I hope you are enjoying the holiday season! To contextualize my question, below are my end of NLP stats, which I finished early per your recommendation:
Age: 21 - Height: 5’10.5"
BW: low 180s - Waist: 36"
BF%: 20.5 (Navy method)
End of NLP numbers (sets x reps)
Squat: 265 3x5 – Reached 285 3x5 but with bad form, so I deloaded
Press: 132 3x5
Bench: 197.5 1x4, 182x5 2x5
Deadlift: 330 1x5
Let’s say that I want to have some BBM program templates to run and repeat for the next few years (I’ll say 5 years to provide a number). My goals in this time frame beside general fitness would be to improve my BJJ and lifts, with the tentative goal to compete recreationally in both sports. I’m thinking I’d probably compete in Medium or Medium Heavy (Max weights are 181.4 and 194.7 respectively) in IBJJF tournaments, and 181 or 198 for PL given my weight and body comp. goals articulated previously. Based on my previous posts you recommended purchasing the PB1 template. My questions are:
Given my goals and the time frame indicated above, how many templates would you suggest I purchase and cycle through? Would 2 be sufficient, or would I need 3 or even more?
In another post you suggested PB1. In addition to this I am thinking of purchasing a bundle with General S&C 1 and/or Strength 1, depending on whether I get 2 or 3 templates. Would these be appropriate templates to run and re-run for a few years? And what order would you suggest cycling through them?
Thank you again for your help, and have a happy new year!
I would not aim to project training needs or progress that far out. For those reasons, I would not advise pre-purchasing templates for multiple years in advance and planning to cycle them. Instead, I would favor going through one a at a time, seeing what you like and how you respond, and going from there bit by bit. I think the Gen S/C II 3-day version would be reasonable or PB 1 for now. I do not think Strength I is a good choice considering your goals and recent training history. If forced to pick 2, it’d be Gen S/C II and PB 1.
Thanks Jordan! Is there a reason you would recommend Gen SC 2 over 1? And regarding template programming, is there a general limit to how many times you can effectively rerun a template before it no longer works, or is that a case by case issue?
I think the flexibility of GSC II is better suited for your needs (using the 3-day version) right now.
Again, it’s challenging (if not impossible) to predict your response to a given program, so I’m not sure how many times (if any) you’ll be able to repeat it. I would predict a few times, but it’s hard to say in advance.
We don’t need to overthink your program right now given your recent training. I think the bridge is fine unless you want to start the other templates I recommended. If not, those would be the recommendation after the bridge.
Those are some solid numbers. For your goals and timeframe, two templates (PB1 plus one of the others you mentioned) should be plenty. I’d probably run PB1 first, then cycle in either General S&C 1 or Strength 1 depending on how your BJJ training is going, Strength 1 if you want more raw strength gains, General S&C 1 if you need more conditioning/overall fitness. Just re-run them as needed. No need to overcomplicate things!