Hi Drs. Feigenbaum and Baraki. I hope you all are well. My name is Rafa, and I’m a 21M. I’ve been running NLP since the start of September 4th.
Current stats:
Age: 21 - Height: 5’10.5"
BW: ~160-~180 lbs - Waist: 35.5"
Est. BF%: 18-22% (Navy method and scale)
Lift PRs (sets x reps)
Squat: 205 → 285 3x5 - But reset and now at 250 to fix form problems. Trying to do a proper LP from there
Press: 90 → 135 1x2; 128 3x5
Bench: 145 → 197.5 1x4
Deadlift: 235 → 325 1x5 - DL is on a 1/week HLM type of setup
I’ve followed NLP programming adjustments according to an SS article, which outlines consecutive “phase changes” that are made after failing. These changes essentially involve introducing back-off sets and modifying rep schemes. After all phases are completed, the SSC recommends resetting and making another run through these changes to further progress before switching to intermediate programming. In the interest of brevity, I won’t detail all the specific changes.
Long-term goals include strength development (increasing 1 RMs), being strong for BJJ competition, and general physical ‘usefulness’ as discussed in this forum post with Dr Feigenbaum (Best weight for a given height to maximise 'usefulness').
Main questions:
Given my progress and previous setbacks (knee pain from form issues, illness) hindering NLP progress, how much longer should I continue NLP? Is the general outline of described programming adjustments appropriate, or would it be more expedient to switch out of the NLP sooner? What program would you recommend switching to given my goals?
Regarding body composition: As a Filipino male, I’m conscious of your guidance in a podcast about the 37" waist threshold for Asian men mentioned in one of your podcasts. Should I continue gaining weight given my waist is ~35.5-35 inches?
Thanks in advance for your help! As a side note: Current W&M student and soon-to-be Alum graduating in May - Dr. Baraki, great to see a Tribe alum! Given the location of my school, many of my pre-med friends are headed to EVMS.
Thanks for the post and welcome to the forum. To your questions:
I would advocate for changing from NLP, given that you have had pain (not from form issues most likely) and require adjustments for continued progress. I would advocate for more exercise and rep scheme variety in addition to structured conditioning. Our Powerbuilding 1 template would be a good choice, or similar.
I would not plan on gaining weight quickly, no. A small surplus of + 5 to 10% your energy requirements would be reasonable. I would not allow your waist to go higher than 37" for an extended period of time.
Thanks for your response, Jordan, and the referenced nutrition article. I will plan to switch out of the NLP sooner than I initially planned. My knee pain was actually from form issues, but since I have fixed it now, my knees feel better. I want to at least run out a proper squat NLP with the correct form before switching.
I took a look at the article, and I want to clarify your comment on a “surplus of 5-10% of your energy requirements”: do you mean 5-10% above my maintenance calories?
Yep, 5-10% above maintenance Calories, where 5-10% refers to the size of the surplus. If it’s 3000 Cal/d for maintenance for example, I’d be looking at 3300-3600 Cal/d.
Regarding the form issue and knee pain, I intentionally challenged that relationship due to my suspicion that this narrative came from the SSC and my belief that they’re not related. I obviously can’t tell from here what your squat technique used to be prior to/during knee pain and what it is now, but I’m betting the SSC adjusted your technique (right or wrong) and you lowered the weight quite a bit before restarting your LP.
In our view, it is more likely that the weight reduction reduced knee pain, not the form change. It is also more likely that the training load was inappropriate for you, outstripping your given training tolerance. We believe the body can adapt a wide variety of different “techniques”, provided it is progressively loading (not overloaded.
Rather than potentially repeating the same pattern for strength gains that are likely of little consequence, I’d advise just moving on from LP now. Few to no risks, lots of benefits. You’re free to do what you like of course. Just my 0.02.
Got it, I understand what you’re saying now Jordan. I should have clarified this in my initial post, but I’m a part of Andy Baker’s online barbell club, and he provided the form feedback and suggested the load decrease. Perhaps that will be more helpful context since Andy is not some run-of-the-mill SSC coach. Thanks again.
I have no problems with Andy personally and wish him well, but I would disagree with the narrative regarding your form and subsequent injury. I do not think they’re related. Instead, the programming is likely to be more causal.
In any case, you have my recommendations for how-to proceed and can do what you feel is best. Happy to support you in any way I can. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for your input Jordan. I’ll finish out this week of my adjusted NLP, since after that I’ll have 2 weeks of traveling where I’ll have no access to the gym, so it wouldn’t make sense to switch now. Assuming my workouts go to plan, I’ll have finished this week with a 132 3x5 PR, 200 1x5 + 2x5 @90% BP, 265 3x5 SQT, and 330 1x5 DL or close to those numbers if I fail. After my mini-layoff, I’ll plan to start the Bridge, PowerBuilding 1 or a similar program after that.