TacticalBarbell.com

I'm starting a new block of Operator I/A. For the most part this will look a lot like plain old Black+Operator with 1-2 HIC (one E every 2nd week) and 1-2 Jujitsu practices each week. My cluster is SQ/OHP/WPU + DL every 3rd day. There will be times that I'll push the MS volume and sometimes after a tough roll I'm not up for getting under the bar the next morning, so there will be some flex days. Some weeks might just be 1 HIC, and others might be 2. It depends on how I'm feeling. Nothing really interesting is going to happen in this log, but I thought it might be useful to some of the people new to TB to see a more or less basic Operator block unfold.

To set this block up I did some "sort-of" maxing last week, mainly playing around with the 90% weights for what I was planning for my training maxes for one or two sets. That gives me a sense of how plausible those estimates are. I am playing with very conservative training maxes, because I want a smooth series of forced progressions to keep me on a steady incline for the next several months. So here's last week:

Tuesday: jujitsu -- pretty tough night!
Wednesday: I worked up to a very easy 315/3 on the SQ, and then did the 100 1H swings with the 48KG KB.
Thursday: The Mound Street Hill (approx. 200 yards --in my Apex videos I am running 1/2 of this hill) x 10
Friday: I worked up to 180/2 on the OHP and a very easy 405/5 on the DL. I haven't OHPed in a couple years, so I was really pleased with that double!
Saturday: LSSS run/55 min (That was a very nice jaunt!)

Based on all that I moved my SQ T-max up a bit (I'm being conservative on the SQ, but that triple felt light I could probably push those reps into the teens!), and I left DL and OHP maxes where I estimated them (I want to play conservatively on the DL, and aggressively on the OHP so the easy 5 and solid double were about right).

So finally, here is the first day of the new Block:

Operator Session 1/9 (75%)
SQ: 300/5x5
OHP: 135/5x5
WPU: BW+10/5x5
1H KB Swing: 40KG/50-30-20 (I took approx. 60 sec between these sets.)

It occurred to me today between sets that I've never done the 40 KG for 100 consecutive swings, so I'd like to play with that goal. That first set of 50 was for real! Once that initial 50 gets relatively easy, I'll start compressing the break times until I'm doing two sets of 50. At that point I'll start subtracting reps from the second set and adding them to the first set.

Overall, this was a great first session of the block. I did OHP and WPU as "supersets," but I took at least 120 seconds rest for all the sets (OHP - 120 sec - WPU - 120 sec - OHP . . . ). I felt as though I could go on banging out those fives on all three lifts indefinitely, which is how I want things during the 75% week. Crisp reps across the board, and leave the gym hungry for your next session.

This should be a great read, I've always wanted to see what you do block to block since you do add variety throughout the year.

This is going to be a fun read. Like Tym87 said, to see how you add variety but stick with the principles.

I will be reading J-Madd log with interest. I hope to learn from your experience

As a public figure in the TB community I commend you for making your training public. Obviously this log will be closely watched.

Green2Blue wrote:As a public figure in the TB community I commend you for making your training public. Obviously this log will be closely watched.

Man, you read my mind. I actually debated with myself over whether I would start a log here. Most of a the questions I get, however, are concerned with very specific, practical decision making that comes up in the day-to-day progress of the programs, e.g., "How many working sets should I do?" "When should I do swings?" "How much should I add for forced progression?" etc. Those are all fine questions, but maybe the best way to answer this to provide a few detailed examples of "real world" training blocks where those very questions are discussed as they arise naturally.

Very nice! Looking forward to this.

Thanks for all your interest in this log!

Yesterday: 90 min of a pretty even mix of stand-up judo and ground work. That was a fair bit of full-speed situational drills and several rounds of live rolling. A pretty taxing session.

Today's action:

Operator Session 2/9
SQ: 300/5x5
OHP: 135/5x6
WPU: BW+10/5x6
Farmer carry: 85lbs dumbells/up and down my alley (approx. 100yds?) x 2

There are some points to be made about this session regarding auto regulation and weight room decision making. I was feeling a bit south of awesome this morning after last night's hard work, so I expected just to hit the minimums and get out of the gym. In fact, I gave a second thought to "flexing" today. However, once I got under the bar, things were pretty snappy. I can't really make a call about how a session is going to go until I hit the first 1-2 working sets. This is important to remember when it comes to applying the "show up and put the work in principle." Just make a deal with your self everyday to do the minimums. Sometimes that is how it goes, and sometimes you will have a stellar workout.

Once I got going and started feeling great, I was actually very tempted to keep clipping out the 5s on the SQ, but I held off. I've already have ten sets of SQ this week under my belt (which is really enough to have a pretty good week), I want to condition tomorrow, I'm planning to SQ and DL on Friday and maybe do Apex or Meateater this weekend. I've got a lot of work I want to get in over the next 72-96 hours, so restraint is the order of the day. Remember that the pertinent information for your weight room decisions is not only what is going on today, but what you want or need to do for the next several days. I'm not doing WPU on Friday and I find that the stake are always a bit lower on the upper body lifts, so I treated myself to an extra set of WPU and OHP.

Conditioning: Speed-Endurance Ladder x 1

This was a pretty standard conditioning day for me. I was up at 5:00, got my lemon water and coffee down, took some time to get my head right, and I was at the track by 6:00. I almost always do my conditioning (whether HIC, E, or GC) first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. That's not for any really sophisticated reasons, I just feel better without something sloshing around in my gut and my work day typically goes better when I get my workout finished very early in the day. When I lift, I prefer to go a bit later in the day (if I can, I try to do it during my lunch break). My back does better when I've been up and around for a few hours.

"SEL" is fast becoming one of my favorite drills; plenty of lung burn, but a bit easier to recover from than the hills. For similar reasons, I've become fond of "Anaerobic Capacity" too. I usually take "SEL" to two complete ladders, but I have a lot I want to do in the next 2-3 days, so one ladder was plenty. These are becoming my preferred drills to sandwich between tougher MS sessions.

No bench? Is there a reason?

I have had more and more information coming back from my shoulders that benching might not be the best thing for them in the long run . . .