TacticalBarbell.com

Hi guys!

Here’s a bit of background: I have been lifting weights with a focus on hypertrophy for almost exactly two years (high reps the entire time, 0% focus on getting strong (so, my 1RMs are pretty pathetic....I never had OHP or BP incorporated in my gym routine until now), no cardio at all). Prior to that, I did ashtanga 5-6 days/week for a couple of years but had never touched a barbell. I realized recently that I want to change my focus from aesthetics to strength and I happened to stumble upon the TB books right around the time that this realization hit me.

I started Base Building this week. I’m doing the strength first version and borrowing a strength-focused BB that I saw on Barkadion’s TB log which uses Operator(3x/week) rather than Fighter(2x/week). I MIGHT be starting off the program a little too enthusiastically but I figured that if 3x/week starts to feel like too much, I’ll just drop a day of maximal strength. Also, I’m alternating BWPU and pushups as a little extra thing in there because those are two things I can’t do at all. Once again, if it starts to feel like too much, I will just drop them. From what I understood when I read TBII, E is really the only part that is non-negotiable in BB.

Two other things to note: I do absolutely nothing else active. I live in Manhattan so I walk everywhere but that’s it. Finally, I have a completely open schedule. Zero restrictive obligations in my life so the amount of time I will need to devote to this doesn’t matter.

Here’s my plan for this week:

M: Sq(5x5 125lbs), DL (3x5 165lbs), BP (5x5 60lbs) + BWPU (3x5)*
T: LSS 33min 3.25mi run + 1/2 ashtanga primary series**
W: Sq(5x5 125lbs), OHP(5x5 45lbs), BP (5x5 60lbs) + Pushups (3x∞)***
R: LSS 30 min 3.12mi run
F: Sq(5x5 125lbs), OHP(5x5 45lbs), BP (5x5 60lbs) + BWPU (3x5)
S: LSS >35min run + 2/2 ashtanga primary series
Sunday is a rest day****

*I can only do 2 pull ups at a time so I have to do 2, take a few seconds to rest, do 2 more, etc.
**Gotta keep up with my yoga to stay flexible! I’ve modified the series to mostly focus on vinyasa transitions and deep stretching but I got rid of all the legs behind the head stuff
***I did 10, 10, 14 pushups
****So, I don't have a recover day in there. I have no problem doing my lifting sessions and E on the same day, if I find I want a recover day. I'm pretty good at listening to my body so if I need to calm down with any of this at any point then I will.

Nutrition: 2440kcal C/P/F = 52%/26%/22%
This is a big problem area because I have very little interest in fats so upping the fat % is a real challenge and I haven’t quite been willing to make that move yet. I was eating 15% fat up until 3 days ago so I will see how this change goes and if I notice a positive difference.

Anyway, I’m excited! So far, so good on this week. Running is hard breathing-wise since the most I have ever run at a time is 10 mins but I have felt really great AFTER both of my runs. Ha!

Just keep an eye on how you recover, and keep your E's nice and easy. Fats are good/needed for your brain & endocrine system, so you might want to look into that aspect!

X2 on fat with Aiwacht's point. Also, take it slow. Diet modifications are not easy once especially on the long run..

Good luck!

Welcome!

The one thing I'd really raise with your plan is your calorie intake vs your workload. If you are going to up your E times as BB goes on ... I think you'll find BB can really wear you down by the end.

Very grateful for the advice! I am going to be keeping a close eye on my calories and particularly my fat intake since all 3 responses addressed that. I have been maintaining for the past year at 2400kcal so the only change I made was adding 40 kcal, upping my fat, and lowering my protein (from C/P/F at 55%/30%/15% to 52%/26%/22%) which I do realize is a pretty insignificant shift. Hopefully I'll notice if my energy levels drop and that'll be a cue to make a bigger nutritional change. I'm kind of free to do what I want with my log, right? So, if I make some eating notes and mention how I feel energy-wise each day, that's allowed in this section?

Today is Day 6 of my first week of BB.
S: LSS 45min stationary bike + 2/2 ashtanga primary series

I had to switch to the bike instead of running today due to some discomfort in my achilles tendon that I don't want to exacerbate (going to work on my stride while running along with warming up with some stretching). I plan to go back to running on Tuesday but we'll see.

As long as you aren't a jerk to people or just wildly off topic, pretty much anything goes on posting stuff.

Week 2 of BB:

M: Sq(5x5 135lbs), DL (3x5 175lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs) + pushups (3x∞)*
T: LSS 42min 3.9mi run
W: Unplanned recovery**
R: Sq(5x5 135lbs), OHP (5x5 50lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs) + LSS 45min of biking
F: Sq(5x5 135lbs), OHP (5x5 50lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs) + pullups (4x5)
S: LSS 55 min of biking
S: Rest***

*I did 14, 17, 20
** After my second run last week, I started feeling pain in my heel to the point that I was limping. I biked for my third E session last week. By Tuesday, I felt good to run again (I was back to walking normally) and the run went fine although I started feeling the heel during toward the end but not enough pain to stop. About an hour after my run, the pain set in and I was more hobbling than limping. Visited a doctor on Wednesday and she concluded that it’s inflammation in my Achilles tendon so the old RICE method applies. I will stick to biking for E for now. I’m going to visit a specialist who can hopefully help me figure out what’s going on and how to fix it so I can run without having this happen. A few runner friends suggested I just did too much too soon so that’s an easy fix.
***Will stretch but not going to do actual ashtanga. Also might do my pushups since I skipped them on Thursday.

Mental health: I feel good but I also feel like I’m not doing enough because the gym isn’t destroying me like it used to. I don’t wake up dreading going to the gym (which SHOULD be great) but it makes me feel almost guilty because it’s like I’m going too easy. So, it goes back and forth between “This is great! I’m actually excited to squat!” and “Wait, I should hate squatting in order for it to be effective.” I’m obviously just going to trust the process for now and HOPEFULLY over time this program will help me gain a healthier relationship with the gym (which was part of the reason for starting TB, I anticipated these feelings popping up so it’s not totally shocking).

I went through the same thing. For years, my workouts were "squats and deadlifts until you can't walk to your car." But that sort of thing just isn't compatible with the conditioning workouts you'll do with TB.

On the days when the lifting feels particularly easy, I like to do a 30 minute E session on the bike or rower. That way I feel like I got in a little extra conditioning improvement without really adding to the mileage/ wear and tear.

Forgot to update this last week so here are the past two weeks of BB:

Week 3 of BB:

M: Sq(5x5 150lbs), DL (3x5 190lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs) + BWPU (4x5)
T: LSS 55min bike + yoga
W: Sq(5x5 150lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs), DBP (5x5 25lbs) + Pushups (3x∞)
R: LSS 55min bike
F: Sq(5x5 150lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs), DBP (5x5 25lbs) + BWPU (4x5) + LSS 65min bike + yoga
Saturday and Sunday: Rest/recover

Week 4 of BB:

M: Sq(5x5 140lbs), DL (3x5 175lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs) + Pushups (3x∞)
T: LSS 65min bike + yoga
W: Sq(5x5 140lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs), DBP (5x5 20lbs) + BWPU (4x5)
R: LSS 65min bike
F: Sq(5x5 140lbs), BP (5x5 65lbs), DBP (5x5 20lbs) + Pushups (3x∞) + yoga
S: LSS 65min bike
Sunday: Rest/recover

Not doing a great job of updating my log but here's the last few weeks:

Week 5 of BB:

M: Sq(5x5 155lbs), DL (3x5 200lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs) + Pushups (3x∞)
T: LSS 55min bike + yoga
W: Sq(5x5 155lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs), DBP (5x5 25lbs) + BWPU (4x5)
R: LSS 55min bike
F: Sq(5x5 155lbs), BP (5x5 75lbs), DBP (5x5 25lbs) + BWPU (4x5) + yoga
S: LSS 60min bike
Sunday: Rest/recover

So, I read the Operator template incorrectly and planned to use 5x5 for the duration of the program but when I looked back over it AFTER finishing out Week 5, I realized that I should be doing 4x3 at most for 95%. I’m guessing I managed 5x5 because it’s my TM so it’s slightly easier but at least I know now for when I start the actual program.


Week 6 of BB:

M: SE 3x30*
KB swing (10lb)
Goblet squat (10lb)
KB DL (20lb)
Russian twist (10lb)
Pushups
Single arm floor press (10lb)
Renegade rows (10lb)
Elbow to full plank transitions (no idea what this is called)
T: Rest
W: SE 3x30**
KB swing (10lb)
Goblet squat (10lb)
KB DL (30lb)
Russian twist (10lb)
Pushups
Single arm floor press (10lb)
Renegade rows (10lb)
Elbow to full plank transitions (no idea what this is called)
R: HIC Indoor power interval - Airdyne for 1 minute, rest for 5 mins***
F: HIC Connaught Range 10 to 1s****
S: LSS 60min bike
Sunday: Rest/recover

*This took me 45:50. I rested 30 seconds in between exercises at most but usually more like 15 seconds. I did 2 minutes between sets.
**I attempted to do HIC. I jogged around CP looking for a good spot to do sprints/burpees but I didn’t find a spot I liked. The park was SUPER busy and I wanted a more secluded area. So, 1.5 hrs later, I went home and decided to just do SE again which took me 43 mins to complete.
***1 minute was NOT the plan, guys. I wanted to do the full 2 minutes and rest for shorter but it just was not happening. I could hardly make 1 minute on that thing. I am attributing it in part to the run the day before (since I haven’t run since my first week of BB) but who knows!
****This was REALLY hard for me since I haven’t sprinted since like high school. But it felt amazing! I like sprinting a lot more than that airdyne thing so I will be trying to sprint for HIC as much as possible. I had to rest for 30s-45s in between burpees and sprints, I also started off with a jump/pushup burpee but transitioned to a regular burpee pretty quickly once I realized how pathetic I actually am. Went back to the jump/pushup once I hit the lower numbers. Can’t wait to get better at this one! I also forgot to time it.


Week 7 of BB:

M: SE 3x40
KB swing (10lb)
Goblet squat (10lb)
KB DL (20lb)
Russian twist (10lb)
Pushups
Single arm floor press (10lb)
Renegade rows (10lb)
Elbow to full plank transitions (no idea what this is called)
T: HIC Connaught Range 10 to 1s*
W: Rest (yoga)
R: SE 3x40
KB swing (10lb)
Goblet squat (10lb)
KB DL (30lb)
Russian twist (10lb)
Pushups
Single arm floor press (20lb)
Renegade rows (10lb)
Elbow to full plank transitions (no idea what this is called)
F: HIC Indoor power interval - Rowing for 2 minutes, rest 4 minutes x 5 + yoga
S: LSS 60min bike
Sunday: Rest/recover

*It started lightly raining on my jog to my sprinting place so my sprints were NOT as fast as I would have liked because I don’t feel like my traction was very good. Took 18 minutes.