What template to run after SSLP and The Bridge

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1

I just finished The Bridge 1.0 and I’m trying to decide what to do next.

I ran SSLP for a couple of months, until the anxiety of grinding out near-limit sets every day made me hate it. I then ran once through The Bridge (1.0) and really enjoyed it. I find the RPE-based training much easier psychologically because I know I can adjust the weight based on how I’m performing. My current PRs aren’t that impressive (250lb squat, 170 bench, 105 press, 333 deadlift) but I have been seeing a regular stream of new PRs on The Bridge. I don’t know how much is actual strength gains and how much is the reduced number of reps in the later weeks.

A little background: I’m 46 years old and until about 10 months ago led a sedentary lifestyle. I was significantly overweight…err…obese, my blood pressure was around 140/90, my cholesterol and triglycerides were high, and I was out of breath just climbing a couple of flights of stairs. In the last 10 months, I’ve changed my eating, dropped 80lbs, started running and started strength training. I’m currently 6’0, 188lbs, with a 36" waist. My last blood pressure check was 113/64, my lipid panel is completely normal, and my resting heart rate is in the low 40s.

I’m eating between 2500 and 3000 calories a day to maintain my current weight and getting 180g of protein most days.

My goals: 1. Be healthy, active and independent into old age
2. Get as strong as I can, without letting strength training take over my life
3. Looking jacked is a welcome side-effect, but it’s not my primary goal.
4. I’m not looking to gain weight. I’m willing to gain lean mass over time, but body composition is more important to me than absolute strength. I was the fat guy in the room for most of my life, and I’m never going back.
5. I’m not really interested in competing. From everything I’ve been reading, the HLM template looks like a good fit, perhaps in a cycle with the GPP Hypertrophy template. I’ve also seen The Bridge 3.0 recommended.

Thoughts? Am I on the right track? Should I be considering something else?

James

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I am in a similar boat. Finished The Bridge after SSLP started giving me anxiety. Had to drop a lot of weight on the bar to be honest with my true @8s. Enjoyed it a lot. I gained back all the PRs I had after SSLP, set new ones, definitely improved form a lot on all my lifts and most unexpectedly - improved my work capacity (used to need 5-7 min between sets, now I am ready to go after 3). I got Bridge 3.0 and plan to start it next week. From what I gathered, HLM is more or less just as good, but possibly better suited for later intermediates. For now, I want more of the same type of programming that Bridge has. I will see how many times I can recycle it with Hypertrophy blocks inbetween.