G's Tactical Barbell / MT Log

Genghiz

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Time to revamp my training and take things to the next level. A little more accountability never hurt, so I'm starting a log.

I've been getting a lot of PMs asking about TB Fighter template, here's a quick summary.

****MARCH 29 UPDATE - TB released a 2nd Edition, with changes to Fighter which I've listed below:

Lift twice a week

6-12 week blocks

Wk 1: 3-4 sets x 5 reps 75%RM
Wk 2: 3-4 sets x 5 reps 80%RM
Wk 3: 3-4 sets x 3 90%RM

Repeat above for weeks 4-6

Retest 1RMs after 6,9, or 12 weeks, repeat with new numbers

Pick your exercise "cluster", generally compound lifts. I use bench/squat/DL + pull-ups

Do ALL your lifts during each of the two weekly sessions

Stick to longer, strength oriented rest intervals (2-5 mins)

Excerpt from book about Fighter:

Notice the option to do 3 to 4 sets per exercise. This hinges on a few things. If you’re using a cluster with a greater number of exercises, four or more, then you probably want to stick to 3 sets per lift. If you’re going with a smaller cluster, you might feel like doing a full four sets. Or you can perform 3 sets for some lifts and 4 for others. As long as you are doing the prescribed minimums, doing the extra set is entirely up to you. If you’re having a slow training week and you have time and energy to kill – do 4 sets. Alternatively, if you’re in training hell and you’re having a gruelling week – stick to 3. If you’re satisfied with 3 sets all around, that is perfectly acceptable as well. The 4th set is just a little extra for those that want it.

Remember, you’re only lifting twice a week. In the overall scheme of things that is relatively easy to manage even with a larger cluster. Let’s say you go overboard and pick a cluster with 5 major exercises. 2 minute rest intervals. 3 sets each. That’s about 30 minutes of rest time, and maybe 20 minutes of time spent under the barbell. So still under an hour. Is it unreasonable to lift for an hour or less twice a week for major strength gains? That’s an extreme example of course. Most stick to 3 or 4 main lifts with average sessions that run for 30-45 minutes.



That's the gist of Fighter template. Your exercise choices may differ. I've made excellent strength gains using this simple template while doing Muay Thai 3 x week. Not just strength maintenance, but large (for me) increases in my maximums.

*************************
[/B]

Goals:

Muay Thai 3 x week. I was doing it only 2 x week regularly.

Switching from SS to Tactical Barbell. TB has a two day periodized 'Fighter' template which looks perfect for what I want. SS was good, but heavy lifting three days a week cuts into muay for me. I get way more benefit from MT than hitting the weights to be honest, so have to readjust my priorities accordingly. From here on in MT's the priority.

Conditioning - majority will come from MT, but I may do an extra HIIT session or steady state long run once a week or so.

Intermittent Fasting - will continue as normal. Break fast at 1pm. Train at around 5. Stop eating at around 9.

My Week:

Day 1: MT

Day 2: Tactical Barbell

Day 3: MT

Day 4: Extra HITT/Conditioning/Kettlebells/calisthenics OR Extra Rest Day

Day 5: Tactical Barbell

Day 6: MT

Day 7: Rest

I'll be using the 'Fighter' template from TB, with a 'Heavy cluster'. I was torn between a 'standard cluster' (only three lifts) vs the heavy which consists of four. Decided to go with the heavy since I'm only doing a two day template, and not a three. The one I chose has me doing:

Bench/ Squats/Weighted pull ups/Deads

Tomorrow, will be Test Day. I'll do all my 1rm's for the above lifts, so I have the numbers for the template I'm using.

G
 
Last edited:
Extra Conditioning Day:

"Devil's Trinity" from TBII

Burpees x 1 min
Sledge + tire x 1 min
Heavy bag x 1 min
Rest x 1 min
x 5 rounds
 
I've been motivated by some of the TB conditioning logs here and on rosstraining, so going to change things up a little.
For the past year or thereabouts, I've been doing very little extra conditioning outside of Muay Thai.

My schedule was 2 strength sessions a week, 3 MT classes, and one optional conditioning or rest day.

I'll be running TB2's Black protocol (standard setup) like this:

2 x strength sessions per week (Fighter template)
2 x High Intensity Conditioining sessions per week

My Muay Thai will continue to provide aerobic & skills training.

Instead of retesting my strength lifts after every 6-12 weeks, I'll use the forced progression method and just add 10lbs every 4th.

Day 1 starts tomorrow.

G
 
HIC:

10 x burpees
Heavy bag x 2 mins
Rest x 60 secs
x 3

Plank & Shank x 3 mins (30secs each intervals)
 
Ok, test day done :icon_twis

Made a few changes, I'll be dropping the weighted pull-ups and sticking with the big three. The fighter template is also one of the highest volume templates with a 5 x 5 pattern, probably because it is only twice a week...whereas the other templates are all three days/week.

Maximums
Squats....260
Bench......205
Deadlifts....270

Muay tonight...and tomorrow I'll do my first TB workout.

G
 
Yesterday:

SQ 4 x 5 255
BP 5 x 5 170

10 x 10 2H KB swings
 
Muay Thai:

10 mins skipping
10 mins combo/technique drills
Round robin sparring (light/technique focus)
 
Muay Thai.

10 mins x skipping
5 mins x shadow boxing
30 mins x bag drills - kick/knee focus
10 mins cool down + stretching
 
Had a muay thai session last night, rolled out of bed very sore. I contemplated skipping the weights today but decided to soldier on. Can't deviate so soon in the program :)

Today was my first TB strength session, called for 5 x 5/75%.......

I skipped and did a little shadow boxing, very low intensity, for about ten minutes to warm up. Helped with some of the soreness. Moved on to the weights.

Squats.......195
Bench........150
Deadlifts........200

The session took me about an hour, the program's pretty strict when it comes to rest intervals. There's a prescribed minimum rest interval of two minutes..even if you feel good to go you're supposed to wait the full two minutes. This is the light week, so the lifts went up fairly easily. I can definitely handle two of these sessions a week...although I'll reserve judgement until I get a little further into the program and experience the medium and heavy weeks.
I'll probably retest my max's at 6 or 12 weeks.

G
 
Last night:
Muay Thai

Skipping/shadow boxing
Circuit training
Partner Drills/light combos-sparring
Cool down
 
HIC:

Meat Eater
10 burpees
10 KB swings (2H 32kg)
X 10

Rested roughly a minute between rounds up to rd#5, then about 2 mins from there.
 
Muay tonight...no extensive muscle soreness from yesterday's TB session as promised.

G
 
Did some conditioning today:

'Meat-Eater' from TB2, involves KBs and 100m sprint, simply awesome. Keeping this one in the rotation as it matches the energy systems/patterns of a fight, like Devil's Trinity.
 
Had some stuff come up thats disrupted my training, hopefully be back on a normal schedule soon.

Last night- Muay Thai:

10 mins skipping/warm up
Knees/kick technique + partner drills
Circuit training
10 mins cool down/stretch
 
So today I had the option of doing an extra conditioning session, HIIT or kettlebells, or I could've taken a rest day.

Gotta say I already feel like I have a LOT more time and energy with only two weight training sessions a week. I feel like I'm on the right track with switching from 3 to 2 strength sessions/week. It feels mentally freeing.

The true test will come when I retest at the end of my 'fighter template' however. We'll see where my one rep maximums are at.

I'm starting to get why a lot of fighters train max strength only twice a week, a concept I first came across in Ross Enamait's Infinite Intensity book. It struck me today, that after I finish up this phase, I might keep the Tactical Barbell fighter template going, and do Ross's 50 day template. But instead of Ross' two weekly strength sessions, I'll sub in the two TB strength sessions.

I loved Ross's 50 day program - but I like having a more detailed, periodized strength portion. His two strength sessions didn't have as much of a regimented progression model the way I like. This could be a simple solution for me. Getting excited thinking about it - because I loved the rest of his program. And it got me in mad anaerobic shape.

Anyway, today I decided to go ahead and do some extra conditioning. Had an easier MT class last night, lots of focus on technique and padded partner drills, so not too beat up today.

This is what I did today at the track:

400m run
10 burpees
10 kettlebell swings (light/two handed)
Rest one minute
Repeat x 3

Great workout. Kinda painful though.That's it for today.
Tomorrow, Tactical Barbell session #2.

G
 
Strength Med-Week (80%)

SQ 290
BP 195

KB Swings 10 x 10

The swings are doing a great job of keeping my posterior chain primed. Bench and squat covering everything else. The simplest approaches always seem to work the best for me. Getting way further now compared to when I used to do complicated programs with about ten different accessory lifts.
 
Second and last weight training session of the week......:

Tactical Barbell/ #2/ 5 x 5 - 75%

Squat.....195
Bench.....150
Deadlifts..200

Good session. Felt solid on all my lifts, even with all the muay thai and extra conditioning. A first for me. On my old SS program, my strength started taking a hit toward the end of the week, as fatigue from muay and conditioning started accumulating.

G
 
Yesterday: Muay Thai

Skipping/stretching
Pads
Knees/elbows/clinch work all class
 
This day was muay in the evening. Usually if I train weights the day before, I feel a little heavy in the limbs. Not tonight. Felt fresh, and on the attack, like when I first started MT a few years ago. I don't think I'll be going back to weight training 3 x a week.

We did some calisthenics at the end of the class, which included burpees.
Normally when I do burpees, they're pretty lackluster. I feel like a sack of potatoes picking itself off the ground. This night, they had some real jump in them, even after MT training.



May 31/ Week 1 / Day 7/Rest
....today is rest day.....I will stick to it. Tomorrow evening - Muay Thai.


G
 
Day 4 Extra Conditioning Day

"Apex Hills" from TB2

Hill Sprint + 10 KB Swings at top
Walk Down
Repeat x 10

Beast of a workout and a staple in my conditioning toolbox. I'm using 24kg, my goal is to work up to the 106.
 
Muay Thai tonight...so far so good. Everything on track.

G
 
Yesterday:

Strength

SQ 290 4 x 5
BP 195 4 x 5
2H KB swings 10 x 10
 
Hey man...nice log...I'll be following. I've been thinking about switching to two/week...
 
.

I'm starting to get why a lot of fighters train max strength only twice a week, a concept I first came across in Ross Enamait's Infinite Intensity book. It struck me today, that after I finish up this phase, I might keep the Tactical Barbell fighter template going, and do Ross's 50 day template. But instead of Ross' two weekly strength sessions, I'll sub in the two TB strength sessions.

I loved Ross's 50 day program - but I like having a more detailed, periodized strength portion. His two strength sessions didn't have as much of a regimented progression model the way I like. This could be a simple solution for me. Getting excited thinking about it - because I loved the rest of his program. And it got me in mad anaerobic shape.

G

this is catching my attention....wouldn't it be overkill/overtraining to include the barbell work with ross's 50 day II......? Tempting...
 
Strength:

SQ 325 3 x 3
BP 220 4 x 3

KB finisher 10 x 10 (32kg)
 
Nope. II is probably my favorite conditioning book bar none. My one little nagging issue with it is the lack of progression for the strength workouts. While I don't think max strength is the be all and end all for MT, I DEFINITELY notice an increase in power, striking power and durability when I use a progressive overload program vs just hitting the dumbbells/barbells for '3 sets of 8' or whatever.

TB uses 'exercise clusters'. Minimalist, Standard and Heavy. You pair a cluster with a template so it gives you some customization. Minimalist clusters have 2 major exercises, standard roughly 3 and heavy is the big four. You could use a minimalist or standard cluster if you feel it's too little or too much.

On page 243 of II Ross gives a sample 6 day split program with two strength sessions a week. I'd get rid of Ross's 2 strength sessions and substitute the fighter template that I'm doing now (it's only twice a week but with proper progression and overload/deload), and boom - you have a periodization based strength program within the II 50 day plan.

If you want to go easier on the strength workload, go with a minimalist cluster, but I personally think a standard cluster would be fine. I'm using a standard cluster right now and the workouts are brief enough. Heavy cluster would probably be too much.
After I retest here, I'm definitely going to give it a whirl.

G
 
Muay Thai:

10 mins skipping
5 mins stretching
Pads- focus on kicks/knees/clinch
Heavy bag drills (kicks/lower body)
10 mins cool down/stretching
 
roger dat...many thanks. I may give the II/TB combo a try....
 
Hey man....picked up tactical barbell last night...the guy knows his shit. I'm getting that feeling I got when I learned about SS. The cluster/template thing is pretty smart. I'll be honest....I'm tempted to do one of the 3 day templates, either Gladiator or Grey Man.
But I shall stay the course. I'm going to start a Fighter template/Infinite Intensity combo.
Thanks for putting me onto this.
 
Muay Thai:

Skipping/stretching
Then right into one minute round robin sparring -light & technique focused.

Really like this drill because it exposes me to opponents with different builds, styles, and levels of competence. I have to learn how to adjust.
 
Welcome to the logs, G. I like what you're got going on in here...I'll be interested to see how this is going after a few months..
 
Strength Day:

SQ 325/ 4 x 3
BP 220/ 5 x 3

Finisher
KB swings 10 x 10
 
Welcome to the logs, G. I like what you're got going on in here...I'll be interested to see how this is going after a few months..

Thanks. I took a look at yours, really like the BJJ coverage. Nice work!
 
Muay Thai:

Easy session, lots of stretching, kick technique and heavy bag drills
 
Had a little bit of real life interfere with my logging activities, so time to do a little catch up! But I'm still on track, haven't missed a training session yet...just a little behind on logging.

June 2 / Week 2 / Day 2 / Tactical Barbell

Squats......210
Bench........165
Deadlifts.....215

5 x 5 / 80%

Great session. Felt strong on all my lifts. Completed the assigned reps with no issues. I think cutting back and being more surgical with my weight training has had a positive effect on my hormones and recovery. I'm starting to remember what it felt like to have energy and actually want to train, instead of seeing it as a chore. Good feeling man. Can't wait to retest...this two day a week training might just be my holy grail.

Muay Thai next....G
 
Strength:

SQ 4 x 5 255
BP 5 x 5 170

10 x 10 2H KB swings
 
June 3/ Week 2 / Day 3 / Muay Thai

Okay, tonight was a harsh session. Started out with calisthenics, burpees, long combination shadow boxing, push-ups, and what not. Which usually means we are being pre-fatigued for some sparring/drills. Yup. I was right.

First did 2 minute light sparring round robin rotation with everyone in the class. It's a small class with about 8-10 students on any given night. Then 5 minute sessions with three or four different opponents (separately). Then did some shin/kick conditioning on the heavy bag. Fast, intense pace kept up for most of the class. The instructor was just in one of those moods.

I felt pretty damn good for a change. Usually I gas pretty hard after I'm about 3/4 of the way into the class. Last night I was the guy still standing, wanting more, and in a good mood. The guy I usually hate during any other session. Don't get me wrong, I was still blasted, but still functional for a change.

G
 
June 4 / Week 2 / Day 4 / Rest

So today, still feeling beaten up from last night's session, I decided to exercise my right to an extra rest day. I'm on the couch, cradling my bruised ribs and shins, and bbq'ing a couple steaks! Medium rare.

G
 
Muay Thai:

10 mins x jump rope
20 mins x round robin sparring
10 mins heavy bag drills
15 mins light circuit trg
10 mins cool down/stretching
 
Week 2 / Day 5 / TB

Squats......210
Bench........165
Deadlifts.....215

5 x 5 / 80%

Worked out in the morning for a change. Most excellent workout. Weights went up easy, felt tight and under control. I made the right call on the rest day yesterday. This was the last weights session for the week, next week is heavy TB. Usually when I hit this range, I feel the deadlifts. Not this time. Felt very much under control. I'm tempted to retest at the three week mark at the end of next week, but I'll have patience, and wait out the six. The book allows for anywhere from 3-12 or even longer before retests, but suggests longer periods as being optimal (9-12 weeks). Still feeling fresh, no end of the week zombie mode happening yet.

G
 
Strength:

SQ 3 x 5 255
BP 4 x 5 170

10 x 10 2H KB swings
 
Muay Thai last night. Mercy was shown on all, and the class was technique/partner drills all night at an easy pace.

Rest day today.

G
 

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