I started barbell work in July 2018. I’m M, 53 yrs old, 173 lbs, 5’8". My first competition (raw) in April 2019 after training with Texas Method gave:
DL: 350 lbs
SQ: 325 lbs
Bench: 195 lbs
I have not continued on TM since reading about the Bridge. Right now, it’s Ramadan (fasting) and i’ve done very limited work in the gym but started tinkering with a few of squat and bench Bridge warm ups.
My questions: 1. Ramadan ends in early June, should I be doing some preliminary work before starting the Bridge in early June?
2. My rival/son says that the Bridge is made for guys on juice since the warms ups and short breaks are impossible to proprely recover and build strength for drug-free lifters. Thoughts? My goal by Aug is to do 4 plates on DL and squats and do at least 2 plates on bench. I have anterior shoulder pain, which explains the weak bench but I’m working on that.
I would start training the main movements now but keep the frequency and intensity at a level that you can recover from. I would also work on your conditioning so that you are prepared to start the bridge.
LOL no. You will be fine! The programming is well thought out. Enjoy your gainzzz.
I thought so too until I tried it. If you keep your rests short you body adapts just like with everything. Here is my thought process. Would I be able to lift slightly more weight if I took 7 min rest? Maybe. Would my workouts take more time? Much more! Do I care about that miniscule advantage in the long term? Not at all. Do I care about not spending all my evening in the gym? Yes, yes I do.
Overall I consider the ability to recover in short amounts of time after lifting a lot of weight a more useful adaptation than the ability to lift a little bit more weight but spend forever to recover.