At the start of 2019 I started lifting again, and in the first 9.5 months of that year I lost 30kg. As far as programming goes, I started with GSLP, followed by The Bridge 1.0, followed by doing Powerbuilding I twice. By the end of my cut I was eating 1500-1600 calories a day, and I was needing to do a fair bit more conditioning work than the prescribed GPP in powerbuilding I. I’m currently in the last week of Strength I and will be testing my maxes on Friday. Since starting Strength I, I have dialed back the conditioning work to strictly the GPP prescribed in the program, and I have been eating a calorie surplus in order to gain some muscle and accelerate progress on the bar after seeing it stall for a period towards the end of my diet. Unfortunately, since ending my cut around 4.5 months ago, I have been a bit overzealous in bulking and have regained 8-9 kilos.
I’d like to start a 8-10 week program next week in a calorie deficit and aim to lose 5-7 kilos in that period before running Strength II at maintenance, and I’m seeking some advice on the best program for me to run. I know from experience that I will really struggle to eat less than 1500 calories a day; based on my current calorie consumption I am quite certain that I will have to complete more conditioning work than is typically prescribed in a BBM template if I am going to meet my weight loss goal. Long-term, my goal is to keep getting stronger in the big 3; I don’t expect to see much - if any - strength gains while dieting, but I would like to keep strength loss to an absolute minimum.
Last time I saw good results from running powerbuilding I with extra conditioning work, but having already ran the program twice I am ideally looking to change things up a little. I am considering running powerbuilding II, but I am a little concerned that jumping from 3 lifting days to 4 days at the same time as jumping from relatively little conditioning work to several hours worth of conditioning work per week might be a bit too much of an increase in stress and leave me feeling a bit too fatigued. I’m not sure if this concern is well-founded or not. The other programs I am considering are General Strength and Conditioning, and Endurance. On one hand, I expect endurance comes closer to meeting my conditioning needs; but, on the other, I am hoping not to find myself in this position again anytime soon and feel I will get more long-term mileage out of the GSC template (also, being a slightly longer program potentially allows for greater weight loss).
In light of the information I have provided, could you please reccommend a template for me? I would greatly appreciate your input!
PS. Thanks for all of the great content you put out! I’ve seen really solid results following your programming, and I have also profited greatly from your work on pain. I really appreciate the great work you are doing; my life has genuinely improved as a direct result of it.
