Template Advice

Programming Discussion
1

Hello,

I’m hoping for some template advice. Within the moderated forum, I posted a bit of history and asked advice- Jordan advised the beginner or powerbuilding I programs. I probably didn’t post sufficient information in the moderated forum so Jordan had to make some assumptions… I didn’t want to spend too much of his time- I feel like its borderline consulting… I’m deciding between the two programs Jordan mentioned and thought some folks with experience might be able to help. My overall goals are to gain strength and add some lean muscle mass. No interest in gaining more than a modest amount of bodyfat- too old for that crap- health is a priority.

I’ve been lifting a long time- over 30 years, without a break of more than a week. But for most of the past 20 years I’ve focused on endurance- lots of competitive running, up to marathons. I never stopped lifting hard during that time, but focused on high reps, circuits, etc., but always with compound movements (example- circuits of squats, bench press, SLD, chin, etc…). Anyways, I shifted goals about 8 months ago- too much wear and tear on my knees), with a focus on developing strength and some additional muscle mass. I’m now 50 y/o, BW160, BF about 10%, maybe a tad lower. Squat 300x5 and 335x1, deadlift about the same, and have a weak bench of about 210. Over the past 8 months I’ve run LP then some H/L and TM (ideology from Andy Baker). For sets of five, I’ve added about 80 lbs on squat and deadlift, 25 lbs on overhead press, and 30 lbs on bench. I’ve gained a modest 5lbs of bodyweight. I am pretty sure I’d continue to progress with Andy’s programming ideas, but feel that the timing is right for something different.

In any event, any advice on which template? I’m really trying to determine if the beginner would offer anything of value, given that I’ve been training heavy for nearly a year now, and have 30 years of experience, though I’m not very strong. I am familiar with RPE and would have no issues with that, though I have not specifically programmed based entirely on RPE previously.

Thanks

Mark

2

Hi there.

I would definitely recommend the Beginner Template. I think the name might be misleading to some. It did for me initially. I used to think why pay for a beginner program, what’s so special about it, just run a basic LP etc. Man was I wrong.

I started with PB1, but I didn’t get as much progress out of it as I had expected. I suspected that the volume might have been on the higher side for me to adapt, so I switched to the BT and started seeing some swift, consistent gainzZz. My e1RMs were ~350/240/465 from 220/175/290. To be honest, I was still making progress weekly, but I switched programs because I got bored of the repetitiveness.

So yeah, I’ll recommend the Beginner Template with a slight caloric surplus (1-2 lb gain per month).

P.S. I wouldn’t hesitate to bombard Dr F with more questions if I were you.

1 Like
3

Thanks a bunch for the advice- those are some great numbers.