Hi Docs
I always agonise over giving enough info in my questions vs being concise and respectful of your time. Currently I’m not too worried about AF but felt some background might be relevant as to why I ended up on the beginner template and where to go next.
51 Male.
I’ve been running various 4 day BBM programs since 2019 following my PVI ablation surgery in 2018. AF returned Oct 2021 for the first time with a 12 hour episode and a night in hospital. I got some excellent advice here back then. (PVI Ablation 8/2018 for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. AF is back. What do? - Medical Q/A with Drs. Feigenbaum & Baraki - Barbell Medicine Forum)
Had another episode while lifting about 2 weeks later. Continued lifting through it and it was gone in 17 minutes. Nothing since then and not on any meds. It was enough of a scare at the time to make training less enjoyable. Started missing days & shifting to catch up. Scraped through to Christmas without missing too much but wheels fell off into the new year. After a few aborted attempts to resume lifting got back into it in May with the Beginner Prescription. Only missed 2 weeks between then and now due to flu.
Current Progress
Currently about to start week 15 but figure it’s time to move on. I have still been progressing week to week but obviously that can’t go on indefinitely. Last couple of weeks noticed an increased soreness that would not dissipate, particularly in the legs mostly when standing up from sitting. Had something similar a few years ago that led me to the knee rehab template and hope to avoid a repeat.
Money is tight + having spent so long on the first phase, I’m not sure whether continuing with the full beginner template would be the best move - but perhaps I’m mistaken?
Happy with my progress. Started very conservatively given effectively 5 months off lifting.
e1RMS before (kg)
Bench 54
Belt Squat machine 148
Deadlift 149
e1RMS after (kg)
Bench 81
Belt Squat machine 235
Deadlift 209
Lifetime personal bests Bench 100, Deadlift 250
Felt the bug to pull singles again and got 210x1 @8 after finishing sets of 4 deadlifts last week, 200x1 @8 week before. Mostly just curious to see where I was at and was pleasantly surprised how easy they felt.
Goals
Short term is to drop waist circumference and have adjusted diet accordingly. I feel like this shouldn’t really factor too much into programming decisions? At 98cm I do intend to drop this fairly aggressively though and expect to hit 88cm (or less) before the end of the year.
Lifting-wise I mainly want to continue to enjoy it. Had a bunch of issues with barbell squats over the years. Might revisit them someday, but that’s not a battle I’m interested in currently, hence the belt squat machine.
Have enjoyed deadlifting on the beginner template and would like to focus on that in the medium/long term in the context of both health and having an enjoyable goal to chase.
I have purchased several 4 day templates, but I’d prefer a 3 day program for now. Any recommendations that make sense for my current goals?
Thanks again for everything you do, it has been life changing!