Member Introductions Thread

[Aelian]

Please excuse me for posting without an intro a few weeks ago. I'm from Louisiana and recently finished college with a degree in mechanical engineering, and I'll finish with my second major in political science in a few months. I powerlifted and played football in highschool, and then worked and partied my way through school although with many a sleepless night for studying too.

I plan to join the Army as an 18X to attempt SFAS. Before TB Conditioning, I had never run over 3.5 miles in my life. I did everything the book mentioned from Crossfit style workouts, HIIT, and interval training until the sun went down, but always hit some sort of plateau. Now that I've been doing TB for the past few weeks, I can already tell that the program is working its magic. I'm doing a good bit more than prescribed, but I have a great diet, supplementation, and recovery plan to keep it up.

Thanks for having a place like this for people like me to learn and join.

Welcome, good to have you

[Aelian]

Hello,
I'm checking in here. I'm a music teacher and father of two, so I guess I'm pretty untactical. I really enjoy backpacking and running, but when I started lifting weights my cardio took a nosedive. I definitely got addicted to pushing for heavier and heavier weights, which just got me hurt. I'm hoping I can fix those things using TB.

My big goal is to take a crack at a dirretissima through New Hampshire's White Mountains, where you hit each peak above 4000 feet, all in one shot. It would be nice to do that with at least a 1,000 lb powerlifting total, by the time time I'm 40 in 3 years.

Welcome aboard, sounds like an awesome goal! Looking forward to seeing you conquer it.

[alphajuliet92]

I figured that I should post something before I return to reading/learning/lurking. I'm 24, I push papers for a living, and I do have law enforcement aspirations. A friend of mine suggested that I read the TB books after I explained my fitness goals to them; while I was reading TBI and TBII I realized that this was the program I've been looking for after hunting high and low. I did run a base building block earlier this year but I squandered my aerobic gains on a bit of vacation time, so I'm getting back to it.

See y'all around, and I hope to learn a lot from your experiences with this program and life in general.

[flyer415]

TLDR: Older guy, Ageless Athlete, injuries limited shoulder mobility, start Base 04 Sept, doing GZCL-LP and then Operator+Black in 2018.

New guy here (although my wife would say "old").

I am 54, ex military (RCAF Air Combat Systems Officer). Never really got that hard into weights (Air Force remember). I have a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and competed for years and trained with Olympic athletes for several years. All behind me now. Body is kind of beaten up and life has taken its toll. I have survived 3 car crashes, an airplane crash, a boat crash and my latest was putting my dirt bike over a cliff. That one had me in a wheelchair for 6 months and has resulted in a plate in my foot and limited mobility in my left arm/shoulder.

So, time to slow down and get back into shape from a strength and mobility point of view. I am 6"1 and weigh 205lbs with a resting HR of 49. Soccer kept me in ok shape as well.

My plan

I start Base on Monday 04 Sept. I am going with the normal option and the Ageless Athlete in particular. I have read all 3 books and loved AA. After that I will most likely go with Operator+Black. I see MWF as weights, TT as conditioning and then yoga twice a week at night. I have used kettlebells for years (primary fitness tool for me) and have a suite of them up to the Beast.

I was planning on using GZCL-LP as my weight programme as I had done extensive research on it. I cannot back squat or really front squat due to the lack of mobility on my left shoulder. I can't get my arm into position. The BP is also difficult for the same reason. So what the hell can I do?

The trapbar and landmine is my friend.

TrapBar Bulgarian Split Squat/ Landmine OHP/ TrapBar Rows/ TrapBar DL/ TrapBar Farmers Walk/ Kettlebells/ Assisted Dips/ Assisted Pullups (can do a one arm pullup easier then a 2 arm pullup).

Why do this. Using GZCL-LP is a simple linear progression that will get me some strength and a programme quickly (hopefully). The intention was to continue with it after Base and until 2018.

In 2018 I would switch to a recommended Operator+Black with a cluster that made sense based on my needs and my physical capabilities. GZCL would also give me an opportunity to see which movements work best for my body.

[J-Madd]

TLDR: Older guy, Ageless Athlete, injuries limited shoulder mobility, start Base 04 Sept, doing GZCL-LP and then Operator+Black in 2018.

New guy here (although my wife would say "old").

I am 54, ex military (RCAF Air Combat Systems Officer). Never really got that hard into weights (Air Force remember). I have a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and competed for years and trained with Olympic athletes for several years. All behind me now. Body is kind of beaten up and life has taken its toll. I have survived 3 car crashes, an airplane crash, a boat crash and my latest was putting my dirt bike over a cliff. That one had me in a wheelchair for 6 months and has resulted in a plate in my foot and limited mobility in my left arm/shoulder.

So, time to slow down and get back into shape from a strength and mobility point of view. I am 6"1 and weigh 205lbs with a resting HR of 49. Soccer kept me in ok shape as well.

My plan

I start Base on Monday 04 Sept. I am going with the normal option and the Ageless Athlete in particular. I have read all 3 books and loved AA. After that I will most likely go with Operator+Black. I see MWF as weights, TT as conditioning and then yoga twice a week at night. I have used kettlebells for years (primary fitness tool for me) and have a suite of them up to the Beast.

I was planning on using GZCL-LP as my weight programme as I had done extensive research on it. I cannot back squat or really front squat due to the lack of mobility on my left shoulder. I can't get my arm into position. The BP is also difficult for the same reason. So what the hell can I do?

The trapbar and landmine is my friend.

TrapBar Bulgarian Split Squat/ Landmine OHP/ TrapBar Rows/ TrapBar DL/ TrapBar Farmers Walk/ Kettlebells/ Assisted Dips/ Assisted Pullups (can do a one arm pullup easier then a 2 arm pullup).

Why do this. Using GZCL-LP is a simple linear progression that will get me some strength and a programme quickly (hopefully). The intention was to continue with it after Base and until 2018.

In 2018 I would switch to a recommended Operator+Black with a cluster that made sense based on my needs and my physical capabilities. GZCL would also give me an opportunity to see which movements work best for my body.

Thanks for taking the time (and $) to read AA. I really appreciate that! I think starting out with GZCL-LP is a good start, with a mind to transitioning to OP. In fact, that's basically how I started my own son! Don't be a afraid to log your workouts here. I love watching peoples AA base build unfold.

[JJSwatt99]

Hello everyone, I'm about 9 months away from graduating college and shipping off to basic training for the Army. A little bit about me throughout my youth I was a power lifting football lineman who never ran more than a mile at a time. I decided at the end of my Freshman year of college that I wanted to go the military route after I graduated, so I knew I needed to lose weight because I was 270 at the time and could barely run a mile. I spent about two years doing the operator sessions from Military Athlete and saw really good improvements. My current stats are 6'2 205 pounds, 38:15 5 mile run, 54 push-ups, 13 pull-ups, and 95 sit-ups. While I really enjoyed Military Athlete I believe I need to increase my focus on the endurance side of things hence Tactical Barbell. I finally got a heart rate monitor so I plan on starting my first base building on Monday. To keep accountable I'll be posting my training log starting Monday.

[Aelian]

Hello everyone, I'm about 9 months away from graduating college and shipping off to basic training for the Army. A little bit about me throughout my youth I was a power lifting football lineman who never ran more than a mile at a time. I decided at the end of my Freshman year of college that I wanted to go the military route after I graduated, so I knew I needed to lose weight because I was 270 at the time and could barely run a mile. I spent about two years doing the operator sessions from Military Athlete and saw really good improvements. My current stats are 6'2 205 pounds, 38:15 5 mile run, 54 push-ups, 13 pull-ups, and 95 sit-ups. While I really enjoyed Military Athlete I believe I need to increase my focus on the endurance side of things hence Tactical Barbell. I finally got a heart rate monitor so I plan on starting my first base building on Monday. To keep accountable I'll be posting my training log starting Monday.

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing your progress.

[CD51]

Just joined but I've been following the site for a few months.
Male, about to turn 46, 6'1", 220lbs. 17years in the US Army Infantry, Ranger, SOF assignments (not a long tabber though) for the last several years I was in. I've been out since '09.
I wrestled growing up, played football in high school and college, BJJ and submission grappling competitor for a few years. Did sprint and Olympic distance tris, a bunch of running, a few Tough Mudders, etc.
Overall I have a bunch of training and operational experience and the wear and tear to go with it. I own and have read TB v3 and AA. I don't claim to be on any template but what I'm doing currently lines up well with the programs. I train every other day, alternating strength and SE+conditioning days.
I'm looking to learn from others and contribute where I can.

[J-Madd]

Just joined but I've been following the site for a few months.
Male, about to turn 46, 6'1", 220lbs. 17years in the US Army Infantry, Ranger, SOF assignments (not a long tabber though) for the last several years I was in. I've been out since '09.
I wrestled growing up, played football in high school and college, BJJ and submission grappling competitor for a few years. Did sprint and Olympic distance tris, a bunch of running, a few Tough Mudders, etc.
Overall I have a bunch of training and operational experience and the wear and tear to go with it. I own and have read TB v3 and AA. I don't claim to be on any template but what I'm doing currently lines up well with the programs. I train every other day, alternating strength and SE+conditioning days.
I'm looking to learn from others and contribute where I can.

Welcome CD51, and thanks for your service!

[SPACE_CORPS_NOW]

Warm Greetings to All,

I recently found TB from a reddit thread I found through a google search for something along the lines of "gaining strength and cardio". I bought/read both of the books and decided this is the right program for me. I have always run into the issue of cardio and strength being counterproductive to each other. I've run marathons in the past and gotten my 3 mile below 20 min, but I could barely bench press my bodyweight. When I got my strength up, I'd usually have to stop running as much to appropriately recover from traditional powerlifting programs, so I'd gain weight and drop from a 20 min 3 mile to a 25-28 min 3 mile. I'm excited to try the greasing the groove, submaximal methods with weights for the first time.

A little about myself: I am 26 years old, 5'11", and currently weight 170lbs (down from 180 about 6 months ago). I am an Air Force Space Officer and I am currently deployed. My goals are pretty simple...get stronger while maintaining or improving my cardiovascular capacity. I have three main hobbies: BJJ, Freedive Spearfishing, and Cooking. I train at Paragon BJJ if anyone is interested.

Exercise background: I was a swimmer in high school. My best event was the 500 free in which I broke the 7 min mark once or twice my senior year. It was nothing to write home about from a competitive perspective, but it built a powerful cardio base. In college I joined ROTC and trained on and off with a couple of buddies who wanted to go into the Combat Rescue/Special Tactics career field. I also wanted to go into the STO career field, but I could never maintain my training long enough without injury and I also just didn't put in the effort (chasing girls was more fun than chasing PRs...). Now, I'm active duty and I picked up a couple of physical hobbies in the meantime. I'd like to continue to progress in both BJJ and Freediving, so I want to get stronger without gaining weight or losing my aerobic capacity.

I started my Base Building focused on running on Monday of this week along with a somewhat spartan Operator Max Strength program of OHP/DL/PU. I now have a training log on the training log board if you want to follow my progress.

So far, I have enjoyed reading the posts on this forum. This seems like a fun, tight-knit community. The only gripe I have so far is your taste in music is way too skewed toward metal... I look forward to participating.