Gain Strength - Maintain Waistline After Bridge 2.0

Other Discussions Programming Discussion
1

BBM Team,
Long time fan, here. First time posting. Some feedback follows as well as a question…
Some feedback after the Bridge 2.0:

  • After running the program as designed (plus an addition 2 weeks tacked onto the end), while on a caloric deficit (and a specific macro profile) I lost ~10 pounds and 2-3 inches from waist. Currently 221 with a 39 inch waist. I am happy with those results and my appearance at (almost) 43 years old and 6 feet tall.
  • My touch and Go Bench went UP 15 pounds (1X315 @ 10)
  • My Pendalay-style Row went up (at least) 10 pounds (1X285 @ 9 w/ a bit of body english)
  • My Press stayed stable at an estimated (1X205+)
  • My Squat stayed close to/if not equal (1x507 * 9.5)
  • Deadlift increased. Per estimates I would say at least 10 pounds stronger with notable more capacity.
  • ALL assistance/variations went up notably. I could provide detail if required.
    So, in sum, it was a much more productive “cut” than I would have guessed. Kudos for a terrific program!
    Now my question:
    What would be your feedback on running a program to focus on increased strength but maintain waistline? I could hypothesize some things but I would rather hear your opinion (run the Bridge again?).
    Thanks again for a terrific program. It was excellent!
    Dan in San Antonio
2

Hi Dan

We’re glad to hear you got such good results while improving your body composition. If your current goal is strength improvement, you could either run the Bridge/2.0 again, or use our HLM or Strength templates, depending on how much time you have available to train.

3

Thanks for the response. From a body comp perspective (when running one of the mentioned programs and working on strength acquisition) should I eat ~ maintenance calories or steadily gain weight (or something else)? Traditional feedback has always been that you need to gain weight to add strength but running the Bridge on a cut created strength gains - so I question what I THINK I know. Best case scenario - I gain strength and maintain (or better) body comp. Thanks again for the response Dr. Baraki.