PowderMonkey & the endless Blueprint cycles

[RobRegish]

Feast workout 2 down.

I can feel myself improving. Very strange sensation, but when I was walking down the street yesterday, I actually felt the difference from 2 weeks ago. Not doing anything strenuous, just walking. But I felt stronger, more powerful, and ready to hit the gym. I went last night.

I've noticed it in the mirror too. Nothing concrete to report, but my body fat is definitely down, and my core and back are slightly more muscular, especially lower back. My shirts fit slightly better too, which is a nice feeling.

One thing I thought last night during the workout, is there a particular reason that there is only 1 work set? Would it be harmful to do 2 work sets?

A. Yes. I specify one set for a reason: MAXIMUM physical and mental intensity. You can satisfy your multiple set needs via your EDT blocks afterwars..

Also, is adding isolation exercises for calves and biceps a bad idea? Calf raises are my absolute favourite, and I haven't done them in over a month =(

A. No, PROVIDED you can recover from it..

Specifically for Rob: reading ahead in the blueprint, I notice that there isn't a specific workout mentioned after feast workout 5. There is a particular full body routine that I was doing before I started the blueprint, and wanted to ask you if this would be a good fit for the remaining time on feast? I can post details here or message them to you for clarification

A. Reading ahead isn't allowed But yes, there are very specific guidelines for your ensuing workouts. Please see "suggest Feast phase training template" in the stickie in my sig.

Hope that helps..

[PowderMonkey]

so, rob, i just want to be clear about this

the 2 workouts that i'll be doing for the glp phase of feast are

1:
bench
--
decline bench
cable rows
--
decline bench static holds

2:
squat
--
rdl
sleds (i don't have access to a sled, is there something else i can do here?)
--
ab static holds


so that's it?
is there any room for or point in doing assistance work such as barbell rows, overhead presses, biceps, triceps or calf work? or are these things all worked by doing the above workouts?
just wondering because i'm still fairly new to all this.

once i've finished the first blueprint run, i was going to leap straight into the second run, with ebol and a multivite on top of the current pre-workout that i'm taking.

i'm going to stick to the plan exactly as written the first few times through, but was wondering if there is any room for other workout plans or exercises in the blueprint, once i'm a bit more familiar with how it works? i get the whole point of the stretched exercises, eg rdls and pullovers, but was pretty much just thinking could the same technique be applied to other exercises for targeting other muscle groups?

oh, and although i've been hugely busy at work the last week or so, i've not missed a gym session (i never do), and set some new 1rm's in feast workout 5

bench is now 135lb (1 plate woo!) up from 110lb when i started working out in november
squat is 185 up from 145lb

i'm pretty excited, because i know that these will increase even more over the next 2-3 weeks with the rest of feast

can't wait.

[bigpelo]

You get the workouts right. You may try another EDT block during workout #1 with:

Seated shoulder press
upright rows

But because you are new to the iron game, you may want to start with only 1 EDT block, see how you recover and then re-evaluate.

You can also substitute the leg sled (also known as leg press) for hack squat or anything working mainly your quads.

You won't need isolation exercises like barbell curl, calf raise and the like. All those big compound lifts will drain you and nothing works your biceps like rows. Thrust me, all your muscles will be solicit.

The blueprint is flexible but Rob will be best to tell what to do/not to do.

Hope that helps in the absence of the master...

[PowderMonkey]

Thanks pelo. I've been out of internet coverage for the weekend, but your post was extremely helpful =)

I did have time to read it before I went to the gym in Friday morning, but went straight from the gym to the airport, and haven't had a chance to post again until now.

1st workout of glp felt almost too easy. The last set of bench did not feel overly challenging. Don't know whether this is an intentional part of the glp or not, but I'm going to be working out m/w/f until this becomes too demanding. Squats on Monday, I'll check in again with the results =)

[PowderMonkey]

so, i haven't posted in a little while, because "squats on monday" aggravated my back severely.

it was a muscle issue, not a bone issue, but i had trouble walking on tuesday, and i actually went home from work early on wednesday because i couldn't concentrate and my body was screaming at me to get some sleep.

i've taken the last couple of weeks off, and just got back into it this wednesday just gone.

the issue that started the whole mess is that my form is not great. so i'm going to run starting strength for 3 months. this will get my strength up, and teach me the correct form on all the lifts. it will also increase my flexibility.

in turn, this will minimise the chances of such an injury occurring again in the future.

after 3 months of SS, i'll be right back into the blueprint.

rob, i would be interested in speaking with you about how best to use something like ebol to maximise my gains in SS over the next few months.

i understand you are recovering, and your recovery needs to take first priority. if you can find time, i would love to talk. if not, it's no big deal. starting strength will still work its magic over the next few months.

i also highly recommend that they guys who stepped up to the plate while you were out of action be promoted to moderators =)