Body By Science, Fasting and BFR Training Results (with pics!)

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #261

Yesterday I did my first upper and lower body combined BBS training. I pushed harder than I ever have. This morning I’m feeling sore in my upper-body and I’m smiling. My soreness is usually minimal on keto. Not today. I think @Don_Q called is DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness)

In a past life I would never have wished to feel sore after exercising. Now I know I am stronger, more agile and no longer approaching older age with a trend towards frailty.

I am so grateful for failure training and also all of you. This tribe of people interested in BBS and BFR is helping me learn to improve my game.

(Windmill Tilter) #262

I’m a big fan of Drew Baye. I’ve gotten some good info off his blog, and his HIT book helped fill in some gaps left by BBS.

(Windmill Tilter) #263

Must be a new feature. It didn’t have one before. We use the timer feature all the time.

When you have little kids like me (5,7,9), a timer can be a great “bad cop”. For example, when pajama time is taking too long, I don’t need to nag my kids, I just say loudly in an impatient Dad voice “Alexa, set a timer for 5 minutes”. No pajama’s, no book. It works like magic. :yum:

(PJ) #264

Great plan! :laughing: You have to “add the skill” to Alexa in order to have it.

Well except for me, the echo still won’t recognize I added the skill, so I don’t yet have it. If I ask for anything stopwatch Alexa responds about alarm. :roll_eyes:


is the stopwatch skill (the better one seemingly) fwiw.

(Windmill Tilter) #265

I gave my BBS tracking spreadsheet an overhaul. I now track the following for each exercise:

  • exercise order
  • exercise weight
  • failure time
  • reps
  • time under tension

Each of these things seems like it adds piece of the picture in terms of performance and gives a clearer picture as to whether I’m making progress or not. What order I do the exercises in makes a huge difference. I could make every session the same order, but as individual lifts lag, I like to push them to the beginning so I have more energy to hit them hard and inroad. For example I dropped from 115 sec TUT on the Upright row four days ago down to 101 seconds this week. When you consider that it was the first exercise last week, and the second one this week, it’s not quite so bad. I’d say I broke even. Without the context of exercise order and reps however, it would have looked like regression.

Here is what my tracking spreadsheet looks like. It’s ugly as hell, but since it’s in google sheets, I can update it on my phone during the workout. I can also run it in split screen mode, so that half of my screen is the spreadsheet, and the other half is a stopwatch. Convenient.

I have a little icon on my homescreen so I can open it up just like an app. The spreadsheet also has a calorie tracker, which is nice. It also tracks metabolic performance by comparing my actual weight trendline vs a “perfect metabolism” so I can see how things are running hormonally and metabolically. If I deviate from the predicted line, it means I need to fix something. It ain’t pretty, but gets the job done. Most of the cells are empty because I just added 2 new exercises, and I just started tracking half this stuff in the past week. Here is what it looks like:

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(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #266

Okay so I’m confused. What is the difference between TUT and failure time?

(Windmill Tilter) #267

It confuses me too :smile: . For me, “failure time” is the moment of rep failure. Time under tension is the point of total muscle failure.

After I fail a rep, I keep pushing as hard as I can for long as I can even though the weight doesn’t move like its an isometric exercise. Then I let the weight back down slowly and do another partial “rep”. I keep doing that until I no longer have control over the weight and it falls on me or out of my hands.

On most exercises, there is a small difference between the failure time and time under tension. On an exercise like the upright row, there is sometimes as much as a 50 second difference between the two!

I’m not saying this is the right way to track it, or even the right way to do a repetition; it’s just what I’ve been doing. I should probably reread BBS and
Baye’s HIT book to see what they say about it. It’s been a while!

(Windmill Tilter) #268

Here is a really interesting (and short!) video from Dr. McGuff in 2018 answering the question: "What is the best routine, and what is the best frequency?"

His answer was a little bit surprising. Essentially, he says it’s fine to start out with 3 times a week to begin, and as progress slows down, back that off to 2 times a week, and when progress again begins to slow at two days a week, drop down to 1 day per week. Basically, his point is to do BBS workouts as fast as you can recover…

I’ve been easing back into BBS after 7 months off, and it probably would have been smart for me to have done it this way to scale back up to full weight quickly. When I was doing 550lbs on the leg press, that was about a week, but it’s unlikely I was maxing out my recover potential when I started back up at 270lbs. I’m doing them differently than I used to, by going well past 90 degrees (in CrossFit parlance “ass to grass”), so they are much more challenging, but I probably left a lot of rapid progress on the table. I’m not worried about it though: progress not perfection!

This may be of interest to you @Meerkatsandy, since you’ll just be starting out with BBS in a few weeks, will be starting with low weights to be conservative, but have a bit of experience with resistance training.

#269

I just watched this clip yesterday :slight_smile: I had a HIT-binge weekend :slight_smile:
I liked his “dirty dozen” clip, it was a nice break from all the science - “if you want to survive, buy the biggest vehicle you can afford!” :joy: it’s a good thing my husband and I drive a Volvo V70 :joy:
I watched a few clips of his workouts, just to see what they look like in real life - I’m a “monkey see, monkey do” type of a person.

I think I found a gym that would suit me well, the owner is also our first keto dietician. They offer a free first visit, so I’ll swing by and see how the gym looks.

(Windmill Tilter) #270

This vid is really good too. Jay Vincent trained with both Dr. McGuff and with Fred Hahn for a couple of years. He runs 2 HIT gyms, one of which is conveniently located a few miles away from me. I worked with him when I first started out and found it helpful.

If you have the opportunity to work with a HIT specialized personal trainer for a couple sessions, it might be worth a shot. BBS is about the simplest workout you can do and you don’t need a trainer to figure out all of the exercises, but where a personal trainer adds value is to help you get to actual muscle failure, and experience what that’s like. It kind of sucks :yum:.

I had been lifting for years and had never experienced it. It’s the key to the whole thing though, so it can be nice to have someone force you to go there a few times so you have a frame of reference. A trainer isn’t necessary, it’s definitely a luxury, but if you’ve got a talented trainer a few miles away like I did, it’s a great way to jumpstart your HIT. Check out Dr. McGuff’s website, he has a list of trainers there. You might get lucky!

Don’t sweat it if you can’t find anyone, it definitely isn’t necessary! Anybody can do BBS, and it doesn’t need to be done “perfectly” for you to get fantastic results. :+1:

#271

I liked this video, as well :slight_smile:

I completely agree with you, a trainer is a must in the beginning…I’m not familiar with the machines, the form, etc. I just hope that I can find a trainer that will like my BBS approach. But then again, from what Drew said - any strength training done the proper way is more beneficial than what I have been doing so far. I can tweak as I go along and learn.
Im from Slovenia, no official trainers here, but I am sure I will find one that at least knows of BBS and will understand my wishes.

#272

So, I dove head first and did my first arm BFR workout! We went hiking over the weekend, an unexpectedly long and steep hike and my calves are still sore. :frowning: My family never was an outdoorsy type, but Slovenia is known for our beautiful nature and our people are definitely close relatives of mountain goats. :wink: I have to add that I hate nature, I hate hiking, I hate climbing, I curse all the way to the top! :joy: BUT, once I get up there and see the view, feel joy and success…totally worth every torturous step and I look forward to next hikes. :slight_smile:

Ok, back to BFR workout :slight_smile:
I did a 7 min cardio warm-up, put on my long- sleeved shirt and banded my arms.
My workout, I used 1kg dumbells:

Biceps 30/15/15/15
Overhead press 30/15/15/15
Pullover 30/15/15/15
Bentover fly 30/15*/15*/15* * without weights
Chest fly 30/15/15/15.

Notes from the workout:

  • I have to buy a sewing tape measure, I couldn’t find it this morning - mistake 1
  • I have to raise the band on my outer arm, the marks showed it a little low, but it was fine on the inner arm.
  • I think the tightness was ok, I regularly checked my palm pinkness - the whiteness disappeared within 3 seconds.
  • I had to retighten the bands, so I will tighten them a bit more next time - mistake 2
  • I think I flew past the exercises a bit too quickly or I wasn’t as concentrated as I could have been
  • after I took the bands off, my ears “stuffed up” for a few minutes, so I think I definitely did smth to my blood flow.

Now that I broke the ice and I know what to expect, I will definitely do better next time. I felt the pressure and a little pleasant discomfort. I think 1kg will be enough for now, I’ll just work on my form.
I was sweaty, but I think I will be sweatier next time, when I put in a little more effort.
My heart rate is a mystery, since these exercise watches are notoriously inaccurate when it comes to HR and I believe bands distorted even more…maybe I’ll invest into a chest band eventually.

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(Windmill Tilter) #273

Hooray!!! :+1::+1::+1:

I’m not sure why I’m so delighted by this but I really am. I’m glad it went well for you! When you first hear about BFR it sounds batshit crazy, but when you actually do it, it really isn’t that bad.

I’m curious about the heart rate stuff and I’m a sucker for data. I know I’ve seen heart rate stuff in the research but I always gloss over it because I don’t track it myself. Are there heart rate targets in some of the BFR research/binge watching you’ve been doing?

Also, how’s the soreness?

#274

Maybe for the same reason that I am - I actually went through with it? :joy::joy:

It really isn’t that bad, it just sounds scary because logic tells your blood shouldn’t be restricted. :wink:

I do have to say I only feel a tiny little bit sore: yesterday, my inner arms felt a bit weird and I can feel my triceps when I lift my arms up. I’ll see how the next workout will feel, I’m sure it will be more efficient and properly done.

Mercola mentioned that we will swear profusely (which I didn’t) and that our HR will rise. I was wondering what BFR will do to my HR, if I will be able to get anything from the readings during reps and if/how my CVS would improve over time, etc. I would probably have to do the same workout without the bands and compare it to this one, but I’m sure the bands affect the readings.

(Windmill Tilter) #275

I did. I dropped a dumbbell on my toe and swore like a sailor. :yum:

That’s great! Going with 1kg seems like it was a perfect choice. I think @daddyoh did his first session with around 1kg and also had minimal soreness. I wish I had done the same.

For subsequent sessions, I’d say just increase the weight a little each time until you can’t do 30/15/15/15 before hitting failure. Seems like an easy way to acclimate to BFR slowly and find the right weight at the same time. :+1:

You’re trying to find a weight that’s around 1/3rd of your 1 repetition max, which is hard to guess without having heavy weights to experiment with. Not being able to complete the 4th set should be a good proxy.

#276

:joy:
Thanks for the laugh, it’s a good thing I wasn’t holding my dumbbells just now! :wink:

I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s leg day and improving my arm workout over the weekend. :slight_smile:
My husband also mentioned that he supports BFR because I don’t have to buy/spend money heavier weights, now that I’m back on 1kg…little does he know I can soon whoop his butt more efficiently with the 1kg. :wink: Husband abuse aside, I really like the fact that I can have a better workout with safer weights, a rational way to go. :slight_smile:

#277

Good morning to all :slight_smile:
Today was BFR leg-day :slight_smile: I do have to say I’m a little disappointed, I measured my thigh circumference before applying the bands vs. after my workout and there was no increase :frowning: I will have to tighten them even more next time, I believe they stretched too much during my squats. :frowning:
On a positive note, it did feel like a nice workout - short, but sweet:

  • forward+backward lunges: 16+12/16+12/16+12/12+10 (here, in the beginning, I did feel some pressure in my thighs)
  • squats: 30/15/15/15/15
  • deadlifts (without bands with 3kg dumbbells, 15 reps)

I could definitely feel my legs towards the end of each rep session, lunges especially, so I do believe that I did get some benefits. I will have to band tighter next time and add in calf raises, but I was approaching 30 min banded, so I decided to be smart and call it a day. :wink:

(Windmill Tilter) #278

Wow! You must be in really good shape. I can barely squeak out 15 on the fourth set and you had enough left in the tank for a whole 5th set! Isee goblet squats in your future… :yum:

Band tightness on the legs is tricky. You can pull the band really tight and still have a ways to go. I was amazed the first time I used my pneumatic bands and went up to 150 mmHg (the recommended amount). It was way tighter than I had been going with my normal bands.

I think it was @CaptainKirk who mentioned that he uses rigid bands instead of elastic one’s for the legs because he felt like he just couldn’t get the elastic one’s as tight as he liked. Luckily, the bands don’t need to be perfect to still get results. I’ll be curious to hear how the next session goes for you with the bands tighter.

(Windmill Tilter) #279

I’m kind of bummed. My right achilles tendon has been sore the last couple of mornings. I didn’t notice anything until a couple of days after a BBS session, so I’m not sure exactly what I did. It’s low level soreness, but I’m reluctant to do anything with it lest I aggravate it. My current plan is to do an extended fast until it’s healed. If I’m not going to be getting stronger, I might as well be getting skinnier… :smile:

I’m going to have to look up the thread a bit to reread what @daddyoh has posted about the care and feeding of the Achilles tendon. Any other resources you would recommend Eric? Hopefully I can get this sorted in a days rather than weeks. :slight_smile:

I also managed to pull a muscle in my right shoulder. I’m pretty sure it happened on the pec fly exercise I added for the first time last session. My guess is my form wasn’t particularly on point because I’ve never done them before. So “arm day” isn’t really an option either. I’m using a lacrosse ball to roll it out every morning, which is never pleasant, but it is educational. I feel the pain in my shoulder/neck area, but when I roll it out, it’s clear that the pain originates in the middle of my back. The handy interactive muscle chart from healthline shows that I’m managed to pull my trapezius muscle. You can learn a lot about anatomy by lifting weights poorly… :yum:

I can’t do “arm day” or “leg day” at the moment. Is there such as thing as “left side day”? :smile:

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(Central Florida Bob ) #280

If I can just throw an observation in here and run away :crazy_face: Nature hates you, too. Nature hates all of us.

Nature is constantly trying to kill you every time you’re out in it. There was a story that made news here in the states a few years ago. I have no idea if the story made it to Slovenia. A guy was hiking by himself and through some bad accidents got trapped by an 800 pound rock rolling onto his arm. After being trapped for days, he cut his arm off with a pocket knife to get out of there.

Say what you will about sitting on sofa and eating potato chips, but I have never heard of someone having to cut their hand off to get their arm out of a bag of Fritos!