For 40 yo male, HLM vs one on two off

[sciomako]

Hi,

My stats:

• Male, 44yo, 5'8", 150lb, bodyfat 18-22% (depending on which instrument to trust)
• Been doing SS (M-W-F) for 1.5 months. Before I started, I weighed about the same but bodyfat was ~2% high. Fooling around at gyms when I was much much young.
• I've read both SSBT3 and PPST3. I've also read through most of Andy's articles and many forum posts.
• Goal: get stronger to resist general aging deterioration, put on LMB, look better
• I swim on Saturday as HIIT (it seems butterfly works well as HIIT. )
• Diet: I'm having protein shakes (with milk) and ~30g of carb pre- and post-workout. I'm conscious to consume a bit more carb in general. But I haven't counted my macros/calories.

Progress has been slow. I have reset some lifts a couple of times because of injury (hurt my oblique) and incorrect squat form. With the exception of DL, I can't add weight to my lifts in every session now. It seems progress was easier to make on Monday. I have a feeling I need more time to recover. I'm also conscious that my squat is relatively behind. I neglected my lower body when I was young.

• I've checked I have had enough rest between sets. 5-10mins
• Already micro-loading my BP and P.

Lifts 5RM PR:

• S: 126
• DL: 187
• BP: 129
• P: 90
• (Chin-up: BW 6 reps without rest)

Thinking to switch to one-on-two-off. But the irregular schedule won't work for me. So I'm thinking of lifting twice a week (Mon and Thurs). What I'm not sure is how this compared to HLM? It looks like twice-a-week progresses twice a week but with lower total intensity than HLM. What are the pros and cons? If HLM is a better option, which variation?

Thanks.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

HLM is not a program, it's an organization of training. Typically on HLM we are looking at 1x/week progression on the main lifts with a light and medium day to promote recovery, prevent detraining without adding new stress.

Can you make 2x/week increase your lifts? My guess is YES. You just need to eat in a way that supports a rigorous barbell program. You can't do SS for 1.5 months and gain no weight

[sciomako]

HLM is not a program, it's an organization of training. Typically on HLM we are looking at 1x/week progression on the main lifts with a light and medium day to promote recovery, prevent detraining without adding new stress.

Can you make 2x/week increase your lifts? My guess is YES. You just need to eat in a way that supports a rigorous barbell program. You can't do SS for 1.5 months and gain no weight

Thank coach, got it. I need to eat more. I'll continue to adjust my diet and work on a 2x/week increase.

p.s. In the meantime, I need to deload my squat to re-learn my form. I've read through the forums and re-read part of the book and released I needed a TUBOW fix.

[m_sporkboy]

My situation was pretty similar to yours; same age but a lot fatter, more like 29%. I did pretty well on an every-third-day schedule. After a bunch of dumb mistakes and resets I got stuck at a 240 squat, then realized that volume was killing me, went down to 2x5 on all my lifts along with less warmup, and went linear again to 300ish before I had to change anything.