For my first post here, I want to review my recent gainZzz from the Powerbuilding III template as well as ask for some input re: my next program.
tl;dr — I made awesome gains in everything. I pretty much ran it as prescribed with very few exercise changes except I did basically none of the conditioning. My Squat e1RM started at 365 lbs, and I hit 387.5lbs @ 9.5 on testing day. My bench started at 260 and ended at 300 lbs @ a true 10. Lastly, my deadlift went from 435 all the way to 475 lbs @ 9.5. So I set lifetime PRs in the Big Three. Definitely got more jacked all around (albeit, fluffier too — I gained about 8 pounds and am sitting at an unfortunate 36" waist, 195 lbs, 177cm tall.) I’m super proud and excited with the strength gains and am eager to continue to build on this positive momentum after making the best strength gains of my life. On the other hand, I’m feeling minor-to-moderately beaten up and dread the idea of more heavy singles, with a nagging pec tendon that talks to me during most bench work, as well as feeling fluffy and out of shape. When this has happened to me in the past—setting epic strength PRs but feeling unhappy with my physique and fitness—I’ve tended to switch to a bodybuilding template on a caloric deficit, during which I clean up my physique but never keep my strength gains and feel like I’m starting over. This has been a cycle I’ve struggled with for nearly a decade, and I once again find myself at a crossroads about where to take my training next! For what it’s worth, I’m 31, have been barbell training with various methods for about 10 years, do notplan on competing, and am interesting in strength as a hobby, with 405/315/500 as my ultimate goal, looking jacked, and being reasonable athletic and fit for as long as possible.
With all of that said, I’d love to hear some advice on where to go next. My intuition is to re-run PBIII and somehow manage the pec-related benching pain, or switch to a Low Fatigue Template, or try Bodybuilding II. Open to any and all feedback and advice. Thanks, y’all.
Thanks for the post. Sounds like you crushed it on this template. Nice job!
I think in this situation I’d run Hypertrophy I or the 3-day version of Bodybuilding II to give yourself some more time to do the conditioning and manage training-related stress and fatigue. For strength maintenance, I think both would be about the same.
Alright, I’m down. I already bought BBII, so I’ll plan to go with that.
Can you talk me off the ledge in worrying that going down to 3-days won’t ruin my gainzZz? After years of lifting 4+ days per week, the thought seems so sketchy to me. I’m sure hearing some reason and nuance from you will help assuage that.
Re: the template, a few questions then:
Do you still like the “Day 1/rest/Day 2/GPP 1/Day 3/GPP 2/rest” setup for this?
Better to do arm GPP on lifting days, or on GPP days? I anticipate you’re going to say “whatever you like more,” but what would you do in my position?
Would you recommend biasing exercise selection towards the big 3/powerlifting-specific stuff still, or take the opportunity to branch out? FWIW, I’m at a home gym, and don’t have many machines available.
Sure. Provided you’re getting enough training stimulus- which can be divvied up in a number of different ways- the frequency is not really a big deal. For example, I wouldn’t predict any difference between 1 set of 5 five days a week vs 5 sets of 5 1 day of week for strength or hypertrophy. Once the set count gets > 12-15 for a specific muscle group, adding more days could provide a small benefit, but I wouldn’t sweat it. I’m confident that both programs will provide enough lifting stress, particularly in the context of actually doing the conditioning. FWIW, The first time I ever squatted 600 was when I was “only” lifting 3x/wk.
To your questions:
That’s fine
It doesn’t matter at all. I’d do whatever works best for your schedule
If anything, I’d bias my exercise selection away from the Big 3- picking variants instead like HBBS, incline bench, and RDL’s or similar for LBBS, Bench, and DL.
If you want, PB III would be fine. Really just depends on goals, time available, and programming preferences. I’d have no qualms with returning to PB III though.
Sounds good. Appreciate the feedback and assistance, as always. We just got an awesome indoor bike, so the conditioning will get done, and I suspect going down to 3 days per week and putting GPP on the “off days” will help encourage me to commit to doing it. My only other question is that I’d love to hear more about why you suggested these high-rep hypertrophy-focused programs for me, as opposed to continuing on Powerbuilding I or Low Fatigue 3 Day, for example? Mostly for the lower loads, I assume?