Thanks for the compliments Rob, but I don't think I am doing anything special, to be honest. I thirst for knowledge like a desert thirsts for water, and this thirst is what led me to The Blueprint in the first place. Part of the reason I am looking at other templates is to see what others have to offer and what I can incorporate into The Blueprint.RobRegish wrote:Some FINE work here, AGAIN!
For those new to BP, this is where i'd like you to be after a few runs with it. Matter is a master manipulator - meaning he's using programs that look promising NOT discussed in BP, within it's "shell". This is uber helpful to EVERYONE here, b/c provided these experiments are successful - they'll be another arrow in your quiver.
Great work Matter. I appreciate your ingenuity, hard work and constant vigilance, insofar as what's appearing on ergo-log.com...
I can say unequivocally this fat loss program I am on is a very good one, even though I am only halfway through it, I have dropped 16 pounds, and likely a pound or two more of fat. My measurements have gone down a little bit, but that is to be expected, although they are still pretty decent. 16" arms, 48" chest, 34" waist. Stomach is almost completely flat, 3rd set of abs is starting to come out, and I have been getting a lot of people telling me how I look like I am losing weight. My face is getting really thinned out as well, which is probably the first thing I noticed.
After this I am going to be running a program by Ben Pakulski called Mass Intentions or MI40. He just took 4th place in the Arnold Classic a few weeks ago, so I am excited to see what this will do for me. It is an extremely intense program so I likely could only run this twice a year(40 straight days of lifting or cardio, including many that are split workouts--morning/night..no off days), so I am planning to basically run this in Mid-May, run the BP from July-December(starting with a custom plan), then run another Mass Intentions run in January, then run a Fat Loss Forever run starting in Mid-February.
Why am I doing this? Honestly a big reason is because I enjoy mixing things up. In no way, does this signify I am unhappy with the BP. In fact, just the opposite, I am going to be running it for 5 months straight, and expect to see some crazy gains. However, this time I am going to be extremely focused on gaining ONLY lean body mass, staying within 1-2% of my cutting body fat percentage, which will make my next cut that much easier. I think I got a little overzealous with my calorie count last time, and while gained a ton of muscle, I probably gained some fat too.
Something that I have learned already that will help me is I do very well when I keep carbs and fats away from each other at pretty much all times. Protein + Fat is fine and so is Protein + Carbs. Carbs + Fat leads to me storing fat(insulin is a storage hormone, and in this case it stores fat as fat). Just how my body works, and likely most endomorphic types as well. Another thing is to eat carbs late at night or post workout only, when they will do the most good. Carbs are not my enemy per se, but they definitely are not my friend. I need them, but have to be careful what type I eat(brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and beans are pretty much the only ones I eat now) and when I eat them. I literally drink Olive Oil as my fat source. I would definitely recommend you putting something in future BP programs, or even stickying something regarding the Carbs+Fat issue for endomorphs. This could help a LOT of us lose fat a lot quicker...I have begun to realize that losing weight is not a function of what I do so much as it is a function of what I eat. Milk, breads, pastas, white rice, cereals, etc cause me to keep weight on. Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Sweet Potatoes and Beans cause me to lose weight almost effortlessly.
Just am excited to take the knowledge I am getting from these other programs and incorporate them into the BP...I am probably going to be astounded with the results...