HST question

[shogun4877]

I just finished 12 weeks of 5x5 and I'm really ready to change things up. I'd like to give HST a shot, so I thought I'd ask how my routine looks because I know several people on here have a lot of experience with it. I plan on doing the following:

Squats
Calf Raises
BB Bench Press
BB Bent Rows
Dips
Chins
BB Military Press
Lateral Raises
DB Shrugs
Skull-Crushers
BB Curls
Crunches

My questions are:
1) Is 12 a good number of exercises to do each workout? Should I do more or less? I read on the HST site that some people only do 4-6 exercises (e.g. squat, bench, chin, OHP), 2 sets per exercise. This doesn’t seem like very much though. Ideas?
2) How many sets should I do per exercise? I know this is covered on the website but I’m still a bit confused. One article read that I should get through the 15s and the first week of 10s with 2 sets per exercise, then do the rest of the cycle with 1 set per exercise. However, I was planning on doing 2 sets per movement for the bigger muscles (legs, chest back) and 1 set for the smaller ones (shoulders, arms, calves). What’s best?

OK, so thanks very much in advance for any advice you guys have. Much appreciated.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

I'd say you should do two sets for compound movements and one for isolation. You don't need 12 exercises. Focus on the large compound movements and a few select isolation.

What you selected seems pretty sound, though you may want to throw in SLDLs after squats. I, personally, would take out shrugs, skulls and barbell curls, simply because your biceps and triceps will get hit heavy from rows, chins, presses, benching, and dips. If anything, keep the curls since the biceps won't be getting hit quite as much as the tris.

I wouldn't preform crunches with weight HST style. That will lead to rapid growth in the abs, causing a "platform" look. You'll basically get bulky abs. Unless you don't care for aesthetics, I'd stay away from 3x/week frequency progressive loading with crunches.

 

[shogun4877]

Thanks a lot man. So I took out several isolation movements and came up with this:

Squats x 2 sets
SLDL x 2
Bench x 2
BB Bent Rows x 2
Dips x 2
Chins x 2
BB Military Press x 2
Lateral Raises x 1
BB Curls x 1

I’m keeping the curls because of what you said about tri’s getting hit so much during a workout and also because my biceps are my weakest muscle group. I’ll work my abs separately on off days.

So is my exercise selection still good? Too much chest/back? I just realized a big problem, actually. Maybe someone can help me. For dips and chins, my 15 RM is just going to be my bodyweight. How is this going to affect this HST cycle?

Any other suggestions? Thanks again.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

*Tear* I couldn'tve done it better. Haha, but seriously, it looks great. About the dips and chins, if you workout at a gym use those assistance machines. If not, what I did was just start with 2 reps for pullups/chinups and added two every workout of the 15's, so I ended up with 12 by the last workout. When I started the 10's, it was easy enough to do while adding weight.

It's hard to say. Be creative. If you workout at a gym, you're set. If you're at home, don't stress too much.