Should I do the Bridge next?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi,

Wondering which program should I do next. I have done Stronglifts and Madcow. This is my last Madcow cycle because progress is slowing down and I have been doing Madcow for over 3 months. Current 5 rms are 120 kg squat, 92.5 kg bench, 145 kg deadlift and 57.5 kg press. Height 185 cm bw 86 kg currently. Madcow worked even though my genetics are pretty bad. After novice lp my 5 rms were 95 kg squat, 80 kg bench, 130 kg deadlift and 50 kg press. This is pretty confusing because my lifts are not that good but I can’t progress with novice lp and I am soon stalling with early intermediate program.

Options for my next program are Texas Method, 5/3/1, Star/Pendlay Advanced 5x5 (Stronglifts advanced) and The Bridge. I don’t know if The Bridge would allow me to make more progress than other programs I listed because my lifts are not that high and I have read from Starting Strengh forums that exercise variety and RPE based programs are not beneficial for lifts this low. Many people have gotten good results with Texas Method, 5/3/1 and Star/Pendlay advanced 5x5. For example Alan Thrall said in a video that he got his squat from 3 plates x 5 to 4 plates x 5 using Texas Method. Or, maybe I could make better progress with The Bridge since my results have been below average with these percentage based programs with only 5 main exercises.

Thanks.

2

Jask,

Thanks for the post and I hope you’re doing well. A few things to point out here:

  1. I don’t think it’s unusual that Madcow didn’t really do much for you in excess of LP, as they aren’t really that different. If you didn’t respond super well to LP, I wouldn’t expect you to have a great response to madcow- though neither are my preferred programs. That being said, you did add some weight to your 5RMs, which is great!

  2. I don’t think you can accurately judge your genetics for lifting success at this point, given your limited exposure to training. If someone isn’t responding super well to a program, I’d first look at the program and not the person.

  3. I think the Bridge is easily the best program out of all the ones you listed and would give you the best chance of success going forward. RPE is a useful tool for selecting training load based on your performance potential on a given day, which obviously changes. It is widely used and has been validated in the scientific literature as a viable tool for this purpose. Mr Thrall also got the best gains of his life when using an RPE-based program, for reference. As a final note, you could theoretically use RPE with any program.

-Jordan

3

Thanks for answering. I might buy your programs if The Bridge works well. Another question: What do you think about weight/height ratios for lifting? I am bulking to at least 90 kg but I don’t want to get too fat (100+ kg). Btw I started pretty skinny, I was 70 kg at 185 cm lol.

4

I don’t think they’re very reliable for predicting what you should weigh, as individuals are very different from one another.