Not sure which program to purchase next

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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I’m not sure whether I should purchase The Beginner Prescription, do The Bridge or any other program. Currently I’m doing BBM’s At-Home Template. A little unfortunate info: I’m 5’11", 70kg. My 5RM are: 92kg deadlift, 77kg squat and 70kg bench. If you’re curious how I got to these abysmal numbers, I’ve explained it in the bottom paragraph. After being educated thanks to Dr. Feigenbaum and Dr. Baraki, I would like to bulk up to around 90kg while obviously improving my lifts. Do I still qualify for SSLP or TBP? Can I still get those noob gains, or have my years wasted in a gym de-sensitized my body’s ability to respond to a novice-level stimulus for the traditional 2-3 months? I’m unsure because I can’t say I’m untrained (in the sense I’ve routinely exercised the squat, bench and deadlift). I have no idea how damaging that wasted time has been to my response to a LP, versus if I genuinely was a person who had never trained with any barbell movements whatsoever.

I’ve messed around the gym for years on and off. Like an idiot I didn’t know what I was doing and wanted to lose weight (I was 200lbs). During this time I did the big 3 movements but with HORRIBLE form and tweaked my left shoulder. Therefore I stopped benching, and eventually stopped squatting and deadlifting since I desperately wanted to lose weight rather than get strong, and started to prioritize cardio more and more. I eventually got down to my present 70kg. About a year ago I came across some YouTube video which simply said you should train those same barbell movements but 3x5 for squat and bench, and 1x5 for deadlift while adding 5lbs a week and doing all 3 movements 2-3 times a week. I’ve been too scared to put on weight and have eaten 1500 or 1800 calories a day. That’s how I got to where I am now. I had also deadlifted wrong and popped something in my lower back, so I decided to stop pulling. It was painful and every time I squat deep or get into the starting position of a deadlift, I feel that pain (I’ve read Dr. Baraki’s article on pain and will restart deadlifting with a light weight to rehab my back).

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CJS,

Thanks for the post and for joining the forum. A few thoughts:

  1. I don’t think your numbers are abysmal. Don’t be so hard on yourself- you’re just starting out with formal training.
  2. I do think the beginner template would be appropriate for you, yes. I don’t think LP is a viable option given that it does not meet our criteria for a “good” program, e.g. user-directed exercise selection, autoregulation, conditioning, increased volume over time, exercise and rep range variety, etc/
  3. I doubt you had horrible form and that this had much to do with your L shoulder injury- probably more of a load management thing.
  4. I don’t know if you should bulk to 90kg or not, as it depends on your waist and medical history. In any case, keeping your waist < 33-34" would be good advice.

-Jordan

1 Like
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If you want to gain weight, sure, though that should take ~4-5 months to gain that much. On the other hand, you can live a full and complete life without gaining weight too.

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Right back at you!