So the guys here at Barbell Medicine, have been very helpful and articulate in explaining what the intermediate phase is, what the novice phase is, why it ends, and how to program post-LP.
Most of the templates here say that hypertrophy programs should only be run short term, for a few months, and strength programs should be ‘bookending’ them. This throws me off a bit.
My question is not simple or specific/particular, but more of a macro-scale low-resolution picture request.
What is the basic pattern for sustainable long term progress?
So we have LP → Volume/intermediate, and we know that volume can be scaled ‘infinitely’. When one incorporates phases in the intermediate stage, alternating between emphasis on increasing CSA and emphasis on expression of strength, volume should (on average) trend upwards across the entire intermediate stage, correct? So far so good.
How necessary is a phase focusing on strength expression, when CSA is the limiting factor in the long run? Could one, just watch e1rm rise and working weight rise, and “cash in the gains” on strength expression rarely, if ever?
Where do the arguments for re-sensitization come in? If one can de-train to lower RBE(not actual atrophy) and receive a stronger physiological stress and adaptive response to a previously utilized volume, is this preferable? Is this the basic reasoning behind alternating phases?
I realize that peoples training will have to mold to specific goals or limitations from disease or injury, but if our goal is to just get jacked, what would the long term look like?
How do all these fit together to allow consistent progress over years?