BP Run Take One...

[RobRegish]

Good deal. Glad to hear it.

I've read (and largely agree) that the body starts to show acclimation to various loading patterns in about 6 workouts in highly trained lifters.

I do think it takes a bit longer given a % of 1RM spread like this program uses... 50% set one all the way up to 105% in the last set of the final workout.

[dracotdrgn]

Workout #5
Weighed in at 227
I had doubts today with the drastic % increase and the weight. No doubts no more. I hit every rep every set. Five sets today up to 94% and wanted more. Even my last set of two reps, slow steady and strong, good depth, good form. Did four sets of ten calf raises, and curls to finish.
Took 4 KA-4 coconut oil-1 salmon oil-1 vitamin-3 Adaptogen
pre, intra, and post mixed in oj, pine-juice, and water. No Gatorade powder yet sorry.
I'll take two days off and do the final Thursday. Unless you think I should wait until Friday. What's next?
Did I mention today felt great?!?!
By the way the bemishes are all skin deep. My derm dr was very insistant that it had nothing to do with my liver or salmon/coconut oil. It's all good!!

[RobRegish]

Excellent, excellent.

The make or break moment will be in your frequency now. I'm going to make a judgement call and go with 3 days off. That answer was found in your past:

"I will probably go ahead and take three days off after this one and hit it again Monday".

And what happened? You nailed it and wanted more. Given that I'd say 3 days off is the right answer.

Body is super-compensating now and it makes logical sense to let it do its thing. Plus, you're squatting with the same loading pattern and that just ups the adaptive stress more.

Give it 3 days. Rest/food are paramount. One other tip I'd give (and this has made a HUGE difference for me)... close your eyes and mentally rehearse you final workout 3x/day for these 3 days. Visualize your new max.

Where the mind goes, the body will follow.

[dracotdrgn]

Visualize, yes I can, and I will!
1. We lowered the weight from the 1RM for the loading pattern. Should we raise that up a bit for the final session? 105% doesn't place that weight too far above where we started. Is it that important, what is the main goal here? Do you believe in me? I could leave sets 1-5 where they are and add 3-8 lbs to my bench and maybe 5lbs to my squat depending on how the 5th set feels.
2. With lowered frquency, upping carbs, and not doing abs my abs aren't happy. I'm curious, what's the plan for next week. More feast with loaded stretching/maintenance.?

[RobRegish]

Visualize, yes I can, and I will!
1. We lowered the weight from the 1RM for the loading pattern. Should we raise that up a bit for the final session? 105% doesn't place that weight too far above where we started. Is it that important, what is the main goal here? Do you believe in me? I could leave sets 1-5 where they are and add 3-8 lbs to my bench and maybe 5lbs to my squat depending on how the 5th set feels.
2. With lowered frquency, upping carbs, and not doing abs my abs aren't happy. I'm curious, what's the plan for next week. More feast with loaded stretching/maintenance.?

ANSWERS:

1.) No, stick with the weight for the final workout. The exception is the last set.... do the 105%, which I suspect you'll get easily. Then, keep going! Add 5lbs until you can't do any more. And I find it helpful to think "I'm going to get 3 reps, not 1" or at least visualize such. Again, where the mind goes the body will follow.

The main goal is strength. With strength comes hypertrophy. Although you won't gain as much LBM this Feast Phase with say, another protocol that involves loaded stretching, you're a prime candidate for more LBM coming on in the maintenance phase. Over and over again, I've heard it from Blueprint trial participant.. "I kept gaining weight in the maintenance phase, and I'm not even trying!" Believe John had this experience too. Curious if Brain did?

Do I believe in you, DAMN STRAIGHT I DO!

Here's why: You have all the tools, including the one that can't be taught...heart.

I have a plan for you for next week, but looking forward at this point can only hurt. Trust me, I have it for you. Been working on it for over 2 weeks. We need all of your mental and physical energy focused on MAX day right now.

Saddle up, we're about to see how far The Blueprint can take you.

[dracotdrgn]

Here it is
Work out six was all I expected. Prep, focus, excecution. I guess my bench is what it is but there is no shame. Weighed in at 229. Sets 1-5 no problems, slow, good form, and strong. Rest periods were 5,6,8,9,&11.
Last set bench- there was a slight hesitation then something inside switched on and I pushed the 360lbs up.
Last set squat- lowered weight slow, maybe too slow, barely missed depth maybe 1/2" 435lbs.
I wasn't satisfied Fifteen minute break
Bench attempt 365-nope needed help for a slow forced rep
Squat- wanted full depth with 435 and got it, barely but got my right wrist to touch the safety bar that is set slightly below waist height.
Feelin pretty good at this point so did six sets of calf raises, curls, and forearms.
I'm spent, taking post w/o sups and eating.

[RobRegish]

Awesome work. I knew you'd pull that rabbit out of your hat!

So you have a new 1RM bench and SQ. Congrats. And if I'm not mistaken, a new high in bodyweight?

Ya' done good Draco. Very proud of you for hanging in there with us. More importantly, you learned about what works and what doesn't for YOU. This has the following implications going forward:

1.) Stronger Feast phase "starts"
2.) Quicker traction
3.) Better setup from phase to phase
4.) More strength
5.) More muscle

I see big things ahead. You set a new bodyweight high in this phase, and that was on a strength oriented program, not a size one! You also have new 1RM's and a great understanding about what to do when you hit a wall, working through that adversity and emerging a bigger stronger man.

A lot like life when you think about it.

I'll have complete next steps for you tomorrow AM!

[RobRegish]

OK Draco, here we go. Recommendations for the rest of Feast..

By your logs, looks like you started 10/13. Having just topped out with new 1RM's on the BP/SQ, you've got about 20 days left (max) where "the window" is still open. Here's what I'd like you to do:

Switch to 1 set to absolute failure, following each compound lift with a stretch position movement. I'd like you to get familiar with these (loaded stretches) and how you respond to them. As you know, they're in The Blueprint for a reason: maximum growth. You're primed to take advantage of this now, given your absolute strength has been peaked...

Stick to a 1 on 2 off format. That should be enough for 6 or so workouts where you can eek out some additional gains. The one set to failure will take advantage of the tapering effect you just created:

Workout 1

- Bench press 80% or 285 for as many as you can get..
- Immediately perform a set of heavy dumbell pullovers (enough weight to accomplish at least 8 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

NOTE: These should be performed on a SLIGHT incline bench. If using a flat bench (adjustable), incline it one notch. If all you have is a flat bench, simple slide a 45lb plate under one end.

- Squats 80% or 350 for as many reps as you can get...
- Followed immediately by a set of stiff legged deadlifts (enough weight such that you get at least 8 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

That's your whole workout, so put 100% into your work sets!

Workout #2

- Bench press 85% or 305 for as many as you can get..
- Immediately perform a set of heavy dumbell pullovers (enough weight to accomplish at least 6 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

- Squats 85% or 370 for as many reps as you can get...
- Followed immediately by a set of stiff legged deadlifts (enough weight such that you get at least 6 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

Workout #3

- Bench press 90% or 325 for as many as you can get..
- Immediately perform a set of heavy dumbell pullovers (enough weight to accomplish at least 4 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

- Squats 90% or 390 for as many reps as you can get...
- Followed immediately by a set of stiff legged deadlifts (enough weight such that you get at least 4 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

Workout #4

- Bench press 95% or 340 for as many as you can get..
- Immediately perform a set of heavy dumbell pullovers (enough weight to accomplish at least 2-3 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

- Squats 95% or 410 for as many reps as you can get...
- Followed immediately by a set of stiff legged deadlifts (enough weight such that you get at least 2-3 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

Workout #5 - deload!

- Bench press 85% or 305 for as many as you can get..
- Immediately perform a set of heavy dumbell pullovers (enough weight to accomplish at least 6 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

- Squats 85% or 370 for as many reps as you can get...
- Followed immediately by a set of stiff legged deadlifts (enough weight such that you get at least 6 good reps). Focus on maximally stretching the muscle at the bottom of the movement.

Workout #6

Shoot for a new 1RM on BP!
Finish with a good, clean set of pullovers for a 5 rep max

Shoot for a new 1RM on SQ!
Finish with a good, clean set of stiff legged deads for a 5 rep max

Diet and supps should be the same as you're following now for the remainder of Feast. You may want to load up heavier on BCAA's and/or MASS Pro for these workouts. The soreness initially experienced by the stretch position movements is going to be...... profound.

I suspect you're really going to like loaded stretches... I'd love your feedback on how these movements feel, in particular.

[dracotdrgn]

Ok couple of questions. Do I still warm up with a 50%, or just some stretching before going heavy.
Wait a second, did you say one set??? Oh man!!
OK. I'll do~no questions.
It pains me to admit this but I've never done a pullover or a stiff legged dead lift. I've done some pullovers on a pulldown cable and romainian dead lifts but thats it. Any good form pointers?

[RobRegish]

Yes, one set to absolute muscular failure. This is after "working up" to your target weight to be used on that set.

If you've never done this type of training before, I suspect you'll enjoy it. It takes a few sessions to work yourself into it (mentally), but brief and hard abbreviated training is a gold mine for those that have been coming from higher volume, mult-set routines.

Dimel deadlifts are a perfectly fine substitute for SLDL. In fact, I prefer them. On the pullovers, you have 2 choices... laying on a conventional bench with the slight incline or more preferably, do them laying ACROSS a flat bench with the hips lower than the bench. Strive for just a slight bend in the arms and a full stretch at the bottom.

And wow, if you haven't taken advantage of pullovers/SLDL's yet, you're going to like them! Here's the classic article from Ironman which ran in 1970. Although it references Nautilus equipment, it hold true for ALL pullover. Written by the foremost practioner of H.I.T. in the U.S., the inimitable Arthur Jones:

The Upper Body Squat
Nautilus Pullovers
by Arthur Jones
From IronMan July 1970, Volume 29 Number 5

In general it has long been believed by most bodybuilders that the legs respond fastest to training. After a year of regular workouts, most trainees would display a far greater degree of muscular development in their legs than. In their other body parts, assuming that a wellrounded weight training program was being followed; so there was at least some evidence to support the theory that the legs were the easiest body part to develop.

But regardless of such evidence, the theory itself is totally groundless, and the real experts in the field of weight training have known this for at least thirty years; however, simple awareness of a problem, while an essential prerequisite to its solution, is not enough in itself, nor is even a clear understanding of the problem of much assistance when the problem itself appears to demand the application of impossible principles for its solution.

Similar situations have existed throughout history, in any field you can think of; a problem existed, people were aware of it, some people even knew what was required for its solution, but the state of the art had not yet reached a point where the needed principles were available. Then suddenly, sometimes after thousands of years of effort to reach a solution -- "breakthrough"; a simple solution to a seemingly insolvable problem would be discovered, and in almost all such cases, the solution would be based upon a previously unknown principle.

And in many such cases, when the answer was provided, it was immediately obvious that the answer came from the problem itself; "that the answer existed within the problem." For that very reason, we frequently are forced to ask ourselves, "Why didn't I think of that?"

For example, the full squat. For at least twenty years the editor of this magazine, Mr. Peary Rader, has been pointing out that no other single exercise, or combination of other exercises, could produce anything even approaching the results possible from the proper application of this one exercise. He, among others, also noted that such results were not limited to the legs; that overall strength gains in both size and strength would result from full squats – in the chest, in the back, and even in the arms.

But after all, since the squat is a direct leg exercise, it should not have been surprising that the greatest degree of results would be in the legs; nor should it have been surprising that the upper body did not respond to any sort of training as fast as the legs did to squats, because there was no direct upper body exercise that could even begin to approach squats insofar as "intensity of effort" is concerned. Additionally, there was no upper body exercise that directly worked the largest muscle masses in the upper body and this "direct working of the largest muscular masses in the area being worked" was the primary factor behind the success of squats.

That much, at least, was clearly understood years ago; but no obvious solution presented itself, because the largest muscular mass in the upper body, the latissimus muscles, could not be worked directly. In order to work the lats, it was also necessary to work the arms, and the arms were the weak link in the chain, being smaller and weaker than the lats, they became exhausted long before the lats had been worked hard enough for much in the way of growth stimulation.

The potential size of the lats is literally enormous, far beyond anything that has been seen up to now; but such potential will never be realized until it becomes possible to work the lats directly, and very hard. Second: such direct work for the lats will also cause as a "side effect" great increases in both size and strength throughout the entire body, even in the legs.

Guesswork? Theory? Wishful thinking? No, none of these, because an exactly similar effect has already been observed in connection with every other muscular mass in the body: growth in any muscle mass causes growth in all of the muscle masses in the body, even if they receive no direct exercise of any kind. This effect is most obvious as a result of squats, simply because the thighs, being so large, exert a proportionately large growth stimulation upon the other muscles.

And while their function is completely different from that of the thighs, the lats occupy a similar position in the upper body simply because of their size.

But even though this is true, since it is impossible to work the lats directly, and thus impossible to work them hard enough for maximum possible results, of what value is this information? Or at least that was the position as recently as two years ago; but then "breakthrough", a new principle was discovered.

A new principle that will literally revolutionize almost all sorts of physical training within the next three or four years: lats clear out past your elbows when you are standing with your hands on your hips -- arms that are actually as big as some bodybuilders now claim -- the ultimate degree of muscular size and strength in less than two years of training? Why not? Such is at least now possible.

But at least this much I can say with no slightest reservation: within two years we will see a degree of muscular development, both insofar as size and strength are concerned, that will be far beyond anything, even dreamed of in the past. The "upper-body squat" now exists, and it will do for the upper body just what squats have long done for the thighs.

More than that, the exact same principle that finally made it possible to work the lats directly can be applied to almost any sort of exercise for any part of the body and with very similar results.

Some new "gimmick?" An unproven theory? Think what you like, but we built one test subject’s lats to a point that would normally have required at least two full years of training, in less than six weeks, on a program of three weekly workouts of exactly forty-eight minutes each. During the same period he gained over fifteen pounds of muscular bodyweight, increased his arms almost exactly two inches, and increased his strength enormously.

No drugs, no special diet, no marathon workouts; just a simple routine of three sets of four very basic exercises; full squats, standing presses, barbell curls, and movements on our new lat machine. No chinning movements of any kind, no rowing motions, no "pulldowns," absolutely nothing for the lats except our new ]at machine, and only nine weekly sets on that.

A fluke? A rare individual that would have shown similar results on any sort of program? I think not; but since anything is possible, we are making quite sure -- for that reason we have placed the entire football squad of a major Florida high school on an exactly similar test program.

Results? Final results won't be available for another three months, but after the first four weeks of introductory "break-in" training our average results were already far ahead of a somewhat similar program that was conducted by a large university in their attempt to - determine the best methods of weight training, even though their program ran for eight weeks.

And when our final results are available they will be published and certified by both the coach in charge of the program and the, principal of the school involved; and it is already obvious that the results will far surpass any results ever obtained in the past – no matter what the method of training was.

Later, as we learn more about the best possible utilization of the new principles involved, it is probable that even higher degree of results will be produced; but these final answers will come only after a large number of experiments have been conducted with several thousand test subjects. However, in the meantime, it is at least possible to make use of some of the knowledge we have gathered, and part of this can be applied to almost any sort of weight training without the use of any special equipment. In another article, in the next issue of this magazine, I will carefully outline the basic principles involved, and in later articles I will tell you how to apply these principles to your present training routine.

[dracotdrgn]

Guess I've been missing out. I love working my back but know about the limitations of the arms. Also agree with the fact that my legs respond better to training. I'm ready and eager. I still may take Monday off just to fully recover from Friday.
Now "working up" to my target weight should be done with what rep and weight increments. I know how I usually work up, I just want to make sure we're on the same page and that I'm doing the right amount of work load. Thanks for the article btw.
If I have some inquisitive believers from the gym how do I get them in contact with you? Is the Q&A website the best pre-info? I have a few gym mates that ask a lot of questions and that actually listen. I have about three of them on Mass Pro and who knows maybe we can get someone else to come on board the Blue Print train.

[RobRegish]

Working up to your work set weight is largely an individual matter. I'd do what you normally do. Here's how I do it on bench:

Light band extensions to warm up the elbows (35-40 reps). Light dumbell flyes, shoulder rotations (15 or so reps of each) into an extreme stretch (bottom of flye). Hold for 10sec.

Bench - 225x1, 245x1, 275x1, 295x1, 305x1, 315x1. Begin work set with 315lbs.

You're best off referring them to The Blueprint Q&A. Really though, your progress speaks the loudest! Kudos on the MassPro. As you know, once you try it...you just don't go back to "cheap" whey!

[dracotdrgn]

Here we go~
Steel oat breakfast with raisins, honey, pb,wheat germ, and protein. More protein in the coffee. KA, coconut oil and pre workout mix of Morph and A-State in gatorade powder, water, orange juice, and pineapple juice. Yum
Bench____________________Pullover_____Rest
135 X 10__________________30 X 10_____2m
225 X 1___________________45 X 1______2m
245 X 1___________________55 X 1______2m
265 X 1___________________65 X 1______3m
285 X 7 solid + 1 f.r___30 sec__70 X 12

Squat_____________________Dead Lift_______Rest
205 X 10__________________243 X 5________3m
275 X 1___________________309 X 1________2m
315 X 1___________________309 X 1________3m
350 X 10 full depth___30sec___309 X 6
Four sets calf raises + four sets curls
I think I undershot the weight on the pullover and overshot my deadlift weight.
I had to take a sit after the last set of sq and deadlift. I can only remember a few times I had to sit down after a set instead of just walking it off. YOW!
This felt good and will help me know what to expect and what weights to shoot for. Keep er comin!
I feel a bit of a sore throat but don't admit to being sick. I''ll boost the vitamins, fluids, and a few other tricks to make sure this goes away fast.
Weighed in at 229 today. Finished the day with standard food, protein and supplements.

[RobRegish]

Excellent work Draco. And don't sweat the sit down issue. Proof positive you did it right and 1 set CAN be enough!

Be wary of 2 issues:

1.) Lower back health. Back to back SQ/DL need to be approached with caution. Can be done but again, be aware of it. For this reason, I greatly favor hip belt squats vs. regular during this time. You may be able to rig something up with a chain, an old weightlifting belt and some 45lbs plate or just an old dip belt. Stand on two flat benches or a pair of sturdy cinder blocks. Will feel awkward at first and the amount of weight you can lift is less BUT it will QUICKLY increase, gets the bar off of your back and TORCHES your quads. Really, give these a try during this time. Highly recommended.

2.) Feeling like you're "coming down with something" is a sign. If not resolved over the next few days, let me know and we'll take the appropriate steps.

Good plan on the immune boost. MassPro, 2 grams of vit C/200 IU of vit E every 2 hours, 50mg of Zinc at bedtime and 8+ hours of sleep go a long way. Don't be afraid to take an extra day off between workouts either.

VERY interested in soreness as a result of the loaded stretches over these next few days. Please chime in if you get a moment!