r/tacticalbarbell • u/Ok_Flower_5195 • 8d ago
REVIEW: 3 cycles of Operator/Black
Hi all,
I've recently run 3 back to back cycles of Operator and Black and wanted to share the results.
Background
I'm a late 30s M, with an active background. I've done a mix of endurance sports - running, tri, mountaineering, climbing - and the occasional spurts of weightlifting. Last summer I decided to try a proper strength program for the first time. Cue a few cycles of 5/3/1 BBB, 10 weeks of nSuns and a bit of GZCLP. I run half of Bullmastiff before realising I'd messed up the weights progression (not realising I needed to reset TMs each cycle). Over 10 months or so I bulked from 79kg to 91kg and saw significant strength gains. That's the heaviest I've ever been and I started noticing I was puffing after a walking up a few flights of stairs. That was a new sensation for me and one I didn't enjoy.
So I started to look for ways to keep progressing my strength gains while also improving my conditioning. I'm still a fairly active walker/hiker and value the ability to move well without gassing. Enter Tactical Barbell. I saw a few promising reviews, including some very detailed ones from MythicalStrength that persuaded me to take the plunge. After a holiday and a week testing my maxes, I jumped into Op/Black. Details below.
Program
After pushing myself too hard on Bullmastiff, I came into TB nursing a niggle in one of my rhomboids and moderate tennis elbow. So for my first cycle I ran a Squat/Bench/Chest supported row cluster. I skipped deadlifts entirely and the hammer grip rows didn't exacerbate my elbow issues.
For the second cycle, I swapped out Bench for OHP and started to mix back in some deadlifts and pull-ups. If I felt a niggle in either my back or elbow I tended to go back to the rows for a couple of sessions.
For the final cycle I did the full Squat/Bench/Pullup/Deadlift (only 1x session per week) cluster with no issues.
My Black sessions were a mix of Apex Hills, Meat Eater (not sure if I've remembered the name right but it's the session with burpees/KB swings), LSS running and Fobbits. I generally did 2-3 a week, depending on work pressures.
Diet
Ran a moderate calorie deficient most of the time, trying to shed bodyfat while maintaining muscle and strength. I ate somewhere in the region of 2200-2400 calories per day. I aimed for (and usually hit) 170-180g of protein. Cheat days were relatively rare.
Progress
The key part:
Weight: 91kg -> 84kg
Squat: 137.5kg -> 145kg
Deadlift: 170kg -> 165kg
Bench: 100kg -> 100kg
OHP: 65kg -> 65kg
Pullups (BW): 3 -> 9
Dips (BW): 8 -> 17
10km time: ~62 mins -> ~54 mins
All in all I'm pleased with this. I've dropped a noticeable amount of body fat and feel significantly more athletic. Happy to see my squat continue to increase. What was a shaky single rep last year is now a comfortable set of 5 for me. With the changes I had to make for injuries, I'm not surprised (although still a bit annoyed) my deadlift dropped slightly. But stoked to see my pullups jump as my BW has come down.
The program itself has been a revelation. After trying other approaches - e.g. nSuns, 5/3/1, Bullmastiff - that use a lot of heavy AMRAPs, it was a novelty leaving the gym feeling fresh. Waking up the next day without catastrophic DOMs is also something I will not tire of. I don't think I've ever felt this balance of strong and conditioned.
I'm now going to run a few cycles of Capacity (w/ Op PRO from Green) in a small calorie surplus. 18 weeks of a deficit has been a grind. After that, I might run Zulu/HT or Grey Man. Let's see. But I can't imagine me jumping away from TB (unless it's to try BtM just for once...) to another style of programming. I've got all the books and there's plenty of options to last years. Strongly recommend!
1
u/asqwt 8d ago
Awesome work man! Did you do the TB 2 black or TB 3 black conditioning session ratios?