TacticalBarbell.com

Hi,

Recently stumbled upon tactical barbell and this forum and I like the concept but need some direction to help meet my goals.

I’m 24 and reasonably fit and athletic. I’ve been weight training for 5ish odd years with a few 6 month spells of boxing and running (anywhere between 3-5 mile runs including longish hills). Prior to beginning weight training at 19 I played rugby for 4 years or so.

In the past I’ve done anywhere from 4 day upper/lower to 5/3/1 to 2 days a week full body routines.

I’m currently an office worker – though I could be looking to getting in to law enforcement in the next couple of years.

I’m 185lbs at around 12-15% bodyfat – I can still see my abs pretty clearly and have bicep veins if that’s anything to go by. Recently I’ve been doing more volume work but my best lifts are as follows:

- Close grip bench – 265
- Box Squat paused (at parallel) - 340
- Deadlift - 485
- Overhead Press -180
- Strict Chin Up - 85lbs attached

My goals are to continue to gain strength but mostly size – I am used to volume work and want to continue to use it. With my lift numbers as they are – I am not worried about slower progression if it allows me to avoid injuries. Though with myself, I have noticed that my strength is closely correlated to my size – in the past various ‘pump’ routines have done little for me.

Though I want to get bigger, I don’t want to commit more than 3-4 ~ 1 hourish sessions in the weightroom (preferably 3 on a M/W/F format) as I also want to improve my conditioning (no point in strength and size if you gas out in 10 mins eh?). For the past 4 months, I’ve been skipping 3 times a week for 10-15 min sessions but I want something a little more specific, interesting and functional for my fitness work. Currently, I’m planning that my cardiovascular work will either be 2 x 1:30 boxing sessions a week or something provided by one of the TB books.

I feel that with my experience I have a decent grasp on my nutrition – it’s selecting the optimal program and template that I’m currently having issues with.

Now, I’ve given you a little bit of info in to my history/goals+plan, what TB book should I get and what routine would you recommend I do? Should I do the base building first or jump straight in to a routine? If you know a routine that’s applicable to me, would you also recommend specific blocks? If so, any information about how you would structure these blocks would be appreciated.
Thanks

The answer is Both TB books, as they go hand in hand.

While they have different subjects, the two are intertwined and reading just one of them won't paint the whole picture. I refer back to mine WEEKLY. I like them so much, that when I loaned them out- (and forgot who borrowed them) I just bought another set because they were that valuable to me. (The books have since been returned to me)

You won't regret it.

Buy TB (3rd Ed) and TB 2. You need both books to run the program. I’d also recommend buying Ageless Athlete because there is applicable information for all ages, but you don’t need it to do TB.

Do base building then Operator.

Do the basebuilding and then use your 3 week strength period following to find a conservative training max for OP I/A. If you are desperate for volume this allows you to build a base to hit multiple 5 rep sets.

Tb3 and conditioning is a good buy.
Ageless athlete if you want to learn why volume isnt always good.