Hello all,
Thanks for the forums and the opportunity to interact with you guys. I have a question regarding editing/modifying the bridge program to better suit my needs.
A bit of context: ran the program twice for 16 weeks total, great results especially on DL and Squats (new all-time PRs at ~35lb lighter bodyweight) but less so on the Bench and OHP (barely climbed back old PRs). The bridge was my first strength/powerlifting focused program ever, been training for ~16 years, about 10 years wasted with “Bro splits” and then 5 years of “powerbuilding” splits with VERY high volume and frequency. I feel I could still benefit from the Bridge program again but debating a modification to improve the bench
the Questions:
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Switching main bench day: Deadlifts are getting heavier and more taxing and leaving me with minimal energy to focus on bench right after. I feel switching the main bench day to Day 1 right after squats ( which so far don’t feel half as taxing as DLs) might probably work better for me. Is that recommended or would it interfere with OHP 2 days later? How should I reshuffle things, if at all I should?
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Bench assistance exercise: Suggestions for improving technique with regards to pushing the bar back not upwards, feel lots of pounds lift on the table because of that. I also would like to remove the close-grip bench (my BB days allowed me to build decent triceps, and elbow tendinitis too so close grip really hurts at high loads). So I am fine with either replacing the close grip only or replacing both the close grips (W1-W4) and the 3sec pause BP (Weeks 5-8) to help improve benching.
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GPP Cardio: the only cardio option I have is running (gyms are closed where I live), any advice on when to do it given its high-imapct nature on the knees and hips.
I appreciate your time and effort.
P.S. I ran weeks 6-8 of the program while fasting (Ramadhan), and hit new PRs (to my surprise) as well. Happy to share that experience on a separate post if ppl would find it valuable. …
Cheers.