Originally Posted by
Bill Anders
You've identified, but not internalized, that the program examples in the books are descriptive, not prescriptive. Calling the bench day "A" or "B" doesn't matter. Following BBRx, you're shifting from Program 1A: Rank Novice Program to Program 1B: Early Novice Program, which does have the cleans on the same day as the press, as an example. After 2-4 weeks of Program 1B, you'll then progress to Program 1C: Novice Program, where you'll do either Deadlifts or Power Cleans on one day (alternating each "A" day) and Back Extensions/Chins on the other. Each progression in the program extends your recovery window from your heavy deadlifts.
As described in BBRx, you're shifting from 1A, where Deadlifts are performed every session, to 1B, where they are performed every other session, to 1C, where the Deadlift will be every 4th sessions, since you're alternating with Power Cleans on that "A" day.
Following above, Friday (or any other day of the week) doesn't matter for you right now. It's either an "A" day or a "B" day. Don't limit your understanding of your progression to how a calendar is designed, e.g., your A/B/A progression could be the standard M/W/F, or it could be W/F/Su, or F/Su/Tu, or any combination, as long as it works for you. That understanding will help later once you're getting to be an intermediate lifter, as recovery and progression periods will last longer than the arbitrary 7-day period of a calendar design, which is exactly what progression into Program 1C addresses.
You can start working in the cleans, or you can start dropping your progression to +5lbs each deadlift, although you'll still need to work your cleans in soon. If you find that the cleans don't work for you, consider light deadlifts (80-85% of your heavy deadlift day).