First time 1@8 and it goes poorly

Coaches,

I just started Bridge 2.0, and ran into some hiccups on the third day of week two. I decided to adjust the week two squat and bench 1@8 reps down a couple pounds because I was new to lifting singles, got the appropriate RPE with those slight adjustments (ie. squat recommended at 320, adjusted down to 315), and all was well. With the deadlift, I had worked up to 345x5@8 on week one, so I was slated for 393 and decided to go down to 380. I got it a couple inches off the floor and held it there for a second before setting it down. So I moved onto the working sets. Those were pegged for 345x5x3, but after failing the single, dropped the weight down to 325x3@9, 315x4@9, 314x3@9. Clearly less weight than last week.

My question is how to proceed on the deadlift? Do I just adjust way down, or try sets at 345 next week with a 1@8 of something like 355?

27 y/o M
5’10
195lb

Training History
After several attempts, always interrupted by very long work trips, ran an LP out, finishing squats with a top set of 5@305 and two backoff sets, DL at 5@350 the beginning of March.
About a month of poor training due to work, then did two weeks of LP taking my squat back to 290x5x3 and DL to 340.
Ran 7 weeks of TM, while working to peak the upper body lifts, finishing at:
Mon
SQ282.5x@5x4@~8.5
BP 222.5x5x4@~9
Pause DL 295x5
Chins

Wed
Pause SQ 260x5x3@9
Press 170x1@10, 140x4x4@9
Row

Fri
SQ 317.5x3@9 (second week of 3s)
Bench 250x1@9 225x4x4
DL 380x3@9 (5th week of 3s) 320x5x2

Then, I took about three weeks to totally bunt a taper to train for a 3mi run and three more weeks to HLM my way back to about where I was before. SQ 275x5x4@8, DL 345x5@8.
Began the bridge 2 on 9 July.

Thanks so much for all the time and advice you give on here!

-Dan

Hey Dan,

Thanks for the post. I think the most likely explanation is that without having practiced singles previously that your ability to execute singles is a bit more variable than other previously trained rep ranges. Additionally, the mental impact of “failing” the single likely impacted the rest of your workout. Without seeing video it is difficult to know whether there was a significant form issue going on or not, but it also could’ve just been a less than optimal day given the weights you were handling (not to mention the fatigue from the squats the day before).

Also, 380 x 3 @ 9 would produce a 1RM of ~420. If it was really 3 @ 10 however, then we’re talking about a 410 1RM and subsequently 380 is a much higher % of that. The way I typically look at programming results are that the first few weeks’ performance of any new program are reflective of previous training. Given that you were somewhat peaked prior to jumping into the bridge 2.0, it’s not surprising that you were able to have a decent performance on week 1 compared to week 2, but ultimately this is inconsequential.

Linear progression over days (novice) or weeks (post novice) is not a sustainable training model. It also does does not reflect the manner by which people actually get stronger once they’re trained, which tends to happen in waves of rapid progress followed by intervals of nothing really happening. The “just add 5lbs” mantra is a nice thought and certainly we’d love to see the weight go up regularly, but it’s not something that actually works.

3 Likes

Jordan,
Thanks for your quick reply! I guess at this point, any optimal way forward would be pretty nuanced and beyond the scope of this board. How does a reset to 355x1 and 315 for sets across next week sound?

It looks like you’ve moved on pretty significantly from what The Bridge ebook says about intermediate programming, and I’ve been looking for updated advice on progress. Is your current view something like staying at a weight until there is an accompanying RPE drop, then adding weight to hit the appropriate RPE?

-Dan

We’re working on writing more about this stuff. Stay tuned :slight_smile:

I know the entire forum is waiting with bated breath for a follow up to this most perilous situation, so here it goes:

Today I did my single at 355@7.5 then jumped to 365@8.5; the prescribed 315x5x4@8 was spot on. Still bummed about the drop in weight, but I guess the singles practice and volume will push it back up. Still super curious to read what’s going to come out, especially as it relates to progress while changing volume week to week and how long you’ve been post novice!

Thanks guys.

I have been thinking about this same thing for my own training and have come to the conclusion that it is basically a question of trying your best to stay at the same RPE with the singles over worrying about how quickly you add weight to them.

So if I am @8 with 200lbs I may very well try to add an arbitrary weight next week, but at some point that repeated increase is going to drive the RPE up towards @9. At this point I’d just reset to where it was last an @8 and go from there. The old @8 may now be an @7, in which case I’d add a little weight to get on track.

From there I might need to make the umps either small or less frequent.

I think some of the hindrance to sorting this out is the BS idea that once you get past X weight you no longer get training effects from it without some change in rep range or volume or something, but not only are there a bunch of factors where the same exact weight for the same exact sets and reps could continue to stimulate, but in the bigger picture it is just a session within a bunch of other sessions that are together stimulating adaptations.