Hello Barbell Medicince crew,
So I am halfway through Strength I and extremely happy with progress. Turns out proper programming actually beats badly planned programming. My current plan is to switch back to martial arts, mainly BJJ, after I have finished the program (in about 7 weeks or so) and then only lift to maintain the strength I have achieved. I want to be able to focus as much as possible on BJJ, and therefor minimize my lifting as much as is possible, and I wonder what is a reasonable starting point.
I understand that it is impossible to give an absolute answer, and that there will have to be trial and error, and I will only know after testing a while. But what’s reasonable amount of volume to start at?
My current plan is to train BJJ about four times a week, and maintain current weight.
I’m currently 75 kg (165 puonds).
Current bench (according to eRM calculation based of heavy singles): 87 kg (191 pounds)
Current deadlift according to eRM: 165 kg (364 pounds).
I don’t really squat due to some longstanding injury issues.
I’m male and 33 years old.
Is it reasonable to start at one heavy single a week on each? Or three heavy sets? Talking around RPE 8.
Thanks for helping and once again, very happy with progress on Strength I!
A bigger issue is going to be how much BJJ have you previously been exposed to.
4-times per week of BJJ with no prior training is A LOT and, if you’re asking me, about 2x as much as what I would recommend. Of course, the composition of each session also matters, but going from zero to 4-times a week of anything physically strenuous is a lot.
To directly answer your question, I’d probably lift 2x/wk and do conditioning 3x/wk in addition to BJJ.
Thank you for the fast reply.
I should have been more clear on my background. Been doing BJJ for a little over ten years and have spent the majority of the pandemic in Australia where I have been able to train and stay in shape. BJJ 4x a week is something Im quite used to, but frequency will be altered according to fatigue and recovery, with an initial phase of starting at a lower frequency and increasing it.
I feel BJJ provides adequate conditioning in itself, my cardio never really becomes an issue when competing. Or do you expect other benefits from conditioning?
Regarding the lifting: What amount of sets would you suggest in those lifting sessions?
I think that some additional steady state would be beneficial to your performance, yes 
As far as the nuts and bolts of a 2x/wk program, I’d be looking at 2-5 working sets with a press, squat, and pull pattern. I’d pick varying rep ranges as well so as to not specialize. It might look like:
Day 1
Squat 4-6 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets
Press x 6-8 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets Row/hip thrusts/RDL x 8-12 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets
Day 2
Trapbar DL or DL x 4-6 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets
Incline Bench x 4-6 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets
F/S, belt squat, SSB, split squat, leg press, etc. x 8-12 reps @ RPE 7-8 x 2-4 sets
Sounds like a reasonable starting point. Looks very roughly to be around half the volume of Strength I. I’ll give it a go and see if my numbers stay up, go down or even increase somewhat and adjust accordingly.
Thanks for you time!
If you don’t mind me bumping this rather than starting a new thread on the same topic,
I really enjoy the regular heavy singles at RPE 8. Would you consider them at all beneficial for strength or its maintenance, or do you view them rather as competition specific skill practice for powerlifters? I understand it’s probably not a strict either, but if you could shed some light on your thinking there I would appreciate it.