First BP Run = In love! (progress pics)

[jborrero]

Loving the program. I'm currently finishing up the Famine phase and transitioning to the Cruise phase. I'm already looking forward to a second run through.

Anyway, here are some progress pics, please disregard the goofy facial expressions, I apparently can't NOT make them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/84300912@N07/7719163244/

This first pic shows a front facing pic from left to right, pre-BP, post-Famine, post-Feast (almost...I have one more week). First of all LOL @ the Famine-Face. 1300 calories a day on a vegan diet will do it to you. Not too much of a difference except that I'm a bit leaner at the end of Famine. I have one more week of 1500 cals a day on rest days, so I imagine I should get a little leaner.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/84300912@N07/7719161920/

This second pic shows the big changes. Unfortunately I didn't take a post-Famine back picture (too miserable), but you can clearly see I've put on noticeable mass on my back!

Assuming my diet is in gear, I'm wondering what I should modify for BP 3.0 Run #2 to make the changes to the whole front mirror those of the back.

[jborrero]

Training-wise I did the BP 3.0 prescription almost exactly, except I added a weighted pullup static hold at the end of the upper body day, and deleted out the Rom. DLs. After the Rack Pull static hold and the Squat/Leg Curl EDT I was too zapped to even attempt them.

I made a couple substitutions out of sheer laziness, which MAY explain the lack of progress:

- Instead of Decline Bench I did Hammer Strength Chest Press
- Instead of Seated BB Press I used a Machine Shoulder Press

Obviously to use these I had to utilize a weight I could at least perform a half-rep for. Using a decline bench I can "fall back" into the halfway mark with a weight heavier than I can handle, but I'm not sure how to do this safely. If I use a barbell on a squat rack I can set the pins so I only have to move the bar an inch or so for the static hold. Anyway...thoughts?

[drtda]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you were trying to do the Static Holds using the chest press and seated press machines. The problem with those is that you start in or close to the stretch position. For a Static Hold you want to be close to the strongest, end-point contracted position.

As an example, on the Hammer Strength Chest Press, you would have to push it close to extension and then hold that position for a static hold, which means your weight is going to be substantially less than what is could be, probably by a 100-200 pounds.

In a rack, you can position the pins so that you are just short of extension at the strongest part of the strength curve. That's where you want to be pushing up from and then holding for your static hold.

Think about a Leg Press where you typically start in a position where your legs are almost completely extended making it pretty easy to do Static Holds from there. If you had to start from the position that you lower the weight to, there would be no way you could push up even close to the same weight. I rarely go over 600-700 pounds on my leg press doing regular reps, but finished up 3.0 a couple of weeks ago doing a Static Hold with 1500 pounds.

[jborrero]

Great info! Yeah I suspect this may be why I had such great results with my back but not with the chest/shoulders/etc.

I did the rack pulls as prescribed and its no surprise my upper back responded.

Where along the range of motion should I target? I imagined that the fully extended position would rely more on the triceps for either motion, hence why I was targeting that midpoint. Should I do the same, but with the barbell and rack?

[drtda]

You basically want to be at the strongest position to handle maximal weight, so you should be fully extended or darned close. If you have enough weight on the exercise, you will fully overload the muscle.

[matter2003]

You basically want to be at the strongest position to handle maximal weight, so you should be fully extended or darned close. If you have enough weight on the exercise, you will fully overload the muscle.

exactly correct...you will be shocked at just how much you can hold in this position...it severely works the muscle fibers and also greatly strengthens the joints and connective tissue in those areas, which also help tremendously with normal lifts as well..

[tomz]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but on the topic of static holds, if I wanted to throw in a weighted chin-up static hold into BP, would I do the hold at the fully-extended bottom position (slightly flexed), or at the top of the bar like this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S66PphgMk8w

[drtda]

I suppose you could try the top position, but you would need to be able to stand on something to get you into that position with maximal weight as you wouldn't be able to actually pull yourself all the way up.

Otherwise you would be at the bottom position almost fully extended so that you can really crank up the weight.

[RobRegish]

Loving the program. I'm currently finishing up the Famine phase and transitioning to the Cruise phase. I'm already looking forward to a second run through.

Anyway, here are some progress pics, please disregard the goofy facial expressions, I apparently can't NOT make them.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/84300912@N07/7719163244/

This first pic shows a front facing pic from left to right, pre-BP, post-Famine, post-Feast (almost...I have one more week). First of all LOL @ the Famine-Face. 1300 calories a day on a vegan diet will do it to you. Not too much of a difference except that I'm a bit leaner at the end of Famine. I have one more week of 1500 cals a day on rest days, so I imagine I should get a little leaner.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/84300912@N07/7719161920/

This second pic shows the big changes. Unfortunately I didn't take a post-Famine back picture (too miserable), but you can clearly see I've put on noticeable mass on my back!

Assuming my diet is in gear, I'm wondering what I should modify for BP 3.0 Run #2 to make the changes to the whole front mirror those of the back.

So happy, you're happy... And if you're happy now, you'll be even happier if you haven't given Synthagen a try yet. Even if you don't, you know how the keys to the kindgdom!!

Thanks for doing it justice man...

[jborrero]

Rob,

Thanks man, its a fantastic product, and I've already raved about it to friends. Everyone wants to know whats in my shaker bottle, but I refer them to you, haha.

I've been poking around these forums and I've decided to use the Synthagen + Adaptogen N stack I saw you suggest in another thread on my next run. I figure I'll time it so Feast begins on 9/1 (my birthday). I'm psyched to make the adjustments drtda suggested on the static holds and see what progress I can make.

[RobRegish]

Rob,

Thanks man, its a fantastic product, and I've already raved about it to friends. Everyone wants to know whats in my shaker bottle, but I refer them to you, haha.

I've been poking around these forums and I've decided to use the Synthagen + Adaptogen N stack I saw you suggest in another thread on my next run. I figure I'll time it so Feast begins on 9/1 (my birthday). I'm psyched to make the adjustments drtda suggested on the static holds and see what progress I can make.

Glad you're willing to give Synthagen a run man, b/c if you thought The Formula was something - just wait until you try Synthagen! And you're stacking w/AN? I've been doing the EXACT same thing for a month.

Honestly can't remember the last time I had DOMS...

The real advantages Synthagen holds over The Formula is twofold:

1.) It recovers you even FASTER (quite a statement) and;
2.) Its merits aren't limited to intra-workout

As you can imagine, bringing all that it does to the table 24/7 brings your training to a WHOLE 'nother levels. It does more (a LOT more) than just recover you faster. Every time you eat, it absolutely maximizes every morsel of food you eat. It therefore leverages the power of the most powerful anabolic you can put into your body: FOOD.

Combine that with the test boosting, restorative/regenerative powers of AN and a good night's sleep. Well, it's a match made in heaven. Just 2 caps of AN M-F with weekends off and MPS daily is the show, at least for those of us over 30!

Turn back the recovery/growth potential clock at least 10 years, and that's what you have in the Synthagen + AN stack IMO...

[matter2003]

Rob,

Thanks man, its a fantastic product, and I've already raved about it to friends. Everyone wants to know whats in my shaker bottle, but I refer them to you, haha.

I've been poking around these forums and I've decided to use the Synthagen + Adaptogen N stack I saw you suggest in another thread on my next run. I figure I'll time it so Feast begins on 9/1 (my birthday). I'm psyched to make the adjustments drtda suggested on the static holds and see what progress I can make.

Glad you're willing to give Synthagen a run man, b/c if you thought The Formula was something - just wait until you try Synthagen! And you're stacking w/AN? I've been doing the EXACT same thing for a month.

Honestly can't remember the last time I had DOMS...

The real advantages Synthagen holds over The Formula is twofold:

1.) It recovers you even FASTER (quite a statement) and;
2.) Its merits aren't limited to intra-workout

As you can imagine, bringing all that it does to the table 24/7 brings your training to a WHOLE 'nother levels. It does more (a LOT more) than just recover you faster. Every time you eat, it absolutely maximizes every morsel of food you eat. It therefore leverages the power of the most powerful anabolic you can put into your body: FOOD.

Combine that with the test boosting, restorative/regenerative powers of AN and a good night's sleep. Well, it's a match made in heaven. Just 2 caps of AN M-F with weekends off and MPS daily is the show, at least for those of us over 30!

Turn back the recovery/growth potential clock at least 10 years, and that's what you have in the Synthagen + AN stack IMO...

I still use the formula intra/post workout...