As a Tactical Barbell reader you’re probably familiar with FOBBIT Intervals. No doubt you think of them as a nice little indoor alternative when your regularly scheduled HIC gets called on account of rain.

But I can guarantee you’re underestimating just how versatile and effective they can be. Fobbits can solve all kinds of programming issues. For the multi-skilled operational athlete, they’re invaluable.

Let’s take a closer look.

Strength and conditioning don’t necessarily create specificity that carries over to your sport or occupation. If that were the case, boxers would just spend hours shadowboxing with dumbbells in hand and eventually develop Tyson-like levels of striking power. It doesn’t really work like that. But Fobbit Intervals come pretty close in terms of mimicking and developing energy systems commonly used by tactical athletes.

Consider ‘real-life’ activity as an Operational Athlete. You might move or work for hours at a time at a low level of intensity. Once in a while that slow plod is  interrupted by bursts of high intensity activity. Like the example I provide in TB2; the soldier patrols for hours at a sustainable pace, but when shots are fired activity and intensity ramp up for a brief period of time. The soldier might engage his anaerobic system, explosive power and possibly strength-endurance to break contact or advance. Once the situation is resolved the slow plod begins again. That’s why militaries all over the world love their Fun-Runs. They mimic that cycle of low intensity being sporadically interrupted by higher intensity or alternate fitness domains.

If you’ve read TB2, you know that low level of constant activity is mainly powered by the aerobic system working away in the background. The pattern is the same for almost all of your daily activity, regardless of how mundane or out-of-the-ordinary. The majority of your time is spent in 1st gear, and every once in a while you gotta hit 3rd, 4th, or 5th for a limited amount of time.

In TB2 Fobbits are classified as aerobic based HICs. Two minutes of slow jogging or skipping followed by 30-90 seconds of higher intensity alternative activity. Repeat continuously for 20 minutes. Similar to the pattern of energy use I described. In this two part article, I’m going to show you several examples of how Fobbits can be used to round out your training protocol.

FOBBIT Mod#1 – ‘Maximal Strength FOBBIT’ (courtesy of M.E.S.A)

One of the common dilemmas I see on the forum is members trying to decide between using the Bench Press (BP) or Overhead Press (OHP) in their strength clusters. A high-speed low-drag S&C system like Tactical Barbell requires a minimalist approach to choosing exercises and accessories. It’s not set in stone, but I generally recommend the BP over the OHP because most people can handle more weight on the BP. Hence they end up playing with more weight overall throughout the week which leads to greater overall strength gains. But the OHP is beloved by all, and without question it’s an excellent exercise with it’s own merits. Here’s how a former Tier 1 soldier that goes by ‘M.E.S.A’ solves the problem.

MESA uses Black Professional along with Operator template. He uses a standard cluster of Squat, Bench, Weighted Pull-up, and Deadlift 1 x week. His week looks like this:

D1 – BP/SQ/WPU

D2 – HIC

D3 – BP/SQ/WPU

D4 – HIC

D5 – BP/SQ/DL

D6 – E: Modified FOBBIT Intervals with OHP x 30-60 minutes

D7 – Rest/Recovery

I want to bring your attention to Day 6. For his weekly E session MESA performs a modified Fobbit that includes the OHP. He loads a bar with roughly 70%-80% of his 1RM. He sets the treadmill for a slow jog. The same sort of pace you’d use during your Base Building runs. It’s less of a run and more of a way to keep moving with minimal effort, stay warm, and keep the heart beating slightly faster than normal.

MESA jogs slowly for 3-5 minutes. Every 3-5 minutes he calmly steps off the treadmill and walks over to his OHP. He performs 3 reps and then returns to his treadmill jog. He checks the time on the treadmill which reads ‘4:34’. He makes a mental note to step off the treadmill again at roughly ‘7:30’ and do another set of OHP. Don’t worry about getting super-precise. There’s no need to rush around, run back and forth, drop the bar as loudly as you can etc. – you  don’t get a medal for looking like a Crossfitter. Just walk back and forth between your two stations.

MESA continues with this session for 30 to 60 minutes. It’s a low-intensity affair, almost pleasant and effortless. There’s absolutely no reason for MESA to be fatigued when he’s performing OHP. If he’s out of breath when he gets to his OHP, it means he’s going too fast during the aerobic portion. Easy solution – slow the treadmill down. If his muscles are experiencing fatigue, he’s not ‘resting’ or jogging long enough in between his OHP efforts – or he’s using too much weight. Easy solution. Extend the jogging interval or strip some weight off the bar. Or do both. The slow jogging acts as your rest interval. You should never be unreasonably fatigued when you’re ready to press. If you are, you’re doing it wrong.

So what’s MESA accomplishing here? This is a demonstration of efficiency and out-of-the-box thinking that a tactical athlete needs. He’s building his aerobic system while simultaneously greasing-the-groove with his OHP. His aerobic system is constantly at work for the entire 30-60 minutes. Stepping off the treadmill for a few moments to press isn’t going to bring his heartrate back down to resting levels. It’ll keep working. He gets to perform multiple sets of OHP with a relatively heavy weight. Problem solved. He gets to BP AND OHP during his block. Now bear in mind this is an add-on. It’s not foundational. Regular maximal-strength training is more efficient at building strength. That’s what your strength template is for. Interrupted runs are a different form of aerobic training and wouldn’t necessarily be used during Base Building. That’s what Base Building’s for. But this FOBBIT modification is perfect for Continuation when E sessions are called for. If you want to start using this gem right away – here are the guidelines:

• Set-up an OHP station with 70%-75% of your 1RM
• Treadmill/cycle/elliptical/jump rope at a low level of intensity (130-150bpm)
• Every 3 to 5 minutes get off the treadmill and do 1 set x 3 reps of OHP
• Walk back to your treadmill/elliptical/cycle and continue
• Repeat for a minimum of 30 minutes. 60 minutes + is fine for intermediate/advanced athletes.
• It’s preferable to do this at the end of your training week/to take advantage of the recovery day.

MESA does this with anywhere from 70%-80% of his 1RM. I want you to stick with 70%-75% for now until you get used to combining slow aerobic movement with heavier drills. And yes, you can swap the OHP for BP. You can even change up the exercise or lift you do week to week. Does your BP need a little more love even though it’s in your Op cluster? Do a max-strength FOBBIT on Day 6 with bench press. Work on volume, get those sets in.

The thing I really like about MESA’s modification is that he is reminding his body that it still needs the ability to exert force while simultaneously building his aerobic system through slow steady/long duration work. He’s telling his body not to go full-bore marathon runner. This may not be the foundational method we use to improve certain fitness domains, nevertheless it has it’s place. Think about how this particular Fobbit session might mimic energy patterns in ‘real life’. Constant activity with the occasional application of maximal-strength or force. An interesting and useful combination of aerobic training, maximal-strength and overall work capacity.

Next up, Part 2 – more FOBBIT modifications to give you different programming options.