Hi All,
I just finished the Hypertrophy I, Gen 2 template, and these are just some of the thoughts I’ve had during the training and looking back.
TL;DR - The template’s great, it really worked for me. For the Nuance, see below.
My main goal in using the template was losing fat/weight. Looking back, I think Block 1 was better for that than Block 2, but that could easily be more down to my diet. Wasn’t horrible, but wasn’t great. Diet has always been something I’ve had a tough time with. Also, there were a couple of birthdays during Block 2, plus I had a really painful tweak in my left hip/back area–this was a REAL bummer since I was squatting 295 for 6 at 8 and then physically couldn’t get 225 off the J hooks without pain. In any event, it worked out pretty well since I actually did lose 21 pounds over the course of the two blocks and my strength numbers didn’t falter (except my Bench, more later).
I like to nickname my training blocks for a little extra fun. Typically they’re song titles. In this case I had the Jethro Tull album Broadsword and the Beast in mind so Block 1- Broadsword, Block 2- The Beast.
So I’ll go through each block with some thoughts.
BLOCK I
- Bench- Around week 6 it stalled, almost to a complete stop. The weird thing was, my accessories (close grip bench and feet up bench) kept on going and steadily improved. In the last week or so, I’ve tried a different, wider hand placement on the bar (Rogue B&R 2.0) and that’s helped a bit, but I’ve got a shoulder twinge that acts up when benching, so it’s a slow process.
- Front Squat- Got better at it in this block. I’ve been using the arms crossed rack position since I just can’t seem to the get the clean position down.
- Nordic Hamstring Curls- Not a big fan. Next time, I’d definitely get monkey feet to use with my dumbbells. They’re not horrible, I just didn’t feel like I was really getting anywhere with them.
- Cardio- I liked the cardio portions a lot. Did lots of walking and that was great. Even got better at some running.
- Split Squats- These got WAY easier after seeing a YouTube short of Jordan talking about letting those take more time, like you would on a regular squat.
BLOCK 2
- Cardio- Lots of running in this block, and it got a lot easier. Probably should’ve gotten some running shoes instead of just doing everything in the Reebok Nano X3’s. If I was doing this block again for weight loss, I probably would spend more time on my air bike. Calorie deficits and running don’t seem to mix super well for me. Learning process.
- Bench- Stayed pretty low for whatever reason. Could’ve been hand position, could’ve been diet, both, who knows.
- Squat- Got to 295 for 6 reps at RPE 8. Very happy with this.
- Zercher squats- 10/10 would not do again. Didn’t have the set up for a Pendulum squat or a Hatfield squat, so I figured I’d try something else that I’d heard of before. Started off okay, but then I realized this just moving my body with weight, not actually exercising, if that makes any sense. Yeah, Zerchers are not for me.
- Back tweak- Week 8, squatting. Lots of stress going into that session and wouldn’t ya know it, a tweak. It was focused very much in my left hip/back area, but sometimes it felt like a I had a belt of muscle tightening around my whole lower back, just above the waist. Could only do 135 for that session. Painful for a while. Two weeks later, though, it seemed to get WAY better in a matter of minutes. Now three weeks later, it’s mostly better, with just some stiffness every now and then, but no pain. Walking was the real helper here. I could run without any real problem, but it seemed like the impact was not doing me any favors. The only thing the tweak actually affected was squatting. Could still do anything else without any real discomfort/pain, even Stiff Leg Deadlifts.
So there you have it. I enjoyed the template immensely and I lost 21 pounds. Now I’m moving on to the Strengthlifting portion of Strength II, Gen 2. (Haven’t done Strength I. Strength II was half off a while back).
I’ll be eating at maintenance for a while. Currently sitting around 197, but since I’m 5’8, my ideal BMI would be 165. We’ll get there, I’m sure.
Major thanks to Jordan, Austin, Alan, and the rest of the BBM crew. Been following you guys since 2017 when I saw a video of Alan teaching the overhead press.