Really appreciate your work and always very impressed with your knowledge and commitment to BB Medicine. It’s great to FINALLY have a place to “go” as an intermediate lifter.
I’m running your GPP Hypertrophy Template right now, on week 5 and I’m getting good results in terms of small (but real) e1RM gains and noticeable gains in muscle mass. In short, I REALLY like this template!
Now, I’m starting to plan out my next template to run after this one. I bought your 12 week strength template and my initial reaction is this:
HOLY CRAP! Will I be able to recover from that much frequency on the same movements. Let’s take squats for example:
Monday - Competition Squat w. Belt
Tuesday - Tempo Squats 3-0-3
Wednesday - GPP
Thursday - Beltless Squats
Friday - Leg Press
Weekend = totally exhausted???
For my 46 year old body, that feels like a metric crap ton of legs during the week with little recovery time. Should I dial this template back a bit given my age or try it for a week or too and see if I can recover from day to day?
Here are my e1RMs:
DL: 405
Squat:300
Bench: 250
Side note: Is it normal to have such a large gap b/t my Squat and DL e1RMs? If not, what’s the most common reason for such a large gap?
At 46, you are not too old for the 12 week template. Remember that using RPE also allows you to adjust the loads so that YOU are able to get this volume in at an intensity that is fitting for you. You also need to go into a program like this planning to do well and NOT be trashed. It’s a more aggressive program, there is not doubt. That’s why part of the description includes the need for enough training time. But you should be able to do it, recover from it, and see notable progress.
Also with your squat, it’s possible you have some form tweaks that could be made to bring that up a bit.
I’m the same age as you. When I was first exposed to this frequency by Jordan I had the same doubts. It’s a bit of a shock but you will get used to it. The key, as already stated, is to respect the RPE scale. Your numbers may very well drop as you adapt. That’s ok in the short term. Don’t sandbag it, but be mindful of the RPEs. Most importantly realize that it is possible, and many of us train like this at an “advanced” ago
I am 41. I will also add that this program is kind of kicking my balls in. I would consider myself an intermediate lifter. I lifted a bunch when I was in HS and college. I started up again about 5 years ago. It was off and on between that time. I have been consistently lifting now for well over 1 year. I ran through Stronglifts 5x5 and Madcow 5xr5 for a couple of cycles. This is my second week on The Bridge and it is kind of kicking me in the face. Respect the RPE is right. I got through my workout today but I was gassing. One question I have is about the GPP days. I have found that with elbow and forearm tendinitis, it really is not possible for me to do chin ups or pull ups. So that leaves me with rows. I just did seated machine cable rows and tried to blast myself for 7 minutes. Is that good or should I be doing something else? Also, the isometric ab work I realize is not just doing situps and crunches for 7 minutes straight. First week mistake. Oops. From reading about it, it seems more like planks and the like. Am I correct on that?
I am 41. I will also add that this program is kind of kicking my balls in. I would consider myself an intermediate lifter. I lifted a bunch when I was in HS and college. I started up again about 5 years ago. It was off and on between that time. I have been consistently lifting now for well over 1 year. I ran through Stronglifts 5x5 and Madcow 5xr5 for a couple of cycles. This is my second week on The Bridge and it is kind of kicking me in the face. Respect the RPE is right. I got through my workout today but I was gassing. One question I have is about the GPP days. I have found that with elbow and forearm tendinitis, it really is not possible for me to do chin ups or pull ups. So that leaves me with rows. I just did seated machine cable rows and tried to blast myself for 7 minutes. Is that good or should I be doing something else? Also, the isometric ab work I realize is not just doing situps and crunches for 7 minutes straight. First week mistake. Oops. From reading about it, it seems more like planks and the like. Am I correct on that?
Thanks for the response. I am pretty sure my tendinitis was due to a while back trying to go full bro on bicep curls. I stopped lifting for about 6 months after I couldn’t really lift a gallon of milk without a fair amount of pain. After taking some time off and starting up again slowly, without bicep curls, it has nearly gone away. Just occasionally, I may feel it again. For instance trying to do the monkey bars with my daughter. So I avoid monkey bars and bicep curls. I’ve tried chin ups/pull ups and it seems to inflame it a little. Not to the extent of where it was. But I still feel it. I’ve tried to add weight slowly in my lifts, be very aware of form, and do some elbow and bicep tendinitis stretches. It seems to help.