Continuation phase: opinions on which route to go

[Tyr0331]

Finishing off eight weeks of base building. Looking at which route to go for a continuation phase. Thinking operator black but not sure if op is sustainable with my BJJ schedule so might stick with fighter. However I do travel throughout the year where there isn't any way to train BJJ so I try to supplement in more gym work so that's why I'm debating trying out OP for six weeks see how it goes

Also going to have to avoid benching so with that being said was thinking of throwing in power cleans front squats OHP and deadlifts for my next cluster. Not set in stone

let me know if you guys have any recommendations. Looking at taking a few days off and maxing out sometime next week with new cluster

[Maxrip13]

What are your goals? Is BJJ a priority? How much conditioning on top of bjj do you plan to do?

I have had some excellent results on fighter with a minimalist type cluster in the past. I was able to train bjj and everything at the time.
I used a pistol squat,bench press,weighted pullup cluster. There is no way I can squat and deadlift heavy together while recovering from bjj.
I would pick one only and limit your cluster to two heavy weighted movements (squat,ohp) and one lighter movement(Weighted/unweighted pullups).
For me I had two lighter movements with the pistol to start and the weighted pullups.

I had some of the best results while doing my pistol,bench,pullup cluster and I went from doing them half rom onto a box to ass to grass with a 24-32kg kettlebell. It took approximately 4 months of never missing a fighter session. I was also able to train bjj 3-5 days a week during this time with no impact.

[K.B.]

Tyr, my 2cents would be to start off with Fighter Bangkok until you get a feel for how many strength days you can handle along with BJJ. Use the SE day as an optional session - do SE, GC, extra MxS, or rest as needed.

[J-Madd]

How many days are your rolling each week? I'm having good luck with Black+Operator, but I only train BJJ 1-2/week, and any BJJ sessions are done in place of a conditioning session. I think the other fellas are correct -- start with Fighter Bangkok, and work from there. If you are only on the mat 1-2 days/week, you might find you can do more MS, especially if you use the "Grunt Cluster", but at the onset I would err on the side of caution and go with Fighter Bangkok first.

[Tyr0331]

What are your goals? Is BJJ a priority? How much conditioning on top of bjj do you plan to do?

I have had some excellent results on fighter with a minimalist type cluster in the past. I was able to train bjj and everything at the time.
I used a pistol squat,bench press,weighted pullup cluster. There is no way I can squat and deadlift heavy together while recovering from bjj.
I would pick one only and limit your cluster to two heavy weighted movements (squat,ohp) and one lighter movement(Weighted/unweighted pullups).
For me I had two lighter movements with the pistol to start and the weighted pullups.

I had some of the best results while doing my pistol,bench,pullup cluster and I went from doing them half rom onto a box to ass to grass with a 24-32kg kettlebell. It took approximately 4 months of never missing a fighter session. I was also able to train bjj 3-5 days a week during this time with no impact.

Conditioning I would like to hit a good HIC every week outside of BJJ and one LSS day either every week or every other week. It all depends on how much I roll every week. Thinking I might stay with fighter Bangkok. Just not sure about the cluster

[Tyr0331]

Tyr, my 2cents would be to start off with Fighter Bangkok until you get a feel for how many strength days you can handle along with BJJ. Use the SE day as an optional session - do SE, GC, extra MxS, or rest as needed.

Sounds like a plan. Some weeks I need more rest than others so I do like the flexibility with fighter bangkok

[Tyr0331]

How many days are your rolling each week? I'm having good luck with Black+Operator, but I only train BJJ 1-2/week, and any BJJ sessions are done in place of a conditioning session. I think the other fellas are correct -- start with Fighter Bangkok, and work from there. If you are only on the mat 1-2 days/week, you might find you can do more MS, especially if you use the "Grunt Cluster", but at the onset I would err on the side of caution and go with Fighter Bangkok first.

Depends on the week. When I'm home and have a decent work schedule I roll 3-4x/week. Starting to tap into mma as well so have that standup sparring to work in now. I usually consider my BJJ as HIC. I'll stay with fighter bangkok for now. Thanks for the help

[J-Madd]

How many days are your rolling each week? I'm having good luck with Black+Operator, but I only train BJJ 1-2/week, and any BJJ sessions are done in place of a conditioning session. I think the other fellas are correct -- start with Fighter Bangkok, and work from there. If you are only on the mat 1-2 days/week, you might find you can do more MS, especially if you use the "Grunt Cluster", but at the onset I would err on the side of caution and go with Fighter Bangkok first.

Depends on the week. When I'm home and have a decent work schedule I roll 3-4x/week. Starting to tap into mma as well so have that standup sparring to work in now. I usually consider my BJJ as HIC. I'll stay with fighter bangkok for now. Thanks for the help

Definitely go with Fighter Bangkok. If went more than 1-2 rolls/week, I'd need to drastically cut down on my other stuff. It sounds to me like you are the poster boy for Fighter.

[Maxrip13]

How many days are your rolling each week? I'm having good luck with Black+Operator, but I only train BJJ 1-2/week, and any BJJ sessions are done in place of a conditioning session. I think the other fellas are correct -- start with Fighter Bangkok, and work from there. If you are only on the mat 1-2 days/week, you might find you can do more MS, especially if you use the "Grunt Cluster", but at the onset I would err on the side of caution and go with Fighter Bangkok first.

Depends on the week. When I'm home and have a decent work schedule I roll 3-4x/week. Starting to tap into mma as well so have that standup sparring to work in now. I usually consider my BJJ as HIC. I'll stay with fighter bangkok for now. Thanks for the help

I find grappling the most taxing in terms of recovery. The stand up aspect doesn't really cause me any recovery issues outside of bruised up legs. If you start wrestling heavily be prepared to not want to hit the gym more than twice with fighter. I would consider bjj more LSS than HIC (with the way I roll). If I am wrestling that is definitely HIC. I would at most do a light jog a couple days a week or a quick 10 min finisher after my fighter sessions for extra conditioning. If you get into MMA it will drain you in a good way and unless you need the extra conditioning for work, why bother when you could just focus on the sport.

[Tyr0331]

How many days are your rolling each week? I'm having good luck with Black+Operator, but I only train BJJ 1-2/week, and any BJJ sessions are done in place of a conditioning session. I think the other fellas are correct -- start with Fighter Bangkok, and work from there. If you are only on the mat 1-2 days/week, you might find you can do more MS, especially if you use the "Grunt Cluster", but at the onset I would err on the side of caution and go with Fighter Bangkok first.

Depends on the week. When I'm home and have a decent work schedule I roll 3-4x/week. Starting to tap into mma as well so have that standup sparring to work in now. I usually consider my BJJ as HIC. I'll stay with fighter bangkok for now. Thanks for the help

I find grappling the most taxing in terms of recovery. The stand up aspect doesn't really cause me any recovery issues outside of bruised up legs. If you start wrestling heavily be prepared to not want to hit the gym more than twice with fighter. I would consider bjj more LSS than HIC (with the way I roll). If I am wrestling that is definitely HIC. I would at most do a light jog a couple days a week or a quick 10 min finisher after my fighter sessions for extra conditioning. If you get into MMA it will drain you in a good way and unless you need the extra conditioning for work, why bother when you could just focus on the sport.

I have obligations to stay in shape for work. Being strong and able to carry heavy loads over rough terrain is my priority. BJJ is important to me but unfortunately can't take priority until I'm retired. The way things go when I travel is I usually only have access to a gym with nowhere to train or anyone to roll with so usually I bump everything up in that situation so when I get home I can focus on BJJ more and not feel guilty for putting some of the gym based work second for a bit