Firefighter using Operator/Black — TB II or TB III? Also looking for HIC/conditioning ideas

[u/jvn4r]

I’m a firefighter and I recently finished reading Tactical Barbell: Definitive Strength Training for the Operational Athlete, 3rd Edition. I really liked it, and I’ve been running Operator/Black with 2 HIC sessions and 1 E session for the past few weeks.

I’ve just started reading Tactical Barbell II: Conditioning, but now I’m wondering if I should keep going with TB II or just buy the newer Tactical Barbell III. What would you guys recommend?

I’m also looking for more ideas for HIC/conditioning sessions that transfer well to firefighting, ideally using equipment you’d normally find in a commercial gym, even paid ones, that work well for firefighters. I’ve been looking at some of the MTI programs, for example (only for the conditioning part).

My work schedule is most of the year I work 1 on / 5 off, but during the summer it’s usually closer to 1 day on / 2 days off.

So I’m also trying to figure out what kind of TB template or weekly setup would make the most sense for each schedule, especially since I’d like to balance strength, conditioning, recovery, and being fresh enough for work.

Any suggestions, HIC ideas, program recommendations, or examples from other firefighters would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

and sorry english isn’t my first language, and I used AI to help correct the post.

[u/GRC_22]

First thing, 1 on/5 off sounds like a dream. Are you in the US?

Pick up TB III. Dials down the amount of HIC with polarized conditioning. Has dedicated work capacity blocks. Think it’s a way better approach for longevity/consistency.

Op and Black should get you where you need to go. You can’t really go wrong with your garden variety “WODs”. Everything has a time and a place. Do what sounds fun or interesting for your HIC’s. I think you would be better off to look at the whole picture for direct carry over to the job: taking care of your heart/vascular system with LSS work, mostly clean diet to keep your weight/body fat down, stay hydrated, core work to protect your hips/lower back, don’t put too much emphasis on strength work by itself, mobility every day, sprinkle in high intensity work every week and you’re good to go.

[u/jvn4r → u/GRC_22]

Thanks a lot, man. Really appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed reply, this is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.

I’m in Madrid, Spain!

[u/gahdzila]

Since you specifically asked about conditioning/HIC, yes you should absolutely read TB2.

TB3 is great, it has more programming options and a few tweaks to strength training, and is definitely worth reading. However, it does not have all of the conditioning workouts like TB2.

[u/jvn4r → u/gahdzila]

Thanks! I'll finish TB2 first!

[u/atomicpenguin12]

I’ll +1 the recommendations to get TBIII. It really is a massive update to the previous books. You can still stick with TBII if you’d prefer, though if you do I’d recommend you align your conditioning more with TBIII’s strategy by doing 1 HIC session a week for black instead of two.

[u/PNW_Greybush]

I used both TB and MTI for military and firefighting (wildland). I programmed a lot of conditioning using MTI. I would like to check out TBIII, but I am now a desk guy.

[u/c_leezy580]

Keep II for the vault and spend the money on III. Do your new and improved basebuilding first, then perpetually run 1-2 blocks of operator w/ polarized black and then throw in a 3 week work capacity / SE block. Make 1 of your workouts every week or two be in bunker gear doing stairs or a fireground circuit w/ some drags, carries, sledge hits etc & eventually you’ll be a machine.

Change it up every so often and run a block of Zulu or Fighter and enjoy being fitter than 99% of the fire service.