So I finished NLP at numbers that were probably lower than they should have been. Tried the bridge but I couldn’t get the hang of RPE and I ended up getting weaker. To be clear, I’m not blaming the program at all, I was bad at it. Would The Bridge still give roughly the expected results for a 24 year old male if I just added 2.5kg to the squat/deadlift per week and whatever tiny weight progress I can squeeze out on the press and bench? The accessory stuff like close grip bench and paused squats would also go up every week but I assume the progress on those would be smaller, apart from rack pulls. I know if the weight feels much heavier the next week then there’s the chance that I didn’t get the strength adaptation but I think this is my best shot of making The Bridge work until I have more experience under the bar.
Hi Gary,
With the Bridge and RPE, the expectation, especially just post-novice LP, is that you will add weight to the bar each week. You should plan to do this, and use RPE to keep yourself in check as needed. RPE can help you know when you can add 5kg, not just 2.5, and it can guide you to repeat a weight in order to not grind things out needlessly.
Hi Leah,
Thanks for the response, I guess I just know what 0 reps in the tank feels like, but I couldnt figure out if I ever had 2-3 reps left. Is it ok to just add weight each week, and if I have nothing left after the X reps, just drop it by some percentage? 5%?
Thanks again for your help.
In the long term, it will be extremely valuable for you learn this self-assessment skill, which is why we continue to emphasize it. As a novice and early post-novice lifter, it’s normal and expected for there to be some measurement error here, and that’s OK. But if you’re well into the post-novice period of training and have literally no idea how many more reps you could do after racking a set … you just aren’t paying attention.
The first step is to differentiate between a “true max”, i.e., 0 reps in the tank, and when you have 1 or more reps in the tank. Once you’re good with that, try to refine the difference between 1 rep in the tank, and 2 or more reps in the tank, etc. Beyond 3-4 reps in the tank, everything can just be considered “light”.
But yes, you can try to just add weight each week and see how it goes.
So I should focus on doing the set at increasing weights and judge it after Ive done it, rather than guessing before hand and seeing if I was right, even if the weight was a bit more then the prescribed RPE, I’d still be getting better at judging and id be getting stronger too.
alright, I see the value in this, no shortcuts, I’ll just do it better next time I run the bridge, which is next week.
Cheers guys, love your work.