When to switch to 4-day programs?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I have completed the SSNLP > Bridge 1.0 > PB1 > and am currently running Hypertrophy 1.
I will likely do a Strength template next.

When is the right time to move onto the 4-day per week templates (Strength 2, PB 2, Hypertrophy 2, etc.)? Some options:

  1. Continue using 3-day templates until I stall for some period of time. → Run Strength 1 next
  2. Move to 4-day templates if I have 4 training days available. → Run Strength 2 next

Additionally, is there a suggested program order when cycling templates?

2

If you need more training to drive the desired adaptations, things will naturally spill over into a 4-day/wk program. Alternatively, it may be easier for some folks to train 4x/wk with shorter sessions (but similar volume) than a 3x/wk setup.

There is not a suggested program order outside of the progression on a specific template’s 1> 2> 3 (where applicable). Each type of template is tweaked for different goals, which would ultimately determine the correct template to run.

Out of curiosity, what are your stats right now?

1 Like
3

Hi Dr. Feigenbaum,

My stats
Gender: Male
Age: 30 years
Height: 5’ 2" (short dude)
Weight: 150lbs (I was a typical underweight novice at 104lbs in 2019, bulked up to a fluffy 159lbs with 37" waist while lifting. Now cutting a bit during Hypertrophy 1)

My lifts at the end of PB 1, single @ RPE ~9:
Squat: 285lbs (actually this was at the end of Bridge 1.0. I had some groin/hip tendinopathy so avoided heavy squats during PB 1 and did paused/tempo work instead.)

Bench: 155lbs
OHP: 125lbs
Deadlift: 330lbs

Desired training adaptations: bigger, leaner, stronger (as measured by power lifts I guess)

4

That’s pretty cool man, nice work!

I love hypertrophy I for you right now and would probably do PB II after that if you can swing 4x/wk. Alternatively, if you had good results on PB 1, you could repeat that as well.

5

Dr. Feigenbaum,

I appreciate the response! I’ll try running PB 2 after finishing up Hypertrophy 1.

A couple more questions:

  1. Is it reasonable to alternate between PB 2 and Hypertrophy 2 going forward (until it stops working)?
  2. Is your suggestion that I don’t really need to worry about the Strength templates for the time being unless I decide to compete? (I realize this is subjective and I can do whatever I ‘want’ :smile: ) Best regards.
6

I think if you really want to prioritize strength then you may prefer our strength-focused templates. Otherwise, alternating PB2 and Hypertrophy 2 is totally reasonable to me.

7

Thank you for the advice. I’ll alternate PB2 and Hypertrophy 2 and maybe slip in Strength 1 or 2 if I feel like changing things up.