Post Bridge Template Selection and Order on a Cut

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I have been training with a barbell for a little under 5 months. I started with an LP for a few months before switching to the bridge 1.0. When I started my journey I was quite overweight, I have been in a calorie deficit for the duration and have gone from 235lbs to 198lbs. I begin week 7 of the bridge tomorrow and have managed to progress on all my lifts despite being in a calorie deficit and losing 11lbs since starting the program. I have another 25-35lbs to lose and am hoping to get some guidance on which templates to run, as well as the order to run them in. I know that powerbuilding I is recommended for weight loss, but I am not going to lose all the weight I need to in 10 weeks, so I am looking for another template which will help me achieve my goals in a deficit. My goals are as follows:

  • Get stronger, ideally continuing to progress in the powerlifts and overhead press;
  • Continue to improve my conditioning;
  • Maintain as much LBM as possible while cutting around 1.5lbs or so per week

I have been going back and forth between the bridge 3.0 and the general strength and conditioning template. I like that the bridge 3.0 is focused on the powerlifts, but I suspect GSC might be better suited for achieving my other goals than the bridge whilst still allowing me to improve my strength. My plan was to run one of these templates and then follow it up with powerbuilding I. My questions are as follows:

  1. Do you think Bridge 3.0 or GSC would be better suited to my goals?
  2. Am I overlooking a template which would serve my goals better than either Bridge 3.0 or GSC (including the possibility of running powerbuilding I twice in a row)?
  3. Would it be better for me to run a more strength focused template prior to running powerbuilding, or would it be better to run powerbuilding first?

I would really appreciate any advice that you are able to give me.

2

RL,

Thanks for the post and nice job so far on your journey!

  1. I think GSC would be better here.
  2. You could run PB I 2x in a row, sure. I don’t have a very strong opinion of whether this would be better than PB I + GSC without knowing how you did/will do on PB I.
  3. Nah, I would just fun PB I.

-Jordan

1 Like
3

Jordan, thanks so much for answering my questions! I am taking your advice and going with PB I. I have a few questions about running PB, I hope you won’t mind answering them:

  1. The bridge ends with a low stress week, and PB I begins with a low stress week. Should I skip the last week of the bridge, or would I be better off doing both low stress weeks?
  2. I pull sumo rather than conventional. Would it be appropriate for me to do sumo versions of the deadlift variations which are programmed in PB I? Or should I do the variations in a conventional stance instead?
  3. Am I correct in thinking that the main determinant in whether I should run PB I twice, or run it once and follow it up with GSC, will be if my e1rms improve at a rate I am happy with on my first run of PB I?