Amended template for convenience and rehab

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Dear doctors and fellow BBM fans,

I have previously used the Bridge, Rehab, and PB1 templates. Of these, I’ve only ‘completed’ PB1– probably because it was enjoyable and I saw good results.

I now have two issues: 1) I have ongoing weakness with my knees and 2) I can only weight train on Weds, Sat, and Sun.

Regarding my knees. I have had weakness, swelling, and pain in both knees, on and off, for the past 4-5 years. I’ve had x-rays, an MRI, and saw an orthopedic surgeon in 2022. Essentially there is deterioration in both knees due to my age (was 42 then). I asked about surgery, but was advised not to do that unless I really wanted too. I was just told not to squat below 90 degrees. I also went to a local PT last year for 10 sessions – using electrodes and other devices – I saw no improvement.

Swelling and pain occur when I tweak one of my knees. It has happened when squatting, but also when just going about daily life - going down the stairs or just walking on the beach. It then takes many weeks for the swelling to go down before I try resuming training. This has meant I have made zero progress with my squat for a long time. I can normally get back to deadlifting much earlier.

I am now at the point where I haven’t injured my knee, there is no swelling, and I’m keen to build my squat strength up. Rather than jumping into heavy squats for multiple sets of 5’s, I was thinking to incorporate the Rehab template for my lower body. Also, due to family and work commitments, the most convenient time for me to training with weights will be on Weds/Sat/Sun. But of course that means two days back to back. I was thinking to do lower body on Saturday, upper body on Sunday, and full body on Wednesday.

I’ve drafted the following template for week 1 (I haven’t listed reps and RPE as I don’t want others to copy it and it’s listed in the paid templates. For rehab movements, reps and RPE will be as prescribed in the template):

Monday:
GPP (chin ups, dips, plank)

Tuesday:
Cardio (30-45 mins elliptical or bike)

Wednesday:
Wall Sit
3-0-3 Tempo Lateral Box Step Up (starting low)
Deadlift
Bench Press 1ct
DB Seated Shoulder Press or Bicep/Tricep Supersets.

Thursday:
Cardio (30-45 mins elliptical or bike)

Friday:
GPP (chin ups, dips, plank)

Saturday:
Isometric Squat
3-0-3 Tempo Box Step Up (starting low)
3-0-0 Low Bar Back Squat
Romanian Deadlift
Calf Raises

Sunday:
Overhead Press
DB Bench Press
One Arm DB Row
Lateral Raises
Bicep Curls

I am looking to 1) build full body strength and muscle 2) get back strength and mobility in my knees and 3) lose some body fat.
This the split suitable? Any glaring omissions/errors?

Any feedback is much appreciated.
Brendan.

2

Brendan,

The setup here would work, though you don’t have to do an upper body only session on Sunday if you don’t want to. No issues training full body on back-to-back days. As far as adjustments go, I’d consider the following:

  1. remove dips from GPP
  2. change deadlift into tempo variant or alter rep scheme so that you’re not lifting ultra heavy here. Might be contributory to knee sensitivity.
  3. Would swap one of the box step ups to split squats or leg press initially to make sure we break the cycle of knee pain
  4. watch the conditioning to make sure it’s tolerable as well
  5. would consider isolation quadriceps and hamstrings work to be included
  6. I favor hip thrusts over RDL’s to start given your background and familiarity with the deadlift movement pattern
  7. Would consider starting with 3-2-0 tempo front squats, hbbs, or SSB squats over low bar given your familiarity with them Just my 0.02! Let us know how it goes.

-Jordan

3

Thanks Jordan.

I did the lower body workout yesterday and it felt good. I’m actually looking forward to a dedicated upper body workout today Noted that it’s ok to do full body back to back. If I get bored of the upper/lower split, I switch to full body workouts on Sat/Sun.

Regarding your points:

  1. remove dips from GPP. Noted. Done.
  2. change deadlift into tempo variant or alter rep scheme so that you’re not lifting ultra heavy here. Ok. I’m willing to try that. Say a 3-0-0 deadlift?
  3. Might be contributory to knee sensitivity**. I haven’t found that to be the case. My knees (front and back) have had issues for greater knee flexion, turns/twists when walking, and heavy landing (like when I tripped and had to land two steps down – like is overloads my tendons).**
  4. Would swap one of the box step ups to split squats or leg press initially to make sure we break the cycle of knee pain. Leg presses is tolerable, but I prefer workout at home. I have tried split squats before, but it stressed my knees too much. Maybe I’ll just reduce the range of motion to stop just before any pain is felt.
  5. watch the conditioning to make sure it’s tolerable as well**. Noted.**
  6. would consider isolation quadriceps and hamstrings work to be included. What about for a home gym? Goblet squats with raised heel for quadriceps? Nordics for hamstrings (although I haven’t tried them before)?
  7. I favor hip thrusts over RDL’s to start given your background and familiarity with the deadlift movement pattern. I hate hip thrusts with a barbell– hurts like hell! Like SLDL and RDLs. Any alternatives?
  8. Would consider starting with 3-2-0 tempo front squats, hbbs, or SSB squats over low bar given your familiarity with them. Yeah, low bar is very comfortable. I’ll give hbbs a go.
4

Brendan,

Happy to hear the workout went well. to your questions:

  1. A 3-0-0 deadlift would be reasonable.
  2. Could reduce ROM, tempo, or load (by using your hand on the rack for assistance) to get split squats to be more tolerable.
  3. Hard to do meaningful isolation exercises for the legs at home without equipment. I don’t think goblets or nordics really fit that bill. Would try and rig up bands and/or get an attachment for dumbbell loaded knee extension + leg curls.
  4. I would do hip thrusts with a pad or towel over the bar, using a light weight first, potentially with a tempo component, to get used to it. Would not predict someone to tolerate them well with a heavy load at first.

-Jordan

5

Cheers Jordan. I’ll update in a few months.