I’m starting phase 3 of the Beginner Program tomorrow and will be finishing the whole program in the next several weeks. I’m currently in the process of slowly losing weight in order to look a bit better for summer. My cliche goals are to gain strength and muscle mass (which may be difficult while I’m in a weight loss phase). With that said, what would be the best program for me to start after finishing the Beginner Program?
Thank you
Powerbuilding I would be the perfect program for you after this one 
Let us know how you do!
Thanks for the suggestion Jordan. I’m looking forward to giving it a try! What’s the best way to attack this program based on my current goals? Should I run the program while I lose weight, get to my desired leanness, and then re-run the program in a slight surplus in order to gain muscle?
Thanks for your guidance!
That’s pretty much exactly what I’d do, off-the-cuff.
Jordan, to lose body fat while weight is stable or dropping slowly, would you recommend Powerbuilding over Hypertrophy template?
Either would be fine.
Jordan I’d like to circle back with a bit of an update. I finished the Beginner Program last week and have used this week to test my 1RMs just out of curiosity going forward. This confirmed what I knew was true - my strength has dropped during my weight loss and had likely dropped a bit before then.
I started the Beginner Program at the very beginning of November 2019 and Phase 1 lasted for 3 months. I tested my 1RMs after finishing this phase which produced:
Back Squat: 300#
Dead Lift: 305#
Bench Press: 225#
Overhead Press: 155#
I felt like my lifts were stalling shortly after entering Phase 2, but due to mostly laziness, I continued to run the Beginner Program all the way out through Phase 3 which ended last week. I spent about 6.5 months on the Beginner Program and looking back now, I feel this was way too long.
As of today, my tested 1RMs are:
Back Squat: 265#
Dead Lift: 285#
Bench Press: 205#
Overhead Press: 140#
As I mentioned above, I’ve been actively losing weight since 3/30/20. My height is 5’11" and my starting weight and waist size were 189.4# and 37 inches respectively. This morning, I weighed in at 174.6# and my waist measurement was around 34 inches. I’ve been eating between 190 and 200 grams of protein every day. My calories started out at 2100 but I’ve recently cut them to 1600-1800 in an attempt to accelerate fat loss.
I decided to lose weight because summer was approaching and I realized that I was way more fat than jacked and much to my disappointment, I’ve realized I don’t really have much muscle at all. While I’m definitely leaner, I’m estimating that I’ll have to get down to 165# before my abs are solidly visible in a relaxed state.
I’ve provided all of that long winded background so that I can ask what my training should look like going forward. You recommended Powerbuilding I in your earlier post which I have purchased and was looking forward to starting. Based on the update I’ve provided here, is that still a good plan moving forward? My goals are still to get stronger and gain muscle but first I’d ideally like to continue losing fat so that I am lean enough to have visible abs (not stage-ready bodybuilder lean, but lean enough). At that point, I would SLOWLY gain weight through a small surplus in order to hopefully maximize muscle gain while keeping fat gain in check. With respect to my lifts, should I just continue training consistently and not worry about the numbers as much until I’m back in a calorie surplus?
I will say that while my lifts have gone down a bit, I have not missed one training session in the last 6.5 months. I think I missed one lift during a session but later made it up. This is by far the most consistent I’ve ever been with training and I have Barbell Medicine and their emphasis on training consistency to thank for that.
Thank you