Tactical Barbell for Unit PT

[crnewhouse]

Howdy everyone,

I wanted to get some opinions on using Tactical Barbell for units (Squad and maybe Platoon level). There are many great testimonies that speak to how well this program works for tactical types. However, this program is aimed at the individual, and some aspects of the program may be difficult to incorporate into large groups.

So here is the scenario, you are a Squad Leader/Platoon Sergeant/Platoon Leader. You are interested in using Base Building as a reset for your Soldiers. How would you effectively implement this program to ensure that all Soldiers are working within their own physical thresholds while continuing to make steady improvement.

My take is to use a mix of slower company runs, the Jodies serve as a great conversation indicator. Throw in some ability group runs and encourage the group to slow down for the entire duration of the run. SE could be accomplished using a mixture of PRT workouts. Strength is where this gets tricky, but if you can get your guys to the gym, cycling 4-5 people on the Bench Press/Squat Rack would ensure that everyone is getting the required 2 minute rest intervals.

This is just a random thought and doesn't really apply to me because I'm a part-timer, but I would love to hear your thoughts/critiques.

[Saracen]

It's been a while since I've served on a conventional unit, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

I'm going off the assumption I have 5 days a week to PT my troops. I'd structure it something like this:

Day 1: E (run or ruck)
Day 2: SE
Day 3: E (run or ruck)
Day 4: SE
Day 5: E (run/ruck or Fun-Run w/Bodyweight stations)

I'd probably go with 6 weeks of this. First 3 weeks with Alpha circuits, last 3 with Bravo.

[Tym87]

It would be difficult for the MS, but conditioning HIC, SE, and LSS would be easy. LIke you said, cadence runs, ability groups and bodyweight stuff. I suppose this is why the military has always done it this way. You could do MS at the fire team level maybe with 4-6 man groups. I think the real issue will be in getting a whole unit to follow a plan that they haven't "bought into". They'll need to see the results first since getting someone to break the chain of doing "chest and tri's" and "back and bi's" is a difficult thing to accomplish. Also base gyms tend to be miserably crowded during PT hours.

[TangoZero]

I agree with Tym87, I think the weight training's going to be an individual thing and it's more practical that way anyway unless you've got a gym with 10 squat racks/benches. But everything else should be pretty easy to squeeze in.

One example, my team and I do Apex as a group, relay style. We split into 2-3 groups of 3-5 depending on who's joining us. Each group has a KB. We line up, and first guy in each group races up the hill, does his swings and comes back down, followed by guy number 2 etc etc.

This works really well because it's a race to the top (and back down) between the two, the guys tend to push harder than if they're doing it solo. It gives a varied rest interval until it's your turn to go again, depending on how fast your team mates are going. Finally, it cuts down on how many kettlebells you need to have on hand for group training. Throw in a reward for the winning team and you're good to go.

[MuftiMike]

Base would be easy. The strength templates are another story. My guys tend to lift on their own time. I would run Base with my team using a comfortable pace via talk-test, with a mix of running, Fun-Runs and rucking. Probably tighter if you go at the pace of your slowest runner.

[crnewhouse]

Now that I think about it, you could probably run the SE first approach of BB. The first five weeks could be done at the larger unit level during a Recovery phase. Then break out into teams for your strength phases. I think it would be cool to let the individual teams pick their protocol (Fighter/Operator/Zulu). Everyone runs Green for conditioning so a minimum of 3 E's per week and 1 HIC every other week.

That puts a lot on the junior leadership, but also allows them to focus on collective development at the smallest level. The cohesion developed at this level could actually have beneficial ripple effects up the chain of command.

Throw in some competitions/benchmark tests every now and then and I think you'll have a solid system in effect.