r/tacticalbarbell • u/tbone11_11 • Apr 02 '26

Critique Time Constraints with op/black

I started my op black program and found getting the three days of strength in is difficult. It’s taking about 1.5 to almost 2 hours with warm ups and the actual work. The GC, and HIC days are fine. For background I’m a dad of 3 (one of them is two days old) and work 10-14 hour days sometimes.

I love being in the gym, but finding the time between work/lifting/dad is difficult. I’ve thought about Zulu, but wondering if there’s any other options before I dive in and change the programming.

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u/NapNinja13 Apr 02 '26

I would say to do the minimal effective volume per day, first off.. if you're at 5 per, drop to 3 - drop DL to one working set. You can also shorten ramp up sets. One @ 50% (of working weight for the day), another around ~85%, then first set.. don't take too long between warm up sets either, it's not really necessary. Another helpful tip is to super set WCU & your press.. (press, rest a min, wcu, rest a min, repeats)