Working on Consistency

[hambone]

Hey guys,

I'm new here and am really loving the books/this program so far.

I'm 31 M, desk jockey, was in the Navy but hated running and did very little of it haha, but did enjoy weight lifting.
Strength is my primary focus, as my numbers are still kinda low, and I want to get closer to roughly 2xBW on squat/deadlift.
But at the same time, I do value having decent conditioning, so I do want to slowly improve on that over time.

I was pretty detrained for awhile (like 1-2 years with little lifting/running), and then jumped into C25K followed by Base Building last fall.
I followed the preset Law Enforcement option in the book so I could just perform without thinking.

I ended up finishing it, though with a couple 1 week breaks in between, mostly around holidays.

My lift numbers for the strength portion of BB were as follows:
Squat - 185 lbs est 1RM
OHP - 110 lbs est 1RM
Bench - 175 lbs est 1RM
Deadlift - 215 lbs est 1RM

I used a 90% training max for everything.

My starting weight at beginning of BB was roughly 240 lbs, 25%+ bodyfat and ended at 228 lbs, ~20% bodyfat (definitely happy with the fat loss!). I ate in a deficit during base building, using the MacroFactor app. Switching to eating around maintenance during Op/Black phase.

Now I'm almost finished with a 6 week block of standard Operator/Black, and my recent 1RM testing for this block at the beginning was:
Squat - 208 lbs est 1RM (switched to Safety bar squat)
Bench - 185 lbs est 1RM
Deadlift - 291 lbs est 1RM (switched to trap bar deadlift)
Pullups - 3 max lol (currently doing Pavel's fighter pullup program with the increasing ladders)

My run time is still very slow haha, but I'm making progress at least.

During C25K/BB, my LSS runs were around 16 - 17'/mi, and now my LSS runs are around 14'30"/mi.


I think I'm generally planning on continuing Op/Black for a full 12 week cycle, then possibly Base Building again to help lose some more fat and improve my conditioning? (I was thinking either the shorter 5 week version with Pavel S&S KB work and LSS runs 5 days a week, or Capacity from the new Green Protocol book). and then eventually moving to just using the OMS strategy to keep focusing on strength/muscle gain.

One question I did want to bring up to others is on consistency. That's definitely been a weak area of mine for awhile now and is something I'm working on improving. I finished Base building, but still had to have a couple of breaks in there. I'm doing much better with Op/Black, but still am having some missed sessions.

I am finding that trying to stick with 5 days a week instead of 6 days seems to improve my odds of completing everything as scheduled.
Should I try doing that? See if I can stick with a 5 day a week version of Op/Black for a whole block before moving to 6 days a week?
Which one is better for long term success/longevity/general fitness? I do enjoy doing some GC finishers or sled/prowler work after the Max Strength sessions, but just need to find the best way to balance it with the other running and HIC work on other days.
On the other hand, maybe it's just me not being used to the level of work/my work capacity not fully built up enough yet, and I just have to keep sticking with it until it adapts.


Thanks a lot!

[jzt]

The first question is: what are your goals?

Do you want to get stronger?
Are you trying to lose fat?
Do you want to build muscle?
Improve your 5K?
Improve your big 3?

Etc.

The general TB philosophy aims to bring up all aspects of fitness, but with that in mind, you still need to know what your priorities are. For example, you could want to push the powerlifts (main priority) while being able to run a sub 25 mins 5km.

As crazy as it sounds, your main goal seems to be consistency. If you do anything 3-6x days per week for 52 weeks, you will see drastic improvements even if its a suboptimal workout.

Doing the best workout in the world 3 months per year will not be as beneficial as doing a shitty workout 12 months per year.

So just pick something that is realistic, something that looks easy on paper and stick to it. Once it becomes a habit, you can slowly add to it.

For example:

MS
HIC
MS
HIC
MS
OFF
OFF

or even less:

MS
HIC
OFF
MS
HIC
OFF
OFF