Love the elaboration!
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I think you go to my gym. I am that woman. 
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High-intensity/high-stress conditioning (intense HIIT) should go on training days, especially the hard(est) training days (i.e heavy legs)
Low-intensity conditioning (i.e. LISS) should go on non-training days
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I believe cardio, if not excessive, will actually help your gains through better recovery, mitochondrial activity, work capacity etc…
Weren’t the Westside guys doing a shit ton of sled work every session? I think not doing cardio for the sake of gains is the worst excuse of all times.
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Some CrossFit girls are even bigger than men lol
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Amusingly, when I search “Matt Fraser” on YouTube, some psychic comes up rather than the 5x fittest man on earth. America!
If I could be half a jacked as Dani Speegle, I would have won.
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Dream muscle mommy. But yeah, crazy elite genetics
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IMO, the only plan is to get bigger and stronger.
I do push/pull days on a plane of movement. So, chest push and Row pull would be one day.
That way the exercise could be push-ups, bench, floor press.
This topic was opened around the time of my wedding last year, so I missed out on the initial discussion but I will try to contribute now and apologize for bumping such an old thread.
Generally speaking, I try to follow a program to the letter. I always have 100% full faith and trust in the coaches who write the programs I do, or I would not be following them in the first place.
However, I’m in an interesting spot at the moment because I’ve been doing Mountain Dog training in a decently equipped garage gym. John Meadows writes programs for pretty darn well equipped gyms, so I usually have to get creative with at least one exercise per workout. However, I’ve been watching John Meadows’ videos since I was a teenager and I’ve read his “Brutality of Mountain Dog Training” book so I have a good understanding of how he programs and the INTENTION of each exercise. So I try to pick exercises that match the loading pattern and intention of the written exercise, although sometimes John writes in good substitutions. I have the Mountain Dog band pack from Elite FTS, so that definitely makes it easier to get creative.
As a side note: I think it’s important that beginners don’t make tweaks and try to stick with programs that are simpler and written with their level of experience in mind. I’ve read a lot of program reviews on Reddit where people who were nowhere near ready for Mountain Dog programs had to quit early because they didn’t know what they were getting into and don’t understand recovery.
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I mostly do what you do. I’ll follow the progression model close to 100%. But I am getting just smart enough after almost three decades in the gym to make adjustments on the days I just don’t have it.
I enjoy training so I give myself the most freedom with exercise selection while staying within the general intent of the program. I do things I like doing that I think will give me the general look/performance I’m after.
As a general rule, I don’t do anything in the gym that isn’t based on the guidance of someone way smarter than me. Probably 80-90% of what I’ve done the last year is based on CT’s guidance. Is it a coincidence I’m maybe as strong as I’ve ever been at age 48? No.
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