Hello,
I got back into weight training about a year ago, and I did program hopping last year. I settled on the old Barbell Medicine Beginner Program that I had in the beginning of this year, but I had some setbacks mainly issues with form. I have seen progress with some lifts as well as my conditioning, but others I have not. I think this is form related. I have been repeating week 4 of the Beginner Template for awhile and I still do not feel like I gave it my best. I want to do week 4 of Phase 1 until I honestly cannot make any progress with solid form. It would gave me a sense of closure. Is this a good idea? Also, I have had trouble with my squat grip. I feel most comfortable with false grip on low bar squats. Is this ok?
BB54,
I think that most people should run each block of the beginner program for ~ 8-12 weeks total before moving on, unless they’re getting awesome results. In that case, I’d continue on until those taper off. If there’s a form issue, I think the programming should target that with variations, e.g. tempo, pause, unilateral work, etc. depending on the issue. That said, you can continue on if you want as well. I don’t think it’s a huge deal provided you’re training and enjoying it.
A thumbless grip is fine on a squat if you prefer it, as are the full thumbs-around, and talon grips. Whatever works…and is repeatable, efficient, and meets the points of performance of the exercise 
-Jordan
Hey Jordan.
Does this apply to the second gen beginner program? Run each phase for 8-12 weeks making the program 24-36 weeks total?
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I was wondering about this as well. As the 2nd gen template doesn’t specify running each block for more than 5 weeks? Unless I missed it.
I think people shoud move on from a given program when it stops working. I predict that this will happen for most folks within ~ 8-10 weeks of starting a block, but it will vary for sure. Ball-parking 8-12 weeks is fine, but I would really be monitoring progress vs. the calendar.
This was explicitly stated in the 1st Generation Beginner Program, but since there were so many questions about it and its implementation, I moved away from it. The 2nd Gen Beginner Program has more similar programming from block to block, and so I removed that confusing detail from the text. You could extend the blocks of any program, which includes the 2nd Gen Beginner program. I think progress should be the yardstick though, not the calendar.