Pivoting Training While Pregnant Closer To Delivery

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,

Huge BBM fan and I can’t seem to get enough of your content. Just a few things if you don’t mind assisting.

My wife is pregnant with our first child. Given the 2019 Canadian pregnancy training recommendations and vast amounts of subsequent research we have done, she has continued to train and, anecdotally. seemed to be unable to sleep properly without getting her training in. She is nearing the end of her second time running the 7 week Hypertrophy program (after I got her over from a much worse and non productive program) and has been amazed at the results.

If I understand all your content regarding programming correctly, she would be best served when she finishes this program by increasing relative intensity and decreasing volume to re-sensitize herself to this volume and then pivot back to a more high volume block once she has been re-sensitized.

Given that she is now 23 weeks pregnant, I have some obvious concerns with pivoting to too much relative intensity and clearly shes not after all time 1RM PR’s given that the pregnancy is the most important thing here.

I understand there are a variety of factors that we can manipulate here and given the context, was wondering if it made the most sense just to pivot her to the Hypertrophy template yet again (so she can still train) but modify the exercise selection to give some sort of pivot and provide a degree of re-sensitization without modifying intensity too much so as to not worry about any potential detrimental outcomes until after delivery.

My second question is relating to my own programming. I have been training for many years but only found your stuff a little over a year ago. Recently, I have gone 7 week hypertrophy (4 day) → 12 week strength → 7 week hypertrophy which I’m in the last week of now. I’m currently cutting to comply with my personal goals and have around another 10 lbs before I will be satisfied and start a slow and controlled bulk back up. At that time, I intend to do the 12 week strength template again because of the massive results the first time but understand it isn’t best suited at this time while cutting for another month or two.

Do you have recommendations for programming for the intermediary before I run the strength program again?

Finally I just want to confirm my understanding of some of the things discussed in your programming methodology across the programming podcasts (which I listened to all of them twice) and stuff found in the forums and articles.

I have seen where your team has recommended alternating hypertrophy/strength templates back and forth. I understand that the strength template has quite a bit of volume until peaking at the end which makes perfect sense and makes it a perfect template to jump into from elsewhere for the masses in terms of your programming methodology. I also understand going from the strength template where you tapered off lots of volume back to the hypertrophy makes sense when you will be re-sensitized and likely see hypertrophy benefits.

Where I’m potentially misunderstanding is how going from the hypertrophy template to the strength template would be optimal in any fashion given that you are going from a volume program to essentially volume blocks in the strength program (in the first bit of the strength program). Wouldn’t it make more sense to go to something like your 3 day peak template to realize the strength potential built in the hypertrophy block and re-sensitize yourself OR go right into the strength program at the specialization block?

I apologize for the several questions in one spot and would be happy to start other forums if required.

I really appreciate your time.

Thanks,
Adam

2

Adam,

Congrats on the little one that’s coming. Very cool :slight_smile:

I would probably just repeat the template again if she’s had good results with it, given that changing exercises represents some fairly large unknowns as far as tolerance, results, etc.
In general, we advocate for continuing to exercise (or starting exercise) at any point during pregnancy unless contraindicated, but we also recognize that it isn’t the time for pulling out all the stops with respect to performance increases.

I’d either rerun the 4 day hypertrophy, bridge 3.0, or HLM. Only reason to change is if you’re wanting to do something new while you continue to lose weight.

I think that with the low stress week, significant change in average intensity, exercise selection, and rep ranges that there’s relatively low risk of having suboptimal results going from the hypertrophy template to the strength template. That being said, if someone wanted to run the peak template in between, I wouldn’t hate that, but I also don’t know if it would be the best move given the lack of specificity and training in the relevant rep ranges, exercises, etc. In short, it might not be that productive and I don’t typically recommend it.

3

Thanks for the information Jordan.

So to clarify on your programming recommendations for both of us, there is enough of a shift in intensity, exercise selection and rep ranges/volume from week 7 of hypertrophy to starting it over again at week 1 that it is essentially pivoting itself just by restarting the same program and, by that logic, the changes between week 7 of the hypertrophy program to week 1 of the strength program bleed off enough stress and change things up enough to re-sensitize you to the coming volume in the developmental block of the strength program?

I’m just trying to understand your programming methodology as best I can as it seems very sound thus far and has been proven in terms of performance compared to the many other programs I have run in the past.

So is the understanding here, based on your programming methodology, that the various variables available need to be shifted in order to re-sensitize ones self to the given training stimulus as you cannot practically endlessly increase volume.

As an example, for this week (week 7) I squat 1@8, 6@9, 6@8x3. Going forward to a new block there are a variety of options but the ultimate goal is to pivot in an effort to re-sensitize. I could start scaling down volume to let the accumulated fatigue catch up, detrain a little and increase intensity to peak for a display of strength and then start building volume again

OR
I could change up some other variables like give myself a pivot week of different exercise selection (tempo squats, pause squats, pin squats etc) with the same intensity and/or volume and try and re-sensitize myself and then come back and build volume back up until pivoting or peaking again?

On an entirely separate note, any plans on getting your supplements to amazon Canada. The order was filled fast but the DHL shipping is not the greatest. I will be at two weeks from date of order tomorrow and the tracking looks like its still in the US and hasn’t reached Canada yet.

Thanks again,
Adam

4

There may be a misconception here. Peaking is often called realization but what you’re really doing is letting fatigue dissipate while minimizing the loss of strength and maintaining the benefits of the RBE; this allows you to demonstrate your maximal performance. You already have that strength (hidden behind a bit of fatigue) so demonstrating it through a peaking template isn’t really useful unless a) it motivates you or b) you’re preparing for a meet.
That should hopefully help your decision making.

5

I wouldn’t agree with this explanation of peaking.

6

Depends what you mean by “enough”. I don’t think I’d optimally have someone run and re run the same program over and over again, but for this context I think it would be fine.

Things stop working as they produce less and less adaptation from a given amount of stress. Increasing the stress by ramping up the dose can work, as can changing the formulation.

Yea, we are changing our distributor and should be able to do more with Canada very soon.

7

Thanks again Jordan.

I have the ultimate goal of eventually being able to program properly but am having some trouble wrapping my head around the application of some of the principles given the amount of nuance.

I will keep analyzing your programs and consuming your material in an effort to better my understanding and ideally put it in application.

Glad to hear things will be looking better for shipping in Canada soon.

Here’s hoping one day soon my wife and I can find the funds and time to make it to a seminar.

8

Cheers! We may be in Montreal in 2020!