Is there any issue or potential detriment to progress in running the BBM 4-day templates as upper/lower splits, performing all the prescribed exercises for the prescribed sets and reps, but simply moving the supplemental upper and lower lifts to corresponding days, instead of separate days, in the following format?
Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4
- Squat. Bench. Deadlift. Press
- Supplemental deadlift Supp. OHP High bar back squat. CG Bench
- Split squat. (Myo) Rows. (Myo) Dbell bench (Myo) Rows (Myo)
I ask because the templates as they stand, which have me squatting 3-4 times per week on separate days, are detrimentally affecting my running performance since Iâm having to run the day after squats, which is affecting my recovery.
I havenât notice any performance impairments doing lighter squats/deadlifts after heavy deadlifts/squats, but I wanted to know whether in the long term stacking the upper and lower body movements in such a way could negatively affect lifting progress.
I donât think theyâre likely to work as well from a strength perspective. If your running performance is of higher priority however, then this may be reasonable to try. This is a bit of a compromise and the way I look at it, the absolute performance during a workout (lifting or running) matters little as far as driving adaptations. You might not be able to âseeâ them due to the volume of training and subsequent fatigue, but I donât have a problem with you trying out this schedule.
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Many thanks for the feedback.
Could you please elaborate just a little on how rescheduling in this manner would not work as well from a strength perspective, given at the end of each week all the prescribed exercises and volumes would be completed?
Would the effects be as detrimental to strength if, instead of reorienting the exercises to facilitate upper/lower training, the order of the prescribed days was simply changed?
(The programme I refer to is the 4-day 7-week hypertrophy)
i.e.:
âDay 1â: (Sun)
Squat (comp)
Press (comp)
TnG Bench (myo)
Rest (Mon)
âDay 3â: (Tues)
High bar squat (supp)
Incline bench/press (supp)
Lever Row (myo)
Running training + GPP (Wed)
âDay 2â (Thurs)
Deadlift (comp)
Bench (comp)
Leg Press (myo)
Rest (Fri)
âDay 4â (Sat)
Deficit deadlift
CG Bench
Pendlay Row (myo)
GPP
(Sun) Week 2âŚetcâŚ
Would this arrangement cause less interference with the specified aims of the program, or is the explicit sequence 9Day 1/2/3/4) as laid out in the progammes to be rigidly adhered to?
The exercise order and combinations are laid out in a manner to manage fatigue and generate the highest level of strength, work capacity, and overall performance possible. There are certainly individual preferences and variations in whatâs best-suited. Another thing to consider here is this is a hypertrophy template and as such, strength nor conditioning are not the prioritized goals.
For your running, have you tried doing the program as written and then doing your running as planned? I ask because in your second sample, youâre only running once a week and I canât this mattering too much.
I typically do the second run as part of the GPP on Day 4 after lifting, which consists of 30 sec sprints followed by 30 sec jog for 25 minute total (usually 5K). The main reason I have been constantly switching the order of exercises is to prevent fatigue from squats/deadlifts the previous day impeding speed on runs, or causing quicker fatigue.
This could be quite decisive for me, since I have been applying the same scheduling to all of your programs I have purchased, and may have been holding back progress by. So if I can sort how to most effectively schedule my conditioning as to least interfere with the specified aims of the program, it will really pay off in the long term, since itâs a perpetually disproportionate stressor.
Based on your recommendations, would there be any impediments to the specified aims of the programs, be they strength/hypertrophy/powerbuilding, to implement the 4-day templates in the order in which they are prescribed with my running protocols inserted as follows?
Day 1
Squat (comp)
Press (comp)
Supplemental bench
GPP Day 1
30 sec sprint; 30 sec jog x 25 mins OR 30 minute run
GPP
Day 3
Deadlift (comp)
Bench press (comp)
Supplemental squat
Rest day
Day 4 + GPP (Day 2)
High bar squat (Supp)
Incline bench (Supp)
DB Press (Myo)
30 sec sprint; 30 sec jog x 25 mins OR 30 minute run
Day 4
Supplemental Deadlift
CG Bench
Row (Myo)
Rest day
Would this general formula of putting running conditioning between the two competition lift days, then at the end of one of the supplemental days be compatible, or at least not interfere with, the stated aims and intended recovery built into the program?
Again, many thanks for your much-needed advice.
I think running would be fine for GPP in this context. As far as where it should be to generate the best fitness adaptations while yielding the best performance for the run itself and lifting, Iâd probably do them on days you donât lift. Itâs really not a lot of running volume so I donât suspect the fatigue from either will have a big effect on the other.
One final question: On your website it recommends putting the lifting days non-consecutively âwhere possibleâ. Obviously for a 4-day split two of those days will inevitably end up being consecutive, i.e Mon/Wed/Friday/Sunday/Mon (week 2).
Are the programmes designed for day 4 of the previous week and day 1 of the following week to be trained consecutively, or is it only Days 3 and 4, which seem to be supplemental lift days, that would be compatible with training on consecutive days?