Guidance for overload exercises in Strength 1 Template

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Great to see the Youtube channel picking up again- looking forward to more great content.

I am starting Strength 1 in about a month and was hoping you could help me understand the overload stuff.

  1. Bench: I have ordered a Slingshot. Seems like I should expect to use more weight for a given RPE/reps when using this,correct?

  2. Squat: I have the Rogue mini-red bands which I believe you recommend. How should these be set up? So they are slack at the very bottom?

  3. Squat: Would expect to use less weight (on the bar) or pretty much the same?

  4. Deadlift: set up so they have at least little tension on the floor? Significant tension? I’ve seldom failed a DL,but when I have it won’t come off the floor if that matters.

  5. Deadlift: Would expect to use less weight (on the bar) or pretty much the same?

  6. Regarding 3&5: if the bar weight is pretty much the same, then these would be “heavy” days rather than variants designed to reduce intensity (probably wrong word here)like a 2 second pause bench or a pause squat-is that correct?

Thank you for your patience with my beginner questions; I really have no idea what to expect when I start these. I am excited though as I am going to sign up for my first powerlifting meet.

2

Bob,

Thanks for the post and I hope you’re doing well :slight_smile: For your questions:

  1. In general, yes.

  2. They should not be slack at the bottom, but rather some tension. Depending on your rack, you may anchor them to the cross supports on the bottom of the rack (the bands should be mostly vertical when you walk out of the rack. You can also use band pegs if your rack has them, or a dumbbell that’s heavy enough to stay put. You’ll likely have to “double” the band over on itself to make sure there’s no slack at the bottom, but it will require some finagling.

  3. Less absolute load with weight, but potentially more total resistance with the bands.

  4. In this case, there will likely be minimal tension at the bottom- but just taught enough so where when you start to pull the tension comes on.

  5. Less absolute load with weight, but potentially more total resistance with the bands.

  6. In general, the overload days would be heavy, yes :slight_smile:

-Jordan

3

Thank you.

The program looks…ambitious, but as they say-“you’re the doctor.”

4

It’s definitely a dedicated strength program, but with respect to driving up 1RM performance in the Big 3- I like it!

1 Like
5

A couple of follow up questions about the squat if I may:

  1. After finagling around with the bands for squat I have them set so at the very bottom they are slack but take up after 1/2" or so. This results in 40lbs/side (80) total tension at the top. My E1RM is currently 280ish so 29%

In order to have some tension at the very bottom, I would need to set it so I have about 100lb total tension at the top. Any preference?

  1. I have a slightly cranky shoulder, so on the 3rd day squat I am going to use a SSB- should I follow the tempo requirements (3-0-3 for the first 4 weeks) or is the SSB along with the increased reps enough of a variation? Is the tempo doing anything other than reducing the load?

Got through week 1 okay and am looking forward to my first meet in February. Thanks as always.

6

Hey Jordan,

I have a couple questions about the ‘overload’ concept in general, and in particular how they apply in Strength-1.

Before I get to those, I first want to extend a hearty “thank you!” to you and your team for all the hard work and free content you provide. Long story short; at the beginning of this year I weighed 252lbs, had a nearly 44" waist (6’ male), and was “SS strong”. Continually following BBM’s content and evaluating it for myself convinced me that I needed to change my behavior to affect a better outcome. I started that process in July of this year and through diet and exercise I am currently floating between 220-225lbs and now have a sub-40" waist. This last month I’ve decided to move my deficit to maintenance and embark on the Strength-1 template (thank you Black Friday sale!), which leads me to my questions…

#1) Could you elaborate a bit on the difference between using bands and reverse bands. I get how they work (in bench press, for example) insofar as where the force is increased at peak stretch (rev bands add force to the lifter’s own in concentric portion of bench while regular bands oppose a lifter’s force in the same portion). But I do not understand where you would apply one vs. the other (i.e. does rev band substitute for slingshot as regular bands substitute for chains?).

#2) Am I overthinking this concept? In the context of the template, again, using BP as the example…does it make a difference in the long run if I have reverse bands and more absolute load on the bar vs regular bands and perhaps slightly less or same absolute load?

Thank you for your time, sir!