Is there a significant advantage taking an entire week off at the end of a block, vs taking multiple smaller days off during the block?

Eg: three days off during week 1, two days off at the end of week 2, two days off during week 3 (for a total of 7 days off.)

I've just started running Green Capacity/OP Hypertrophy, and am finding the six days a week of training hard to maintain purely because of scheduling against work/life etc.

Invariably I might have to miss 1 or 2 days training mid-week. And I'm just about to finish week 3 but have had to take 4 days off prior to the last 3 training days.

So going into the deload week I'm feeling sort of fresh, and I don't know whether I should take the entire week off, or just jump straight into the next block, or find some middle ground between the two.

Suggestions please?

Hi all. I currently am getting back into Judo after two months off due to an injury. I've never had a lifting/conditioning plan before, and I thought this would be a good time to start with one. However, it seems with base building, you're not supposed to do any HIC. I try to do 4-5 judo classes a week, with 2-3 of those including 1-2 hours of hard sparring. The book mentions anaerobic training being at odds with aerobic training/building your gas tank, but with tournaments coming up, stopping all my sparring seems like shooting myself in the foot. Should I just jump straight into Black Protocol? Should I try to cut my sparring down to only 1 session a week, or try to spread it out into smaller chunks, like only 15mins per class? Full send and do my all my training on top of base building? Suck it the fuck up? Any advice is appreciated.

Have any of you utilized a sandbag for BB? If so, what did your cluster of exercises look like?

Hello TB community,

Just did my test day, and I have a question regarding the pull up max calculation.

I weight ~195lbs (88kg) and can perform around 16 bw pull ups with good form. While testing today, I got 5 pull ups with 55lbs (23kg) strapped on a weight belt.

My question is, I am unsure on which method is more appropriate for me to use when calculating my 1RM - the 1st method which accounts for the bw + added weight, or, the 2nd method which only uses the added weight.

From what I understand from the book, the second method should be more appropriate, correct?

Just what to be sure, since the %s vary wildly in progression and the example on “putting it all together” does not account for bw

Thanks

Me:

Mid 40s, 5’10”, 78-80 kgs. Mostly sedentary job but fairly active and walking 8-10k steps a day.

Not a complete novice to strength training - have about 6 years experience on and off but I’ve never actually been strong - long history of regular injuries/freak accidents breaking the rhythm (and a good strong dose of fuckarounditis in the gym). Got better in 2023 - Knees Over Toes helped etc.

Finally decided to follow Operator strictly instead of messing around and modifying too much.

3 complete blocks from November 2023 to April 2024 (with a break of almost a month in January after a muscle strain to my neck after I tried to do 90% OHP the day after getting off a long haul flight).

I kept the weights the same for the first two blocks like TB1 recommended and then forced progression for the 3rd block - 2.5 kgs for upper body and 5 kgs for lower body added to 1RM.

So my only testing was in November and then again today.

I do Muay Thai 1-2 times a week as well although not for the last couple weeks.

RESULTS —————

RDL 1RM

Nov 2023: 47.5kgs

April 2024: Not Tested - I strained hamstrings at the end of Block 2 and have not gone back to RDL but confident I’ve gained a lot - it was feeling really easy to do 90% plus days (the ROM was harder).

OHP 1RM:

Nov 2023: 41.1 kg

April 2024: 45 kg clean and I’m pretty sure I could have done 47.5 but I got over ambitious and put weight up to 50 and just barely failed at it and then was too tired to try 47.5.

FSQ 1RM (deep ROM almost ATG):

Nov 2023: 50kgs

Apr 2024: 80 kgs

Overall very happy with my results especially the FSQ improvement is crazy - I suspect it’s partly the Operator strength gains and partly I gave up too early in the first test.

Joints are suffering a bit though and I want more mass to act as a base for more strength so I’m probably going to do a few hypertrophy blocks before coming back to Operator and also give my joints a break and focus on ATG style rehab work etc. probably a traditional PPL split instead of Mass Protocol - I can afford to rest a bit more and will manage with like 1 Muay Thai session a week.

Longer term probably alternating between strength and mass every block or two.

EDIT: Also I cleaned up my diet starting around Nov 2023 - 2x bodyweight in lbs/grams of protein, no drinking alcohol, sharply limiting dessert, mostly eating home cooked food and 90-95% eliminating empty carbs/bread/rice wheat (ate plenty of potato and other carbs like veggies). I hate fish or I’d have eaten more seafood.

Also gained a couple kg in this period and physically arms and shoulders and chest have started to change - still have a bit of a paunch though. Probably not going to get better as I build mass but will have to deal with it when back to strength.

I am an ex soccer player looking into hybrid training to start building some strength but I am unsure where to start. Do I choose green protocol? Something else? I have yet to read to book but I am intrigued and looking forward to starting. However, it’s all a little daunting when I don’t know where to start. Anything helps!

I completed the standard volume of #17 Apex Hills today for the first time. I did all 10 reps with a 44kg (97lbs) kettlebell and used only the walk back down the hill (plus maybe 20 seconds at the bottom to gather myself) as rest. Also, my hill allowed me to sprint for about 30 seconds each time.

What a doozy. Definitely a good workout if you want to breathe heavy and feel it in the legs haha. Also, this came after doing my 3x5 on deadlifts and dips (Zulu).

On to the next accomplishment! Good luck to everyone out here training.

The Mass Protocol book outlines the main cluster of Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift and OHP.

Would it be okay if I tweaked it to be Bench Press, Squat, WPU and OHP instead? I would include a hip hinge (kettlebells or RDLs) in the S cluster.

I'm thinking about this change because I've been liking doing WPU three times a week in GM, but my schedule's shifted, and I can't hit the gym four times weekly anymore.

Hello all, I am currently running the General Mass template and wanted to add an ab exercise or 2 at the end of each workout for ab hypertrophy. I have a pull up bar but can currently only do about 4 hanging knee raises per set and when I try to switch to laying leg raises my back arches far too much so I know I also need to increase my abdominal strength.

Are there any exercises you all would recommend doing and what sets/reps would you recommend with them?

I am still relatively new to all of this so any help would be appreciated!!!

• Use this thread to post simple questions that don't deserve their own thread, get opinions from other TBers, or as a place for discussion between our civilian members and LEOs/Military/First Responders, fitness-related or otherwise.
• Please search before posting to see if your question has been answered before.
• LEO/Military/First Responders: Be mindful of opsec/tradecraft, any posts deemed too revealing will be removed.
• Resources include the FAQ, TB testimonials, and specific training using TB.
• See KB's SITREP post that discusses CAT, the now-open Kit Shop, and TBIII.

Hi, I made a post here before. To know more about my level of fitness and other details, check my previous post. Only update is that I decided to run a 5K randomly before BB and I did it in 28:21.

Anyway, I have a couple questions

1. KB says that there are different schools of thought regarding whether to do strength first BB or regular BB but based on the posts I've seen here, almost everybody seems to recommend or prefer regular BB. Why is this?

2. I'm interesting in getting better at pull ups. My cluster would be (under the Fighter program which goes well with Strength First BB) bench/squat/weighted pull up. I can only do about 8 bodyweight pull ups in a row though and 3 sets of 5-6 with 3 mins rest. Should I just make it a bodyweight pull up rather than weighted? I also tested my weighted pull up max and I could do 15 kg added weight (32 lbs) for one rep. So yeah, bodyweight or weighted?

3. I'm probably going to go with WPU or regular pull up but just confirming, it's worth doing over barbell row or deadlift, right?

Hey y’all, been lurking but I just bought TB1 and 2 off Amazon and I wanna get started. I’m active LE, I work 12 hr shifts and have long weeks and short weeks. Rotate days/nights very 4 weeks. I have a couple questions for guys in similar situations.

How do you make it work with such a weird LE schedule?

What kind of gym should I look at joining to be able to do everything the books prescribe?

I’m looking at starting Muay Thai soon as well, a gym in my area offer free classes to LE. How should I go about adding that in?

When I do something I want to do it all the way and as best I can. Anything else I might be missing or something you guy recommended I do/ or buy before starting?

Thanks!

Edit: idk if it matters but my background 25 yrs old, 5’9 195lbs, wrestled and BJJ growing up, CrossFit for about 3 years on and off, got fit while in the Marine Corps, got out early ‘22 and have struggled to get back into working out. I’m holding more body fat than I’d like and I want to get back to the guy I used to be. Also job goals are my departments SWAT team and fugitive apprehension team.

Hey everyone!

​

I just finished my 12 weeks Capacity more running, and wanted to share with you how great it works.

I'm a male form France. I heard of TB on a forum, I liked the idea and bought TB II & III in August 2023. I saw pretty good results and then, I saw a sub about Green Protocol and decided to give it a try. So I finished today after 3 months, and this my results

TEMPLATE

I have a total of 9 sessions per week. 4 of Running, 3 of MMA, 2 of Lifting. I used to do 2 training per day since i started MMA in 2022 and it doesn't really f*ck me up now as long as i have a good recovery. Every night before sleep, i did 30min of stretching and mobility, and it helps me a lot to prevent any injury.

RESULTS

I'm pretty happy with the overall progression. I was sepctic about using Fighter, i thought that 2 days of lifting per week wasn't enough to have results. I was wrong all along. It's incredible.

​

RUNNING

I never ran that much before. The 2 first months went very well. The last one was harder. My right knee started to hurt but i kept going. I was happy to see that i was going faster without my heartrate moving. Overall i did 43 runs, 53h58min of running, and 470km (292miles)

​

Thank you guys for reading this! Hope that your training goes well and that your meet yout goals.

​

​

My goal is to aid my Muay Thai with lifting I’m just wondering when completing reps of let’s say front squats should I lift the weight fast or should I do it controlled at a moderate pace

Hey everyone, just now feeling better from a sickness that's taken me out for about a week. I was on week 5 of my program (like just finished week 5 about to start 6). Out of the three which would you all do?

1. Start at Week 4
2. repeat week 5
3. go into week 6

I currently work in construction which is labour intensive and I’m looking to get the best bang for my book when it comes to Muay Thai I compete in Muay Thai so that’s my main priority. I’m currently running fighter temp and adding in some liss runs and when I’m camp i do sprint sessions with the coach but I’m looking for a structured schedule. I have tb conditioning but I can’t seem to understand the best plan to use for Muay Thai

I had my first amateur fight on the weekend and I kind of gassed out. I’m looking to improve my strength and fitness overtime but also I wanna be very good at Muay Thai for competing I’ve been running fighter template and been doing 1-2 lss runs a week and when I’m fight camp I’d do some sprints after training with my coach Would anyone have an optimal schedule to use or should I stick with the way I’ve been doing it My ultimate goal is to be good at Muay Thai

Hello, civilian here with a somewhat active job (~10k steps per day). I've been doing cycles of these two 7 weeks blocks, with kind of a black protocol, to great effect :

• 3 weeks SE with unilateral and instability stuff (rings, dumbbells), followed by 3 weeks OP/PRO, 1 week rest
• 6 weeks OP/PRO, 1 week rest.

Loved OP/PRO with the 3rd week being kind of a test week.

My goals are a bit all over the place :

• have fun and stay healthy
• press to handstand
• will attempt a PR on my 2nd oly triathlon in september ( I regularly do 40 to 70k rides. Building up to 10k of running takes me 2 weeks starting from zero because of my running past. I'm a fairly average/good swimmer, can do the 1.5k without training anytime of year)

My triathlon training will start in june. I have planned to spend the summer riding, running and swimming, with minimalist zulu or fighter template. My questions are about how to set stuff up until then, in order to work towards the press to handstand. I can hold a handstand for about 40sec, and have an okay level of flexibility but not enough for the Press To HandStand (PTHS)

I'm okay with my current strenght and conditioning level, so I was thinking of keeping my 2 blocks cycle, but doing minimalist Zulu/HT to get more time for flexibility work, with conditioning (biking) in maintenance mode :

• Day 1 : OHP/WPU, flexibility work (pike and pancake emphasis)
• Day 2 : handstand + PTHS drills, FSQ, grip, flexibility work (opening shoulders emphasis)
• Day 3 : 2 to 3h ride, z2 or sweet spot
• Day 4 : same as day 1
• Day 5 : same as day 2
• Day 6 and 7 : optional flexibility work, or group ride, or bouldering with friends

What do y'all think about this ? Since I'll be working towards an increase in range of motion (so destroying muscle fibers), I'm not sure about the flexibility planning. Should I put the pike and pancake stuff on FSQ day ? Does it matter ?

Thanks

Hey all,

I've been training for a few years now with the past year being operator Black. I've also been rolling BJJ for about 8 months, and I'm noticing the recovery is definitely starting to become an issue. I'm changing it up a bit and thinking that Operator I/A is a good fit for me. However, I had some questions on how I should program in some SE/Calisthenics, as i seem to respond well to both. Current thoughts are run Operator I/A, but every 2 sessions add a stand alone calisthenics/SE day. Basically, fighter - Bangkok but with Operator I/A sets-reps and the flexible schedule. This would essentially turn operator I/A from 9 sessions per block to 12. I'm assuming I would likely want a day in between a SE day and a strength day, but I'm open to suggestions here.

​

I know a lot of guys are pairing similar programs with BJJ with success, but I'm just not seeing a ton on how to work in some calisthenics. If it matters, I'm in my early 30's and typically drilling BJJ 3-4 times a week, at least 2 of which are hard sparring. Nutrition and sleep have been decent, but both could improve a bit on the weekends. Joints are feeling good for the most part - been adding in a lot more mobility work, which i wish i had started sooner. I'm definitely noticing a cumulative fatigue between BJJ and lifting that results in me sort of going through the motions in the gym and lacking some explosiveness on the mats.

​

Any advice is appreciated.

So I've been running the basic Mass Template from the Mass Protocol book since February, and am planning to switch my Endurance sessions by just biking to the gym that way I accomplish the necessary endurance work during the travel.

I calculated the trip and it would basically mean I am biking 10km total every time I want to go to my gym and I feel like doing this four times a week would be detrimental to the goal of mass building. I have a hard time putting on weight and the book suggested to reduce endurance sessions to just 20 mins so that I don't burn too much of the weight I gain, and I'm worried biking this much every other day would negate all my efforts.

Should I just stick to using running for my endurance session so I don't go too overboard with the amount of endurance work I do? Or is a 10km ride 4x a week feasible?

Hello,

first of all: I am not a native English speaker, so I had this text translated, please don't take offence :)

I am a member of the German police force and would like to prepare for a selection procedure which will take place in about 14 months.

The minimum requirements are as follows:

- Run for 12 minutes and complete at least 3000 metres (ranking, the more the better)

- 50kg bench press min. 30 repetitions (experience shows that the participants can probably manage around 50 repetitions, so the more the better (ranking))

- 10 clean pull-ups (without ranking)

- An indoor obstacle course with around 11 obstacles to be overcome in a maximum of 90 seconds (ranking)

- A 4*100 metre sprint in full kit, i.e. around 15-20 kg of additional weight. In addition, a 40kg bag has to be transported (ranking)

​

I used to only train typical bodybuilding splits and occasionally went jogging for cardio. Fortunately, I've come across tactical barbell for a few months now in terms of training preparation for the selection process and have alternated between a base building block and an OP block with LSS on a trial basis and was more than impressed with the results, so I'd like to train the whole thing long-term.

​

I have TB 1, TB 2 and Green Protocol at home and have already read through them. Now I would like to ask you experienced athletes about the selection process in around 14 months' time: how would you organise the periodisation until then? Which templates would you use during this period in order to be optimally prepared in June 2025? I think the 4*100m sprint will really challenge your conditioning, as will the 12-minute run and the obstacle course. I'm relatively certain that I'll do quite well in the pull-ups and bench press. Conditioning, endurance and agility are my weak points, I would say.

Maybe someone can give me some advice. I was thinking maybe something like a block of BB, then OP three times a week with conditioning (I think OP Black Template) for two blocks, then another block of BB etc.? Or would you have a better idea?

I would really appreciate your feedback and hope everything has been translated well :) Thank you very much.

• Use this thread to post simple questions that don't deserve their own thread, get opinions from other TBers, or as a place for discussion between our civilian members and LEOs/Military/First Responders, fitness-related or otherwise.
• Please search before posting to see if your question has been answered before.
• LEO/Military/First Responders: Be mindful of opsec/tradecraft, any posts deemed too revealing will be removed.
• Resources include the FAQ, TB testimonials, and specific training using TB.
• See KB's SITREP post that discusses CAT, the now-open Kit Shop, and TBIII.

So I’ve recently discovered tactical barbell however I’m not sure which program to choose. I recently have started doing mma 4-5 times a week and before that was mainly doing weightlifting. I want a program that will improve my strength and conditioning but also help me build muscle. Could anyone assist me with this?

Hi All, going to be having a small hernia repaired. Won’t be able to lift more than 20lbs for at least a month per doc’s orders. They said after that just “ease” back into it but I didn’t really have them expand on what “ease” back into means as far as activity and how quickly.

Figured I’d ask here for anyone with experience with having a hernia repair (mesh patch) and what their timeline looked like for getting back to where they were pre surgery.

Currently run fighter with Weighted dips, weighted chins, back squat and then 50-100 heavy KB swings.

TIA!

Edit: before anyone asks or suggests, I do plan on talking more in depth with the doctor as far as my current activity and what easing back into it would encompass from their perspective next time I meet with them.

Hi everyone,

Last year I did BB and was very satisfied with endurance results, yet to schedule and other things did not proceed with OP buy was mainly doing KB workouts (DFW, Giant)

Now willing to get back with TB and thinking of doing to following: Capacity from GP book and then OP hybrid. My goal is to be strong and fast, I do not have any operational requirements (lawyer).

No I am weak skinny fat dude (although have some definition): at 67kg and 178 cm at 24 my max BP is 47.5kg, OHP 30kg, BSQ 57.5kg and deadlift 70kg. I tried doing Linear Progession but honestly I do not have that much time for recovery + my body does not react well to it.

So my quesstion would my plan be good for strenght and speed (GP book caapcity and then OP hybrid) or should I cover full GP book (which would be more of a mental challenge as well, but I like to run). Or simply following TB 1 and TB2 books would be enough after simple base building?

Thanks in advance!

The velocity benchmark from green protocol is a 20 mile offroad run in 8 hours or less. Alternatively you can do the 27 mile challenge. It isn’t stipulated but has a general consensus been met on a cut off time?