respond.

You're fine now. Get started.

The only problem I have with you idea Arbito is that I already di d1 workout.
I alrready maxed for all the exercises I was going to do.
So what should I do?
I did not mx for Lateral Pulldown or leg curl, should I guess a max for this cycle, stop the cycle, find those maxes, and then restart?
Or just do the cycle and max for each at the same time?

Unless you have a good idea what your 15rm, 10rm & 5rm are for those lifts, just go with what you've got and you can find maxes for them at the end of this cycle. You can add them for your 2nd cycle.

Nothing to lose sleep over.

You sure about that?
Will there be any difference in apperance after the 1st cycle with the routine I have now than if I did one with ham and pulldown work?

Can't really say for sure, but I don't think so. But if you're overly concerned, take your best guess at estimating your RMs and add the lifts. Don't stop your current cycle, though, just plug them into what you have.

You may wish to reduce sets before reducing exercises. When reducing sets, I would reduce them first from tricep ext, rows, curls, shrugs, and then calves in that approximate order. You may also benefit from reducing time between sets in order to get through things more quickly.

You do not seem to have either chins or lat pulldowns, so you may wish to consider adding something along those lines. I would drop the tricep extensions first as the triceps will get a great deal of work on the bench and military press. I would be hesitant to drop anything else.

jwhite, do you think the lack of any pull down exercise will be a major factor in a negative way for my first cycle or not?

Is there any reason to believe that with a good diet, that I will have no problem making good muscles on this first cycle?
Ideally, I'd like to gain close to inch across the board on all parts.

You will not gain 1" across the board in your first cycle!

It takes at least one cycle to learn how you will respond to HST, and how to work out any bugs in your routine. You are setting yourself up for failure. This isn't a race you know it's a lifestyle. Gains will come, but not that quickly.

With the proper nutirtion, you will make progress. I put on around 13lbs during my first cycle, but it was not all muscle. At the time, I really didn't care too much about the fat gain though.

Oh, and due to equipment constraints at home, I have been unable to do any pulldown/chins, and have still been able to build quite a bit of muscle on my back. Heavy deads and bent rows were enough.

Pretty much every workout methodology I have seen recommends a pull down / chin type exercise for lat development. I personally would not conceive of not having something from the pull down family in my routine. Based on your choice of HST I'm guessing that the biggest benefit to you is the overall increase in width of the lats that these exercises provide. Basically they make your back look wider and give you a V-shape. This is a good thing when at the beach or the pool or basically anytime you have an opportunity to remove your shirt.

An inch on all parts? Not likely but I can't say for certain. All I can say is that if you eat well, supplement well, and lift well you will gain muscle . HST is a very good way to lift, I use something similar and am happy with it.

Yes, that's exactly what I want!
Alright then, how can I incorperate a pull down movement into my routine?
I have already maxed out and done 2 workouts, so how can I add in a new exercise this late?

When I workout tomorrow, should I just max for 15 on pulldown and then do the rest of the workout based on it?

One more thing, I don't want to add a new exercise unless I can take out another one.
I don't want to have more than 10 exercises, as I fear that will be too much for my to recover and finish in under an hour.
What exercise listed can I take out, other than DB Shrugs (I like the trap work).

Overall, do you think my volume is too heavy or just right?
I have 10 exercises, and planned on doing 2 sets.

Sure, you can add it in. Don't get too caught up in all the little details, they really don't end up being all that important. If you can do 15 bodyweight pull ups then use weighted pull ups. If not, use lat pull downs until you can. Just do the 15 rep max and guesstimate from there. If you guess wrong, it's no big deal to alter the weights.

I would reduce the number of sets in the tricep extensions or rows and add in 1-2 sets of pull downs depending on how you feel. I have no idea whether that is too much or too little volume for you. Just try it and see how you feel. For some that is too much, for others too little. If it's too much for you then reduce sets, if it's too little add more exercises.

Thanks Jwhite, I'll max on lateral pulldown for 15 reps on my next workout and guestimate the load afterward.
Instead of doing both assisted dips and overhead tricep on the same day, I'll rotate those on and off that way I can add lateral pulldown without having over 10 exercises each.
Since assisted dips and overhead tricep exstention work the same area, I'm guessing it's a good idea to alternate those two.

I might also alternate low cable row and lateral pulldown, since those work the same general area.
Myabe I would be better having one day of horizontal pulling with low cable row, followed by a day of pulldwon with lateral pulldown.
This would allow me to get all the exercises in without doing to heavy a load each workout.

Does that sound reasonable?

I have never liked switching excercises within the same cycle. I usually wait until the next cycle to switch the non core lifts.

I also view dips as simply a superior exercise to tricep extensions, especially for beginners. Most beginners looking to start building mass probably don't need any direct tricep work if they are getting the core exercises.

Rows and pulldowns which different areas of the back so it is good to have a rowing excercise and a pulldown.

As you stated in your initial post, it appears to me that you are doing dips for chest development. Those are done w/ a forward leaning position, as opposed to a more upright position where triceps are targeted.
Removing them or replacing w/ a tricep movement (alternating) is a mistake in my opinion. For best growth, you should be doing core compound movements each workout. Do forward leaning dips for pecs, and add an isolation for triceps if you feel you need it.

I feel you will be compromising your results by doing what you are describing.

Actually Arbito, I have been doing assisted dips with the straight back form.
I knew that doing assisted dips this way would emphasize the triceps, which is why I thought it would be alright to alternate between assisted dips and overhead tricep exstention.

Knowing the way I've done this, do you still think such a move would be unwise?

I thought assisted dips would work the chest even with this form, just not primarily, which is why I referred to it as a chest exercise too.

Let me ask, do you consider assisted dips with this form to be a good workout for the chest?
If not, is DB Incline enough chest work?
I want to keep the sets under 10 if possible, but never at the expense of my chest.

Ideally, I'd like to rotate assisted dips/overhead tricep exstention and lateral pulldown/low cable row, if there isn't a problem with it.

I see no problem alternating your major chest & back exercises, as in

- chest: forward leaning dips or flat/decline bench alternating w/ incline bench/db press
- back: pulldowns alternating w/ rows (pick your grip width)

Make sure you get 1-2 sets in 15s, 2-3 sets in 10s and 3-5 sets in 5s to get enough volume w/ only 1 lift per bodypart.

It's not a show-stopper, but I don't see much benefit in alternating lifts for the small parts like arms.

Make sense?

Yeah makes sense. The reason I suggested alternating two arm exercises, assited dips and overhead tricep extenstion, was simply to cut down the exercise amount.

I didn't want it to exceed 10, which adding lateral pulldown did.
I'll just alternate low cable row and lateral pulldown since that doesn't appear to be a problem.

If I do only DB Incline every workout for chest, will that be enough to really work it, or is 1-2 sets of assited dips going to make a big change additonally?

As long as they are forward-leaning dips, and not upright (hitting mainly triceps), they should help.

I think rotating in a flat (or preferably decline IMO) movement would be of benefit. So, leaning dips or decline bench would be my preferred options.

Yeap..I think I'll rotate in leaning dips every other workout to go with DB Incline which will be done each workout, So every other workout I will have 2 chest exercises.

Just to be sure we have the same definition of chest dips, the assisted dips has either a closer or wide grip.
I used the close grip until I decided to do chest dips, and now I use the wider grip which has me leaning foward some.

Other than that, alternating lateral pulldown and low cable row is alright?

Yes, lat pulldown and cable rows is a good pairing. Just pick two row movements--one vertical, and one horizontal, and you can volly them.