Built like a Badass

nilster

Any reason not to go through this one again with your new maxes? Possibly even changing the main movements on Days 1 and 2 if you feel like doing something different?

Satanta

You could give WS4SB a go. The same structure but you have the freedom to choose the movements you want to do.

Personally I think I'll do 10 weeks of a bodybuilding routing of some kind. Maybe DC or volume.

arse..biscuits

I'm just starting BLABA, working from home so I don't have some of the equipment required. Can anyone suggest possible replqcements?



Seated overhand cable row - bent over rows?
Cable tricep pushdowns - standing tricep extensions? (overhead)
45 degree back raises - ??

Arctic89

arse..biscuits wrote: »

I'm just starting BLABA, working from home so I don't have some of the equipment required. Can anyone suggest possible replqcements?



Seated overhand cable row - bent over rows?
Cable tricep pushdowns - standing tricep extensions? (overhead)
45 degree back raises - ??

My gym doesn't have a back raise machine so I did Good Mornings instead.

arse..biscuits

Arctic89 wrote: »

My gym doesn't have a back raise machine so I did Good Mornings instead.

Perfect, didn't think of those,
thanks.

nilster

Seated overhand cable row - bent over rows?
Cable tricep pushdowns - standing tricep extensions? (overhead)
45 degree back raises - ??[/Quote]

BB rows: sure, just remember the purpose of the assistance work, and don't go too heavy.
Triceps: overhead or prone extensions with a barbell or dumbell(s).
Lower back: yes to GM's, but again keep the weight reasonable and work the muscle instead of the movement.

GASMANN

was meant to start week 7 last but missed the whole week due to work, decided to claw back some time by doing week 7 days 1&2 this morning.
i think i might regret it tommorow...

crank_1975

This plan looks ideal for my goals for next year however I have had a long layoff (1 year) from training due to a back injury. Can anyone recommend a plan (4 to 8 weeks) which I could do to get me into a position to start BLAB? Or could I just start anyway with lower 1RM?

I have been doing cardio in the intervening period but would not class myself as 'fit'.

Have been lifting weights for 15 years on and off.

nilster

Maybe test your current 1RM on the upper and lower ME movements you want to use, and test your max reps on chins and then jump right in?

I had very little weight lifting experience, and hadn't lifted in 6+ years. I only did 3 months of WS4SB before starting this, and that's basically the same thing with far less guidance.

mobile w

i had a similar issue as you with starting the programme after a decent break off. i jumped straight in and after a while (i suppose when muscle memory kicked in or whatever) my 1rm were far too low so redid them on the deload week(5) and continued on with week 6. found it very difficult thereafter so maybe give yourself a week two and see if you can get a decent guage of you maxes.

im just finishing it up now and really enjoyed it and am going to start it again when i finish.

one question though, i had been doing deadlifts as my max effort lift on days 2 and want to switch it to squats for this time around. problem is i only have access to a smith machine for this in my gym.

would you still get good work out of squating on a smith or is it not considered a compound movement in practical terms? are there any health reasons why i shouldnt do it? ive heard about it being potentially detrimental to your knees.

nilster

MW, I'm glad you're running the program again. I hope you keep us informed, as I haven't seen anyone run it more than once. I myself am expecting to run it again next year so I'd love to see feedback from someone else that's been through it more than once.

Regarding using a machine for an ME movement; it seems inadvisable. The machine simply reduces the complexity of the movement, and therefore reduces the benefits. Unfortunately, I don't have any good suggestions for you besides more deadlift variations. You can see the list of movements Defranco likes to use at webpages such as this one. But if you're dead set on squatting, I'm not sure that helps. I've heard people talk about using a bench press set-up to do squats, but I've neve done it or seen it, and, frankly, it sounds like a Good Morning waiting to happen.

Hopefully someone else here has some more recommendations on how to Squat without a stand or rack.

Inspector Coptoor

How big is your squat? Can you clean?

mobile w

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

How big is your squat? Can you clean?

havent squatted before because we dont have a rack but was planning on trying it out on the smith this week at some stage. my deadlift max was 160 at the end of the programme and no ive never learned to clean unfortunately. is the idea to learn to clean and front squat? ive not tried them before either!

Inspector Coptoor

mobile w wrote: »

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

How big is your squat? Can you clean?

havent squatted before because we dont have a rack but was planning on trying it out on the smith this week at some stage. my deadlift max was 160 at the end of the programme and no ive never learned to clean unfortunately. is the idea to learn to clean and front squat? ive not tried them before either!

Yeah, that would have been the idea.
Clean the weight & then front squat it.
Or clean it, jerk/press over head and lower behind the neck for back squats which is obviously awkward.

Inspector Coptoor

Got a 105kg front squat this evening in week 11 day 2 for a 15kg PR.

Max 11 weeks ago was 90kg

Warm ups went
20 x 2 x 5
40 x 4 x 5
50 x 5
60 x 3
70 x 3
80 x 1
90 x 1
100 x 1 - ugly ass rep.
105 x 1 ugly but better than the 100.

Gotta really work on my upper back, and on my elbows in the rack position coming out of the bottom of the squat.

Huge thanks to Wayne in ECB for helping me in my technique which is improving (v slowly)

BW this evening - 101kg.

BlueIsland

In week 5. Its a deload week. Didnt get to go gym today. Usually I break it into Thursday,rest, Saturday, rest,Monday,rest,rest.
Missed today- beyond my control.
Thinking doing the deload upper and lower body workouts tomorow together. Cos cant really go saturday to gym. So do the third deload workout Sunday and back into week 6 on Tuesday.
Would leave it like this:
Bench 2x5
Squat 2x5
Flat DB press 2x15
Squat jumps 2x6
seated cable rows 2x15
back raises 2x10
db shrugs 2x10
med ball twists 2x10
Barbell complex (just with bar) one set
20 minutes steady state cardio

All these only at 50-60 % of max.

Should be ok do these in one session yeh?

nilster

BI, or just do one set of each to save time. It's only a deload.

MW, I read recently about Steinborn Squats. Could be a solution to your no-rack problem that MAY allow for more weight than clean-to-front squats. If you have strong collars or clamps.

Inspector Coptoor

Finished the programme this evening.
Really really enjoyed it I have to say.
Made progress in every lift. Put on a but of weight - 2kg & am definitely leaner than 3 months ago.

Increases:
Front squat increased by 15kg
Bench by 10kg
Pull ups by 7 reps, from 18 up to 25.
Push ups up by 3 reps, from 41 to 44 with no break between reps.

Will definitely run this programme again in the future.

Now it's gonna be 3 weeks of messing around & then gonna give a programme of Dave Kirschen's a Craic for 10 weeks from Jan 2nd.

Barry.Oglesby

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

Increases:
Front squat increased by 15kg
Bench by 10kg
Pull ups by 7 reps, from 18 up to 25.
Push ups up by 3 reps, from 41 to 43 with no break between reps.

Will definitely run this programme again in the future.

Now it's gonna be 3 weeks of messing around & then gonna give a programme of Dave Kirschen's a Craic for 10 weeks from Jan 2nd.

Maths fail.

Other than that good progress. Saw the pull ups on facebook very good.

Inspector Coptoor

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Maths fail.

Other than that good progress. Saw the pull ups on facebook very good.

44 reps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZQPm2zgJP8


Thanks for pointing out the error.

d'Oracle

Jeez.

I'm getting in the background of a lot of videos these days.

Mellor

25 pulls ups are 192kg is pretty impressive

BlueIsland

Right ill have week 8th completed by Dec 23rd! From 24th to 1st I have weddings, dinner dances, races etc etc...I am gonna get to gym three times in that period but cos of drinking and that Ill be doing Im thinking maybe repeating week 8 of programme in that time period.Instead of trying to hit bigger numbers and that hungover and generally in bits. Ill then go fresh into week 9 in the first week of January. What ye think?Anyone done anything similar??

pharmag

Hi, I'm planning on starting this program in Janurary when back in college and from reading this forum it seems to be very well regarded. I was just wondering if someone could give me advice on one aspect of it:

Although I'm a regular gym goer (4/5 times a week), I have always struggled with chin-ups and push-ups. My max sets for the two exercises are 4 and 8 respectively. I'm just wondering if I would be better off going for the higher rep pull-ups or the more beneficial chin-ups?

Thanks in advance!

Inspector Coptoor

why are chin ups more benficial?

you said you can do 4 chin ups and 8 push ups.

how many pull ups can you do?

pharmag

Apologies, I meant 8 pull-ups!
I always felt that chin-ups gave a more complete work-out, ie. they cover lats, traps, shoulders and biceps. Whereas pull-ups seem to be more just biceps.

pharmag

Also, and I know it sounds simple, but chin-ups are harder than pull-ups and hence I thought more beneficial. When you did the program Liam, which one did you do?

Inspector Coptoor

pharmag wrote: »

I always felt that chin-ups gave a more complete work-out, ie. they cover lats, traps, shoulders and biceps. Whereas pull-ups seem to be more just biceps.

chin ups are more biceps dominant than pull ups.
pull ups should hit your lats more, especially in a wide grip position.

for the purpose of the Built like a badass porgramme, Id use the pull figure of 8 as the focus of the programme is to build up your pull ups volume over time,

Like in week 11, you do your max plus 80%, so if you have a max of 4, that means 4 + 3 for a total of 7 reps, whereas if you use the max of 8, that means 8 + 7 so 15 reps

Inspector Coptoor

pharmag wrote: »

Also, and I know it sounds simple, but chin-ups are harder than pull-ups and hence I thought more beneficial. When you did the program Liam, which one did you do?

id agree with you to a point here.

I find pull ups way easier than chin ups.
but i kip my pull ups, which allowed me to knock out 25 pull ups there last week.
Id probably struggle to do 10 dead hang chins at 102kg BW.

I did pull ups for the de franco programme.

My pull ups went from 18 to 25

pharmag

That makes sense! I always believed that the chin-ups the program mentions were wide-grip and that pull-ups would be narrow grip. So just to clarify, did you do narrow or wide grip pull-ups?

Inspector Coptoor

I did wide grip.
well outside my shoulder width

pharmag

Thanks for your help Liam! Very much appreciated!

TheZ

pharmag wrote: »

Also, and I know it sounds simple, but chin-ups are harder than pull-ups and hence I thought more beneficial. When you did the program Liam, which one did you do?

Always found pull ups harder than chin ups - range of motion with pull ups seems more limited

Worth experimenting and see what suits you best - also try neutral grip pull ups if the pull up station has the two handles attached to the bar

ferike1

I find dead hang wide grip pullups far more difficult than chins.

Hanley

Almost everyone's gonna find pull ups harder.

arse..biscuits

I'm on week 4 at the moment. I'm doing squats. Decided to test my deadlift 1RM yesterday and its up 10kg.

Vikings

Started this on Monday, day 2 today wasn't too bad. Still sore from day 1 though! Not looking forward to day 3. Both chins and push ups - starting weight on monday 117kg. Not going to be fun at all.

MaxPower89

Should there be a days rest in between each workout day? Should I stay away from the gym on the off days? What kind of work can be supplemented on the off days? I couldnt find this in the programme intro...

I've read lots of poor reviews on the programme but am going to give it a go anyway, just to stick to a programme as much as anything else really, as I havent done a proper programme before.

NinjaK

MaxPower89 wrote: »

Should there be a days rest in between each workout day? Should I stay away from the gym on the off days? What kind of work can be supplemented on the off days? I couldnt find this in the programme intro...

I've read lots of poor reviews on the programme but am going to give it a go anyway, just to stick to a programme as much as anything else really, as I havent done a proper programme before.

yea of course there should be a rest day, I have 2 rest days before working out again.

Satanta

MaxPower89 wrote: »

Should there be a days rest in between each workout day? Should I stay away from the gym on the off days? What kind of work can be supplemented on the off days? I couldnt find this in the programme intro...

Check out the questions at the end. In particular page 18.

I added in light cardio 2 days a week as well. I'm restarting the program next week after being unable to complete it at the end of last year due to repeated chest and throat infections. just tested my maxes this week and was a little dissapointed at them. although I didn't do a tap since early December

Inspector Coptoor

MaxPower89 wrote: »

Should there be a days rest in between each workout day? Should I stay away from the gym on the off days? What kind of work can be supplemented on the off days? I couldnt find this in the programme intro...

I've read lots of poor reviews on the programme but am going to give it a go anyway, just to stick to a programme as much as anything else really, as I havent done a proper programme before.

I ran it like this:
Monday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3

I did light conditioning on Tuesday & Thursday & Sunday mornings & Sat was complete rest

colman1212

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

I ran it like this:
Monday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3

I did light conditioning on Tuesday & Thursday & Sunday mornings & Sat was complete rest

What did the light conditioning involve out of interest?

Inspector Coptoor

colman1212 wrote: »

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

I ran it like this:
Monday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3

I did light conditioning on Tuesday & Thursday & Sunday mornings & Sat was complete rest

What did the light conditioning involve out of interest?

Tuesday & Thursday were 2-3 10 min conditioning blocks.
Rounds of simple exercises like DB rows, push ups, lunges etc & try to get through as many rounds as possible. I generally didn't push these too hard.

Sunday's were harder - hill sprints!

colman1212

Cool. Im a bit bored with my current program, so much so ive been terrible for logging recently. Think I'll start this program monday. Its something new and looks interesting. I'm a big fan of defranco too. Seems to be very well respected amongst professional athletes.

Inspector Coptoor

colman1212 wrote: »

Cool. Im a bit bored with my current program, so much so ive been terrible for logging recently. Think I'll start this program monday. Its something new and looks interesting. I'm a big fan of defranco too. Seems to be very well respected amongst professional athletes.

Have you tested the lifts?
Have you decided on whether you'll do bench/incline bench on Day 1?
Squat/Deadlift Day 2?
Chin ups/pull ups/neutral grip chin ups?
Are you gonna do the 1mile run on day 2 or do a 2km row?

Best of luck with the programme, I loved it.

JJayoo

How is everyone eating while on this programme?

Lukker-

I'm a complete beginner when it comes to weights, but I'm looking to bulk up a bit.

I've gone to the gym infrquently over the last 6 months but I always just use machine weights at a pretty low setting. I have no experience with free weights but I am seriously looking to gain some weight as I have a pretty ridiculous metabolism, I have always eaten what I want when I want and generally stay the same weight. Would this be suitable for a newbie to weights? I've had a look through the .pdf and I don't understand the majority of what is being said. I'd love to hire a PT just to get a general understanding of all the stuff but I can see that being a tad expensive.

cmyk

Lukker- wrote: »

Would this be suitable for a newbie to weights? I've had a look through the .pdf and I don't understand the majority of what is being said.

Then the answer is no unfortunately...the whole programme is built around free weights, so technique is key otherwise it'll just break you.

Lukker- wrote: »

I'd love to hire a PT just to get a general understanding of all the stuff but I can see that being a tad expensive.

I'd say that would be a good call. Find a local PT, I see you're in Galway so you could touch base with a trainer here called d-gal (no idea of exact location), explain you want to learn basic free weight technique. This should be achievable within a couple of sessions, he can then assess whether a programme like that would be suitable for you. In terms of the expense, one or two quality sessions with a good PT is an investment and often works out less than a night out.

Brendygg

@liamhenners How many cals a day were you taking while doing the program, cheers

Inspector Coptoor

Brendygg wrote: »

@liamhenners How many cals a day were you taking while doing the program, cheers

3200-3400 cals per day