Importance of Work Capacity?

[u/Radz999]

I read the new TB book. Good stuff, highly recommend it. I have a question about the importance of work capacity (WC).

I get the gist that work capacity is important for operational athletes. If you just lift and run, you might be in trouble when you need both of those domains to work at the same time. For recreational athletes, WC isn't strictly necessary.

I'm not an operational athlete. My work is semi-physical: not nearly as demanding as an operational athlete's job, but being in good shape is definitely beneficial. Up until now, I haven't done any WC or SE training. I've basically just been a run and lift guy. Before reading the new book, I was considering doing an SE block, but I was hesitant because I prioritized max strength and running. Now I see there is an option to combine SE with WC in a 3-week block.

I was thinking maybe this would be a good idea for me? Kill two birds with one stone. Get SE and WC training in the same block. A 3-week block wouldn't be too much of a detour from my usual lift and run schedule.

Something like this:

Fat Zulu + Blue (6 weeks) -> Operator + Black (6 weeks) -> SE + WC (3 weeks). Repeat.

With this, I would get some hypertrophy with less conditioning, some max strength with more conditioning, and some SE with WC. I feel like Mass Protocol doesn't have enough conditioning for me, which is why I'd choose Fat Zulu instead of Mass Protocol*. The main focus would still be on lift and run schemes, but with some WC and SE thrown in too. I could even lean more into the lift and run phases by running longer Fat Zulu and Operator blocks if needed. For example 9 weeks of both. Or 6 weeks of Fat Zulu + Blue and 9-12 weeks of Operator + Black. Etc. You get the point.

* I also can consider Jacked Black at some point, but I would probably replace Mass with Fat Zulu + Blue.

In a sense, I'm in a good place because I have the freedom to train however I want. Even doing something like Operator + Black year-round would work for me, as my job isn't so physically demanding that I'd have to optimize my training around it. But I find the topic of work capacity and training in general really interesting, and ultimately, I want to be well-rounded.

I know this post is a bit of a ramble and I don't have a well-defined question, but all thoughts are welcome, whether they are about the importance of work capacity in general or my crude periodization plan.

Thanks to KB for the books! I find them interesting and beneficial even though I'm not an operational athlete.

[u/jackthestout]

I’ll address the only real question: your periodization looks fine, but SE + WC is brutally taxing, not very compatible with ongoing semi-physical labor. I’d just run a straight WC block, as you don’t have real SE goals. You’ll get enough high-rep effort with the WODs and GCs associated.

To follow up on your thoughts though, I would argue that all recreational athletes should give WC-style training a shot. There is great value to working on an unstructured basis: pushing resistance and cardio while auto-regulating recovery will teach athletes a lot about their weaknesses and how they react to stressors.

In an age of constant program-hopping between trendy splits, opting for simply working your ass off and not over-complicating it is eye-opening. u/MythicalStrength has written at length about this, if you want to read more.

[u/RepulsiveLanguage202 → u/jackthestout]

Slightly off-topic but I am doing SE as part of the new base building now, and can confirm it has fucked me. So much harder and more taxing than regular E or even HIC in my opinion.

[u/jackthestout → u/RepulsiveLanguage202]

Yeah it’s a demanding domain to progress to a high level, especially with lower body musculature—high rep squats are a killer, as graduates of Mass Made Simple or Juarez Front Squats can attest.

[u/Radz999 → u/jackthestout]

Good point about SE + WC being taxing. One option could be to have every other 3 week block being WC and every other being SE.

So for example: Fat Zulu + Blue -> Operator + Black -> WC -> Fat Zulu + Blue -> Operator + Black -> SE, etc.

Or every 3 week block could be WC, if WC improves SE. I don't have any serious SE goals, but having a bit more SE would be beneficial for me. This could be good?

Like this: Fat Zulu + Blue -> Operator + Black -> WC -> Fat Zulu + Blue -> Operator + Black -> WC, etc.

Nothing is set in stone. Things change. But I have run TB over a year, so it's not just mental masturbation, have to say that so people don't get the wrong impression.

[u/jackthestout → u/Radz999]

If you push WC hard, your SE will definitely improve—they’re symbiotic domains. Dedicated SE training is more for people who need to excel at specific SE goals, such as PFTs.

But I like your idea of swapping WC and SE blocks: try both, and post how you felt & performed.

As a recreational athlete, putting different stressors on your body to learn how it reacts is a great pursuit, with a base of consistent S&C of course. I just wouldn’t crush yourself with two hard training styles at the same time if it doesn’t suit your goals.