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Hey guys,

I did TB Operator for almost a year now and had quite good results.
Now, however, I have to get a little bit more mass.

I'm 1,88m (6,16ft) tall with 85kg (187lbs) and a body fat rate of approx. 10%.
I passed all tests and now, due to the upcoming tasks, I should gain a few kg in the nexts months, which, obviously, should not consist of fat.

So how would you train to accomplish that goal without cutting all endurance / conditioning?

Thanks!

Knollkopp wrote:Hey guys,

I did TB Operator for almost a year now and had quite good results.
Now, however, I have to get a little bit more mass.

I'm 1,88m (6,16ft) tall with 85kg (187lbs) and a body fat rate of approx. 10%.
I passed all tests and now, due to the upcoming tasks, I should gain a few kg in the nexts months, which, obviously, should not consist of fat.

So how would you train to accomplish that goal without cutting all endurance / conditioning?

Thanks!

1. What kind of Operator set up did you use; how many sets per exercise, what exercises?
2. What's your current daily calorie intake?
3. What's your current daily macro intake? (pro/cho/fat)
4. What conditioning protocol have you been using thus far?

1.
The setup was / is the standard operator with front squats, bench press and WPUs. Normally I do 4-5 Sets in the weeks with 5 reps, depending on time I have. The other weeks I do 3 sets.

2 / 3.
I don't the exact makro intake. My daily calorie intake is about 3200 kcal maybe +/- 200 kcal, depending on what I did that day.

4.
Conditioning is mostly running. Once per week intervals (sometimes from tb like 600 resets, sometimes things like 10x400m), once a tempo run or extensive intervals and a long run per week (60 - 90min). Once or twice a week I add a short workout after the strength part, like a few hill sprints, barbell complexes or kettlebell swings.
Also I do one or two swimming workouts per week, mostly focusing on technique.
All in all I do 6 conditioning workouts per week, 3 to 4 of them with higher intensity.

Your diet is going to be key. I'd recommend figuring out how much you want to weigh (not how much you currently weigh) and input that into a TDEE calculator like Eat To Perform or something similar.

Without a doubt you need to know your macros and you need to keep your protein intake high, 1gm per lb of bodyweight minimum. Numerous studies show the effects of protein when it comes to sparing muscle and promoting growth. People overlook the muscle-sparing effect of protein, which is extremely important if you're doing any sort of conditioning.

Start a food journal, start logging your calories. You might be surprised to find you're not always meeting your macros and minimums.

Another small tweak that'll help is switching to back squats. I'd also recommend cutting the conditioning down to 2-3 sessions a week...but your post says you're training for some "task"? so maybe cardio has to stay the same. Even more important to log your food and get on top of your macros!

DocOctagon wrote:Your diet is going to be key. I'd recommend figuring out how much you want to weigh (not how much you currently weigh) and input that into a TDEE calculator like Eat To Perform or something similar.

Without a doubt you need to know your macros and you need to keep your protein intake high, 1gm per lb of bodyweight minimum. Numerous studies show the effects of protein when it comes to sparing muscle and promoting growth. People overlook the muscle-sparing effect of protein, which is extremely important if you're doing any sort of conditioning.

Start a food journal, start logging your calories. You might be surprised to find you're not always meeting your macros and minimums.

Another small tweak that'll help is switching to back squats. I'd also recommend cutting the conditioning down to 2-3 sessions a week...but your post says you're training for some "task"? so maybe cardio has to stay the same. Even more important to log your food and get on top of your macros!

+1 on all of this....also what's the mass for? Might play into how you move forward with your conditioning/endurance.

Agreed with Doc on nutrition. TB consumes a ton of calories.

On training, KB points out multiple times in TB how the program is anti-hypertrophic. It's literally designed to make you strong and conditioned WITHOUT making you big. If you want to add size and do TB throw in some accessory lifts at the end of your strength lifts, bodybuilder style.

Green2Blue wrote:Agreed with Doc on nutrition. TB consumes a ton of calories.

On training, KB points out multiple times in TB how the program is anti-hypertrophic. It's literally designed to make you strong and conditioned WITHOUT making you big. If you want to add size and do TB throw in some accessory lifts at the end of your strength lifts, bodybuilder style.

Great points.....but I would add a little context. I would say standard operator (3 sets) or fighter is less than optimal if mass is the number one priority. Op with added volume (over 3 sets option), Zulu and Op I/A are all excellent for mass provided diet is dialed in and conditioning adjusted accordingly. I've been running I/A now for a while, and even with my conditioning I'm putting on more size than many other programs I've run. Granted, TB wouldn't be my first choice for on-stage bodybuilding, but it easily matches 531 BBB or Texas for mass if the right options are used.

That being said, the idea of accessory lifts is a good one for the TS....maybe a Zulu protocol?

In the last month (or so) we have put five pounds of lean mass on my son, he's 6' and he went from 172 to 177 pounds (staying very lean). He's actually only been doing Fighter. His other days are full with BJJ and lots of conditioning to get ready for wrestling. He's using a four-lift cluster (SQ, BP, DL, OHP, barbell row -- the rows and DL are just on alternate days). We kept everything to 5x3-5. Since he needs to put on some meat (he'll be wrestling at 182 this year), I cut the rest breaks to 60-90 sec on everything but the SQ and DL (he needs some rest to keep is form locked in on the main work sets).

On the DL days, I've been having him do some extra "Russian Bear" sets. Basically, he's hitting triples on the minute for ten minutes with 80% of his top working set that day. He also does a rest pause set with the barbell rows (80% of top working weight for the day x 1 rep short of failure - 15 sec break - repeat - 15 sec break - repeat) and the BP. So here it what it typically looks like for the boy:

Day 1
SQ: 5x3-5
BP: 5x3-5
BP: Rest Pause
Row: 5x3-5
Row Rest Pause

Day 2
SQ: 5x3-5
BP: 5x3-5
BP: Rest Pause
DL: 5x3-5
DL: 80% of top set x 3 reps every minute for 10 minutes

That's a lot of volume in single day, but he's only lifting x2/week and he's a young stud. In addition to these tweaks to the weights, I've been force feeding him as much protein and good carbs as he can hold.

Of course, just about anything probably works for a fifteen year old athlete, but this might give you all some ideas on how to make some adjustments for mass.

J-Madd, I'm running a similar program like your son's with good success. I've been running a fighter minimalist cluster of SQ/BP, then following that up with this protocol (75% week, 4 reps at 60% EMOM x 10 min; 80% week, 3 reps at 70% EMOM x 12 min; 90% week, 2 reps at 80% EMOM x 15 min) for both SQ and BP. Two other days of the week, I do KB metcon workouts followed by 20-30 min LSS, and my fifth day, I'll do LSS run for 60 min (up to 90 min if I'm working up to run a half marathon). I've found that finishing each workout with the EMOM gives me the volume I need without having to go back to running Operator.

I've used both Op and Fighter (with conditioning, as well as one BB cycle) for the last year and a half, gone from a skinny fat 184 lbs to a lean 165 lbs. My half-marathon times went from a first race finish time of 2:04 to my last race time of 1:38 (and a second place finish in my age group). I've never had to run any specialty running program, just a couple of 30 min runs during the week and one long LSS run on Saturday or Sunday, and I've never had a problem finishing. For a 48 yr old, I'm pretty damn happy with my results from the last year and a half!

The TB program works, in the past, I've had issues with combining strength with endurance, but the workout I laid out above has become by sweet spot that I'll stay on as long as I can. Shout out to my buddy Rob from B/2/3rd Group, thanks for introducing me to TB while we were in UAE!

grumpy4669 wrote:J-Madd, I'm running a similar program like your son's with good success. I've been running a fighter minimalist cluster of SQ/BP, then following that up with this protocol (75% week, 4 reps at 60% EMOM x 10 min; 80% week, 3 reps at 70% EMOM x 12 min; 90% week, 2 reps at 80% EMOM x 15 min) for both SQ and BP. Two other days of the week, I do KB metcon workouts followed by 20-30 min LSS, and my fifth day, I'll do LSS run for 60 min (up to 90 min if I'm working up to run a half marathon). I've found that finishing each workout with the EMOM gives me the volume I need without having to go back to running Operator.

I've used both Op and Fighter (with conditioning, as well as one BB cycle) for the last year and a half, gone from a skinny fat 184 lbs to a lean 165 lbs. My half-marathon times went from a first race finish time of 2:04 to my last race time of 1:38 (and a second place finish in my age group). I've never had to run any specialty running program, just a couple of 30 min runs during the week and one long LSS run on Saturday or Sunday, and I've never had a problem finishing. For a 48 yr old, I'm pretty damn happy with my results from the last year and a half!

The TB program works, in the past, I've had issues with combining strength with endurance, but the workout I laid out above has become by sweet spot that I'll stay on as long as I can. Shout out to my buddy Rob from B/2/3rd Group, thanks for introducing me to TB while we were in UAE!

That's excellent Grumpy! I love that little extra touch of hypertrophy you are adding for the more mature athlete (we can always use it), but by using a Fighter format, you are keeping recovery a priority. Very smart stuff!