Clean or power clean in the 7W-Hypertrophy-3d?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi.

I just finished the Bridge 2.0 and I am currently on the 7-week hypertrophy template with the aim of losing roughly 20 pounds.

Sorry if this has been discussed before but, being (moderately) proficient at full cleans and power cleans, I was wondering whether I could:

  1. do them on day 1: 5 sets of 3 reps
  2. move pendlay rows to GPP days (as I can do 5-6 pull-ups max; which I understand is too little to be productive). Maybe alternate them with pulldowns?

Another question: is it ok to do full cleans or would I be better off doing the power version?

39 yo male
5’7
198 lbs
Squat (e1RM): 370 (352 x 2 reps tested)
Front squat: 330
Press: 165
Bench: 230
Deadlift: 430
Clean: 265
Power clean: 198

Thanks

2

Limace,

Thanks for the post and I hope all is well.

At this point, we wouldn’t recommend doing power cleans in the hypertrophy template as they aren’t great for increasing muscle mass or strength in exercises outside of the power clean.

Additionally, we would not program them using a linear progression given the heavy influence of fatigue and skill on performance.

I would do rows as programmed with a barbell and then lever rows, DB rows, or multiple sets of 1-2 reps on pull ups or chin ups. I don’t think that you can say that is too little to be productive, especially if one of your goals is to get better at chin ups and you’re losing weight.

1 Like
3

Jordan,

First, thanks for your answer. I will continue and progress on chin / pull ups then.

Quick testimony here: I must say that while strength regressed just a little, work capacity and muscle mass improved A LOT on the Bridge. I mean, I did not know that I could do so much volume without feeling run down by a train. You guys really are doing an impressive job.