The Next Phase: Balanced, Consistent, and Sustained Progress

[jaredmus]

SOLID workout! I've been loving BFR training as of late

I'm a big fan of BFR. Once a week for biceps and hamstrings has done wonders over the past year or so.

use just knee wraps?

[jpfaherty]

Love BFR from a bodybuilding standpoint! Gainz up in here.

[red_cat]

The circles & arrows made me think of a football playbook hahah

Enjoy the steak + potato etc

What do you put on yours?

I'm a big believer that a steak should be good enough to stand on its own. If I'm at an Applebee's or something like that then I'll get a "dressed up steak" with stuff on top of it, but there are some seriously good steakhouses around here and the beef is ridiculously fresh.

use just knee wraps?

I use knee wraps for legs but I've been using some cheap first aid tourniquets for arms lately. I always wrapped my arms way too tightly when I was using knee wraps on them before.

Love BFR from a bodybuilding standpoint! Gainz up in here.

You know it!!

[wrkoutfrq]

I'm a big believer that a steak should be good enough to stand on its own. If I'm at an Applebee's or something like that then I'll get a "dressed up steak" with stuff on top of it, but there are some seriously good steakhouses around here and the beef is ridiculously fresh.

I use knee wraps for legs but I've been using some cheap first aid tourniquets for arms lately. I always wrapped my arms way too tightly when I was using knee wraps on them before.

You know it!!

I agree wholeheartedly about the steak, even if it's not a quality piece of meat if prepared correctly it should still stand on its own.

I use my wrist wraps to wrap my arms when I do BFR with them, works pretty well but I'm hoping my arms will grow to where I can't do that

[mhilliard44]

All this steak talk is making me hungry. The BBQ is epic here in Texas, I've been enjoying myself...sometimes too much.

Looking good this offseason! I'm looking into BFR myself right now, seems like its pretty solid, those tourniquets on Amazon seem to be pretty popular among bodybuilders right now, and they're pretty cheap too. Well worth the investment for some arm gains.

[red_cat]

I agree wholeheartedly about the steak, even if it's not a quality piece of meat if prepared correctly it should still stand on its own.

I use my wrist wraps to wrap my arms when I do BFR with them, works pretty well but I'm hoping my arms will grow to where I can't do that

I tried wrist wraps once and it just didn't work. They didn't velcro just right and kept falling off. The tourniquets on Amazon that Matt mentioned are a nice solution. They took a little bit of messing with to find out how exactly they stay on the best but were a breeze after that.

All this steak talk is making me hungry. The BBQ is epic here in Texas, I've been enjoying myself...sometimes too much.

Looking good this offseason! I'm looking into BFR myself right now, seems like its pretty solid, those tourniquets on Amazon seem to be pretty popular among bodybuilders right now, and they're pretty cheap too. Well worth the investment for some arm gains.

Eh, what are off-seasons for? I really do love BFR for arms and legs. It's a big reason that those body parts came up as much as they did over the past couple of years.


08/23/15

Morning Weight: 198.0 lbs (Still hovering around here)
Planned Macros: Off - 240p/430c (+30)/35-40fib/90f (+5)
-------------------------
Thoughts:

WHOO! Long overdue update! Finally got set at a gym up here. The school facility is definitely nice but it wasn't working out well with the amount of time I had to spend going to and from. I'm all about efficiency and I found a great place that's 5 minutes from my door instead of 10-12 minutes. Those extra few minutes have really helped me not feel so rushed and give me time to eat an actual meal before I hit the weights at 5 AM. Highlights for the week were:

Started 5-3-1 on the Big 3: This program has always done me well and I wanted to get back to it, esspecially switching back to a high bar squat. I won't lift heavy EVERY week but will go every other. Last week was 5's on squat and bench, this week will be purely hypertrophy on those with 5's on dead, next week will be 3's on squat and bench...etc. No major numbers here right now.

Eliminated BFR in favor of higher volume in traditional hypertrophy ranges: Funny that the last few comments were BFR related. I've been doing it for quite a while (way back into my prep season) and just feel like I need a break from it. One big reasons I was doing BFR was due to time constraints. My workouts have gotten MUCH shorter (no longer than 90 minutes now) and I actually have the time for more arm and ham volume.

Weight-wise I'm comfortable where I'm at about 2 1/2 months post-show. I've only put on about 2-3 lbs over my rebound and that's perfect. Haven't increased macros for the past couple of weeks so I'm going to add a little more aggressively than I have been and probably hold steady for the next 4-6 weeks.

Life has been great. I'm starting to hit my stride with the students and my schedule and I'm lucky to have been able to transition into it slowly. Last week I traveled to all of my schools at least once but only actually taught about 1/3 of my kids. This week it will be about 2/3 and next week I'll have everyone. Lots of adjusting for both me and the students, but lots of positive vibes as well! Family has been great too and, even with a late gig one night last week, I've gotten to spend a lot more time around the wife and kid. Just being around them more makes life a lot better and puts me in a much better frame of mind.

[IK9]

I'm glad everything is going well for you brah

[happydude101]

I'm really happy to hear things are going well for you!

Any specific goals at present, or still just working to get properly settled from all the recent changes?

[jpfaherty]

Seems like things are all falling into place! Now it's GROW time!

[red_cat]

I'm glad everything is going well for you brah

Thanks, Inna!

I'm really happy to hear things are going well for you!

Any specific goals at present, or still just working to get properly settled from all the recent changes?

I'm still kinda settling into the day-to-day but I'm getting into a good groove. I've kinda figured out what I've got to work with for time limits and, as far as goals go, I definitely want to start getting those big 3 lifts back up to where they were before prep. Back/hams/upper chest/arms are still prioritized and probably will be for the rest of my life...or at least the next few years.

Seems like things are all falling into place! Now it's GROW time!

Word. I think I'm going to aim for right around a pound per month for now. I'm looking to be in the 200-205 lb range when we ring in the new year (depending on how loose I get with my macros around the holidays).

[red_cat]

5:30 in the morning....why not hit an AMRAP set on deads with 325? Left a few in the tank strength-wise. Just have no cardiovascular endurance right now.

[happydude101]

5:30 in the morning....why not hit an AMRAP set on deads with 325? Left a few in the tank strength-wise. Just have no cardiovascular endurance right now.

Nice job and looking good!

[jaredmus]

Looked good in that video, soon 325x 12-15 once the cardio comes back for sure man, nice work

[IK9]

that's some deadlifting right there!

[phillysteak]

Solid looking pulls man.

[NaturalPursuit]

use just knee wraps?

Knee wraps for legs
Wrist wraps for arms

The amount of growth and increased vascularity/nutrient delivery has increased ten fold from doing multiple BFR sessions per week in various fashions

[TGreggors]

Nice pulls, man. Was looking eas too. Subbed to your youtube channel, by the way

[red_cat]

Nice pulls, man. Was looking eas too. Subbed to your youtube channel, by the way

Thank ya, sir. There isn't too much interesting on there...just a bunch of unlisted lifting and posing videos. lol

Knee wraps for legs
Wrist wraps for arms

The amount of growth and increased vascularity/nutrient delivery has increased ten fold from doing multiple BFR sessions per week in various fashions

Absolutely agreed. It's especially useful when doing bodyparts multiple times per week.

Solid looking pulls man.

Oooooh! Complements from the resident contest prep powerlifter. I have arrived.

that's some deadlifting right there!

Yes sir! It is!

Looked good in that video, soon 325x 12-15 once the cardio comes back for sure man, nice work

I think you meant IF it comes back. lol I've got jack time to do any actual cardio, but the increased tempo of my workouts might have a small cardio benefit. We shall see! I've done 315 for 20+ so it's there....somewhere. lol

Nice job and looking good!

Thanks! I'm incredibly pleased with how things are progressing. Not worried about the scale at all. The weight will come with time.

[jaredmus]

If you have done 315 for 20 before next goals should be 365 for 20

[red_cat]

If you have done 315 for 20 before next goals should be 365 for 20

LOL It's something to shoot for. I know those high rep deads are part of the reason why I had the best glutes on stage this past season.

[red_cat]

09/05/15

Morning Weight: 199.0 lbs (Weekly average @ 197.8; +.5)
Planned Macros: Off - 240p/430c/35-40fib/90f
-------------------------
Thoughts:

Tired. lol That's my thought. Finally seeing all of my students now and it was a pretty busy week with two out of town gigs. Still hitting macros just fine but I've given myself some wiggle room each day. If I feel like having a piece of a Kit Kat, whatever. Not gonna bother tracking that. Hasn't had any real impact on my weight that I can tell.

Workouts were solid this week. Might have been a little bit more sore due to the decreased sleep but everything has recovered well in general. I've noticed my wrists are taking a bit of a beating so that's something I'll be keeping an eye on. I imagine that's due to the increased volume for arms (more curls...lots more curls). Upper back has been getting the majority of the volume on those days so it's pretty beat up as well. I should probably be better about rumble rolling my back/glutes/hams but I get tired at the end of the night and end up just crawling into bed.

Back/Hams from 9/4/15


Delts/Traps/Arms from 9/5/15

[IK9]

heal up & eat moar Kit Kats ^_^

[phillysteak]

Lots of gains in here man. And may I suggest the white chocolate kit kats...

[jpfaherty]

I hear ya on just crawling into bed lol

Once the body weight gets back up to normal levels a piece of kit kat or similar isn't going to do a damn thing. People have much bigger maintenance ranges than they think. Enjoy

[jaredmus]

I hear ya on just crawling into bed lol

Once the body weight gets back up to normal levels a piece of kit kat or similar isn't going to do a damn thing. People have much bigger maintenance ranges than they think. Enjoy

I prefer a baby ruth or pay day but to each their own. Something funny my sister (19 years old) boyfriend of 3 years, grandfather created the kit-kat jingle.

[NaturalPursuit]

I hear ya on just crawling into bed lol

Once the body weight gets back up to normal levels a piece of kit kat or similar isn't going to do a damn thing. People have much bigger maintenance ranges than they think. Enjoy

x10 on this! I feel like too many people will limit their intake and it hurts them hormonally and socially long term

[red_cat]

heal up & eat moar Kit Kats ^_^

More Kit Kats = more muscle recovery. SCIENCE! Recovery really isn't that bad and I'm adjusting volume as I go if I consistently notice a body part not recovering particularly well.

Lots of gains in here man. And may I suggest the white chocolate kit kats...

Never had them, but I trust your judgement without question.

I hear ya on just crawling into bed lol

Once the body weight gets back up to normal levels a piece of kit kat or similar isn't going to do a damn thing. People have much bigger maintenance ranges than they think. Enjoy

That's kind of what I'm finding. I've got my macros set but even if I overeat a couple of days a week, things aren't dramatically off from what my goal is in terms of gaining.

I prefer a baby ruth or pay day but to each their own. Something funny my sister (19 years old) boyfriend of 3 years, grandfather created the kit-kat jingle.

HA! That's awesome! I had a big Kit Kat and a Mr. Goodbar given to me as a start of the school year present so it's just what I have around the house right now. I think there's a dark chocolate Easter bunny around here somewhere too......

x10 on this! I feel like too many people will limit their intake and it hurts them hormonally and socially long term

Yeah. It's great to hit numbers every day but I'm finding it isn't essential to the process for me right now. I'll stay close but no reason for me to stress over getting them dead on.

[Vanguard1965]

Liking the new journal and glad to hear things are going well.

[red_cat]

Happy holidays all. 215-ish feels pretty good right now.

[IK9]

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