At a Crossroads -- Need Advice

Hello BBM Community,

I am a 46 year old male 5’10" and currently 175 lbs, waist 36.25" just coming off NLP and about to transition into the Bridge 3.0 or the 3-day Hypertrophy. Both of those templates suggest being on a gain to be most effective. Here’s the thing, though. I’m getting kind of doughy around the middle, and at some point I would like to address this. But when? Should I go on a “cut” now, lean out a bit and then do one of these templates? Is one of these templates better to do while on a cut? Do I even need to address this now, or should I just continue to gain, get bigger and stronger and then deal with the lifter’s gut after doing one or both of these templates?

So many questions!

A little context: 9 months ago, starting the NLP, I was 140 lbs, and have gained roughly 1-2 lbs per week until now. I’ve been at 175 for about a month, and figure I should stay at this weight until I figure out where to go from here. Oh, and my Squat is currently at 250x5, Bench at 160x5, Deadlift at 280x5, Press at 120x5.

I’m new to the forum, so please excuse this question if it’s been asked and answered before. I’ve never gained so much weight in my life in such a short period of time and have never before had a gut to manage and worry that getting rid of it might be difficult. Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

Regards,
Christopher

Christopher,

Thanks for the post and I hope you’re doing well. I’d probably recommend the hypertrophy template on a slight deficit at this point. It should work just fine for that purpose.

-Jordan

Dr Feigenbaum!

Thank you so much for the reply. I am now on week 2 of the 3-day Hypertrophy Template and am really enjoying the change of pace. (Just so relieved not to be facing heavy squats every single session anymore!)

I am finding that I’m a lot more fatigued and sore afterwards than I ever was on the NLP. I wonder whether that’s because of the added GPP and new assistance work, or that I’m running it on a caloric deficit? Not a complaint, just curious.

Anyway, thanks again for everything you do!