Hypertrophy II vs BB II for a strength/hypertrophy rotation

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,

have some questions about the Hypertrophy II and Bodybuilding II templates. From searching the forum, it seems hypertrophy outcomes are a bit better with BB II, but not night and day.

  1. What about fatigue? Is it also similar between the two, or is there a noticeable difference in recovery?

  2. For someone who also wants to make strength “deposits” into the bank account when the old age comes, longevity, but with more focus on hypertrophy right now, which one is better? The idea is to add a ~2-month strength block after every hypertrophy block, using The Bridge (8 weeks). The rotation would be:

    • When work/life is not too demanding: BB II (one 8-week block) → Bridge (8 weeks) → Hypertrophy II (one 10-week block) → restart, so ~26 weeks per cycle.
    • When work/life is demanding a lot: the same rotation, but using the 3-day versions of both templates.

    Is there a meaningful difference in outcomes between using 3 template cycle(BB II, Hypertrophy II and Bridge)? Would simplifying be better using 2 templates(BB II->Bridge or Hypertrophy II → Bridge), e.g. BB II → Bridge → restart (~16 weeks) or Hypertrophy II → Bridge → restart (~18 weeks)? If so, which one?

Thanks!

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The training load is similar between Hypertrophy II and Bodybuilding II, but more of it (the training load) is allocated to isolation and hypertrophy-focused work in Bodybuilding II than hypertrophy. I would suspect fatigue is about the same, perhaps a bit higher in Hypertrophy II.

Perhaps surprisingly, I think both are good from a strength perspective in the context you mention it: longevity. Hypertrophy II definitely has more opportunities for what would be considered traditional strength work, i.e. barbell-based training via the exercise selection.

I think your planned cycle is reasonable. I’d favor one of the second gen strength templates in favor of the bridge, but otherwise, this would be fine. I do think having some “pure strength” work in the mix would be good vs. doing a hypertrophy-slanted program year round.

-Jordan

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