Hey Jordan & Austin!
Thank you for all your content & resources.
I’ve started a new training block (based on The Bridge), and added a third pulling session (Block Pulls 4 sets of 7 on Day 1; substituted OHP for Paused Deads for 4 sets of 4 on Day 2; and Comp. DL’s for 5 sets of 5 on Day 3 (w/ the RPE recommendations on the Bridge - @6; @7; 3X @8).
So I’m training 3X per week: benching 4X; squatting 3X; and pulling 3X. Squats & DL’s have the same volume and frequency.
So far, I’m progressing very quickly on all the lifts, but Comp DL’s yesterday saw a deterioration in performance (none of the other lifts did). And my lats & upper back feel a bit sore…
I think the easy call would be to attribute this to the increased pulling. Or it could be that my upper back is very under-trained (I’ve been following SS dogma for years - and never pulled more than 5 reps once a week).
Should I remove the third pulling session next week if performance continues to deteriorate or should I “fight through it” and allow my body to adjust? Perhaps I just need more upper back volume & need to do some additional GPP (shrugs or chins or rows)?
My squat feels very strong still and progressing & the additional pulling doesn’t seem to be affecting my lower back / glutes / hammies in any way.
David,
Can you think of some information that I would need in order to give you some feedback here?
That said, I wouldn’t worry about 1 week of a decrease in performance on a single lift. I also wouldn’t attribute performance to a single muscle group or area of the body.
While I don’t know what actions you should take as I don’t know anything about your training history, preferences, current resources, etc., I can tell you that I think it’s pretty unlikely you should be pulling 3x/wk in this fashion.
-Jordan
Sure. Thanks Jordan!
I just finished losing about 25 lbs (207 > ~182). Ran The Bridge & the General Strength Training Template for Intermediates / Advanced towards the end. Did both on a caloric deficit + 4 hours of weekly LISS. (Which you said was a bit much).
Currently on Week 2 of The Bridge (and in a surplus), main & supp. lifts are all progressing quickly week over week. Only DL saw a significant decrease (went from 345X5 @9 > 315X5 @9 for the top set of 5). I just felt “fatigued” during that DL session.
I wanted to pull more just because I’ve never really trained the DL and really enjoy training it. Plan for after The Bridge is to run PB2 back-to-back, followed by a 12-WK Strength template as you recommended. Would love to put on 15-20 lbs of as much muscle as possible this year. (Even started a log).
Additional info (+biopsychosocial stuff)
- Early intermediate (?)
- 5’8"
- 24
- Athletic background
- 33" waist
- Fair responder to training (Don’t really have anyone to compare myself against, but I put on muscle & strength fairly quickly)
- 9 to 6 low-stress office job
- Sleep 7-8 hrs per night
- Eat 3-4x time per day in 3-5 hour intervals w/ at least 3-4g of leucine per meal (as recommended on the blog)
- Supplementing w/ 5g of creatine for the first time ever & seeing significant differences (especially later in the training sessions)
Yea, I don’t think you should be pulling 3x/wk in that fashion. If you ran The Bridge originally and saw a decrease while feeling quite fatigued, I’m not sure adding volume is the move. I’d just run The Bridge as is if it were me before moving on to the next program.