In short, I can say that the PTTP programming was as effective as advertised.
More specifically, I stuck with the PTTP program for the first few months, four times a week. Used the step cycle for that time, staying at a weight until I was sure I was recovering well and not aggravating anything. After a few months I transitioned to easy strength style, three times a week, with a general trend upwards and every now and again going for a PB, though I never really pushed it. I got up to ES style DL's at 270 lbs (the 1.5 bw goal), but mostly worked in the 220-230 lb range.
At that point, as I never felt quite "right" in the low back, mostly tightness and occasional pain, I backed off the DL's and decided to stop making assumptions about how I move ( I was also having issues with my shoulder with the benching). Got eval'd by a PT - not FMS but highly recommended to me and with our local sports medicine group. He basically told me that being coordinated and moving well from a PT perspective are far from the same thing, and that I was tight with imbalances in pretty much all the expected places. He recommended I work on a few things before continuing with DL'ing. This is where my focus has been since then. I have a local resource for calisthenics/mobility, not StrongFirst related, but it has been quite beneficial and my low back and shoulder are feeling better and better. Many of the exercises are similar to StrongFirst Methods, hollow body work, mobility (in this case weighted), hip and thoracic mobility, etc as well as things like straight arm strength and bent arm strength. Since I'm making good progress I'm going to ride it out until stagnation.
Lessons learned:
1. Don't underestimate the importance of dealing with imbalances before progressing with training. I thought I "generally moved well" but was humbled by my PT evaluation.
2. SF methods work as advertised.
3. Working with someone in person is immensely valuable.
And of course, I'd like to thank Steve Freides again for his help.
