Father of 4 - Spinning Plates

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi all, please feel free to chime in with any feedback/input.

I am 37, 6’5" 122kgs, father of 4, getting back into regular training (every other day) after 1-2yr layoff. I work full time 45-50 hours a week

I started back doing 1 compound lift per training day and some ad-hoc accessory work in between/after the work sets (KB presses on a deadlift day as an example) just to increase “total work”.

The main goal being get strong for longevity, without significantly impacting my duties as a father and husband.

Diet wise, i try to maximise protein where reasonable with each meal and eat to satiety. Again, trying to minimise any negative impact on other aspects of my life, due to excessive calorie counting or over complicating meal times.

An example workout for Bench Press would be:
2-3 mins rest between work sets
20kg (Empty bar x 5) - Warmup
40kg for 5 - Warmup
60kg for 5 might be a RPE 5
70kg for 5 might be a RPE 6/7
When it hits an RPE 6/7 i hover there and do another few sets 3/4 until the particular rep range i am doing starts to feel more like a 7/8. Then i pack up and get back to my day.

I’m doing Bench, Back Squat, Deadlift/Rack pull (i find it tricky to condense my frame down to pull conventional deadlift) and Standing Press.

I guess a few questions here:

  • If i am autoregulating my workout, over time the RPE 6’s will become 5’s just due to training consistency and sufficient volume to encourage an adaptation.
  • Is there any necessity to drastically change things at the moment if i’m not ever going to be competing in anything related to weightlifting. I just want to move through the world better and make carrying my children easier…

Thanks in advance.

2

MV,

To your questions, as you get stronger the weight you’ll lift for a particular rep scheme will increase for any RPE rating. RPE 6’s will never feel like 5’s by definition, but the weight you used for 6’s will at some point feel easier, sure.

I do not think you’re doing enough resistance training benching, squatting, and deadlifting 1x/wk. That may not be your actual programming, but if it is, I think you could benefit from doing more from a health perspective.

3

That is my current program, in so far as i’ve been doing that for a few weeks to build “being in the gym” back into the weekly routine with the intent to add to that over time.

Which BBM template might I look at as the next logical step for me in terms of intensity/progress? I have your 4 day Hypertrophy 2.0 also that I could go back to.

In an ideal world I would be done in 45min-1hr, 3-4x per week.

4

I think the Beginner Program would be the next step for programming. I would not do the hypertrophy template for a bit, as I think it’s likely more training than you can tolerate, much less thrive in based on your recent training.

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