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

(Joey) #421

Excellent suggestion. Many thanks for the link.

So many ways to cut off one’s blood supply … who would’ve thought! :gift_heart:

#422

:joy::joy:
I betcha there is a guy/gal who figured “i might as well put it around my neck and do a whole-body exercise.” :joy:

(Windmill Tilter) #423

The tricky part is going be finding the right elastic material. It’s got to be an extremely heavy weight material to work. If it stretches too much it will be useless. It’ll probably take some trial and error to find the right stuff.

It’s likely that the shipping costs + materials for the cam-locks and bands will exceed the value of a BFR band. Not that this would stop me personally. You’re talking to a guy who builds his own furniture. My avatar is Don Quixote for a reason… :yum:

One material to consider that nobody else is using is exercise band latex/rubber. The elastic material is 10x more powerful than the woven stuff. It’ll take some trial and error to find the right thickness and durometer. It is also has a friction coefficient 10x higher so it won’t slip. The only drawback is that if it is cut, it will immediately fail. It’s pretty durable stuff though. It can be “welded” very simply with simple superglue and sandpaper. You sand the rubber to remove the coating where you want to glue it to remove the coating and increase the surface area. Wipe the sanded surface with 90% isopropyl alcohol or toluene (use gloves in the latter case). To glue, compression will greatly increase the bond strength. A c-clamp or woodworking clamp is ideal. I’ve made drive belts and gaskets and all sorts if things using this method.

If care is taken to follow the width recommendations in the literature, It might result in a product that is superior to what is commercially available. The question will be in it’s performance characteristics with respect to occlusion. For safety and efficacy testing, you’d need the $160 for the doppler ultrasound linked above

All of that being said, I stand my original statement that you should just by a $30 set from amazon that has been designed for the purpose with safety and liability in mind. My attorneys were emphatic on this point… :yum:

(Joey) #424

@Don_Q I’m loving some of these ideas.

Frankly, the more I think about it (besides the convenience and ease of buying a set of pre-fab bands), I’m not convinced these retail items are so special in any meaningful way.

As for the elastic getting stretched out and therefore becoming useless, I’m not sure I agree with that… Worst case, with stretched out elastic you’d then have a non-elastic set of bands :wink: … i.e., as now available over the retail counter by some of the same folks who sell the elastic versions. Pick your poison.

However, clearly we all emphatically agree it comes down to safety, self-knowledge, and consistently prudent usage. If you don’t master these parts of the BFR world, you’re taking a significant risk.

After all, our first reaction (common-sense?) told us that the idea of restricting the blood flow in one’s limbs was not really a good idea. No one with a pulsing head on her/his shoulders likely thought: “Oh yeah, putting on tourniquets before lifting weights… what a swell idea!” :man_facepalming:

(Windmill Tilter) #425

Just to clarify, the issue isn’t whether or not the band will lose elasticity over time (they all do). The issue is whether the elastic is robust enough to provide adequate compression the first time. Imagine an elastic band that is .5mm thick and can stretch 6" per foot of length vs one that was 2mm thick that can only be stretched 1" per foot of length. This is the point of concern, and what would take trial and error. BFR band manufacturers have presumably all had to go through this exercise themselves before arriving at a suitable material.

The cheapest option might be to buy this kit and salvage it for parts and material… :yum:

The creator of Kaatsu training invented it at age 18 after his leg fell asleep during a Buddhist ceremony. He spent the next 7 years experimenting and then went to medical school before anyone took him seriously. That’s just downright bad ass. I’d love to buy that guy a beer and hear his perspective on the world… :smile:

Here he is at 73:

(Joey) #426

Yes, I’ve read his story/history of Kaatsu. Quite innovative… and daring.

Also, slightly unnerving. With all due respect, those biceps look a tad creepy to my aging eyes. But I admire his self-experimentation, or we wouldn’t all be benefiting from his trail-blazing.

Of course, as a physician, had he done the same things to a patient, he’d have been arrested :wink:

#427

Today was arm day, had a FB 30-min arm workout for my warm-up and then on to BFR.
Bicep curls, 3kg in each hand - 23/13/10/6, I added a 10-sec hold on the last rep
Standing chest press - 30/30 (added 1kg in each hand)/15/16
Pushups - 10 normal, 5 tricep, 10 normal

I’ve been feeling a little off lately, anxiety kicking in, so it takes me a while to start my workout and I’ve been stuffing my feelings with nuts for the past two weeks… I ate the last of them yesterday, so today is the day when enough is enough. I can do it! :slight_smile: I feel like Sid from Ice Age - I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m gonna die…

#428

One question - have you guys noticed any tiny redish-brown petechiae after a BFR workout?

(Windmill Tilter) #429

Nope. I have had areas on my arm that chafed due to band placement/fastener position but no petechiae. Are you prone to bruising otherwise?

#430

I don’t know if you can see it well from the photos, but I have some petechiae on my inner arm, they are reddish in the morning, after BFR, turn brownish towards the afternoon and then they are gone. They are in no way excessive, nothing worrisome…

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I do bruise, but only because I’m clumsy :wink:

(Windmill Tilter) #431

It’s totally possible that I get something like that but have just never noticed. I’ve got more freckles than an Irish cruise ship. :grin:

What jumps out at me from those pics is that the vascularity in your arms is impressive! You should probably start drafting an obituary for your intermuscular fat; I’m not sure it’s long for this world. Whatever you’re doing seems to be working!

#432

:joy: I’m pretty “spotty,” as well, I get nose+cheek freckles in the summertime. I noticed it the last time, accidentally (we’re having a very fall-like winter and I was walking around the office in short sleeves), and I wondered if it was connected to BFR. My arms are completely clear now, so it’s nothing serious.

Goodbye intermuscular fat, good riddance! Although I do have to be honest and tell you that my arms were always pretty vascular, nurses loved my veins ;)… But I’m hoping you’re just a little right and I’m heading in the right direction :slight_smile: Thanks Don. :slight_smile:

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#433

Thursday is leg day!
Did a 30-min FB leg exercise as a warmup and banded my legs. I’m still very unhappy with my leg bands, but that is the best I have for now, so I am hoping I get at least some occlusion.
Hip thrusters: 26/15/10/7 - I held my hips up for 10 sec on the last rep and love a duck, my pulse flew up to 163 on the third rep (what my watch said, I don’t have the chest belt).
Calf raises with 3kg in each hand: 30/15/15/15, held the last rep for 10 sec.

I’m going to decathlon this weekend, I need some more weights… gym is planned for March.

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #434

Did my weekly BBS workout. I improved on 6 of 7. Overhead press stayed the same wt/reps.

I wish I had a ghost trainer that would occasionally raise the wt a lot. Turns out I dialed in 165 lbs for the leg extension and I thought it was 145. I was like WTHeck is wrong with me. I could even feel some connective tissue discomfort (just minior) above the knees in the front. I was wondering what was wrong and then I noticed the 20 lb wt increase and I was like sh&t yes.

  • 145 lbs/14 reps/64s 7 days ago
  • 165 lbs/12 reps/48s - but form not ideal
  • I will dial back to 155 next week and hopefully get better form.

I just did the hot tub and my BP seemed down a lot so I skipped the sauna.

My BP just now is: 109/60 HR 64. wOOt. Time to de-med some more.

Have a great workout all.

(Stephen Judd) #435

Full body, bodyweight routine for me this morning:

  • Chin-up
  • Pike push-up
  • Squat
  • Compound row
  • Push-up
  • Trunk extension
  • Crunch
  • Heel raise (TSC)
  • TSC Dorsiflexion
  • TSC Neck extension
  • TSC Neck flexion
  • Static hang for time

Modest improvement on all except row. I’ll see when I feel ready for next BFR session.

(Windmill Tilter) #436

When I first read this, my reaction was "Wait… what? Sandy is a decathlete? Then I read it a second time to see if you meant you were
participating or attending. Then I realized it’s the name of a store… :yum:

I was starting to feel pretty unambitious regarding my own weekend plans for a minute there.

(Windmill Tilter) #437

That’s awesome! Your doctor must be baffled by your rate of progress. At this rate you won’t be on any meds at all by the end of the year. You might want to slow the pace down at bit, pharma execs need to eat too you know… :yum:

#438

:joy::joy: Oops :face_with_hand_over_mouth: I forget we’re not all European :joy::joy: You’re correct, it’s a sports store :slight_smile:

(Eric - The patient needs to be patient!) #439

I’m sure that the improved vascular system is helping the most reduce my BP.

I can see veins now where I could not before BBS. If I can see these in my hands I’m sure they are improving elsewhere in my body. I can see arterial pulses in my wrists now as well. They don’t show all the time but occasionally.

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(Joey) #440

MY BFR UPDATE (such as it is)…

Been making a slow home-brew entry into BFR, focusing for now on just one-armed preacher curl dumbbell lifts at the bench.

I started at a mere 5 lbs (hand weights) and have been adding 1 lb incrementally most every day since … am now @ 8 lbs, doing 2 sets of 30/15/15/15 for each arm.

Yup, I’m constantly checking for capillary refresh through skin press. Frankly, I’m not sure if I’ve got enough pressure, but rather playing it safe than sorry.

My veins are clearly bulging - looks kinda’ scary. But then again, to a lesser extent that’s my typical look. I happen to be fairly lean and quite vascular… the phlebotomist’s dreamboy :wink:

But since I’m feeling virtually no burn - either during or after these BFR workouts - I’m left wondering if I’m not tightening the bands enough. The only noticeable effect thus far after taking them off is that my hands feel cold.

I guess I’ll just stay the course, upping the weigh gradually until I sense I’m on the edge of some feeling/reaction. (Then again, by approaching BFR so gently perhaps I’m just reaping the benefits without that burning you see some folks suffer through on videos as they push themselves, maybe too hard?)

FWIW, my 1 RM for curl dumbbells is roughly 30 lbs (i.e., I can just barely do one, but a second one is impossible at that weight - yeah, I’m a wimp :roll_eyes:). So now at a mere 8 lb BFR, I’m already approaching 30% of my current 1RM. (Without bands I would typically do 2 x 10 reps at around 20 lbs).

So heck, that’s about as exciting as the BFR thing has gotten so far around here.

Power on, folks. :vulcan_salute: