How to proceed

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Jordan et al.,

hope all is brilliant and ya’ll are enjoying the summer.

The tl;dr
Coming out of the Strength I template plus ~5h of cycling training/week; made good progress on Squat, not too happy with my BP and DL progress; interested in getting better in SBD while also maintaining the cycling; currently doing a soft cut (six to eight more weeks); no fatigue problems → what programming/which template to do next?

The long version
This is a quick follow-up to our last conversation (see the link, here). Brief summary: I will participate in my first powerlifting meet next year October; have been doing weight-training seriously since Oct 2021 - first starting with Stronglifts LP, then switching to the BBM templates: Bridge, then PB1, Hyp (first block only), PB1 again. Since Fall last year, I’ve also slowly and systematically expanded my cycling training, such that I am now riding 4-6 hours/week (structured into one or two interval trainings, and one or two LISS rides).

As discussed in our previous exchange, for the last 11 weeks I have been running Strength I while also being on a soft cut (avg weight reduction ~ 0.5 kilos/week). I enjoyed the programming (even though the trainings took a tad long for my taste), but results have been mixed, I am afraid. Here are the graphs from the analysis tab of the Excel sheet, showing e1RMs of the Big 3 in weeks 1-11 (I’ll do week 12 starting today and switch to next programming cycle after that).

2023 - 05 - Strength I - results.png
2023 - 05 - Strength I - results.png551×828 31.3 KB

Some additional background info might be necessary for interpretation of the graphs: I started the cut in Week 1; and I have a pollen allergy - so I felt pretty much under the weather from mid/late May thru June. Much better now. As for fatigue from training/overall feeling of exhaustion: as far as I can tell, I never had any problems resulting from either lifting or cycling sessions.

Returning to the graph: the Squat developed nicely; but for most of the template, BP and DL were rather “meh” and had a downward trend over the whole template. Late in the program (weeks 9/10 onward) I started playing around a little with technique - wider grip for BPs and more of a “two-step” approach to DL (the “leg-press first, hip-thrust second” idea…), which felt better. So some of the stagnation might be a technique issue - I feel much more competent in the Squat. For what it’s worth, as a comparison, here are the e1RM-results of my second time running PB1 (not sure how much sense we can compare the results, but I thought I show them, anyway):

2023 - 04 - PB I 2 - results.png
2023 - 04 - PB I 2 - results.png907×1434 59.7 KB

So my question would be: which program would you suggest next given these training goals and training history/results? If you suggest doing Strength I again (my original plan), would you recommend any changes to my programming - especially re: PB and DL? Should I rather try PB1 again - having made solid progress with that program? Or have I reached the max I can get out of the three-day programs, and I need a fourth lifting-day (which I was hoping to avoid - at least until Fall/Winter, when cycling has to be done inside)?

Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks and best,

David​

2

Hey David,

Thanks for the update. Hope all is well. A few questions for you: 1. Did you happen to test actual 1RMs after this program? If so, how did you do?
2. Over the program, how sore were you after most days of training? -Jordan

3

Thanks, Jordan, for the quick reply! Yeah, all is well. Enjoying life :wink: Hope you’re doing fine as well - and the move has been not too stressful.

As for your questions:

  1. No, I haven’t - and was not planning to. I also have never done that before. Should I?
  2. Not very much. For Squats: on the day of training my legs felt nice and warm and tired (if you know what I’m trying to describe here), but no soreness. For Bench: no soreness at all. For Deadlift: a little bit of general tiredness (not linked to back or legs), but only on the day of training. Overall, I felt I could handle the stress pretty well, I’d say. No comparison to the Hypertrohphy weeks, where I felt beaten up during and after the training session.

Hope that is helpful. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Best, D.

4

David,

I don’t think there’s a need to test actual 1RMs, rather I was just curious if there was a discrepancy between “feel” and “real” here. I’d probably favor either re-running Strength I with some higher volume, e.g. 1 extra set on all bench slots and deadlift slots. I’d also change the exercise selection for both bench and deadlift to different variants you think you’d like. After the season is over, I’d consider going to a 4 day/wk program.

-Jordan

5

Thanks so much, Jordan, for taking the time. This is super-helpful!

I will do as suggested and rerun Strength I, with an additional set of BP and DL. I don’t think I need more variation in the excercise selection - I actually really like the variations provided in the original program (not so much the pin-squats, however - I feel they are strangely taxing for my lower back b/c I feel that I cannot stay as tight as with the normal squats… But I am digressing… :roll_eyes:).

One last thing: Which RPE/rep combo would you suggest for the additional set - that of first multi-rep set? That of the “in-between”-back-off sets or that of the last (lightest) back-offs?

Thanks again, Jordan. Your patience is greatly appreciated :sunglasses:

All best, David

6

I would do the rep/rpe combos of the back off sets when adding sets. Let me know how it goes. I’ll be curious to see how you respond.

7

Will certainly keep you posted, Jordan! Thanks again.

Really looking forward to the next round! :sunglasses: