SloTown's first BP run

Unfiltered Tips & Techniques centered around Blueprint Training
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SloTown
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Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:22 pm
Location: Central California

Post by SloTown »

Had my first Feast WO and it felt great! I don't know if there was a placebo effect going on, or it's just part of the magic that is The Blueprint, but I felt like I could lift a truck when I got to the gym!
Also, just wanted to clarify; my gym is under construction so right now all I have access to is the "preview center" and they don't have a lot of equipment in there, so bench press has to be done with dumbells and I have to come up with alternatives for squats and leg sled, etc...

Anyway, I did some warmups then got started.

Bench Press - 120 x 10 (using 2 60lb. DB's)
Immediately into DB pullovers - 50 x 8

5 min rest and more warmups

Ball Squats - 80 x 10 (using a large excersise ball against the wall and "squating" with 40lb DB in each hand)
Immediately into Stiff Legged Deadlift - 110 x 10 (110 is the heaviest BB they have right now)

10 min rest (although it ended up only being about 7 min)

EDT Block
Incline Bench - 120 x 10, 8, 6, 5, 5 (using 2 60lb. DB's)
Tbar Rows - 170 x 10, 10, 8, 7, 7 (using a low pully system to simulate as closely as I could to the TBar excersise)
Total time=18 min, including 2 min rest between each SS.

10 min rest (again, I couldn't stand to wait the full 10 min. More like 8 )

EDT Block
Romanian Deadlifts - 110 x 10, 8, 7, 5, 5
Leg Sled - 100 x 10, 8, 6, 5, 4 (using a quad exercises machine)
Total TIme=19 min.

5 min rest

Weighted Ab Crunch 170 x 10 sec holds (did this twice using one of the ab crunch machines)

As you can see, I had to adapt several of these routines due to not having the right equipment to work with. I can't wait till the new gym is complete and I can start doing these exercises as prescribed!

I know these weights aren't very impressive, but I can't wait to see where I'm at at the end of this run, and especially where I'll be when I start my second run!!

If anyone sees that I am not doing something right, please let me know. I am still a little confused as to which workout routine I should be following.
aron7awol
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Post by aron7awol »

SloTown wrote:Also, just wanted to clarify; my gym is under construction so right now all I have access to is the "preview center" and they don't have a lot of equipment in there, so bench press has to be done with dumbells and I have to come up with alternatives for squats and leg sled, etc...
I highly recommend one-legged bodyweight squats as an alternative to regular squats or the leg sled. I'm avoiding regular squats due to a bulging disk in my lower back, and I've found the one-legged squats give me an awesome workout. Try em out, they're tougher than they sound.
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SloTown
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Location: Central California

Post by SloTown »

I highly recommend one-legged bodyweight squats as an alternative to regular squats or the leg sled.
That's not a bad idea...thanks!
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

Day 8 of feast.
Just finished my 3rd feast WO and it felt great, in fact, I surpassed two personal records today. It may not seem like much to some, but for me, I was pretty jazzed.
BP 2-80lb. dumbells - 4 times (equivalent to 160lb. BB??)
and curled a 100lb. BB - 3 times.

Anyway, starting yesterday (Day 7 of feast) I dropped my calories down to 15x body weight, which puts me at about 2520 calories per day. I am still maintaining 1.5g protein per lb of body weight (at least I'm trying).
In all, I am trying to maintain a healthy intake of food. Although I did cheat this weekend and had a couple slices of pizza while watching UFC 145.

My workout today was:
warmups then:
BP - 80sx4 (2 80lb. DB's)
DB Pullovers - 65x3

warmups then:
Ball Squats - 60sx3 (2 60lb. DB's)
Stiff-Legged DeadLift - 110x8 (110lb. is the heaviest BB they have)

warmups then:
Barbell Curls - 100x3
Single DB Tricep press - 60x3

warmups then:
Ab static holds - 4 sets of 9 sec. holds.

The "light" didn't go on until a few days ago in regards to all the 2.0, and 3.0 material provided, but I finally realized that since my main goal is adding as much muscle as possible, I need to stick to the 2.0 guidelines, so I did not perform any EDT Blocks and will not for the rest of this run. I will follow the first 5 workouts outlined in 2.0 then jump into the BP periodics.
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

Day 12 of feast.
Nothing special about today other than I did not post my WO#4 that occurred on Wednesday so I am posting now.

First, I see now why Rob recommends at least 2 days rest. After hitting new personal records on Day 8, which was Monday and WO#3, I went back to the gym on Day 10 which was Wednesay to do WO#4. I guess I was a little too excited about the results I had from WO#3 and wanted to get back in there. Well, I felt considerably weaker on Wednesday than I did on Monday. I just didn't feel as "in control" of the weights like I did on Monday. My body wasn't fully recovered and my workout suffered as a result. I will definitely be sticking to 2 days off between workouts.

Anyway, I performed WO#4 - deload as follows:
warmups then
BP - 70sx8
DB Pullovers 55x6

5 min rest

warmups then
Ball Squats - 55sx6
Dumbell rows 60x6

5 min rest

warmups then
BB Curls - 80x8

Ab Static holds - 170x9 sec (4 times)

Now, I have a problem. If I wait the suggested 2 days off, that will put my WO#5 on Saturday. I have a lot of commitments Saturday and not sure if I'll be able to make it to the gym. Is it ok to wait till Monday (4 days off between WO4 and WO5)? Or should I make sure I get into the gym tomorrow?

Also, I mentioned earlier that I decided to follow the BP 2.0 recommended workouts, but it just doesn't feel like I'm putting enough time in the gym. I know it's quality, not quantity here, but does anyone see anything wrong with my workouts? I've actually added a few routines already. Any advice would be appreciated. Keep in mind, my goal is to add muscle (size).

I've been keeping my caloric intake at 15x body weight and protein at 1.5g per lb. or body weight until Monday (Day 15) - then I will drop to 12x body weight for total calories and only 1g protein per lb. body weight.
dropthebeats
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Post by dropthebeats »

SloTown wrote:

Now, I have a problem. If I wait the suggested 2 days off, that will put my WO#5 on Saturday. I have a lot of commitments Saturday and not sure if I'll be able to make it to the gym. Is it ok to wait till Monday (4 days off between WO4 and WO5)? Or should I make sure I get into the gym tomorrow?
4 days off has never hurt anyone. You'll be totally rested, and probably have your best workout yet!
Dragon
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H2O2, epsom, castor, tumeric and vit c

Post by Dragon »

no big deal at all. when i was running 3.0 i had to take some extra days cause of overtime at work, school, or i just didn't sleep well that night. what i DID do if i had to travel or work overtime or something is i would find time to do a brisk walk for 15 to 20 minutes, nothing crazy in the initial weeks.

there were times when i didnt drive to work on purpose and took a nice, calming 45 minute walk home instead of lift. light cardio really helps recovery anyways.

please, please please dont underestimate the power of H2O2 soaks and epsom salt soaks (about $.75 per soak) and ice packs on your entire back and spine, tumeric seasoning eaten throughout the day with some vit c ($7 a month in the seasoning aisle) . Also castor oil from the local drugstore - lightly heated over a candle - on sore muscles before bed (about $.40 per application). only cost pennies a day and really works if you're not yet willing to sink hundreds of bucks on adaptogens. I can tell you hand over heart bro, when I was breaking those squat pr's in the beginning there were some days I couldn't fall asleep until I iced by back.

as you run into snags with your training schedule, gym difficulties and deficiencies at your gym, or just life stuff, you'll see the wisdom in not sinking loads of money on supps during your first run.
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

Day 15 of Feast.
Started GLP1 today - Bench Press.
Weight 169
BF 13% (When I started, I calculated my BF at about 18%, but I don't think I was doing it right. I am not even sure I am doing it right now, but I just measured 3 times and it's definitely down from when I started. So, my weight is up 1 lb. from when I started famine and my body fat is down ~5%) Does this seem unrealistic? Or is the BP really that good?!? :)

Starting today, I dropped my caloric intake to 12x body weight and protein down to 1g per LBM. (I'm supposed to use my Lean Body Mass right, not total body weight? I had not been using my LMB, but read it on one of the other posts here, so just want to make sure I understood correctly).

Anyway, I hit the gym with a great frame of mind. Ready to do some serious damage and it was going really well until my stupid phone started blowing up and I had to cut my workout short due to an "emergency" at work.

All in all, it wasn't too bad though:
Started with few BP and DB pullover warmups and then:

BP - 45sx10, 50sx8, 55sx8, 60sx8, 65sx8, 70sx5
DB pullovers - 45x8, 45x8, 45x8, 45x8, 45x8, 45x8
3 min rest in between each superset.

Rested (more like answered a bunch of phone calls) for about 10 minutes.

I had planned to do an EDT Block of Incline DB Press and Seated Cable Rows, but realizing I had to go, I just knocked out:

BB Curls - 80x10, 80x10
Tricep Pushdowns - 110x10, 110x10

Question regarding the GLP. As you can see above, I didn't hit 8 reps on that last set. I just couldn't get another rep in.
So, is it more important to hit the reps, or the weight? Should I have gone with less weight to hit that 8th rep> Or is 5 OK as long as you are hitting the expected % of 1RM?
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

Day 16.
GLP1, WO1 - Squats
Weight the same as yesterday.

A few warmups and then:
Squats:
40sx10, 45sx8, 50sx8, 55sx5, 60sx3 - my legs were spent! Gotta work on this for sure.
SS with Stiff legged dead lift:
80x10, 90x8, 100x8, 110x8

rested 5 minutes then:

EDT with 2 min rest between sets:
Lat pull downs
110x6, 110x5, 110x5, 110x3, 110x3
Seated cable rows
120x6, 120x5, 120x5, 120x3, 120x3
total time 14:36

Ab static hold 270x9 sec. - 2x

Didn't feel as motivated when I went to the gym today, but that's mainly because I hate doing squats! As my weight and reps can attest. This is definitly something I need to work on. I should be able to do way more weight on squats.

Going to take tomorrow off (maybe some cardio) and rest up for GLP WO3.

Also, if anyone reads my question from yesterday, I re read through the material and saw that Rob says it's OK if we don't hit every set/rep, as long as it doesn't become a habit! (paraphrasing). So, I feel OK about WO1, but not too happy about how badly I did in WO2.

Still curious about the 1.5g and 1g per body weight for protein recommendations. Is this supposed to be per scale weight or per Lean Body Mass weight?
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Rizzo23601
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Post by Rizzo23601 »

Nice log, but what are you weighing? Curious to know!
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

If your asking what my body weight is, 169lb.
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Rizzo23601
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Post by Rizzo23601 »

Just curious how much you gained since the start of your blueprint run ;)
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

roughly...1 lb. I started at 168, then went down to 163 during famine and now am at 169.

I gained the 5 lbs. back pretty quick after famine, but am having a hard time gaining much more than that, and now that I am basing my calories at 12x body weight, I don't think I will gain much more during this run.
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SloTown
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Post by SloTown »

Day 18
GLP 1 WO2 - Bench Press
Weight 168.5
It appears that I am loosing weight at a slow rate. Maybe 1lb. a week if I keep the calories at 2050 (12x body weight). I do not want to be loosing weight, and I don't think that is part of the BP plan!
Am I just over reacting here? Or should I increase my calories back up to say... 2500 (15x body weight)...??
I need some advice here. What will this do to the caloric spiral idea?

I was really excited a couple days ago when my weight was up to 169 and my BF was down, but now that I have dropped down to 12x body weight, it appears I will be slowly loosing weight.

Anyway, things went really well in the gym today.
Started with a few warmups then started GLP1 WO2.

BP - 45sx10, 55sx8, 60sx6, 65sx6, 70sx6, 75sx6
I rested 3 minutes between sets 1-3, then 5 minutes between sets 4-6. I really think the extra rest in the later sets helped me finish on target. I don't think I could have done it with only 3 min. all the way through.
SS w/dumbell pullovers - 45x8, 45x8, 45x8, 45x7, 45x6, 45x6

Rested for about 7-8 minutes then
EDT Block
BB Curls - 80x6, 80x5, 90x5, 90x5, 90x5
Tricep pushdown - 110x6, 110x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5
Rested 2 min in between sets, except the last set, only rested 1 minute.
Total Time - 10:30
I increased the weight after the first 2 sets because I could tell it just wasn't enough. I was still able to do 5 reps on the last 3 sets and I wasn't even at failure on that last set, so I need to adjust here.

It looks like my lifts are on target, (increasing), but my weight has me worried. Any words of wisdom from the BP Army??
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