hope all is briliant. Since our brief discussion about future training goals (see the thread here: ("Hybrid" training program - Powerbuilding/Hypertrophy and Road Cycling: 3 questions - Training Q/A with Drs. Feigenbaum & Baraki - Barbell Medicine Forum)), I decided to actually go ahead and want seriously prepare for participating in my first Powerlifting meet in Fall 2024 (yes, that’s 1.5 years ahead, but I thought I start planning my training well in advance ;-)). I also will continue on my cycling training (3 times / week), but have no plans to compete in races and will take it slowly with building up cycling volume and keep intensity limited (85% of training time will be “Zone 2” training, including two interval sessions per week, one with two longish “Zone 3” intervals and one with five five-minutes threshold/Zone 4 intervals).
In terms of RT, and as per our previous discussion, I would now continue alternating the Powerbuilding I with the weight training “part” of the General S/C template for the next year or so. I will also do a little cut in May-July this year, having been on a conservative ~ +0.2kg week “bulk” since October. Based on those parameters, here’s a set of questions that I hope will help optimize my RT planning: 1. Does that sound sensible to you as a general plan for now (of course, I will be happy to change up the planning during the process depending on how everything goes) or would you suggest some other template alternation routine (e.g., using the Strength I template)?
2. When - if ever - would switching to the Strength template make sense?
3. For the templates in which there are different choices for assistance/supplementary excercises, any suggestions on which I should focus in particular?
4. Any other considerations I should take into account for now - besides continue having fun (which I definitely do)? As for context, I (m, 45 yo, 185 cm, 91 kgs) have been doing some kind of resistance training for the last 20 years or so, but only have followed systematic RT programming since October 2021, starting out with the Stronglifts 5x5 LP program which I heavily modified to control fatigue and to which I added the BBM press programming, followed by the the Bridge 3.0, Powerbuilding I (my unrivaled favorite up til now) and the first block of Hypertrophy I before starting on PB I again last week.
Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
I would run a more powerlifting-focused program to prepare for powerlifting, though 1.5 years is far longer than I’d be trying to plan programming for in advance. Rather, I’d be looking to plan 4-12 weeks at a time, tops.
If you’re interested in that type of training, I’d do it right now. The question I would ask is, why aren’t you doing powerlifting-focused training now if you want to get better at powerlifting?
I don’t think I can do this in a general sense for all templates, while still being specific enough to be useful. I think the templates’ exercise options are pretty much equivalent, in general.
thanks so much for the - super-quick - and as always great replies/follow-up questions. Great food for thought.
Yeah. Great points. My thinking was: (1) I feel I still am a rather “green” lifter and I am enjoying the relatively “general” and varied approach to training that the PB and GS/C templates promise; (2) I thought, since PBI and GS/C do have a focus on the “big three” and include heavy singles they might actually be a good “compromise” btw specficity and generality; (3) since that meet is so long in the future, I thought, why not train a bit more in a general way now and become specific later, closer to the actual meet day… That’s how I know “season” programming from cycling.
All that being said: I just now got me the Strength I template and will take a look into that
Alrighty, that makes much sense. Thanks!
Thanks for the encouragement. Means a lot. I will need to see what is possible this year, in terms of schedule, potential meet dates, etc. But probably will not be able to do that (my year is pretty much planned out…)
Thanks again, Jordan. As always lots of wisdom and motivation.
Thanks for the reply. As you may have guessed, my biggest priority for programming is that the person enjoys it and I am reticent to advise changing things based on that alone. Still, if we’re talking about what training is most likely going to prepare you the best for maximal strength expression in the squat, bench press, and deadlift, I’d rank strength I (and other templates of that ilk) first, then PB I, then General S/C. For someone primarily interested in powerlifting, I don’t see a lot of use for in-season and off-season specific programs, save for personal preference of course. When someone has multiple, somewhat disparate interests, planning becomes more important of course
So, I would now continue and finish the PB I template that I just started (mainly b/c I really like the template :)) and will do a round of Strength I after that over Summer.
Yup. That describes me well…
Thanks, again, Jordan! I really appreciate the time and consideration you’re taking with these questions. I’ll continue on and will get back to you with a quick status update (and probably the other odd question…) in Summer. In the meantime, I will be on the look-out for seminar-in-Europe announcements
