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Austinb37's First BP Run - Goal: Destroy All PRs
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:24 am
by austinb37
Hi guys,
This is my first run with BP and I am excited to be part of the "Fight Club" of bodybuilding and strength training. I'm completely open to criticism/feedback so please feel free to comment.
I was a college football player and have been lifting weights for about 10 years. I played my Senior year about 265, 23% bf (Bod Pod). In two and a half years since college, using some carb cycling techniques and a heavy dose of commitment I stand about 6'5, 225, 9% bf (7% by calipers and 12.5% by the handheld scale at the gym).
I completed the Famine yesterday and after a week of no lifting, I was completely jacked out of my mind to get back in the gym and start throwing some heavy weights around. For anyone on the fence about taking a week off... DO IT.
I did not realize how over-trained and overworked my body was. Taking the week off allowed all of my nagging pains to heal and go away. It also gave me the chance to start working with a chiropractor on some nagging issues.
After completing Famine I have some thoughts I would like to share. I have been doing a lot of reading/research about the health benefits of intermittent fasting and decided famine would be a great time to experiment with Ramadan/Warrior Diet style fasting. I wanted to complete famine without any animal products and eating nothing but organic whole/raw foods.
Basically I would eat a small breakfast of fruit usually around 6 am (300 cals) and then not eat again until pre-workout around 5:30 (300 cals). I would consume most of my days calories in a large fruit/veggie/ nut meal at the end of the day. If you haven't tried eating 1,200+ calories from fruit, veggies and nuts in one sitting, it is damn near impossible. I came nowhere near my recommended 1,800 calories for the famine phase. Each day I was under by 100 to 400 calories and I never felt like I was starving.
I was completely shocked at how my body responded... For the first time in my life I had clean and full energy throughout the day. I was able to think clearly all and I had no afternoon/post lunch crash. The craziest thing was that after lunch time past (when I usually tell myself to eat) I had no hunger at all.
Stats:
Weight: Pre Famine-225 Post Famine 217 (haven't been this light since my freshman year)
Body Measurements: I lost .25"-1" every single measurement site
BF Calipers: Pre Famine:6mm (abdomen skinfold) Post Famine 4mm (abomen skinfold)
NOTE:
Feast starts today for me and I plan to DEMOLISH anything that resembles meat/protein! I will write down my feast plan of attack and goals in a couple of days once my refeed is complete.
Feel free to comment!
Re: Austinb37's First BP Run - Goal: Destroy All PRs
Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 12:22 pm
by RobRegish
Welcome aboard Austin!
Yes, BP sure has developed a reputation - "fight club of strength training", is appropriate and for the record, I love it...
BP Believer's are demanding, yet
fiercely loyal. I have to tell you man, that sits just fine with me. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way...
austinb37 wrote:Hi guys,
This is my first run with BP and I am excited to be part of the "Fight Club" of bodybuilding and strength training. I'm completely open to criticism/feedback so please feel free to comment.
I was a college football player and have been lifting weights for about 10 years. I played my Senior year about 265, 23% bf (Bod Pod). In two and a half years since college, using some carb cycling techniques and a heavy dose of commitment I stand about 6'5, 225, 9% bf (7% by calipers and 12.5% by the handheld scale at the gym).
A. First, great job man! Unlike alot of former football players, you upped your game after you stopped playing. Thus, you're FAR ahead of the vast majority...
I completed the Famine yesterday and after a week of no lifting, I was completely jacked out of my mind to get back in the gym and start throwing some heavy weights around. For anyone on the fence about taking a week off... DO IT.
A. Good man... This is a sign (hungry for the iron), and you cultivated it. Fantastic work and I appreciate you taking that step. Too many, don't...
I did not realize how over-trained and overworked my body was. Taking the week off allowed all of my nagging pains to heal and go away. It also gave me the chance to start working with a chiropractor on some nagging issues.
A. Fantastic, on the chiro! Can ONLY help you, and likely mightily so...
After completing Famine I have some thoughts I would like to share. I have been doing a lot of reading/research about the health benefits of intermittent fasting and decided famine would be a great time to experiment with Ramadan/Warrior Diet style fasting. I wanted to complete famine without any animal products and eating nothing but organic whole/raw foods.
Basically I would eat a small breakfast of fruit usually around 6 am (300 cals) and then not eat again until pre-workout around 5:30 (300 cals). I would consume most of my days calories in a large fruit/veggie/ nut meal at the end of the day. If you haven't tried eating 1,200+ calories from fruit, veggies and nuts in one sitting, it is damn near impossible. I came nowhere near my recommended 1,800 calories for the famine phase. Each day I was under by 100 to 400 calories and I never felt like I was starving.
A. Ah, the wonders of fiber... Bring on the Charmin!
I was completely shocked at how my body responded... For the first time in my life I had clean and full energy throughout the day. I was able to think clearly all and I had no afternoon/post lunch crash. The craziest thing was that after lunch time past (when I usually tell myself to eat) I had no hunger at all.
A. Absolutely, and its a shock to MANY. You finally have the chance to distinguish between real (physiological) hunger, and faux hunger. Faux hunger is when you're not hungry at all, watching TV and all of a sudden you're hungry - after seeing a Burger King commercial...
Stats:
Weight: Pre Famine-225 Post Famine 217 (haven't been this light since my freshman year)
Body Measurements: I lost .25"-1" every single measurement site
BF Calipers: Pre Famine:6mm (abdomen skinfold) Post Famine 4mm (abomen skinfold)
NOTE:
Feast starts today for me and I plan to DEMOLISH anything that resembles meat/protein! I will write down my feast plan of attack and goals in a couple of days once my refeed is complete.
Feel free to comment!
A. Awesome start man! You absolutely nailed Famine, so now the fun starts. Train to Gainsville is leaving the station. I'm driving, so feel free to fire away with questions...
Thanks for coming aboard!
Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 7:02 pm
by austinb37
The weekend refeed is coming to an end and my first famine workout starts tomorrow. I'm pretty pumped to see how my body has responded to the rest week and famine week.
A couple of thoughts from this past weekend... I added the desiccated liver tabs to my refeed and the results have been awesome. My muscles feel very full and my recovery has been out of this world. I wanted to start the refeed off with a bang so my first meal of the weekend consisted of 4 scoops of whey, 10 g of leucine, milk and cream. I could literally feel the protein synthesis in my muscles after eating no animal protein during famine. Another thing, I found it very difficult to get the proper amount of nutrients over the weekend and would recommend liquid nutrition to get to your macro nutrient needs. That means lots of cream, milk, whey, healthy oils etc.
Training Plan:
I plan on following the first 5 stock BP 2.0 templates and see how my body responds. I'll add and change things after the 5th workout. I am also very intrigued by the use of static contractions outlined in BP 3.0 so I might figure out a way to incorporate them into my training.
Current PRs:
Bench-290
Deadlift-370 (new lift for me. I started working on my deadlift 2 months ago)
Squat-Estimated 405. During football my PR was 485, I don't think it is anywhere close to that now because I have not squated heavy in 2+ years.
Current Supplements:
The formula
Fish Oil
Thats it!
Note: I want to see how my body responds to BP before I introduce any adaptagens, T-boosters etc. Next round I'm definitely going to give Kre-anabolyn a go as that seems to be the consensus worlds best supplement.
Diet:
I will follow the 60%C 25%P 15% fat outlined in the dietary template. I am a little nervous about accumulating to much bodyfat as I have some endomorphic tendencies and tend to gain fat on high carbohydrate diets. If I am gaining too much fat at the 3 week mark, I'll start cutting carbs/cals and go from there.
Goals for BP:
Bench:315+
Deadlift:405+
Squat:450+
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 6:03 pm
by austinb37
The past couple of days I have seen some pretty miraculous changes in body. At the end of famine I weighed about 217. Three days later I am back to me pre-famine weight of 225 with no noticeable fat gain. The calipers at home still read the same numbers
Pretty insane change over a 3 day period!
Yesterday was my first Feast workout.
Workout 1:
Bench (after warmups)-235 x 7
Pullovers-60 x 10
I was a little disappointed in these numbers. I think I will get a better warmup in next time and start drinking the formula a little sooner.
Squat (after warmups)-295x11
Stiff Leg DL-225 x 8
This was pretty shocking. I have not squatted heavy (275+) in a long time, so it is nice to see the leg strength coming back.
EDT Block 1:
Incline DB- 80 lbs x 8/7/8/7/7/ 85 lbs x 5
Bent over Rows- 135 x 8/8 145 x 7/7/6/5
EDT Block 2:
I was feeling pretty good until this superset kicked my ass. I was standing in a pile of my own sweat and everyone at the gym was watching me jump between these two like a madman.
Romanian DL- 225 x 6 (too heavy) 185 x 8/8/8/8/8
Hack Squats/Leg Sled-360 x 6 (too heavy) 270 x 6/8/8/8/8
I was doing 580 lbs x 6 on hack squat a couple of weeks ago, but the romanian DLs and previous work really killed me.
Static Ab Holds.
100 lbs x 20 sec (need more weight)
Other Thoughts:
I made a custom "Formula" at TrueProtein.com and it is the most foul, disgusting things I have ever tried. I am taking in about 20% of my daily calories from this drink which is about 840 calories (Now that is a lot of powder). I can stomach most food/supplements but this is really a Death Mix. Don't make my mistake, just follow Rob's formula and you will be a happy camper.
Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:14 pm
by JlCh
Nice to see another new face. Might take another workout to get in the groove for all lifts, but generally the 2nd workout will reap a slight jump in PR's and it's all traction after then (for me).
As for static holds, might want to try then after your workouts -- at least that's where I incorporated it after my 2.0 run. You get a few strange looks and I really can't explain to people if/how it works, but I feel like it gets my body ready to move some serious weight when that new max day comes up.
Plus I noticed the top range rack pulls blow your traps out of this worlddddddd.
Glad to have you here and I'm sure you'll be right behind most of us in a week praising Rob and the program. Only thing I could complain about 2.0 was that my joints got demolished (elbows/wrists) from not focusing on warming them up individually -- so if you do have any joint problems at all, make sure to THOROUGHLY warm them up. Nothing worse than having to slow/stop your progress due to joint pain.
Do let us know if you get the "super man" feeling though. I can still remember my first run and doing my bench PR. Kid that was spotting me was saying he just maxed the day prior and it was my starting bench (pre-Blueprint) PR (245) and I leaned back and tore it up and all he had to say was "Well, it didn't go up that easy."
Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:23 am
by RobRegish
austinb37 wrote:The past couple of days I have seen some pretty miraculous changes in body. At the end of famine I weighed about 217. Three days later I am back to me pre-famine weight of 225 with no noticeable fat gain. The calipers at home still read the same numbers
Pretty insane change over a 3 day period!
Yesterday was my first Feast workout.
Workout 1:
Bench (after warmups)-235 x 7
Pullovers-60 x 10
I was a little disappointed in these numbers. I think I will get a better warmup in next time and start drinking the formula a little sooner.
Squat (after warmups)-295x11
Stiff Leg DL-225 x 8
This was pretty shocking. I have not squatted heavy (275+) in a long time, so it is nice to see the leg strength coming back.
EDT Block 1:
Incline DB- 80 lbs x 8/7/8/7/7/ 85 lbs x 5
Bent over Rows- 135 x 8/8 145 x 7/7/6/5
EDT Block 2:
I was feeling pretty good until this superset kicked my ass. I was standing in a pile of my own sweat and everyone at the gym was watching me jump between these two like a madman.
Romanian DL- 225 x 6 (too heavy) 185 x 8/8/8/8/8
Hack Squats/Leg Sled-360 x 6 (too heavy) 270 x 6/8/8/8/8
I was doing 580 lbs x 6 on hack squat a couple of weeks ago, but the romanian DLs and previous work really killed me.
Static Ab Holds.
100 lbs x 20 sec (need more weight)
Other Thoughts:
I made a custom "Formula" at TrueProtein.com and it is the most foul, disgusting things I have ever tried. I am taking in about 20% of my daily calories from this drink which is about 840 calories (Now that is a lot of powder). I can stomach most food/supplements but this is really a Death Mix. Don't make my mistake, just follow Rob's formula and you will be a happy camper.
So happy to hear about your results! Sorry to hear about your experiment gone wrong. Made that mistake, which is why I recommend what I do...
Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2011 5:23 pm
by austinb37
Today I completed Feast Workout #2. I wasn't able to workout yesterday after dealing with a case of food poisoning. I have been eating nothing but healthy organic foods lately and made the mistake of eating a catered sandwich and a piece of my co-workers birthday cake. I won't make that mistake again.
Going to the gym and squatting heavy is never a good idea when you haven't been able to get off the pot all day
Weight-Dropped to 221 after being sick. (not good)
Anyways... I wasn't at full strength today but my workout numbers were decent.
Bench (after warmups)-250 x 5
Pullovers-65 x 6 (3 second stretch hold)
Squat (after warmups)-330 x 5
Stiff leg Deadlifts-225 x 5 (3 second stretch hold)
EDT Block 1:
Incline DB Press- 90 lbs x 6/6/5/4/4/5
Bent Over Rows- 155 lbs x 6/6/5/4/4/5
EDT Block 2:
Romanian DL's- 225 lbs x 6/6/6/6 245 x 4/4 (felt good so I added weight)
Hack Squat/Leg Sled- 320 lbs x 6/5/6/6 370 x 6/4 (felt good too)
Ab static holds:
130 x 25 sec
145 x 10 sec
Other thoughts:
I started drinking the formula about 1/2 hour before the workout and that gave me better energy throughout. Last time I drank it 15 min before the workout and that was not enough time to load my muscles.
Another thing... The first time I did the workout, it was pretty brutal and today it felt much easier even though I was still dealing with food poising...
My uneven weight distribution between my legs is also improving with each trip to the chiro.
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 7:56 am
by RobRegish
Way to stay on top of things man! You'll notice BIG dividends, from those chiro visits.
Trust me...
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 8:06 pm
by austinb37
I have been away from my home computer lately, which is why I have not posted in a week. Anyways… I finished the first five feast workouts yesterday. I hit 280 on bench and 365 on squat. Neither are PRs for me, which is a little disappointing as I have followed the stock 2.0 template and have not seen the strength gains yet.
I am very surprised that my strength has not improved to this point. It could have been the food poisoning that knocked me off course or something else.
Next week I plan on starting a 3 days a week lifting program. My plan is to keep it simple and limit the volume of work and focus on intensity.
Mondays:
Deadlift (lower rep scheme)
Weighted Pullups/Back Extension- PRZone
Top Range Rack Pull- Static Hold
Wednesday:
GLP Bench (focusing on 1 second pause at bottom of motion)
Weighted Dips/1 Arm Row- PRZone
Decline Bench-Static Hold
Friday:
GLP Squat
Hack Squat/ Stiff Leg DL- PRZone
Calf Raise-Static Hold
Ab Crunch-Static Hold
Other Thoughts-
My strength gains have not been there but I have put on some pretty awesome size. Overall I have gained a 1” on my chest, .25” on my arms, .5" on my shoulders, and .5" on my quads. Also, my waist has stayed the same size. My weight has shot up to 229 which is about 4 lbs heavier than when I started BP. There has also been no noticeable increase in bodyfat which is definitely a good thing. The woman has certainly noticed and loves the changes as well
Diet/Meal Plan for the rest of BP-
I am going to experiment with some intermittent fasting throughout the rest of blueprint. I really enjoyed the ramadan style fasting that I experimented with in the famine phase and will be trying out some longer fasting periods. Between last night and today I did a 17 hour fast and actually felt really great the whole time. I began my fast about 8 pm last night and wrapped up the fast around 1 pm today. Ironically I felt incredibly tired and drained after I ate my first meal.
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:27 am
by bigpelo
I encourage you to read Warrior Diet. It will explain why you felt drained after eating, even more after a 17 hours fast. Humans are nocturnal eater. I begin eating after my workouts, around 6:30pm, and under eat (not complete fast) the rest of the day.
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:07 pm
by austinb37
bigpelo wrote:I encourage you to read Warrior Diet. It will explain why you felt drained after eating, even more after a 17 hours fast. Humans are nocturnal eater. I begin eating after my workouts, around 6:30pm, and under eat (not complete fast) the rest of the day.
Thanks bigpelo! I have done some reading on the Warrior Diet and found the information pretty useful. I would also recommend looking up the author of the Warrior Diet, Ori Hofmekler who has done some other interesting work. He has been interviewed on the Super Human Radio show (where I first heard about BluePrint) and you can find those interviews in the Itunes store or through the SHR website.
Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:08 pm
by austinb37
I have been stuck at 290 on bench for a little over three years. 290 is what I benched during 1RM testing my senior year of football and I have never benched more than that. I have come close to beating it and have benched 290 on numerous occasions but never more than that.
I was pretty down on Monday (the last time I tested) feeling like I wasted my time benching only 280. I spoke with Rob and he talked to me about what could be going on. He gave me some useful information and told me to try both bench and squat out again on Thursday.
Well today I gave it another try and benched 295! A NEW PR FOR ME!!! My next lift was 300 and I was moving the bar upwards when my spotter put his hands underneath the bar. Can't say for sure I would have gotten it but it would have been close.
Sweet Jesus I am a happy man
I also squatted again today this time hitting 385. Not bad considering I have not squatted anything close to that in 3 years.
Consider me a BP believer!
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:57 am
by austinb37
After a conversation with Rob, I decided to abandon my original workout plan and stick with the stock 2.0 feast workouts. It has worked for so many others, so what the Hell! I'll give it a shot. I still may find a way to put some weighted chins into my workout depending on how my body responds:)
Today I completed my first GLP workout. I decided to start with workout #2 (the squat/leg workout) and give the upper body a couple of more days rest.
GLP #1 Squat
195 x 10, 210 x 10, 235 x 8, 255 x 8, 285 x 8, 300 x 10 (I wasn't anywhere near failure so I did 2 more.)
Overall I felt these reps were pretty easy. I busted through all 6 sets pretty fast although I was winded due to the volume of work.
EDT Block 1
Hack Squat- 360 x 5, 370 x 6, 380 x 5, 5, 5, 6
Romanian DL- 245 x 6, 255 x 6, 265 x 4, 4, 3, 3
For some reason my first sets on hack squat are pretty brutal and I have to really concentrate and push. In the later sets they become easier.
Static Seated Calf Raise Holds:
225 x 5 sec
225 x 5 sec
My calf's felt like they were going to explode
Static Ab Holds:
145 x 20 sec
155 x 7 sec
Overall this workout was solid. It was my first workout where I was completely fasted until I started drinking the formula. I felt strangely awake and aware during the workout. I have been experimenting with several fasting methods and I have enjoyed all of them. Fasting during work really allows me to be focused and concentrate at the tasks at hand.
It is funny to think a couple of months ago I would have never considered any type of fasting or going longer than 6 hours without food out of fear of loosing muscle.
I am also finding that my body responds a better when I drink about half of the carbs in the formula about 30 min pre-workout. This give me some time to digest the formula and have some extra energy for the workout.
Re: Austinb37's First BP Run - Goal: Destroy All PRs
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:34 pm
by matter2003
RobRegish wrote:
I was completely shocked at how my body responded... For the first time in my life I had clean and full energy throughout the day. I was able to think clearly all and I had no afternoon/post lunch crash. The craziest thing was that after lunch time past (when I usually tell myself to eat) I had no hunger at all.
A. Absolutely, and its a shock to MANY. You finally have the chance to distinguish between real (physiological) hunger, and faux hunger. Faux hunger is when you're not hungry at all, watching TV and all of a sudden you're hungry - after seeing a Burger King commercial...
There are a lot of people(although probably not too many that workout on a regular basis since they know the importance of it) who are in a constant state of dehydration and their thirst mechanism has become so weak they mistake it for hunger...