Switching templates mid-cycle.

[Maxrip13]

Some great advice above. What I write below is just some things I have realised in my training and some things you might want to consider. You may find that some of these also apply to you or you think of similar things you can take into account if you would like to do operator in the future or continue on.

What is your current cluster and are you hitting 3 or 5 sets each session?

For me personally I have to follow some hard and fast rules to complete operator without being burnt out fast.

I must use a conservative 90% training max.
No psyching up, minimal rest and warmup to hit. This number is something I could hit any day of the week whether I am on night shift or holidays doing nothing but training.

I only do 3 sets of barbell back squats
My recovery automatically drops off over 3 sets. 5x5 and I am focusing on nothing but lifting. No sport, no conditioning and no athletic hobbies. I can push this for upper body, but I shouldn't because 3x5 is enough.

My cluster is only 3 exercises
I can't recover from more than 3 lifts for 3-5 x 5
Backsquat, benchpress, Weighted Pullup
Pistol, Benchpress, Weighted Pullup
Deadlift, Benchpress, HIC finisher with a carry, swing, or snatch.

No back squat, benchpress, deadlift, Pullups, core work. This is a recipe for failure for me.

I can't squat and deadlift heavy in the 5 rep range at the same time.
I can only hit one of these hard and recover. I am going to try the single set dead lift approach in my next cycle but I haven't had success in the past doing both a heavy squat and dead lift. My deadlift set will be 1-2 warmup sets and a moderately heavy, 3,2 or 1. It will be at a conservative max and just to groove the dead lift pattern.

No sport or BJJ. It's OP I/A time if I want to add heavy conditioning/sport
I simply can't recover from BJJ and Operator. My body,shift work and lift percentages just take too much of a toll. I need that flexibility to take 2-3 days off to recover from hard sessions and big work days.

Not saying these are hard and fast rules, but use your training log/diary and work out where you felt good and recovered while making improvements and notice what is different at this time. I bet you find your own rules similar to above.

[29bearcat]

Things that I learned doing operator.

Get sleep, track my protein so I get enough.

Its alright to do a 3x5 or a 4 x 5 day if I got destroyed at work the night before.

Limit my accessory lifts when on lifting days. It adds up and diminishes my main goal.

90% TM keeps me from killing myself and getting hurt.

I do 5 x 5 on back and chest, but 3 x 5 on legs. The extra sets (5x5) on the legs took its toll on recovery.

THe biggest thing is your practicing strength, not setting records. You don't want to feel taxed when you get out of the gym. It catches up with you.

My advice, track nutrition and sleep. Do a 3 x 5 for the cycle. Build up the sets until you can weather a 5 x 5. Also, how is the cardio. The better my cardio gets the harder I can hit the weights.

[Aelian]

do 3 full body workouts in a week while adding weight to the bar.

Can you clarify this? How often are you adding weight to the bar?

Operator isn't really a novice program, you should be able to sustain it for years with the correct progression. Some questions:

1. What are your current lift#s?
2. How have you been progressing the load--- forced or retest?
3. How long have you been using Op?

Yeah I understand it's not a novice program which is why it's a bit weird.
1. S: 330lbs/150kg DL: 363lbs/165kg BP: 192lbs/87.5kg - All that around 240lbs which would put me in the novice category, but the inability to add weight on a linear progression would say otherwise
2. Retesting after every 6 weeks
3. About half a year, used fighter before that.

Maybe it was just a bad day or something. Going in tomorrow to see how it goes but my body feels quite beat up.

On top of the good advice already doled out I'd emphasize slowing down the progression and minimizing sets as others have suggested. Are you running a conditioning protocol or playing a sport? Are you on a low carb diet by any chance?

[Aelian]

Also, keep this in mind: when doing Operator, I find that the hardest weeks are 2 and 5.

Week #2 is a killer for sure!

Ahhh I thought it was just me..

[WallBilly]

. . . .

For me personally I have to follow some hard and fast rules to complete operator without being burnt out fast.

I must use a conservative 90% training max.
No psyching up, minimal rest and warmup to hit. This number is something I could hit any day of the week whether I am on night shift or holidays doing nothing but training.

I only do 3 sets of barbell back squats
My recovery automatically drops off over 3 sets. 5x5 and I am focusing on nothing but lifting. No sport, no conditioning and no athletic hobbies. I can push this for upper body, but I shouldn't because 3x5 is enough.

My cluster is only 3 exercises
I can't recover from more than 3 lifts for 3-5 x 5
Backsquat, benchpress, Weighted Pullup
Pistol, Benchpress, Weighted Pullup
Deadlift, Benchpress, HIC finisher with a carry, swing, or snatch.

No back squat, benchpress, deadlift, Pullups, core work. This is a recipe for failure for me.

I can't squat and deadlift heavy in the 5 rep range at the same time.
I can only hit one of these hard and recover. I am going to try the single set dead lift approach in my next cycle but I haven't had success in the past doing both a heavy squat and dead lift. My deadlift set will be 1-2 warmup sets and a moderately heavy, 3,2 or 1. It will be at a conservative max and just to groove the dead lift pattern.

No sport or BJJ. It's OP I/A time if I want to add heavy conditioning/sport
I simply can't recover from BJJ and Operator. My body,shift work and lift percentages just take too much of a toll. I need that flexibility to take 2-3 days off to recover from hard sessions and big work days.

. . . . .

Dang. I could have written that post! Agree with every point, completely consistent with my experiences.

Except when my sport is "in season", I have learned that I need to go to Fighter, and I can handle a 4 lift routine if it's only twice a week, even with sports and conditioning. The key is the recovery time. I wish I could try Op I/A "in season", but the schedule just doesn't work for me because there are certain sports days that I can't change.

[ectional]

Thanks for all the advice. Just a question, where can I find OP I/A? I currently have TB 2 and can't really find it in there.

As for some of the questions I got here: I'm not on a low carb, couldn't survive that . I am doing conditioning quite actively along with mandatory self-defense classes, which are very low in intensity.

[Tyr0331]

Thanks for all the advice. Just a question, where can I find OP I/A? I currently have TB 2 and can't really find it in there.

As for some of the questions I got here: I'm not on a low carb, couldn't survive that . I am doing conditioning quite actively along with mandatory self-defense classes, which are very low in intensity.

Just go to the Operator chapter and read through again. You’ll find Op I/A in there. Was going to add my two cents in, but reading through the comments you got outstanding advice from everyone and I learned quite a bit myself as I have been in your same situation before. Take their advice, it works. Good luck

[Aelian]

Thanks for all the advice. Just a question, where can I find OP I/A? I currently have TB 2 and can't really find it in there.

As for some of the questions I got here: I'm not on a low carb, couldn't survive that . I am doing conditioning quite actively along with mandatory self-defense classes, which are very low in intensity.

TB2 is conditioning. How are you doing TB strength work without the strength book? If you're just trying to scrape by with what you read on the forums you're doing yourself a major disservice. If you haven't read TB1 there's probably a dozen reasons you're not progressing that are covered off in that book.

[ectional]

TB2 as in 2nd edition. Sorry for the confusion.

[ectional]

Now looking back at the week, after resting a few days. The likely scenario is that I underestimated the cumulative fatigue from occupational skills training. They are very low in intensity but can be quite long. At least 1,5 hours, fairly often reaching a total of 3 hours four times a week. Combine that with weight training and conditioning, no wonder my body started showing signs of wear and tear.