Getting back to it plan:

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Docs,
Thank you for all you do, and your great content. I have learned a lot and I’m a recent follower.

I’m coming off an extended layoff. Cancer, med discharge from the army, kids, BS degree, more kids, ulcerative colitis, all the fun stuff. In 2015/2016 I did starting strength linear progression. Went from body weight of 180 to 210 in 9 months. Lifts went from essentially 0 to 205/305/415 for bench, squat, DL. Had to do a lot of cardio for my job so didn’t focus as much as I probably should have. But since then all the life stuff has happened. And I’ve barely maintained a workout routine. I finally seem to have the colitis under control which is the most recent issue, and doc has cleared me to lift. I wanted to see if this progression that I’m planning makes any remote sense.

I’m currently 6’0” and 202lbs. Waist is 37.5 I am on the Beginner Prescription and lifts are around here.

Squat
140lbs for 4 reps @ 8 RPE

Bench
105 lbs for 10 reps @ 8 RPE

DL
175lbs for 4 reps @ 8 RPE

My overall goals are to not be fat. And to be around 200lbs. But I’ve got to get my waist smaller. Otherwise the goals are health, longevity, and hopefully to look good. Over time I’d like to get my lifts to be respectable but that’s not the #1 concern.
I’m in a calorie deficit of about 500/day trying to lose the fat. I have a few weeks left of the beginner prescription and then this was the plan from there:

Finish Beginner Prescription
Another 2 weeks or so
Get BW down to 198(ish)

Begin/Complete the Bridge
8 week program
Get BW down to 192(ish)
And waist circumference should be less than 36

Begin/Complete GS/C Template
9 week program
Get BW down to 184(ish)
And waist circumference should be less than 34

Begin Hypertrophy Temp I or II
Begin to SLOWLY gain weight
And waist circumference should remain between 32 and 35 indefinitely

If all goes well, now consider a strength template?

Hopefully that all makes sense. Does that seem reasonable, or are there any adjustments that you would make?

Again, thank you for your time!

2

WD,

Thanks for sharing your journey so far. Very impressive what you’ve been able to bounce back from. I’m happy to see you’re back to training as well. Only modifications that I would make would be to skip The Bridge, as the Beginner Template sets you up well for pretty much any program you want to do. I’d favor Powerbuilding or Hypertrophy I as the next template given your goals regarding strength and hypertrophy, as both would work well for those purposes alongside weight reduction. Just my 0.02.

-Jordan

3

Jordan,
Thank you for the kind words and advice! I will take a closer look at those two templates and tackle one once I finish up the beginner temp.

Thanks for all you do. Happy New Year!