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Alright, here we go again. I started a log a while back, in the summer, which didnt turn out too well due to time constraints and not enough rest time in between workouts.

Well, I'm back, after getting assimilated to college and finally getting a good routine, I think I'm finally able to give this thing 100%.

I have some questions, but I think some background on myself is needed first.

Since I stopped posting in the summer, I went on vacation, and came back and did the supersquats workout (not as a part of the blueprint however, just did it). This caused me to balloon up to around 200 lbs. After that, I did a little bit of 5x5, took time off, and did a blueprint run focusing on recomp. This was around october/november.

This run went well, however, my goals switched midway thru and skewed my results.
After the famine, I went into the 5 workout routine to get my new maxes.
Bench: 255
Squat: 315

For me, this was a major increase in my bench max (last max in February/March was 225), and I was very surprised, it seemed too good to be true. So I started GLP1.
The first half of the run, I was focusing still on bulking, but decided for the second half to greatly reduce my calories (1800-2100 a day). I also did carb cycling with it. This led to my final stats coming out with
Bench: 245
Squat:345

As you can see, my squat went up, but bench went down, and it wasnt a fluke: for the last few workouts, I couldnt even come close to hitting my target reps with the % weight obtained from my max of 255. However, squat continued to grow, which was very good.

Since then, I did 5x5, and then I have done some very light but high rep and intensity lifting for december. About 3 workouts a week. This week, I am taking off and measuring my heart rate. However, I am dieting, looking to hit my calorie target of 1800.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation, now here's the qs.

1. I am not sure what my max is, as it may have gone down since my last maxout run (havent done heavy squats since tht 345 day, and when I tried to 275 two weeks ago... I couldnt do it for 5x5 like I could in November). Also, for my bench, I have corrected my form in the last month, and go lower (touching my chest) than I did b4, which would reduce my max.

So my question is, after the famine, should I do the 5 workout routine to determine new maxes? Or should I guestimate and head right into a loading pattern? (I would use 235 as my bench and 315 as my squat maxes).

2. I have done the GLP 1 loading pattern essentially 3x in the last year. It has not delivered, and it is obviously due to my changing of diet, lack of rest days due to being hurried, etc. However, I do not think it would be wise to do GLP1 again, especially after having done it in just november. So, should I just do the GLP 2?

3. Body composition wise, my goal is to get to around 6-7% body fat, and maintain as much muscle as possible. My current stats are 192.8 lbs and probably about 12-14% body fat. So essentially, this run will be as a cut. What would your recommendations be for my caloric intake?

Current framework: Famine--> 1540 calories a day of fruits, veggies, V8.
First 72 hours of Feast phase--> 2100-2300 cals.
From then on: 1900 calories a day on workout days (200 pro, 225 carb, 22 fat)
1800 cals a day on non workout days. (200 protein, 200g carbs, 22 g fat)

Look good?


4. Is an EC stack ok to use during the famine?

5. During the famine, are grains meant to be eaten? Is brown rice ok to consume as long as I stay within my cal limit? Or is this time meant to be all fruits and veggies?


I might have more questions after this, so I am sorry for the long reading and everything. I know you've probably heard this a lot (hell, you've heard it quite a bit from me in the past), but I really am completely dedicated. I finally have control of my eating and sleeping situations to ensure proper recovery, and am staying in one place for a while, which means I dont have to hurry any workouts. More importantly, I also have a clear goal in my head of what I want to do, and am more determined than ever to accomplish it.

Thank you so much for your time Rob, and to everyone else on this forum.

OK here we go! Please see my answers to your questions below..

kswimbledon wrote:Alright, here we go again. I started a log a while back, in the summer, which didnt turn out too well due to time constraints and not enough rest time in between workouts.

Well, I'm back, after getting assimilated to college and finally getting a good routine, I think I'm finally able to give this thing 100%.

I have some questions, but I think some background on myself is needed first.

Since I stopped posting in the summer, I went on vacation, and came back and did the supersquats workout (not as a part of the blueprint however, just did it). This caused me to balloon up to around 200 lbs. After that, I did a little bit of 5x5, took time off, and did a blueprint run focusing on recomp. This was around october/november.

This run went well, however, my goals switched midway thru and skewed my results.
After the famine, I went into the 5 workout routine to get my new maxes.
Bench: 255
Squat: 315

For me, this was a major increase in my bench max (last max in February/March was 225), and I was very surprised, it seemed too good to be true. So I started GLP1.
The first half of the run, I was focusing still on bulking, but decided for the second half to greatly reduce my calories (1800-2100 a day). I also did carb cycling with it. This led to my final stats coming out with
Bench: 245
Squat:345

COMMENT: Mistake #1, dropping calories drastically during GLP. The reason your squat went up and your bench went down is as follows: Your bodyweight now being lighter, you had less TOTAL weight (bodyweight plus bar weight) to move through space on the squat. You're not afforded the same luxury on the bench. That's why it plummeted.


As you can see, my squat went up, but bench went down, and it wasnt a fluke: for the last few workouts, I couldnt even come close to hitting my target reps with the % weight obtained from my max of 255. However, squat continued to grow, which was very good.

Since then, I did 5x5, and then I have done some very light but high rep and intensity lifting for december. About 3 workouts a week. This week, I am taking off and measuring my heart rate. However, I am dieting, looking to hit my calorie target of 1800.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation, now here's the qs.

1. I am not sure what my max is, as it may have gone down since my last maxout run (havent done heavy squats since tht 345 day, and when I tried to 275 two weeks ago... I couldnt do it for 5x5 like I could in November). Also, for my bench, I have corrected my form in the last month, and go lower (touching my chest) than I did b4, which would reduce my max.

So my question is, after the famine, should I do the 5 workout routine to determine new maxes? Or should I guestimate and head right into a loading pattern? (I would use 235 as my bench and 315 as my squat maxes).

A. You absolutely need to perform workouts 1-5 to establish your 1RM, which has likely changed. If you guess and guess wrong, you'd have to start the whole thing over. Just don't want to waste your time. I'm sure you don't either

2. I have done the GLP 1 loading pattern essentially 3x in the last year. It has not delivered, and it is obviously due to my changing of diet, lack of rest days due to being hurried, etc. However, I do not think it would be wise to do GLP1 again, especially after having done it in just november. So, should I just do the GLP 2?

A. Repeating the same loading pattern with any type of regularity is dooming it to failure. Once the body has "seen" that particular loading pattern once it recognizes it again and will stop responding (if performed too soon thereafter). That's why we have GLPII, The Russian Program, the 10% solution etc.

Suggest the 10% solution be your next step to remedy!

3. Body composition wise, my goal is to get to around 6-7% body fat, and maintain as much muscle as possible. My current stats are 192.8 lbs and probably about 12-14% body fat. So essentially, this run will be as a cut. What would your recommendations be for my caloric intake?

Current framework: Famine--> 1540 calories a day of fruits, veggies, V8.
First 72 hours of Feast phase--> 2100-2300 cals.
From then on: 1900 calories a day on workout days (200 pro, 225 carb, 22 fat)
1800 cals a day on non workout days. (200 protein, 200g carbs, 22 g fat)

Look good?

A. I'd much rather see you run a re-comp. Doing so will afford you the opportunity to build LBM and drop fat simultaneously. Your caloric zig zags aren't wide enough, so allow me to offer some guidance:

First 3 days of Feast: 120% of maintenenance
Remainder of first two weeks: 100% of maint. on training days/90% on off days
Second two weeks: 100% on training days, 80% on off days
Final two weeks: 100% on training days, 70% on off days

Important to point out that these graduated caloric deficits mitigate any down regulation in basal metabolic rate seen with a "fixed" caloric intake. You see it all the time. People who maintain on 3,000K/day diet on 2,000. They'll lose weight... for about a month. The body then figures out that's all it's going to get, adjusts the BMR downward and yep, there's your plateau.

The above solution will prevent this..

4. Is an EC stack ok to use during the famine?

A. Yes but do get clearance from a Dr. Strong stuff. A strong cup of joe is a logical starting point.

5. During the famine, are grains meant to be eaten? Is brown rice ok to consume as long as I stay within my cal limit? Or is this time meant to be all fruits and veggies?

A. Yes, grains are fine. Excellent in fact.


I might have more questions after this, so I am sorry for the long reading and everything. I know you've probably heard this a lot (hell, you've heard it quite a bit from me in the past), but I really am completely dedicated. I finally have control of my eating and sleeping situations to ensure proper recovery, and am staying in one place for a while, which means I dont have to hurry any workouts. More importantly, I also have a clear goal in my head of what I want to do, and am more determined than ever to accomplish it.

Thank you so much for your time Rob, and to everyone else on this forum.

A. My pleasure. You sound ready so let's do it!!

Awesome, thank you. I will do the 10 % solution as the loading pattern after finding out my new 1 rep maxes. I will also follow the caloric zig zag, although I have a question regarding that.
1. Is my maintenance= 10 x my bodyweight?

For most that's pretty close. Best to average it out over 7 days. You'll find it....

Livestrong.com is a favorite of many here!!

It's a favorite of mine as well, as I do all my counting in there! Thank you, I'll adjust my plan accordingly. Just another question to make sure I'm getting everything right.

For the 5 HIT workouts to determine my maxes, how many days off are reccomended between workouts? In the runs I've done before, I've gone with one on, one off, and usually taking 2 days off before the last workout.

As for this week, I'm just laying low and taking that week off while reading as much BP as I can.

If 1on/1off and then 1on/2off later in the cycle was working for you, continue using it!

At my age, I start with 1on/2off and add days from there. Ability to recovery from these sessions is individual. I WISH I could give everyone an Rx for this but I can't. Why?

Because it's highly dependent upon your age, sleep, diet and other factors. It's also a moving target for as you grow stronger, you absolutely need to workout LESS frequently to allow the body to super-compensate due to the fact the stresses on your body growing from workout to workout lifting heavier weights for more reps, etc..

1on/2off is as close to a "stock" recommendation I can make. Any guidance needed, right here to help you!!

Alriiightt!!!!!!!! 1st day of the famine and I'm going strong. I ate quite a bit yesterday to prepare for the famine, and ate most of it quite late in the day, including some orange chicken at around 1:00 AM. This resulted in a high weigh in this morning.

Weight: 197.8

I've only had water and 3/4 of a V8 so far in the day, and plan to go warrior diet with this and get some rice in the cafeteria for dinner, a salad, and then grab some fruit to eat later in the day, and for tmrw morning.

I just did my workout, I felt pretty good during it. Was very careful with squats, it is an exercise I'm always very cautious with, but I make sure my form is good. I go to parallel, and sometimes just below it.

Here's how it went:

Squats: 2 sets of 255x4, and 1 set of 245x5
T-Bar Rows: 2 plates x 6

Stand bb curl: 75x6
Incline db curl: 35x6
Preacher curl: 85x4

I'm now gonna do the p90x yoga tape (100 minutes!!!!) to gain some flexibilty, I plan on doing quite a bit of yoga in this run. Flexibility is something I must improve.

Just finished the yoga, and wow. I feel much more relaxed, but also cramped a few times, including in my ab, hamstring, and neck, which aren't fun. I have a past problem with cramping, and plan to stay even more hydrated than I already am (have a had a gallon of water so far today) before doing yoga again. It was intense, and I dont want it to affect my lifting sessions, so I may do this on just off days.

Try to eat more bananas. They are loaded with potassium which act like lube for your muscles, preventing them to cramp.

Thanks bigpelo! I will try more bananas, though I will say my cramping problem is much bigger than I might have originally stated. A couple of years ago, I would full body cramp quite often during tennis tournaments, and ended up in the hospital 4 times from it. I tried all the remedies (pickle juice, bananas, mustard, electrolytes, extreme amts of water, etc, etc). Long story short, I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a week, and not even they could figure out wuts wrong with me.
Since not playing tennis as much, I've stopped the full body cramping, however I am still very weary of cramping.

I will do the bananas, although something I've been wondering for a while now... are bananas ok for famine? All fruits are right? I thought I read somewhere that starchy fruits arent preferred so... ?

Check my log. Rob has design my famine diet with four serving of banana per day...

I just did before dinner, and I'm eating a banana as I type this actually. Thanks bro

kswimbledon wrote:Thanks bigpelo! I will try more bananas, though I will say my cramping problem is much bigger than I might have originally stated. A couple of years ago, I would full body cramp quite often during tennis tournaments, and ended up in the hospital 4 times from it. I tried all the remedies (pickle juice, bananas, mustard, electrolytes, extreme amts of water, etc, etc). Long story short, I ended up going to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a week, and not even they could figure out wuts wrong with me.
Since not playing tennis as much, I've stopped the full body cramping, however I am still very weary of cramping.

I will do the bananas, although something I've been wondering for a while now... are bananas ok for famine? All fruits are right? I thought I read somewhere that starchy fruits arent preferred so... ?

Switch out two bananas for an apple and a plumb. Also, add ZMA prior to bed. I have a sneaking suspicion this is a magnesium deficiency...

Thanks Rob, will do. Another question, regarding The Formula. I'm guessing bc this is on the bp board, this counts as "keeping it in the bp fam", so please forgive me if I misunderstood.

Edit- I'm sorry Rob. Will pm you.