Programming for older lifter focused on SBD but in need of substantially more LBM.

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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I have been training using your templates and programming methods on and off for about a decade (starting with the release of The Bridge!). My results were somewhat limited due to constantly taking very long layoffs (kids, work, excuses, …). Now here I am turning 40 and I finally have the time and motivation to train the way I always dreamed of. I am addicted to the big three and watching those numbers go up (I might consider trying a local meet as a Master 1 next year).

The problem is I am quite under-muscled right now for 5’7" and my lifts are a bit stalled despite sleep and nutrition being on point. Since my last layoff I did the beginner template, followed by Powerbuilding I 2nd Gen to completion and got my weight from 142lbs (32" waist) to 146lbs (32.5" waist). I have a long way to go to get to 163lbs and then possibly to 183lbs! I am finding this to be a much slower process than it was in my 20s as I avoid putting on too much bodyfat in the process.

My plan was to move on to Powerbuilding II and then apply what I learned from your “Training Plateau Action Plan” if I still don’t see results from the initial increased volume.

However, I am so far out from my goal bodyweight (20-40 more lbs).. I wonder if it is better now to stop chasing SBD numbers and start with a pure Hypertrophy or Bodybuilding foundation (from your templates). From there very slowly focus more and more on SBD strength as my weight goes up.

I will appreciate any relevant advice you have and thanks for creating this life changing platform. I don’t know where I would be without everything I have learned from it over the years.

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Howdy, our forum software says it’s been almost a decade since you’ve been here, so that timeline tracks. Welcome to your 5th decade. The water is nice here :slight_smile:

If I understand you correctly, you like doing the Big 3 (squat, bench, and deadlift), and you want to gain muscle. Your specific question is whether you would be best served by focusing on hypertrophy, diverting training resources away from SBD.

My answer is, no, not really. And probably for a reason you could arrive at if someone pressed you.

The squat, bench, and deadlift are examples of the squat, push, and hinge movement categories, with row or pull being the other one of the main four. A powerlifting (and to a lesser extent, powerbuilding) program will allocate many training resources to the competition variants of the squat, bench, and deadlift, whereas a hypertrophy or general strength and conditioning program would allow a wider range of options, though each still being a squat, press, and hinge pattern. The hypertrophy potential, which is a function of ROM, fatigue costs, and “trainability” of the different variations are pretty close and mostly should be selected by the individual based on their preferences.

Where things get genuinely difefrent between a SBD-focused program and one that’s not, is in the supplemental and accessory exercises. Focusing on SBD tends to constrain exercise variety to things that transfer to the lifts. Our strength/powerlifting templates are examples of this. A powerbuilding program would include more isolation and “failure-tolerant” exercises (machines, DB’s, etc. that can be have lower stakes when pushed to failure). A hypertrophy-focused program would take this another step further. The biggest difference between our powerbuilding and hypertrophy programs relates to exercise selection as mentioned here, and then allocation of training load. Because it’s not powerlifting-focused, we don’t need to dedicate as much training to SBD, even if the program still includes variants.

While the changes in hypertrophy gain here are incremental, I think it would be reasonable to run one of our hypertrophy templates with the squat, bench press, and deadlift as your priority lifts.

More pressing to me, however, is your weight management and load selection. Gaining ~ 4lbs in 3-4 months is a bit too cautious. I would aim for ~ 2lbs a month and see how that goes. I also have concerns about the stalled lifts if referring to the SBD and your e1RM trend. Anything is possible of course, but I would not predict someone returning from a break to stall in that time frame unless trying to do a sort of linear progression, training too close to failure, or being too conservative with loading. I don’t know which one you fall into, but if I were coaching you, I would be curious to hear how you go about picking the weight for your top set(s). This article’s ending may be helpful:

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Thanks for article link, I somehow missed that one. It leads to me believe I am a bit too conservative in my loading when doing the 1-3 rep ranges. 10 years ago I was too aggressive and I think the pendulum has swung just a little bit too far in the other direction.

For the next 6-12 months I think I will shift the primary focus to hypertrophy. This means I will be dropping those heavy sets of 3 or 4. Is there still value in working up to a 1@7 or a 1@6 on priority lifts before hitting those higher reps (8+) to keep an eye on progress and maintain some of that strength?

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One option that may help with anchoring your efforts is at the end of each training block, take your compound lifts to RPE 9, and isolation lifts to RPE 10 to re-orient (if needed) how close you are to failure.

I would not recommend allocating training resources to single-rep efforts while pursuing hypertrophy, as I don’t think it’s adding that much with respect to monitoring (sets of 4-6 would be fine) and the skill is going to decay with limited exposure anyway, which will quickly return when you get back to a strength-focused program.

I think you’d like our hypertrophy or powerbuilding programs for your stated goals here.