TacticalBarbell.com

I read TB I, II, and GP books almost 6 months ago, and since then have alternated between sometimes adapting the general principles to other programs, and following the program to the letter. I'm an EMT, and thus spend much of my work day on my feet, lifting / moving things, so I need a high level of fitness for work, and frankly I think too many of my coworkers don't care enough about physical fitness, and I want to be a model for change on that front. On my days off, I train BJJ, and my idea of fun is a 2 hour run or a 10 hour hike through the mountains, so I want to be fit enough to do that. I was put onto TB because it supports these goals and allows me to fit in my training around work - 10 to 14 hour shifts, 60-80 hour weeks, etc. I'm currently planning to use this thread to log my workouts and the life stuff that it has to fit around.

My current block is Operator I/A with a cluster of OHP, Front Squats, and Pull Ups. Squats are very light right now as I'm rehabbing an injury to my right leg.

Current Block: Operator I/A + Black Pro

Sunday 1/28/24: Open Mat
10 mins of light rolling to warm up followed by 5 x 6 min rounds over the course of 2 hours.

Monday 1/29/24: Rest

Tuesday 1/30/24: Rest

Wednesday 1/31/24: Rest

Thursday 2/1/24: Kinda SE, kinda not.
3 sets x 60s burpees, 60s squats, 60s push ups, 60s sit ups, 60s plank, with 10s rest between exercises and 80s rest between rounds.
Then, 10 x sand dune sprints (a 15ish foot high sand dune; one rep is to sprint over top and down, then turn around, sprint back over and down), with 10s rest between sprints.

Friday 2/2/24: Operator I/A Day 1
DB Bench (to warm up) 10x50, 10x 60, 10x80
DB OHP Main Set: 5x80, 5x80, 5x80, 5x80, 5x80
Squats 10xBW, 10xBW, Main Set: 5x25, 5x25, 5x25
Pull ups 2xBW, Main Set: 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW, 5xBW
25s deadhang on pull up bar for fun

Saturday 2/3/24: SE 3x20
Warm up 5 min jog + 20 burpees
3 x 20 squats, 20 sit ups, 20 push ups, 30s plank, with 30s rest per exercise and 2 mins rest between rounds
Then, 3 x sand dune suicides (One rep = sprint 5m up a sanddune, then back; 10m up, then back, 15m up, then back, 20m up, then back.)

Notes:
Due to a 22 hour shift 0600 Wed to 0400 Thu in addition to my normal 12s Mon-Tue, I got around 2h of sleep on Tuesday night and 3h Wednesday morning. Thursday-Saturday I was out-of-town on vacation, so workouts were limited by either body weight exercises on the beach or strength-based stuff at a local gym, but day-passes were expensive so I only did that once. Even so, I had a lot of fun. Both days when I finished my workouts on the beach, I ran straight into the water and swam for 5-10 minutes. Basically a very quick ice-bath, and felt amazing.

WEEK OF 2/4/24 - OP I/A + Black Pro

A much better training week, despite the hiccups of forced overtime and some long days at work. Sometimes it feels like you don't need to be very fit (at least cardiovascularly) to be in EMS, but Sunday reminded me why that's not true: Running 50lbs of equipment up four flights of stairs, CPR for 20 minutes, and then carrying our patient back down those stairs. I was more out of breath than I would like by the end of it all, and it definitely wasn't just from the adrenaline. I have a really strong aerobic base from years of LSS style running for fun, but a lot of that still clearly needs to be converted into more practical fitness: I could go run a half marathon right now without stopping, but I'd struggle to run a sub-25 5k.

Sunday 2/4:
Operator I/A Day 2
OHP 3 x 5 x 95
Pull Ups 3 x 5 x BW
Squats 3 x 5 x 25

Monday, 2/5:
SE 3x20
20 Push ups, 5 pull ups, 20 squats, 20 sit ups, 60s plank, 20 x 45lb rows... x 3

Tuesday 2/6:
Operator I/A Day 3
OHP 5 x 5 x 95
Squats 4 x 5 x 25
Pull Ups 5 x 5 x BW

+ PM LSS run x 37m

Wednesday 2/7:
HIC Connaught Range10 to 1s
Time: 14:50.1

Thursday 2/8:
HIC Fast 5 Tempo (3mi)
Time: 26:49.8; Mile Splits: 9:40, 9:01, 8:11

+ PM LSS run x 60m

Friday 2/9:
Operator I/A Day 4
OHP 5 x 5 x 95
Squats 5 x 5 per leg x single leg BW squats
Pull Ups 5 x 5 x BW

Saturday 2/10:
Active Recovery: Bouldering. ~2.5 hours total with close to 15m rest between attempts

WEEK OF 2/11/24 - OP I/A + BLACK PRO

Some good progress this week: First, I figured out that if I elevate my heels with some 35lb plates, I can barbell squat around 95lbs, go down all the way to 90 degrees, back up, without my hip flexor hurting at all. This makes me think ankle mobility has been a huge part of the problem, and I'm going to focus on improving that. Second, I got back on the BJJ mats after around 3 weeks off. It was a very small class with a good crew, and that eased a lot of my anxiety... the first day back is always the hardest. Third, last week was another 70ish hour work week, but I was still able to get all of my training done. I know K.B. says consistency is the most important part of success, and overtime + mandatory callbacks have made that challenging, but somehow I still got it all done.

Sunday 2/11/24: Rest

Monday 2/12/24: OP I/A 5 x 80%
OHP 3 x 5 x 95
SQ 3 x 5 x 95
Pull Ups 3 x 5 x BW (185)

Tuesday 2/13/24: HIC BOO II
Times: 7:15, 7:42, 7:19

Wednesday 2/14/24: OP I/A 5 x 80% + PM LSS Run x 60min
FSQ 3 x 5 x 45, 2 x 5 x 65
OHP 3 x 5 x 95
PUs 3 x 5 x BW (185)

Thursday 2/15/24: BJJ
1.5 hour class with 4 x 3min rounds at the end

Friday 2/16/24: HIC Ladders x 1.5 rounds; 600m, 400m, 200m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 600m, 400m, 200m, 100m

Saturday 2/17/24: OP I/A 3 x 85%
SQ 5 x 95, 4 x 3 x 95
OHP 5 x 95, 4 x 3 x 95
WPU 5 x 3 x +10 (195)