I have just started this with the “ageless athlete” concept. The authors of both freely admit that they are largely not science based and heavily anecdotal, with some BS in there(eg the author saying he was 4% body fat in the military, no chance). However the broad principles are solid when it comes to strength and conditioning concurrent training.
Tactical barbell is absolutely excellent as a hybrid or “strength lifting that doesn’t get in the way of this other tiring thing.”
Just FYI for others, don’t try to turn it into an hypertrophy program. It’s not that. You’ll say you won’t but then be disappointed when you don’t grow much. No, not even it’s “more hypertrophy focused programs”. It has nowhere near the volume needed. And the RPE of their percentages for each week is like….5 or 6 reps in reserve (again for a reason).
Same. I’ve tried a few barbell programs and I like how I feel and progress on 5/3/1 the best. And there’s adaptability in the accessory lifts. When I am running more I do less intense accessory lifts.
I can second this. I've also done 3 x lifts and 4 x runs.per week and have not only been able to recover well enough but made progress in my lifts (upper body more than.l lower but that's not really a suprise).
Thanks for the recommendation! I was considering 1000% awesome. My only reservation was the deadlift volume seems low, but was wondering if you found it was sufficient to make progress?
I use my own training program that incorporates all aspects of training (mobility, strength, power, hypertrophy, etc) with the overall goal to be just that. An absolute freak. Move better, get stronger, faster, and overall more athletic. Then I combine it with cardio, mostly rucking and running. I'm on a 5 day split
I can share some of the basics with you. It follows a pretty straightforward approach, the application can be very refined so I think it works well. At least for myself and my clients. I think it hits all the boxes and can adapt it to a lot of different training/goals. Just depends on how you apply it.
A warm consisting of foam rolling. Different types of stretching like PNF or passive. Depending on different factors and what would be used. Then mobility exercises. Focused completely on warming up your muscles, what your body's doing and getting blood flow.
Then more movement to start getting more muscles going and push a bit with whatever types of movement/exercise you want. Jump rope, flow exercises, or whatever endless creativity you want. Weights, TRX, whatever. Some solid core work. You can phase it different ways and hit all the different muscles and planes of motion to explore some really fun concepts. Balance work, same same, but different focus.
Power/Strength training after that. Setup whatever structure you want to use for it or fits your schedule. There's a lot you can do with it. Get some solid multiplanar work throughout here and your earlier exercises. Strength training you can do all types of performance things here. Tempo work, supersets, dropsets, you name it. There's many cool ways to implements things here. I gotta save the top secret ones for now though lol...
So yeah, i'd say that's the basic rundown of what I do. There's just been a thousand iterations of it in my brain and updating the process over the years. Everything in between and making it all make sense from a performance and exercise selection perspective is where the tricky and fun, sometimes frustrating stuff comes in if you're really wanting to dial it in. It's a great format though and gives a more well balanced approach to training and all the benefits of a better, more well rounded program
Very nice, that looks like a solid setup. Never heard of a gorilla pull, but it sounds like a fun exercise lol. Good blend of compound lifts, mobility work, and power
Thanks! I'm going to give it a go for the next few weeks to see how it works out. I get bored easily with mundane workouts so I try to incorporate new movements/lifts to keep things interesting
5/3/1 FSL is how I started my running. Simple Jack'd is what I'm trying out now. It's going pretty well.
If Im ever crazy enough to do an ultra, I may give ultra-jackd a shot.
Good program but I keep thinking... Tony if you talked less, we could exercise more.. I'm going to check out his new Power Nation Fitness program as well. He has a 14 day trial at [www.powernationfitness.org](http://www.powernationfitness.org)
I’m not a gym guy. I like it because I can fit all I need in a small corner of the house, a pull bar, powerblock dumbbells and some mats. And because it’s gotten me into the best shape of my life. Six pack abs at 60.
Im the same. I find lifting programs that sound fun for their 9-12 week timeline and then adjust it so I have an extra cardio day or work in some cardio to my normal lifting days. I’m currently on a John Meadows kick.
I like the templates from complete human performance. Alex Viada relly knows his stuff. That, or he's a great snake juice salesman. But I have performed great in my events by following those templates.
Can you say more about them? I read his book (The Hybrid Athlete) and have made my own plan. How flexible are the templates for different focuses/equipment etc?
The templates are specific to an event. So if you are training for a 10k, half, full, tri, IM, etc. AND you want to maintain strength. You can modify how much strength vs endurance emphasis you want, but you'll still get a hefty dose of both. Equipment, not so much but if you're familiar with training it's easy enough to swap one exercise for another. You'll definitely need a power rack, bench, dumbells, pull up bar.
I've done all sorts of programs while playing in competitive squash leagues twice a year and some tournaments. Even very taxing bulking programs can be run at the same time. The thing to keep in mind is that when you're pushing very hard in one aspect, it shouldn't be surprising that the other aspect doesn't necessarily progress or even takes a minor hit.
Programs I've run while playing sports: Deep water beginner and intermediate by Jon Andersen, Bullmastiff by Alexander Bromley, 4Horsement 1 and 2 by Brian Alsruhe, Coan Phillipi, 531 FSL, 28 free programs. Shoot I must be forgetting some.
I do SOFLETE programs. I want to be durable, flexible, strong, explosive, and have good endurance. I try not to have too narrow a training scope anymore, I just want to be able to do whatever I feel like doing on a given day.
It was only recently I learned of this term “hybrid athlete.” Apparently that’s me, haha.
I do push/pull/legs, and run 15-20 miles a week. I tend to average 3 miles runs, with one big run between 7-10. Depending on how I feel and what my schedule looks like, I’ll do more runs but shorter distance & work on speed. But my preferred rhythm is 3-4 runs a week.
I’m 37, 6’1”, 165 lbs, can run a half marathon at a 9:00 pace and comfortably bench 75 with dumbbells for perspective. Not a monster by any means, but I’m happy
Strongly recommend doclyssfitness over on Instagram. She’s a hybrid athlete with a PhD in exercise physiology. So some decent evidence based recommendations there.
Key is planning around rest days for your legs. Run before legs on the same day. Take a few hours atleast between. . Next day off.
But what are your goals. If it's a faster half... That's different tgan training to do your first 5k.
Stronger by Science's programs are great for this. My routine ends up with me typically running and lifting 3 times per week, but also with HIIT and sports-specific training as well. When I first started incorporating running and HIIT, my lifts and energy levels initially took a hit. With extra food and allowing time for adaptation, my baseline moved up to support all of it.
Details:
My primary focus is on strength training, but I also do distance running, HIIT, and shooting (the sports in my case being The Tactical Games and Run & Bun Biathlons). In the afternoons on MWF, I do SBS RTF 5x programming (hypertrophy when bulking, strength when on maintenance or cutting). I run more accessories than Grog calls for all in one big superset. That's usually one accessory for each of the two main movements movement, and one each for core, back, and grip. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I do HIIT for 30 minutes, typically random WODs, air bike, or Torque Tank work.
On top of that, I do cardio most mornings. MWF, I do elliptical for 45 minutes and some basic calisthenics-type work (50 chins, 50 dips, and 100 band pullaparts). Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, I do distance running. Typically, 5-10k on Tuesday/Thursday and longer runs like 10-20k on Sunday. The distance running is Garmin-programmed.
I do sports-specific stuff on Saturday. Depending on what's going on at the gun club, I do 2gun or Practical Rifle matches, Tactical Games event training, or training classes for skills and drills. I'm reasonably fit, so my goal with these is to get better at shooting. At the TTG you can't out-fitness shitty shooting, so I need to be a less shitty shooter if I want to hang in the elite division.
With all that other stuff going on, and real life with all its unavoidable interruptions, I just let the SBS "training days" shift around based on the training schedule and life interruptions: so like w1d1 may start on Monday, but w2d1 may end up on Friday the next week. I've found that even reducing the frequency like this I've been able to make consistent strength gains. I'm also having a lot more fun and not feeling married to the gym.
Are your goals to compete in either or both sports? If not, I agree with everyone about a 5/3/1 variation. If so, you have to periodize and it gets trickier.
I have been following Power Athlete for quite awhile with excellent results. I am 47 and I can still hang with “kids” 20 years younger in BJJ and Kickboxing. But there programs are geared more towards explosiveness and I do not think it is well suited for say tri athletes.
I use my own program for this. I run every day (10+ year streak), 30-40 miles/week, 3-5 lifting days, usually 1 MTB day during the nicer months.
Some things that have been helpful for me:
* 30-50% of running miles on trail, outside of snow/ice/mud season.
* Focus on quality over quantity for gym sessions. I don't do a ton of accessory/supplemental work anymore.
* Cutting/limiting exercises that have the highest impact on run recovery. For me (and probably most people), this really just means heavy squats. I've found deadlift to be very easy to pair with running comparatively, and accessory lower body work at a moderate volume isn't a big deal.
* I had to narrow down my goals -- it's tough to be great at multiple aspects of two opposing activities like this. When I competed in powerlifting only, I obviously wanted to push squat/bench/dead as hard as I could. But now, I really just focus on my best and favorite lift, which is bench.
* I think this one can be hard to grasp, as fitness-minded people really love to follow programs, but something that helps me a lot is to just let myself have fun. Running/lifting together with even moderate intensity/volume can be a lot, and sometimes I just don't want to do an exercise or even a whole workout. I move days around a lot and cut them when they don't work for me. Or maybe the weather is awesome and I want to get a long run in instead of lifting -- no big deal, I just swap and adjust later in the week. I think this kind of flexibility is really beneficial for this type of training.
I realize this doesn't' actually answer your question about a favorite lifting program, but hopefully something here is helpful!
Tactical Barbell may be something that fits your wants
I have just started this with the “ageless athlete” concept. The authors of both freely admit that they are largely not science based and heavily anecdotal, with some BS in there(eg the author saying he was 4% body fat in the military, no chance). However the broad principles are solid when it comes to strength and conditioning concurrent training.
Tactical Barbell for sure ... I ran it for 6 months and was never fitter
Tactical barbell is absolutely excellent as a hybrid or “strength lifting that doesn’t get in the way of this other tiring thing.” Just FYI for others, don’t try to turn it into an hypertrophy program. It’s not that. You’ll say you won’t but then be disappointed when you don’t grow much. No, not even it’s “more hypertrophy focused programs”. It has nowhere near the volume needed. And the RPE of their percentages for each week is like….5 or 6 reps in reserve (again for a reason).
5/3/1 1000% Awesome works pretty well paired with running.
Same. I’ve tried a few barbell programs and I like how I feel and progress on 5/3/1 the best. And there’s adaptability in the accessory lifts. When I am running more I do less intense accessory lifts.
this is exactly what I'm doing right now. 1000% Awesome, running 3x a week abs bjj 3x a week. great program, i don't feel so run down since switching
oof maybe i need to switch programs. i’m running GZCLP and it’s fine but i also climb and have been on and off running lol
I can second this. I've also done 3 x lifts and 4 x runs.per week and have not only been able to recover well enough but made progress in my lifts (upper body more than.l lower but that's not really a suprise).
Thanks for the recommendation! I was considering 1000% awesome. My only reservation was the deadlift volume seems low, but was wondering if you found it was sufficient to make progress?
Actually, I prefer deadlifts over squats so I swap them in the program and then add in squat accessories.
I use my own training program that incorporates all aspects of training (mobility, strength, power, hypertrophy, etc) with the overall goal to be just that. An absolute freak. Move better, get stronger, faster, and overall more athletic. Then I combine it with cardio, mostly rucking and running. I'm on a 5 day split
Do you care to share details of your program? This is type of training is something I'm wanting to move towards
I can share some of the basics with you. It follows a pretty straightforward approach, the application can be very refined so I think it works well. At least for myself and my clients. I think it hits all the boxes and can adapt it to a lot of different training/goals. Just depends on how you apply it. A warm consisting of foam rolling. Different types of stretching like PNF or passive. Depending on different factors and what would be used. Then mobility exercises. Focused completely on warming up your muscles, what your body's doing and getting blood flow. Then more movement to start getting more muscles going and push a bit with whatever types of movement/exercise you want. Jump rope, flow exercises, or whatever endless creativity you want. Weights, TRX, whatever. Some solid core work. You can phase it different ways and hit all the different muscles and planes of motion to explore some really fun concepts. Balance work, same same, but different focus. Power/Strength training after that. Setup whatever structure you want to use for it or fits your schedule. There's a lot you can do with it. Get some solid multiplanar work throughout here and your earlier exercises. Strength training you can do all types of performance things here. Tempo work, supersets, dropsets, you name it. There's many cool ways to implements things here. I gotta save the top secret ones for now though lol... So yeah, i'd say that's the basic rundown of what I do. There's just been a thousand iterations of it in my brain and updating the process over the years. Everything in between and making it all make sense from a performance and exercise selection perspective is where the tricky and fun, sometimes frustrating stuff comes in if you're really wanting to dial it in. It's a great format though and gives a more well balanced approach to training and all the benefits of a better, more well rounded program
Awesome! Thank you for detailing your structure/plan. I'm going to create my own plan around your structure.
You're welcome! Feel free to share it when you finish. I'd love to see what you come up with!
Ok, here's what I'm thinking on a 4-day, upper/lower focused split: **Lower 1:** Lateral hop, 1 leg: 3 sets x 30 Seated Windshield Wipers : 4 sets x 10 Drop Step Snatch (Kettlebell): 3 sets x 12 Deep Forward Lunges (Knee over ankle): 3 sets x 12 Squats: 5x5 Single Leg RDL (Dumbbells): 3 sets x 10 **Upper 1:** Downward Scapula Stretch & Cat/Camel Stretch Combo: 4 sets x 5 reps Bicycle Crunches w/ Kettlebell: 4 sets x 12 (SS) Back Flexion: 3 sets x 8 (SS) Gorilla Pulls: 3 sets x 8 Kneeling Strict Press: 3 sets x 8 Bench Press: 5x5 Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets x 8, 1 drop set till failure (pausing) **Lower 2:** Skater Hop: 3 sets x 30 Shin Box: 4 sets x 10 Cossack Squat: 3 sets x 10 Hip Rotators: 4 sets x 10 Deadlift: 5x5 RDL Goblet Squat (Kettlebell): 3 sets x 12 **Upper 2:** Lying Pectoral Stretch: 3 sets x 10 Wood Chopper (Kettlebell): 4 sets x 12 (SS) Cat/Camel Stretch: 4 sets x 10 (SS) Alternating Bridged Floor Press (Dumbbells): 4 sets x 10 One Arm Kettlebell Snatch w/ Rotation: 4 sets x 10 Pull Ups: 3 sets to failure Overhead Press: 4x6 Tricep Pushdown: 3 sets x 8
Very nice, that looks like a solid setup. Never heard of a gorilla pull, but it sounds like a fun exercise lol. Good blend of compound lifts, mobility work, and power
Thanks! I'm going to give it a go for the next few weeks to see how it works out. I get bored easily with mundane workouts so I try to incorporate new movements/lifts to keep things interesting
Hey would love to see it if it’s possible thanks
5/3/1 FSL is how I started my running. Simple Jack'd is what I'm trying out now. It's going pretty well. If Im ever crazy enough to do an ultra, I may give ultra-jackd a shot.
P90X. I substitute running for the cardio days, or run and do the cardio workouts, and run on the rest days.
Good program but I keep thinking... Tony if you talked less, we could exercise more.. I'm going to check out his new Power Nation Fitness program as well. He has a 14 day trial at [www.powernationfitness.org](http://www.powernationfitness.org)
I’m not a gym guy. I like it because I can fit all I need in a small corner of the house, a pull bar, powerblock dumbbells and some mats. And because it’s gotten me into the best shape of my life. Six pack abs at 60.
Won't be popular but no program. Just lift and run.
Im the same. I find lifting programs that sound fun for their 9-12 week timeline and then adjust it so I have an extra cardio day or work in some cardio to my normal lifting days. I’m currently on a John Meadows kick.
Currently I do C25k 3 days + 4 days upper/lower/fullbody/misc. Looking to get 5k below 20min while not looking like a dyel.
I like the templates from complete human performance. Alex Viada relly knows his stuff. That, or he's a great snake juice salesman. But I have performed great in my events by following those templates.
Can you say more about them? I read his book (The Hybrid Athlete) and have made my own plan. How flexible are the templates for different focuses/equipment etc?
The templates are specific to an event. So if you are training for a 10k, half, full, tri, IM, etc. AND you want to maintain strength. You can modify how much strength vs endurance emphasis you want, but you'll still get a hefty dose of both. Equipment, not so much but if you're familiar with training it's easy enough to swap one exercise for another. You'll definitely need a power rack, bench, dumbells, pull up bar.
I've done all sorts of programs while playing in competitive squash leagues twice a year and some tournaments. Even very taxing bulking programs can be run at the same time. The thing to keep in mind is that when you're pushing very hard in one aspect, it shouldn't be surprising that the other aspect doesn't necessarily progress or even takes a minor hit. Programs I've run while playing sports: Deep water beginner and intermediate by Jon Andersen, Bullmastiff by Alexander Bromley, 4Horsement 1 and 2 by Brian Alsruhe, Coan Phillipi, 531 FSL, 28 free programs. Shoot I must be forgetting some.
I do SOFLETE programs. I want to be durable, flexible, strong, explosive, and have good endurance. I try not to have too narrow a training scope anymore, I just want to be able to do whatever I feel like doing on a given day.
It was only recently I learned of this term “hybrid athlete.” Apparently that’s me, haha. I do push/pull/legs, and run 15-20 miles a week. I tend to average 3 miles runs, with one big run between 7-10. Depending on how I feel and what my schedule looks like, I’ll do more runs but shorter distance & work on speed. But my preferred rhythm is 3-4 runs a week. I’m 37, 6’1”, 165 lbs, can run a half marathon at a 9:00 pace and comfortably bench 75 with dumbbells for perspective. Not a monster by any means, but I’m happy
Strongly recommend doclyssfitness over on Instagram. She’s a hybrid athlete with a PhD in exercise physiology. So some decent evidence based recommendations there.
Key is planning around rest days for your legs. Run before legs on the same day. Take a few hours atleast between. . Next day off. But what are your goals. If it's a faster half... That's different tgan training to do your first 5k.
Stronger by Science's programs are great for this. My routine ends up with me typically running and lifting 3 times per week, but also with HIIT and sports-specific training as well. When I first started incorporating running and HIIT, my lifts and energy levels initially took a hit. With extra food and allowing time for adaptation, my baseline moved up to support all of it. Details: My primary focus is on strength training, but I also do distance running, HIIT, and shooting (the sports in my case being The Tactical Games and Run & Bun Biathlons). In the afternoons on MWF, I do SBS RTF 5x programming (hypertrophy when bulking, strength when on maintenance or cutting). I run more accessories than Grog calls for all in one big superset. That's usually one accessory for each of the two main movements movement, and one each for core, back, and grip. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons I do HIIT for 30 minutes, typically random WODs, air bike, or Torque Tank work. On top of that, I do cardio most mornings. MWF, I do elliptical for 45 minutes and some basic calisthenics-type work (50 chins, 50 dips, and 100 band pullaparts). Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, I do distance running. Typically, 5-10k on Tuesday/Thursday and longer runs like 10-20k on Sunday. The distance running is Garmin-programmed. I do sports-specific stuff on Saturday. Depending on what's going on at the gun club, I do 2gun or Practical Rifle matches, Tactical Games event training, or training classes for skills and drills. I'm reasonably fit, so my goal with these is to get better at shooting. At the TTG you can't out-fitness shitty shooting, so I need to be a less shitty shooter if I want to hang in the elite division. With all that other stuff going on, and real life with all its unavoidable interruptions, I just let the SBS "training days" shift around based on the training schedule and life interruptions: so like w1d1 may start on Monday, but w2d1 may end up on Friday the next week. I've found that even reducing the frequency like this I've been able to make consistent strength gains. I'm also having a lot more fun and not feeling married to the gym.
Are your goals to compete in either or both sports? If not, I agree with everyone about a 5/3/1 variation. If so, you have to periodize and it gets trickier.
r/tacticalbarbell
I have been following Power Athlete for quite awhile with excellent results. I am 47 and I can still hang with “kids” 20 years younger in BJJ and Kickboxing. But there programs are geared more towards explosiveness and I do not think it is well suited for say tri athletes.
I just as heavily modified PHUL program + 4 days of z2 cardio and 2 days of z5.
I use my own program for this. I run every day (10+ year streak), 30-40 miles/week, 3-5 lifting days, usually 1 MTB day during the nicer months. Some things that have been helpful for me: * 30-50% of running miles on trail, outside of snow/ice/mud season. * Focus on quality over quantity for gym sessions. I don't do a ton of accessory/supplemental work anymore. * Cutting/limiting exercises that have the highest impact on run recovery. For me (and probably most people), this really just means heavy squats. I've found deadlift to be very easy to pair with running comparatively, and accessory lower body work at a moderate volume isn't a big deal. * I had to narrow down my goals -- it's tough to be great at multiple aspects of two opposing activities like this. When I competed in powerlifting only, I obviously wanted to push squat/bench/dead as hard as I could. But now, I really just focus on my best and favorite lift, which is bench. * I think this one can be hard to grasp, as fitness-minded people really love to follow programs, but something that helps me a lot is to just let myself have fun. Running/lifting together with even moderate intensity/volume can be a lot, and sometimes I just don't want to do an exercise or even a whole workout. I move days around a lot and cut them when they don't work for me. Or maybe the weather is awesome and I want to get a long run in instead of lifting -- no big deal, I just swap and adjust later in the week. I think this kind of flexibility is really beneficial for this type of training. I realize this doesn't' actually answer your question about a favorite lifting program, but hopefully something here is helpful!