Regarding back off set rpe and getting stronger but not building muscle

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello Jordan and Austin,

First, I want to say thank you for answering my question about deloads on your most recent podcast. I’m sure it gets annoying answering a similar question over and over, I just haven’t had time to listen to any of the podcasts recently until today but I’m very much appreciative! If it matters I at least did a few google searches and looked on the forums before I asked, just didn’t find what I thought I was specifically looking for however your answer on the podcast made much more sense.

I have a few questions

  1. Regarding PB1, is there a certain rpe for the back off sets that you would consider to be too high?

  2. I’ve been eating in a modest caloric surplus for 3 months (gaining about .5 lbs per week) and I’ve gained 6 lbs but I feel like I’ve barely gained any muscle. I’ve been running the bridge 3.0 for the last 7 weeks and for the better part of the last 9 months. Before this most recent run through I was on PB 1. Only while running PB 1 did I notice any hypertrophy gains within the last several months. Is it possible that the bridge 3.0 just isn’t enough training volume for me to build noticeable amounts of muscle anymore? Is it even possible to have training volume no longer be appropriate for hypertrophy but still make strength gains?

2

Judas,

Thanks for the kind words. Hope you enjoyed the podcast! For your questions:

  1. In that template, sets > RPE 8-8.5 are probably too high.

  2. It is definitely possible to get stronger without gaining much muscle, but I think the Bridge 3.0 and PB 1 are similar enough that I wouldn’t expect you to be gaining muscle mass on one and none on the other. Best case scenario, you’ll gain ~2-3lbs of muscle in the time frame given. I’m not sure that would be noticeable to the naked eye. I’d be taking measurements of things like neck, arm, thigh, and waist circumference to better characterize lean body mass changes over time.

-Jordan

3

Happy to hear it. Let us know how your training is going here in a few months!

1 Like