Hi Drs Feigenbaum and Baraki,
Firstly I wanted to say thank you for designing a program that has worked great for me so far. I am currently in Week 8 of The Bridge template and I have seen great strength and general conditioning/work capacity gains. My deadlift has gone from 475-505lbs, squat from 425-445lbs, bench from 285-303lbs and overhead press from 165-185lbs, all of this during a relatively high-stress and time constrained training environment which has impacted by success in the past. Due to the success I’ve had running this program, I was wondering if you could help me with picking a program after I finish The Bridge.
Some info on me, not sure if all of this is relevant but want to give you a picture of my training background and goals:
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I am 6’5 and 310lbs, recently turned 27.
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I only started training again in January of 2023. I had an extended layoff due to gym closures because of COVID and some mental health/other personal struggles. I have had a gym membership since May, I was doing at home/kettlebell workouts before that. Prior to the extended layoff I was training fairly consistently for about 3 years but often ran into issues from overuse/overtraining/not being clear about my progression/goals. Since returning to the gym I have used a few beginner templates (Greyskull LP, 5/3/1 etc) and often felt like I was spinning my wheels on certain lifts but I made progress. I especially felt that my squat and bench needed more skill work at lower intensities which is something that I liked about The Bridge, as well as the amount of variation.
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I have found that I can reasonably commit to 3x/week. I often work extended shifts and have had to structure my workouts so that the majority of my training happens on the weekend. Occasionally I have had to reduce my volume due to time constraints but I have found that 3x/week is sustainable for me and I never have to skip workouts entirely.
My main goals right now are to improve my strength. I want to compete in a powerlifting meet within a year, but I am mostly interested in training for general strength as I work in a very physically intensive field.
I was looking at The Bridge paid template and Strength I. The Bridge looks like it would be more in line with my goals/experience but I wanted to ask before buying as I don’t want to end up paying for a program that I don’t end up liking/that I don’t find to be relevant to my goals.
Sorry for the long winded question and thank you both again for helping me live a healthier lifestyle and get stronger.
Cheers.