Greetings - Starting Keto and HST next week!

[rotlex]

Good day all,

My name is Steve. I'm a frequent reader, yet infrequent poster, on these boards. I just wanted to introduce myself in here, as I'm going to be starting a Keto plan, as well as the HST method of training this coming week.

A little background for those that have not read my posts in some of the other forums. But first, the basic current stats:

Age:38
Height: 5'11'
Weight: 185
BF%:10.5
Chest: 42"
Waist: 32" (at naval)
Bicep: 16-16.5"
Forearm: 13"
Calf: 16.5 or so

In short, I was big, as in fat a little over a year and a half ago. My wife and I began Atkins in Feb of 04' and I managed to drop from 300lbs to 175 over the course of that time. I began weight training back in January of this year, with decent results. That, mixed with cardio, allowed me to drop the final weight that I wanted too. I am VERY comfortable eating a LC diet, but moved to high carb\low fat just a few months ago in an effort to build a little bulk. (175 just not quite where I really wanted to be). Basically, I've been "stuck" at 185 for quite some time. Can't go up in size or strength all that well. I pretty much think I've been stuck in a training rut, and for me it seems that upping the carbs just really hasn't made the difference. I also miss a number of things I used to eat, and frankly, hate worrying about the fat intake. (Yes, I really did like Atkins)! Also, I've been doing the same split routine for far too long and have been doing a LOT of reading about HST. I believe, after much thought, that it is really something I wish to try. (heck, what have I got to lose).

So without further ado, I've outlined my basic plan below. If anyone has read a previous post I made on the Over 35 forum, well, I'm not going that route now, and I feel after thinking about it that it will just be more of the same.

As far as HST, I'm starting with the basics again, and working a 3 day weight train, 2 day cardio setup. The weight training is pretty much layed out like this:

The exercises are not written in stone, but these are the basics. A few will alternate and change, deads, squats, bench, incline bench etc., however, I plan to start with the 10 RM for 2-3 weeks, moving to 5 RM for 2-3 weeks, take a week of, rinse and repeat.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday:

Squat 2x10 alternating with Leg press every other workout
Bench 2x10 alternating with Dips every other workout
Chin 2x10 alternating with Rows every other workout
Shoulder press 2x10
Shrugs 2x10
Dumbell Curls 2x10 will vary these depending on the mood
Triceps ext.\pushdowns 2x10 again, alternating and changing on mood
Calf raise 2x10

Tuesday and Thursday will be Abs and light cardio (30 minutes tread, eliptical or stairs)

Now, my basic dietary plan. On average, I don't believe I have been eating enough calories. Over time, I have taken my calories from 2500 to 3000 with no noteable gains in weight, BF% or size. Strength has increased, but I"m looking for a little more bulk.

Basic day, or what I'm shooting for:

Pre-workout shake - Usually ON protein with Hood Skim Milk
Post workout shake - ON Aftermax - 40G protein, 40G carbs, creatine and L-Glutamine

Meal 1:
4 eggs, scrambled, 4 strips bacon or sausage

Meal 2:
6oz chicken breast, salad, 2 hard boiled eggs (misc. veggies with salad)

Meal 3:

Usually rough to eat due to work, I usually have a protein bar, pudding, etc.

Meal 4:
8-12oz steak, possible chicken, sausage etc., dinner salad, veggies
Dessert! My wife makes some incredible Low carb deserts! Pretty much anything from cheese cake to brownies, to well, just about anything. Carb count usually under 8 (More like 2-3 for most)

Meal 5:
Mid evening helping of a source of protein (varies)

Meal 6:
A protein related snack - sometime LC ice cream depending on the mood

Bedtime:

Casein protein shake

Ok, not perfect on being specific, but in general, the foods that I eat, INCLUDING the pre-and post workout shakes, grand total to around:

Calories: 3800
Fat:200G
Carbs:96
Protein:375

Drop the pre-and post shakes, and the calories drop by approx 500, the fat drops to around 190, and the carbs right around 40.

I'm sure things will change over the next few weeks, but I need to get a feel for eating this way again. I'm looking over the long run to put on 15-20 pounds, and hopefully keep my BF% around 12. It's hovered between 9.5 and 10.5 for a number of months.

Thanks for reading, and listening. This forum is filled with an abundance of great information, and I do hope to become a bit more of a participant in the future!

[fitnessman]

Awesome post man and welcome! I have used HST and at best found it to be so-so...Some people love it though. I being a strength guy overall found HST useless for this purpose, but very good for fat burning. Remember the reps are due to change every two weeks.

3800 is a lot of calories @ you weight.

[rotlex]

Thanks for the welcome Fitnessman!

Kind of like I said in the post regarding HST and the diet. I've never done HST, always been on either a 4 day split, or 1 part per day over 5 day routine. I just feel it's time for a change, and I'm going to give myself at least a 6-9 week period to try it out.

LOL, yeah, I know, 3800 calories might seem a bit high, and I'm sure I'll actually have a hard time hitting that. (Heck, sometimes I have a hard time hitting my usual 3000). But basically, this is going to be a learning experience for me, and I figure with winter setting in soon, I can afford to play a little. My body reacts very strangely at times to increased calories. Just when I think I've gone overboard, I wake up in the morning and find the scale has dropped. (Particularly with steak, jeez, it seems the more I eat of it the harder it is for me to "up" my weight).

Thanks again, and I'll be sure to do some progress posts as the next few weeks go by.