Table Of ContentBodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss
by
Ryan Murdock and Adam Steer
For information: www.bodyweight-blueprint.com
Email comments and questions to: [email protected]
SECOND EDITION
Disclaimer: The information in this book is presented in good faith, but no warranty is given, nor results guaranteed. Since we have no control over physical conditions
surrounding the application of information in this book the author and publisher disclaim any liability for untoward results including (but not limited) any injuries or damages
arising out of any person's attempt to rely upon any information herein contained. The exercises described in this book are for information purposes, and may be too strenuous or
even dangerous for some people. The reader should consult a physician before starting this or any other exercise programs.
LEGAL STATEMENT:
When purchasing equipment or other products from Ryan Murdock and Adam Steer the purchaser understands the risk associated with using this type of equipment,
and the purchaser understands the risk associated with following instructions from other products, and agrees not to hold Ryan Murdock, Adam Steer, their agents and/
or representatives responsible for injuries or proper maintenance and/or supervision.
ATTENTION:
Nothing within this information intends to constitute an explanation of the use of any product or the carrying out of any procedure or process introduced by or within
any material. This site and its ofEicers and employees accept no responsibility for any liability, injuries or damages arising out of any person's attempt to rely upon any
information contained herein. Consult your doctor before using this or any other exercise device or program. Do not use if you have an injury, or are experiencing pain or
inElammation in your hands, wrists, forearms, elbows, or shoulders without Eirst consulting your doctor. Use this product at your own risk. Failure to follow instructions
and/or using this product in any way other than its intended use could result in injury.
IMPORTANT:
Please be sure to thoroughly read the instructions for all exercises in this book, paying particular attention to all cautions and warnings to ensure proper and safe use.
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u Table of Contents
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v Getting Started
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Preface
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e Chapter 1 – The Ghost in the Machine—the Theoretical Underpinnings of this Program
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Chapter 2 – Concepts and Principles
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Chapter 3 - Integrating Outside Activities with Bodyweight Blueprint
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Chapter 4 – Bodyweight Blueprint Phase One: Metabolize
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Chapter 5 – Bodyweight Blueprint Phase Two: Stabilize
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h Chapter 6 – Bodyweight Blueprint Phase Three: Revitalize
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Appendix – Exercise Descriptions
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Further Resources
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Getting Started
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Welcome to Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss.
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We know some of you like to digest the entire package of information before you start
training—if that sounds like you, flip to the next page and read the entire manual.
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We also realize that others prefer to start training immediately—like right now. Donʼt just cue
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up a random video and then email us complaining you donʼt have a clue how to put it
s together (yes, believe it or not that happens quite a lot). Instead, follow these Quick Start
steps:
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1. Read Chapter Four of this Program Manual.
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2. Pick up the Phase One Implementation Guide and follow it step by step to the end.
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3. Read Chapter Five of this Program Manual.
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4. Pick up the Phase Two Implementation Guide and follow it step by step to the end.
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5. Read Chapter Six of this Program Manual.
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6. Pick up the Phase Three Implementation Guide and follow it step by step to the end.
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Thatʼs it!
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When youʼve worked through all six of these steps, youʼre finished the program!
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Congratulations! We hope youʼve created a whole new you.
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u Preface
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Each phase of this three part Fat Loss program is designed to transform your body into a
more efficient fat burning machine.
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In Phase One weʼll build a gas tank of lean muscle, and weʼll start filling it with fuel in the
R form of metabolic conditioning circuits designed to ramp up your fat burning engine. This first
28-day cycle follows the 4x7 model of periodization from Circular Strength Training.
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Phase Two is designed to further
s build—but more importantly to
“If you couldnʼt care less
consolidate—lean muscle mass
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c through a hypertrophy phase. What
about the geek talk, simply does this mean? In Phase One we
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began to build the architecture of your
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gas tank by adding lean muscle
avert your eyes.”
x mass, and we started to top it up with
fuel in the form of metabolic
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conditioning circuits to fire up your fat
burning engine. Phase Two builds on
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h that by shifting the focus to hypertrophy so we can finish putting that structure in place, and
we consolidate those gains so we donʼt see any regression. Weʼre taking a break from the
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4x7 structure during this three week interlude, but weʼll come back to it for the big finish.
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e Phase Three brings the gains of the prior two stages together and builds to an incredibly
intense peak. Youʼve built the basic infrastructure in Phase One and youʼve consolidated that
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structure (while also making it functional) in Phase Two. Now youʼre fully prepared to work
like you never have before. Phase Three shows you how to put your newly built structure
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through the ringer, firing up your internal fat burning furnace to the intensity of a blowtorch.
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u Each program phase presented in this book includes several levels of sophistication, so
whether youʼre a complete beginner or an experienced athlete, you will be able to benefit
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from Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. All of the exercises are illustrated with step by step
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v photos, and each phase is matched by instructional videos, so you can see each exercise in
e motion (you'll find these in the Video Libraries of your Bodyweight Blueprint Download
Center).
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e How to use this book
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For those of you who like to know how and why things work, weʼve included several chapters
i on the theory behind the program. We believe the design is rather elegant, and we hope you
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think so too.
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e If you couldnʼt care less about all the geek talk, simply avert your eyes. See the note on
Getting Started at the beginning of this manual and jump right into the first phase of your 3
x
month plan.
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Good luck!
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Chapter 1 – The Ghost in the Machine—the Theoretical
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Underpinnings of this Program
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The Training Hierarchy Pyramid (THP) was created by our Coach Scott Sonnon as part of
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the Circular Strength Training (CST) Head Coach educational curriculum. Mastery of this
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model requires years of study, and in-depth practical experience with several other
theoretical models that interact with it. At Head Coach level, it really does become an art
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form. In this Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss ebook, weʼre simply going to introduce you to
the THP in order to orient you. This “glimpse beneath the hood” into the working parts will
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also give you a very clear sense of just how much depth this program involves.
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The Training Hierarchy Pyramid is just one of the theoretical models at play in Bodyweight
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c Blueprint for Fat Loss. You can think of it as the “master template” that organizes all the other
work. If the CST 3 Ring approach is the micro (the approach which governs each individual
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workout), and the 4x7 periodization is the medium view (the approach which governs each
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one-month microcycle), the Training Hierarchy Pyramid is the macro view—it determines
how each of the nested one-month micro-cycles coordinate and build upon each other to
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spiral up to one overarching end goal.
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Weʼll look at each of these models in turn. Letʼs start at the top and work our way down.
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g • The Big Picture—the Training Hierarchy Pyramid Model
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Any periodization model is a map for navigating the sometimes confusing waters of program
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design. It guides us to our destination by the most direct route possible, while avoiding the
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dangerous shoals of inefficiency, distraction, and injury.
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Adaptation or progression in your training program happens from general to specific, gross
d to fine, and simple to complex. Coach Sonnon would add that it also happens from physical
to psychic. Heʼs not referring to supernatural powers (sorry!), but rather to the mental and
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t emotional component of training: flow state, which preincorporates mental toughness
u training. We wonʼt be dealing with this level in our current discussion. Suffice it to say that
mental toughness training is indeed built into the program design.
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Thereʼs no such thing as “general fitness,” the popularity of current “grab-bag” approaches
v notwithstanding. Youʼre always getting fit “for” something, and so a goal is necessary in order
e to orient your efforts. When you reach that goal, itʼs time to cycle back to the basics again,
but with a new goal in mind and from a higher level of mastery. You canʼt hang out at the
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peak indefinitely. That only leads to imbalance and eventual injury. But thanks to the THP
methodology, you can always be on target for new peaks, and youʼll always feel in peak
e condition.
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When we think of moving from ʻgeneral to specific,ʼ weʼre thinking most often in terms of a
i skill. Moving from the basic quad press to quad hops to clapping quad hops, for example. Or
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to use a non-CST exercise, moving from bodyweight squats to box jump squats to lateral
r box jump squats. In each case youʼre first building work capacity by causing your body to
e adapt to the simplest version of the movement with volume or duration. You then increase
the level of perceived difficulty by increasing the movement sophistication—this is a hallmark
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of CST training. Itʼs fine to develop large amounts of strength and endurance in the isolated
E lab of your training, but if you canʼt express that strength or endurance in real-world tasks the
hard work youʼre doing canʼt be applied in your day to day life.
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But I Only Want to Lose Fat—How Does This Apply to Me?
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Thatʼs an excellent question. If youʼre not an athlete and youʼre not training up to master a
i specific movement set, skill, or athletic endeavor, how does all this progression stuff benefit
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you?
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The answer may startle you—and we hope it startles some of our colleagues, because we
y believe it applies the THP model in a rather original way.
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The Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss program isnʼt focused on building toward a skill set or
o periodizing toward a specific event as a goal. Rather, the goal weʼre periodizing toward is a
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t specific state. Our target activity is “fat loss.” Each phase of this three part program is
u designed to transform your body into a more efficient fat burning machine.
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Youʼre probably wondering how exactly we intend to do that. And weʼll tell you. But first you
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have to understand the basic stages of the Training Hierarchy Pyramid.
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The Training Hierarchy Pyramid Explained
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As you can see, the pyramid builds from a broad base to the
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narrow peak of your goal. Our 3-month program will follow that
i process as well.
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r Here are some general definitions to give you a sense of whatʼs
e involved in each level of the pyramid. Weʼll first describe what each
level of the THP is, and then weʼll explain how our 3-month fat loss
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plan fits into it.
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General Physical Preparedness (GPP) is the level at which we
t seek to develop the particular energy system to be used. Another
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term for this is Work Capacity. Itʼs here that we build the broad
base which will support our efforts toward a specific goal.
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i Another way to look at GPP is as the ʻenergeticʼ level. We have to
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identify our purpose—what we want to be fit for—and then select
w the target energy system and the simple, general, gross motor needs. Think of this as your
ʻgas tank.ʼ We first need to build that gas tank, the structure which will hold the fuel that will
y feed your fat burning fire.
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In our 3-month plan, thatʼs the job of Phase One. Your gas tank—your fat burning ʻstructure,ʼ
o in other words—is lean muscle mass. That lean muscle tissue will allow you to burn fat at an
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t accelerated rate. At this stage, weʼll seek to build a gas tank of lean muscle, and weʼll start
u filling it with fuel in the form of metabolic conditioning circuits designed to ramp up your
engine.
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Donʼt worry if you donʼt understand what a metabolic conditioning circuit is. These terms will
v be explained further on in the theory section. The important thing to understand for now is
e how weʼll be moving up the THP over the course of 3 months.
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Specific Physical Preparedness (SPP) is the level at which we sophisticate our GPP work
e to develop the range and depth of the skills weʼre preparing. Itʼs also at this level that we
train slightly outside the scope of our intended activity to provide a “safety valve” for when
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movement deviates from the expected. Another term for this is Work Sophistication. This is
i where we tweak our GPP preparations in the direction of our intended goal.
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r SPP is normally the realm of “functional fitness.” Force has direction and magnitude. Think of
e the differences between a bench press and a medicine ball toss against a wall. At the SPP
level, weʼre looking to tweak the movements from the GPP level so they more closely match
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the range and depth of our target skills. This is a little more obvious when thinking in terms of
E a sport, but in our case weʼre targeting a specific state.
t In our 3-month plan, Phase Two is designed to further build—but more importantly to
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consolidate—lean muscle mass through a hypertrophy phase. What does this mean? In
Phase One we began to build the architecture of your gas tank by adding lean muscle mass,
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and we started to top it up with fuel in the form of metabolic conditioning circuits to fire up
i your fat burning engine. Phase Two builds on that by shifting the focus to hypertrophy so we
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can finish putting that structure in place, and we consolidate those gains so we donʼt see any
w regression. For the purpose of our program, weʼre defining “regression” as the point at which
our movement toward the fat burning state deviates from expected ranges. Weʼre building a
y buffer zone to keep us where we want to be—in that high-performance middle road.
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Weʼre increasing the rate of hypertrophy in this phase by using an isometric-based protocol.
o Because those movements alone would be less sophisticated than what we used in the
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