Pure Water's HCT-12 Journal

[Pure Water]

I decided to make a journal for the first time because, well, this is my first program that I'm following! Might as well start both at the same time right? Plus, I have you guys (hopefully ) helping me through. So here's everything:


Stats

Name: Pure Water
Age: 19
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 178 lbs (last weigh-in on Friday, May 7, 2010)
Body fat %: I'm guessing somewhere in between 10-20%

1RM

Squat (6RM from this Monday's workout): 165 lbs
Bench Press: 155 lbs
Deadlift: 275 lbs

Date started program: Monday, May 10, 2010


Diet and Nutrition

My goal is to reach 185 pounds. I chose the route of calculating everything by this target body weight. Here are my daily nutritional intake needs:

Here are my 5 meals that I eat in 1 day:

Meal 1: 2 slices of peanut butter (2.5 TBSP) and jam toast (2 TBSP) on whole wheat bread, 1 cup of 2% milk

Meal 2: 9oz ground beef, 1/2 cup of long grain brown rice, 1 cup of 2% milk

Meal 3: Usually a good mix of everything... I'd say it's always around 400-600 calories

Meal 4: 1/3 cup of almonds, 1 cup of 2% milk, 1 banana, 1 cup of orange juice

Meal 5 (post-workout): Protein powder (150 calories, 0.3g fat, 2g carbs, 34g protein) mixed with 1 cup of 2% milk, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, peanut butter oatmeal bar (170 calories, 7g fat, 23g carbs, 4g protein), 1 cup of 2% milk

After calculating all this on www.fitday.com, it comes out to roughly:

Calories:3300 - 3500
Fat: 130g - 140g
Carbohydrates: 250g - 270g
Protein: 200g - 210g


Training

Program number: Two, A-B-A-B
Workout days: Monday (A), Tuesday (B), Thursday (A), Friday (B)

How I will show my weight, sets, and reps are like this:

Set 1 (set number): 50 (weight in pounds) x 6 (number of reps completed)

[Off Road]

Welcome aboard. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Pure Water]

Monday, May 10, 2010

Workout A

Lat Pulldowns

Set 1: 60 x 6
Set 2: 70 x 6
Set 3: 90 x 6
Set 4: 100 x 6
Set 5: 120 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Barbell Rows

Set 1: 95 x 6
Set 2: 105 x 6
Set 3: 115 x 6
Set 4: 135 x 6
Set 5: 155 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Could have done a tad more weight here.

Bench Press

Set 1: 95 x 6
Set 2: 105 x 6
Set 3: 115 x 6
Set 4: 125 x 6
Set 5: 135 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Overhead Press

Set 1: 65 x 6
Set 2: 75 x 6
Set 3: 85 x 6
Set 4: 90 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Close-grip Bench Press

Set 1: 65 x 6
Set 2: 85 x 6
Set 3: 95 x 6
Set 4: 105 x 6 (I think...)
Set 5: 115 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Could have done more weight here too.


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Workout B

Squats

Set 1: 115 x 6
Set 2: 135 x 6
Set 3: 155 x 6
Set 4: 165 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Overestimated my strength in squatting a bit because of the controlling of the weight down, exploding up bit.

Romanian Deadlifts

Set 1: 115 x 6
Set 2: 135 x 6
Set 3: 155 x 6
Set 4: 175 x 6
Set 5: 185 x 6
Set 6: 195 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Could probably have done more but my grip was slipping a lot on the 195 x 6. Might be changing to mixed grip next session. Thoughts on this?

Seated Calve Raises

Set 1: 45 x 6
Set 2: 70 x 6
Set 3: 90 x 6
Set 4: 115 x 6
Set 5: 130 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Weights are the plates only.

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Set 1: 20 x 6
Set 2: 30 x 6
Set 3: 40 x 4
Set 4: 35 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Weights are 1 dumbbell. Overshot what I thought I could handle on these. I'll know for next time.

Ab Cable Crunch Machine

Can't remember the weights or sets but I got up to 90 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

[Off Road]

Very nice first couple of sessions. I'm a sissy and use straps on my deadlifts

[Pure Water]

Welcome aboard. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress.

Thank-you. And so am I, looking forward to your progress (especially your squats ).

You're not a sissy for using straps! Lots of people use 'em .

[ELmx479]

I wouldn't worry about the fat too much unless it's saturated fat. I would however bump up the protein. Tuna is a cheap way to add some protein to your diet. I weigh 200lbs and like to get 300 grams of protein a day. Good luck with everything.

[Pure Water]

I wouldn't worry about the fat too much unless it's saturated fat. I would however bump up the protein. Tuna is a cheap way to add some protein to your diet. I weigh 200lbs and like to get 300 grams of protein a day. Good luck with everything.

I'll take a look into tuna. Thanks for the suggestion.


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Workout A

Lat Pulldowns

Set 1: 60 x 6
Set 2: 70 x 6
Set 3: 90 x 6
Set 4: 100 x 6
Set 5: 120 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Barbell Rows

Set 1: 95 x 6
Set 2: 115 x 6
Set 3: 135 x 6
Set 4: 155 x 6
Set 5: 175 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Still feel like I can do a bit more weight. Very surprised by this because a few months ago I remember not being able to barbell row near this much.

Barbell Bench Press

Set 1: 95 x 6
Set 2: 105 x 6
Set 3: 115 x 6
Set 4: 125 x 6
Set 5: 135 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Barbell Overhead Press

Set 1: 65 x 6
Set 2: 85 x 6
Set 3: 90 x 4, 85 x + 2 + 2 + 2

I was really rushing the resting times in between which I think had an effect on my 6RM. Also still trying to get used to the auto-regulation part of the program. I'm one of those guys that never likes to go down in weight but I guess I'm just going to have to get used to it .

Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

Set 1: 65 x 6
Set 2: 85 x 6
Set 3: 105 x 6
Set 4: 120 x 6
Set 5: 125 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

[Off Road]

Nice job. Did you forget to post your clusters on the rows?

[Pure Water]

Nice job. Did you forget to post your clusters on the rows?

Yes, thanks for pointing that out.

[AKMass]

Good work in here. Upping the weight fast on those rows!

[Pure Water]

Good work in here. Upping the weight fast on those rows!

Yes, I am very surprised with how fast they're going up. But the first day I did them, they were too light, so that's probably why it looks like they're going up fast. Thanks.

I'll be posting workout B today in a few hours from now.

[Pure Water]

Friday, May 14, 2010

Workout B

Barbell Back Squats

Set 1: 95 x 6
Set 2: 115 x 6
Set 3: 135 x 6
Set 4: 155 x 6
Set 5: 165 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Romanian Deadlifts

Set 1: 115 x 6
Set 2: 135 x 6
Set 3: 155 x 6
Set 4: 185 x 6
Set 5: 205 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

I switched to a mixed grip this time and therefore, was able to hold onto the bar, letting me use more weight.

Seated Calve Raises

Set 1: 45 x 6
Set 2: 90 x 6
Set 3: 135 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Set 1: 20 x 6
Set 2: 30 x 6
Set 3: 35 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Ab Cable Crunch Machine

Set 1: 50 x 6
Set 2: 70 x 6
Set 3: 90 x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2


Current body weight as of today: 175 lbs, 3 lbs less than last week, see below
Target body weight: 185 lbs

I really think that those 3 pounds that I went down this week was just fat. I think I might have been overeating a little bit and didn't exactly know how much of what I should have been eating before I started this program, so I'm not too worried about it right now. I've also noticed that my belly hasn't been sticking out as much as before too, which is a good thing .


Next workout is on Monday for me. See ya then.

[Off Road]

Good workout and nice job getting the deadlifts with the different grip.

[Pure Water]

Monday, May 17, 2010

Workout A

Barbell Rows

Set 1: 135 lbs x 6
Set 2: 155 lbs x 6
Set 3: 175 lbs x 6
Set 4: 185 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Assisted Pull-ups

Set 1: BW - 70 lbs x 6
Set 2: BW - 40 lbs x 6
Set 3: BW - 20 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Someone was using the Lat Pulldown station so I decided to do assisted pull-ups today.

Barbell Bench Press

Set 1: 95 lbs x 6
Set 2: 105 lbs x 6
Set 3: 115 lbs x 6
Set 4: 135 lbs x 6
Set 5: 140 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

I was thinking that 135 lbs was going to be my 6RM of the day, but the reps went up a little easier today so I threw on another 5 lbs. WOOT!

Standing Barbell Overhead Press

Set 1: 65 lbs x 6
Set 2: 85 lbs x 6
Set 3: 90 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Barbell Close-Grip Bench Press

Set 1: 95 lbs x 6
Set 2: 115 lbs x 6
Set 3: 125 lbs x 6
Set 4: 135 lbs x 6 (got help with 6th rep) + 2 + 2 + 2


My workout today felt really good, I seemed to hit everything with just enough weight for 6 reps. One question though:

If you didn't already notice, I'm using just about as much weight on my barbell close-grip bench press (135 lbs) as I'm using for my regular Barbell Bench Press (140 lbs). Should those two be as close as they are?

[Pure Water]

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Workout B

Barbell Back Squats

Set 1: 95 lbs x 6
Set 2: 115 lbs x 6
Set 3: 135 lbs x 6
Set 4: 155 lbs x 6
Set 5: 165 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Was really hoping to do 170 pounds for my big set but the 155 pounds was feeling kind of heavy. Hopefully on Thursday!

Romanian Deadlifts

Set 1: 135 lbs x 6
Set 2: 155 lbs x 6
Set 3: 185 lbs x 6
Set 4: 205 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Seated Calf Raises

Set 1: 45 lbs x 6
Set 2: 90 lbs x 6
Set 3: 120 lbs x 6
Set 4: 110 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

I noticed today that I haven't been raising my calves high enough on this exercise so I put the weight down a bit for the big set.

Dumbbell Bicep Curls

Set 1: 20 lbs x 6
Set 2: 30 lbs x 6
Set 3: 35 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Ab Cable Crunch Machine

Set 1: 50 lbs x 6
Set 2: 70 lbs x 6
Set 3: 90 lbs x 6
Set 4: 100 lbs x 6 + 2 + 2 + 2

Did an extra 10 more pounds than the last workout!


This workout was alright... I've been kind of tired because of work and not enough sleep. I'm really hoping that I can increase my squats soon though! I really want to be able to squat as least 200 pounds for 6 reps! That's one of my goals!

[ELmx479]

Solid work man, your doing a good job. Maybe try to cut back the volume on the ramping sets to bump your final set up on the squats.

[Daniel Roberts]

If you didn't already notice, I'm using just about as much weight on my barbell close-grip bench press (135 lbs) as I'm using for my regular Barbell Bench Press (140 lbs). Should those two be as close as they are?

Difficult to say but I imagine your normal bench isn't particularly wide and your close grip particularly narrow, not that I'm advocating either, just an assumption AND you're still very much beginning your lifting career so these differences between hand spacing aren't going to be so apparent in your numbers.

Well done and good luck!

[Pure Water]

Difficult to say but I imagine your normal bench isn't particularly wide and your close grip particularly narrow, not that I'm advocating either, just an assumption AND you're still very much beginning your lifting career so these differences between hand spacing aren't going to be so apparent in your numbers.

Well done and good luck!

I guess the only way I can say about how far my hand spacing is, is by telling you where I put my hands on the bar. For my regular bench press, I've been using not my pinky, but the ring finger to wrap around the Olympic rings and for my close-grip bench press, I've been putting my index fingers at the end of the insides of the grippy part of the barbell. Not the grip in the middle, but the ones that connect to the Olympic rings.

But like you said, maybe I'm just beginning so the different spacings doesn't have a big effect on the weight that I can use.

Thanks for replying.


ELmx479:

Yes, I have been thinking about doing this. I'll give this a try when I go at em again on Friday. Thanks.

[Kiff]

Nice work mate

Are you going to continue your Romanian Deads all the way to the deload week?

Not that it is a bad thing just curious

[Pure Water]

Nice work mate

Are you going to continue your Romanian Deads all the way to the deload week?

Not that it is a bad thing just curious

I know what you mean .

My plan is to continue doing the Romanian deadlifts through the entire first cycle, including the deload week. On my second cycle, I was going to do leg presses instead of squats and deadlifts instead of Romanian deadlifts. I'll switch back and forth between these two each cycle.

I'm going to try this way first and see what happens and if I like it. If it's not working out, then my next plan is to switch back and forth each workout. I'm thinking that this is probably the better option because I'm not leaving out either squats or deadlifts for five weeks.

Anyway, I've already started it the way I'm doing it now, so I'll at least try my first plan for this cycle and the next one. If you have any advice or anything about this, please let me know!

[Kiff]

I know what you mean .

My plan is to continue doing the Romanian deadlifts through the entire first cycle,

If you have any advice or anything about this, please let me know!

Well mate im on HCT-12 at the moment as well, i have both Deads and Squats in, as i am just starting off lifting again i have found it O.K however today i hit 85KG deads and 70KG squats in one session and it has taken its toll on me.

I will try and get to the end of the 5 weeks otherwise i will do as you said and swap between them each workout!

That is just my experience of it so far but as you said your plan is to stick with it then do that mate!

HCT as far as i can tell is all about how it feels for you at the time, if your making gains and it doesnt put your health at risk lift it

Best of luck buddy.

[Pure Water]

Well mate im on HCT-12 at the moment as well, i have both Deads and Squats in, as i am just starting off lifting again i have found it O.K however today i hit 85KG deads and 70KG squats in one session and it has taken its toll on me.

I will try and get to the end of the 5 weeks otherwise i will do as you said and swap between them each workout!

That is just my experience of it so far but as you said your plan is to stick with it then do that mate!

HCT as far as i can tell is all about how it feels for you at the time, if your making gains and it doesnt put your health at risk lift it

Best of luck buddy.

Awesome man! Good luck to you too!

[Off Road]

Nice job listening to your body and figuring out the squat weight. The extra lbs will be there for next time.

[AKMass]

Workouts are looking very solid so far Pure. Very nice work!

[Pure Water]

Nice job listening to your body and figuring out the squat weight. The extra lbs will be there for next time.

Thanks! Ya, I hope it will although I've been pretty tired this week from working and not getting enough sleep. But of course that's no excuse to not go for it if I can .

Workouts are looking very solid so far Pure. Very nice work!

Thanks AK, yours too!