I think I'm ready for RPE, Is the bridge for me?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi guys,

After a particularly grueling week and reviewing my training logs it is time I admit what I’m doing isn’t working.

I don’t have a “program” as such, I just lift and try to add weight to the bar when I can but what I’ve noticed is that I tend to stall around a similar load each time so that tells me my “program” sucks.

The other thing I realise is that for a bench or OHP I am quite conceivably running at RPE 9 or 10 all the time, the final rep (in the case of bench) is typically “Oh xxxx, if I can’t rack this I’m stuck here or might get hurt really badly” such was the case earlier this week where the same weight I pressed for 3 sets of 5 last time ended up with me doing the roll of shame on rep 4 of set 1.

Todays OHP session ended with the bar basically refusing to move from the bottom position when I wasn’t expecting it, again at a weight I handled “fine” last week. I suspect my “good” days are the anomaly rather than the bad and this is why I struggle to progress.

Most of the time it is sheer force of will (and a little panic) moving the bar for the last rep rather than sustainable and sensible training and it’s time to stop this, especially given I am actually not that strong.

I have been ill which doesn’t help but it’s time for something different that accounts for my wildly fluctuating ability to move the bar from session to session over a fairly long period of time.

Some unimpressive stats:

46yr old male
174cm
79kg
34" waist

Bench 86kg for 5
OHP 53kg for 5
Squat 112kg for 5 (I have only recently started doing these again after a very long layoff but there isn’t much left in it)
Deadlift 135kg for 5 (see above)

My diet probably sucks, not that I eat “much” junk but I don’t track anything other than “handful of meat/carbs/veg” for meals (twice daily) though my weight/waist has been stable for a while. I work a physical job and I would probably average 7hrs of proper sleep a night.

I am looking to slowly increase BW to around 83kg, get a bit bigger and stop spinning my wheels, if I had to put a pin on lifting goals I’d like 100kg bench, 135kg squat, 160kg DL for singles.

I have never tested for 1rm but I am considering giving it a shot just to rule a line under my training “progress” but I will not attempt a 1rm for bench without a spotter, I might be stupid but I aint dumb.

Questions:

  1. Is the Bridge 1.0 suitable as a starter program
  2. How many extra daily calories would you recommend for a slow growth
  3. Can you ballpark some macros for me

Apologies for the long post but it’s taken me a week to pluck up the courage to write it, asking for help is not something that comes easily to me.

Regards,
Phill.

2

Hi Phill,

Thanks for the post and we’re happy to have you here. Bummed to hear you haven’t been making much progress as of late, though I do suspect the illness is contributory to some of the variability in performance recently.

In any case, I do think The Bridge is a fine place to start, yes. I would aim to do this at maintenance for a spell and see how you respond. For one, the 34" waist is sort of the upper limit I use for having people gain weight - especially early on in their training career. Second, I think that it’ll be easier to tell how the program is working for you if we don’t confound it with weight manipulation, though I don’t actually think gaining a little bit of weight is likely to alter performance anyway. For macro targets, I think something like 150g of protein, 330g carbohydrates, and 70g fat per day would be reasonable.

-Jordan

3

Thanks Jordan!

4

Hello Doc,

I would appreciate it if you could give a rationale as when it would be most appropriate for someone to run the Bridge (as recommended above) in comparison to the Beginner Template (or Prescription).

Thanks for helping me understand! Have a blessed day!

-Paul