Hi folks,
I have a rather specific requirement, and was wondering whether you could suggest a program for me? I’ve completed Beginner template, and am currently working through Hypertrophy 1. I’m looking for another program which has more of an emphasis on higher rep ranges, or that works without going too high on the RPE scale.
So a few years ago (2019) I had my mitral valve replaced. I was later given the all-clear by my surgeon and cardiologist (“don’t do any powerlifting” was the caveat, and I argued that different people had different ideas of what constitutes “heavy”). Then for a variety of reasons I was out of the gym for several years after the operation: Covid shut the gyms down, and later I had a frozen shoulder which prevented me from carrying out a lot of my usual lifts.
When I was ready to I resume lifting I bought the BBM Beginner template, I took things very slow and steady and repeated the last weeks of each phase to get as much as I could from them. As the weights went up I was more and more aware that I was getting a very red face during dead lift and squats, and on a couple of occasions I felt light headed. These things concerned me as I didn’t want to blow out my nice new valve and die on the floor or the gym. One day I looked at my e1RMs and saw that I had hit the 1000lb mark for SBD, so I decided it was time to put my ego to rest and stop chasing higher numbers.
So I switched to Hypertrophy 1 and am have had a blast. I modified the program slightly to account for my age (51), by stretching the 7 day week to a 10 day one to allow for more recovery. I also added in 1 extra GPP day, so 6 days out of 10 are in the gym. Putting on muscle has been great, and not feeling like I was about to die under the bar was a huge plus.
I have again repeated the last weeks of each phase to rinse out the most I can. I am however getting to the point where I am considering my next program.
Hypertrophy 2 is an obvious contender, but I don’t know what else there is in terms of either lower weight/higher rep programs, or not exceeding RPE 7/8 on higher loads.
Thanks
Chas
51 M