Quick background, but I’ve run the Bridge 1.0, 2.0, HLM and about half the GPP Hypertrophy template. I am now well into the 12-week template with the 3-day motification, and I have to say this is about the best way to train that I’ve ever attempted. I asked the guys recently if this template most accurately represents their training philosophy an Austin said yes. I can see why because the relationship between intensity and volume just feels great. I love the percentage-based backoffs from the single@8, and how the intensity slowly ramps over over the course of the program while volume drops. Strength is coming along great (as measured by e1RM and RPE) without any deep seated feelings of fatigue. Any one else having similar feelings?
I’m projecting a bit over the coming weeks on the program as to what kind of workset weights I’ll be using in the last third of the program. I am definitely seeing where the intensity will become much higher and things will begin to feel differently. But what I am really liking is that, unlike the Bridge and HLM, I’m not starting out under this feeling of duress. The fatigue is very manageable and I usually feel recovered and ready to go on Monday morning after two days of rest.
I’m a couple weeks into Bridge 1.0. It’s my first BBM template and I’m not experiencing the duress you mentioned (except as an acute response to tempo squats, of course). It’s Monday after 2 days of rest for me as I type this, and I feel fully ready to rock my session this evening.
Do you think you were overshooting your RPE? Or are the bad feelings yet to come for me?
Also, did you stop only halfway through GPP hypertrophy for any specific reason? I was planning to start it next, but your post is making me reconsider.
I felt great on Bridge 1.0 and made super progress in spite of it being my first exposure to RPE and having to learn what all that meant. Everytime I thought I had it, I realized later that I did not.
Bridge 2.0 started great but the accumulated fatigue built quickly. Overshooting RPE was definitely an issue later on in Bridge 2.0 (again, thought I had it figured out at the time, but realized later on I did not). I was a bit wrecked but overall had great success!
On HLM, I didn’t overshoot RPE, but the volume work is largely at a higher intensity than on the 12-week template. As such, there was much more accumulated fatigue for me. I like the higher volume, lower intensity work for sure. It agrees with me better, or maybe I’m just adapting more and more all along to this higher volume work.
Cutting GPP Hypertrophy short wasn’t because of having a bad experience. I just ran it that way intentionally as sort of a time crunch while other things were happening, and I didn’t do all the arm work to help keep it short. Then I jumped into the 12 week program as planned. I’m going to do the hypertrophy template next myself.
So I’m on week 5 on the 12-week template this week, and I just hit a press PR of 165x1@8. An RPE 8 PR!!! I took video of it and it was smooth and relatively easy. At this rate each week will hopefully be a PR from here on out. I’m only doing 2.5lbs per week on presses, so I’m not pushing too hard. I’ll definitely have a BW press this year though, which is something a I dreamed about in my 20’s and early 30’s. Finally going to hit it at 46 instead!
I just started the 12 week strength template last week, so I’m currently in the middle of week 2, but I can testify that so far I am recovering great between sessions as well. I did not run the Bridge, but I have a few months of experience using RPE for supplemental lifts, so I’m sure that is beneficial for me in that I’m already familiar with what an RPE 8 for instance looks and feels like for me. I also find that in general even though I’m lifting much more volume, and with much higher frequency (squat went from 2x-3x, deadlift from 1x-2x, and pressing from 2x-4x per week), I have more energy in my day to day life. In the past, when I was constantly RPE 9-10 on my main lifts my energy outside of the gym was for shit. So far the first couple weeks energy has been great, and in general I’ve felt great outside the gym. I’m loving it so far!
For you guys on the 12-week strength template, what’s the average length of a session, and are there modifications available to spread the work over more days to shorten individual session times? The template overview just says “solid amount of training time available”, which makes me think it’s gonna be longer than the 75-ish minutes I have to spend.
I’m on Bridge 1.0 now, and am thinking about alternating between GPP Hypertrophy and the 12-week strength after that.
Monday/Tuesday on 12 week strength take me about 2 hours. Thursday/Friday about 1 1/2 hours. This drops as the intensity goes up and the volume goes down in subsequent weeks.
I was looking through HLM tonight and it definitely doesn’t surprise me that you and others are under recovered. Week 4 is hysterical. I wasn’t planning on running HLM for 16 more weeks, but I’m already dreading that week. I can only assume Jordan had just finished with 8x6 705 tempo squats when he wrote that program and wanted all of us to share the pain.
I finish 12 week strength workouts in about 60-75 minutes depending on the day. I train in the morning before work so time is definitely a factor for me. A couple tips I use to shorten the length of time:
Jordan has mentioned that on exercises you’re supposed to hit a single @8 with backoffs, that to save time you can alternately make your first backup set be your last warmup. So say you’re doing 1@8, 5x5@-20% you can warmup with 5’s and your last warmup would be 5@ planned -20% for the day. this also gives you some feedback on your strength for the day so you can auto regulate your single up or down based on the result. Obviously, if your single @8 is an @9 you would then bring your next backoffs down in line with the result from the single, but either way this saves me about 5 minutes or so per lift.
I keep my rest times down. Typically for @7 or lower I do a 2:00-2:30 minute rest and for anything @8 and up I do 3 minutes. Mind you, I am extremely well conditioned and have an above average work capacity from years of endurance training and I can do this without going above about 5% fatigue between sets. It may take you some time to adjust and some focus on work capacity to get there, but it’s totally doable. And even if you’re getting higher fatigue you can always lower weight between sets if you have to, time constraints are sometimes not flexible, and what are you gonna do, not train?
If a movement is trained with 2 variations in a day I cut out the warmups on the second exercise. For example, right now on Mondays I do competition bench followed by 3 ct paused bench. I’m already warmed up for 3 ct paused bench from competition bench, so I just adjust weight and go right into my planned first set.
It’s totally doable in your time frame, RPE definitely allows some flexibility, and that’s one of the best parts of training with RPE. The 12 week strength template is a great program. I’m really enjoying it, and have especially been making good gainz on my bench and press. 4 day per week pressing has been like magic for me.
I also agree, i’ve been lately stepping in the @9 or above territory often because I use percentages and it drains all my energies outside the gym, now learning RPE and adjusting the weight to the perceveid intensity and I feel better already.
Is this 12 week program an upper/lower? I tought HLM would be less stresfull, but it seems 12 wk is better, maybe i’ll try it too.
You guys run bench focus? Does it train the press even as an assistance movement ?
And for those owing the hypertrophy template, which i’m going to run after the program i’m doing rn, what does the “Fatigue - May be modified” cells is for??
Finally how do you guys know when it’s a legit @8? i’m asking because i think if I get this right, rating RPE would be easier
I feel under recovered on most all the templates! LOL. After listening to so much of what the BBM crew preaches, I think that is normal, ESPECIALLY on the 12-week template. It’ll put smack down on you, but in a good way. The intensity from the backoff sets was just more manageable for me personally.
I’m on week 4 of the Bridge now and the RPE sets across don’t really work for me. The good news is I’m learning to adjust. I can’t do an RPE 8+ on any lift and have the second set be the same RPE with only 5 min or less of rest. So to actually hit the RPE targets I need to do a top set with backoffs anyway. For RPE 8 the backoff only needs to be 2-4%, but for RPE 9 it’s more like 5% or more.
I’m actually leaning toward the RTS general intermediate template next instead of BBM’s HLM. I trust HLM can be “brutally effective” if you’re nailing the RPE almost every session, but I just don’t see how I"m going to do that. Eventually (like after doing another RPE program) I expect I’ll be good enough at RPE/understand my fatigue well enough to consistently hit those RPEs with backoffs, but I just don’t trust myself at this point. So autoregulating volume with drop sets sounds far more appealing to me.
For those who have done HLM or still doing it, how long is your training session? I’m thinking about purchasing a template that can be done around 1 - 1.5 hours, besides the time-crunch template. Would appreciate some insight or advice.
They get pretty long, about like all of the BBM templates designed for strength. Doing multiple sets of multiple reps across at RPE 8 requires 4-5 minutes of rest. Just the way it is. 1.5 hours is the minimum I think, and as long as 2 hours at times.
Conditioning is key. For HLM the intensity is higher for all the working sets. For the 12 week template, the intensity is lower but there are more sets, so it is almost a wash. I found myself taking about 75 minutes in the first few weeks of the 12-week template, but that quickly became more difficult as the intensity went up.
I had great success with the 3-day modification. I think the 4-day would be a bit much for me personally, but I’m 46 and relatively new to training still (less than 24 months).
If I were in a time crunch, I think I would do the 3-day template, move as fast as I could, and then just cut the 3rd movement short on each day as needed to get out of the gym.
in sum , do you guys suggest to do HLM after running 12wkst first?
Or is HLM just a volume nightmare? (i.e. what jordan/austin define as useless stress)
There is nothing wrong with the HLM template at all. It’s less volume than the 12-week program, especially if you use the default 4-day template which is more volume by far than HLM. The general advise is to alternate the 12-week template with one of the GPP templates, or perhaps the Time Crunch template. But the same could be said for altermating the HLM and GPP templates. But using BBM philosophy here, at some point you’ll need more volume, at an overall lower intensity, to continue making progress. That is what the 12-week template is designed to provide. For me, and I can only speak for me, that just agreed with me better than the HLM template did. I wouldn’t be afraid of either, but the 12-week template is the one that is the most representative of BBM’s programming for strength training.
No, I think you could run either. I wouldn’t over think this too much myself. I can’t recall if you already own both templates or not. If you are wanting to purchase one, I’d buy the 12-week template for sure…hands down…no doubt about it. If you already own both, just run which ever one looks best to you and give it a try. If that’s HLM, then it is only 8 weeks, and then you’ll know for yourself.
Since you guys are into that. Can someone tell me if you miss a lot by choosing the 3-day version of the 12-week template? I´m afraid I´m gonna have only three days in a week with 2 hours to hit the gym. Do I miss a lot of volume? Does anybody did the 12-week with 3-days comdification? Thanks a bunch
