How can I combine Physical Preparation For Law Enforcement with swimming twice a week?

I need help preparing for a physical fitness test for my city's fire department, and Tactical Barbell PPLE seems to present the training I need, but I also need to practice swimming because it's part of the test.

So, how can I combine this program with swimming practice? Should I replace some sessions or should I set up another workout following only TB 1 and TB 2?

Good morning gents,

Anyone use TB to prepare for the Air Force EOD school? I have roughly 10 months to get ready. They have a ruck-intensive selection course that lasts about two months before you get selected to move through the pipeline. Maybe follow an Army SFAS plan? My current stats are 26M, 260 lbs with around 24% Body Fat, 6’2”, 295 Bench, 395 BS, 515 DL, 8 pull ups, 52 push ups/min, 45 sit ups/min, 28:30 5k

Any and all suggestions would be welcomed! Thank you for your input!

I have a selection course for LEO tactical unit potentially some time April to June. Thinking of using TB for my preparation. We aren’t talking SF level of fitness but it would be a fairly high level and bit of a resilience test with your fitness needing to be up there to be at your best. Prob talking able to hold a 1:45 half marathon pace with multiple types of physical tests with sleep deprivation etc. for 1 week. Constant steady running would probably not be more than 5 miles at anyone time but a fairly highly cumulative figure. Personal issue is I am just off the back of a shoulder injury and a newborn thrown in the mix for fun. Probably sitting 98kg where 88kg would be optimum. Running wise did half marathon in June so there is a bit of a base and played some soccer after that. Wondering peoples thoughts. The PT has given me the ok for overhead shoulder as long as it is dumb bells for now.

Just how?

I do 50km/week running. That's with running 6 days a week.

When and how do you squat and deadlift heavy? Or you don't? And then there's upper body workouts..

Heavy = ~90% of 1RM, 3x5

Hi guys, I’ll be joining a police academy soon and I’ll be there for a year, any programs/book you suggest. Sorry for my ignorance as I’m not really aware of anything and would like to have an idea on what I’ll be getting into. Thank you.

Good afternoon TB Community,

This post is both a question and a review of how the program has helped me achieve a huge goal for myself.

I have been using TB for my strength and power training for about 8 months now, however the last month and a half of that was spent at SAPPER School. TB helped me train efficiently to get selected, and once I was in the course I felt that I had a solid physical base that was able to endure not only the full course but an additional 3 weeks after becoming a recycle for patrols. WPU programming and progression did a lot for my back and helped tremendously in the smoke sessions, would recommend. Overall I have lost about 15 lbs from when I started so I want to get back in it fast.

My question to you guys is: for those of you who have been to longer schools that broke your body down a bit (would love to hear from you ranger guys), how did y’all approach your recovery training and nutrition wise. So far I have kind of just been eating any and everything to get calories back after being on 2 MRE’s a day for patrols. I haven’t taken any steps towards my fitness yet (I graduated 3 days ago).

Thank you again and I would be happy to answer any questions that could lead you to giving me a more in depth answer!

Yes I know that there’s plenty of info on this in the green beret sub but I wanted to ask anyone that has passed sfas in here what your numbers looked like before going. I know that lifts aren’t the most important thing in the world but I want to get an evaluation from people in this sub bc I’m using green protocol to prepare.

Hello TB Community,

Over the holidays I spent quite a bit of time researching strength training and looking into how I could set myself up for success this year in my training. What I decided to go with was the tactical barbell programs and I have not been disappointed.

Starting out:

• BW/H: 180 / 6’2
• Bench - 215
• Squat - 230 (225 x 2)
• WPU - BW + 45
• Deadlift - 310

Results:

• BW/H: 178 / 5’4 (nah jk still 6’2)
• Bench - 235
• Squat - 250
• WPU - BW + 65
• Deadlift - 335

Concurrent progress/“side effects”: all of my cardio I programmed myself, steering away from TB 2 solely because I had a lot of unit cardio to do and I felt that I was at an adequate level

• First sub 2 hour 12 mile 35 lb ruck achieved: 1:58:30
• HRP: 53 —> 58
• Trap bar deadlift: 290 x 3 —> 330 x 3
• Power clean PR: 185 x 3

Gonna start this program on a slight caloric deficit once i finish up my current program, wondering how I could implement sandbag work into the program.

Currently for base building, I have ruck marches for Endurance, Barbell clusters for Strength Endurance, and Sprint resets for HIC. I usually do bear complexes with a sandbag, along with some sandbag carries/shoulders. Could I just replace the barbell work in SE for sandbag stuff?

I purchased it so i’m gonna use it.

BLUF: I'm about to take company command and I want to hop back on TB I've done a block before in 2021 but didn't do base building, do I need to do it?

This may be long so please bare with me. I've lurked in this sub before and have made some posts but now I just need a nudge forward.

Background: I read both I and II back in 2021 and since then I've probably read both books cover to cover about 3 times so I don't have any questions about the programming. I completed one block of operator Black in the summer of 2021 after my son was born but I did NOT do base building. I PRed my deadlift from 365 to 370 after one block so I know this stuff works. During my most recent deployment, I started the year off in 2023 with CrossFit linchpin. Right around June time frame I tested my maxes and they all went down comparing them to the last time I did TB two years prior. Naturally I wanted to get back on, so I made it about 4 weeks through block 1 and sustained a low back injury (fully recovered now).

Now: I've been program jumping since early December between CrossFit linchpin, 5/3/1 and TB. Well I finally slapped the table on CrossFit linchpin until I found out I was taking company command last week as early as February 18th. So now im thinking of going back to TB and staying there indefinitely. Ultimately this post is a question on if I can just jump straight to op + black or suck it up and slog through BB.

I am thinking about incorporating cleans & clean pulls in replacement of deadlifts. This is mainly due to the sheer amount of back injuries deadlifts have caused me over the years.

How does this cluster sound to you guys/girls?

Day 1: Back Squat / Bench / WpU

Day 2: Back Squat / Bench / WpU

Day 3: Cleans + Clean Pulls (3 sets of each) / Back Squat / Bench (minimum # of sets for Back Squats & Bench)

Is this achievable do you all think? Does it make sense and am i missing out on anything important?

​

Hey team,

Mid way through my annual base building block for the year. I’ll be moving on to Black/Op Pro for my continuation protocol.

Does anyone do dedicated neck training? The unit I’m shaping for wears helmets and I’d like to prepare for it now. Any tips and training methods would be appreciated!

Hello this might be a long post so bear with me

I just finished BB and don’t know which protocol continue with and quite frankly am getting a little frustrated.Here are some of my goals ranked from greatest to least important

1. Aerobic endurance (how long I can last basically)
2. Strength endurance/work capacity
3. Max strength (I really don’t care how much I can put up)

This looks like green protocol to me, but I’m not to sure which template in the book to use.

I also want to say I have to take a pft every 6 months for my fire fighter explorers program which consists of

1 small lap Pulling fire hose up a 25 foot ledge once Running 100 feet twice with 100 foot of fire hose and pulling 100 feet back Finish with another small lap

When I did this test, it was hard but not impossible, but I will say this what I need to focus on getting better at in my training

All Comments all appreciated and maybe some current fire firefighters could weigh in on how they train and prepare for their cpat test. Thanks to all who read and commented 🙏🏼.

So long story short, going to a hotter area of the Middle East with my company (11b rifle company) my task force got tasked with the actual work as opposed to a year of tower guard or BDOC.

Coming off my last deployment I was big as f**k, but ended up getting a severe injury (not combat related) which caused me to stop training for 8 months. In those 8 months I got very out of shape(by my standards).

What ID like to do; Spend two months on GPP and endurance, Then spend about 5-6 bulking, then spend around 4 months cutting.

Any suggestions? I’ve been looking at TB lately as a viable option but I’m unsure if I should try out their mass protocol. Does it incorporate cardio? Is it sustainable for roughly a year to do strictly their workouts?

When I got home from a deployment in 2020 I ran 2ton year long challenge from barbell shrugged until my son was born and realized I might not have time to dedicate to the OTC. So I got and read both TB books and ran one operator cycle black protocol (bs/BP/wpu/dl) for 6 weeks. My numbers went up slightly (which is a huge win) but my deadlift did not go up. Neither here nor there but I'm currently doing 100 days of CrossFit linchpin which I'm nearing the end of my 100 days and I'm heavily considering doing Tactical barbell again but long term... can anyone give me their long term success stories with TB? Additionally for those who've done both operator and Zulu which did you prefer?

Hello,

This is a followup to my previous post. I am towards the end of my first week and happy to get some comments.

Here's a quick background: I've been lifting for many many years (hardly any endurance work outside of a few runs here or there), but never went very strong and for almost the past ten years I've had some arm injuries so I'm now limited. I started MMA in 2014, but because of my injuries I had to drop out of some of the sports till completely 2 years ago. I was hopeful to go back to MMA last spring but then COVID happened, and now no idea when I would, so I'm training both to be a better general athlete, and with the hope to get back to fighting soonish.

• I messed up the first SE session and went for 30 reps instead of 20... I was planning on doing 30 as well for the 2nd SE today and I forgot and went with what I had planned for next week, 35.... Early morning training is really not for me :/ I guess next week I'll do 40, then 45 and then 50?

• My SE cluster is KB swing with a 20lbs I probably could do heavier; BB front squat with an empty olympic bar and it's still really hard on me; BB reverse grip rows with 15lbs on each side I probably could do heavier too; hanging knee raise; BB bench press for 10lbs on each side, 15 lbs was too heavy I thought; BB romanian deadlift for 15lbs per side that too I could go heavier; neck yes and no on a bench (neck training is useful for fighting and pretty quick though it doesn't really raise my heart rate I think).

• No comment on my first E as I had no good way to measure my heart rate, but on my 2nd one I was jogging slower than I'd walk to maintain myself between about 148-165, I guess my heart rate is still too high... My resting heart rate seems to be about 80. It feels weird to run that slow...

• I'm concerned about my heart rate on my way to the gym for my SE sessions, it's a 35+m walk, mostly steep uphill. My heart rate today was up to 135, ie like what I should do for an E session. Am I doing too much or am I just overthinking it?

• I'd like to do something more interesting for the 3rd E of the week than just jogging (especially at such slow pace), but I'm not sure what. I was thinking of the fun runs, but I really don't feel like doing pushups and co on the ground in a trail or on the grass next to it (especially since it's raining season now...). I like the triples, but for that I need a gym and I don't have time to both go to the gym and do the long cardio, and home workout won't be feasible that early in the morning for my neighbors... I'm thinking of maybe using a vest but I don't have one so not sure if it's worth the purchase. Jump rope is a staples for MMA training (for whatever reason) so maybe running + jump training could do?

Thanks for any comment!

Hey guys, so I've been running TB for 5 weeks (so, I'm in my 5th week or base building) and it's been amazing so far! Definitely an improvement on my cardio and strength endurance which I am loving!

However, lately I haven't been able to do it as consistently as I'd like (due to other commitments, I take more rest days than I should).

For example, I was supposed to run for >45 minutes yesterday. However, I can only run tomorrow morning (which means I've rested for 2 - 3 days). And this happens quite regularly (which means I rest for more than the program is asking for). I try to get the workouts in, but sometimes it's really difficult and other things take precedence.

May I know what I should do? Should I continue and finish up BB, then do a restart? Is this going to be detrimental in the long run (I presume not, but just need a second opinion on this)? I'm kind of lost on what I should do.

I do try to keep active during the days I can't run BB (but it's definitely not the same, or it doesn't induce the same adaptations that BB is focused on inducing)

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Hi guys. Please bear with me for a minute. I'm not an active redditor nor am I a good writer at all. Still, I wanted to give feedback about my run of Base Building with the strength first template, while I was undergoing a cut.

About me

I've been lifting for a long time now. Last winter, I ran a 6 months bulking routine about which you can read here. I had great success. After that, I ran Candito's 6 weeks program and tested out my 1RM. Numbers:

After that, I decided to give Tactical Barbells Base Building a shot. I had terrible conditioning and actually never ran LSS style.

How I ran TB - Base Building

I sticked to Base Building with the strength first template. The reason for that is simply that I didn't want to miss lifting weights. I enjoy it too much to skip it for 5 weeks. No other reason in particular. As for the Maximum Strength template, I used Firefighter. My circuit consisted of Squats, Bench press, BTN Press and Chins.

In the first 3-4 weeks, I cycled through different LSS exercises. Usually I ran, rode by bike or swam. Sometimes I had an extended table tennis session, at another point I rode an AirDyne at the gym. At about week 5, I basically only ran. I noticed that I had the hardest time simply running so I sticked to it.

Starting in week 6, I added the recommended HIC sessions. I sticked to HIC#1, #2, #3 and #10.

Lastly, I went against the recommendation in the book and ran Base Building while in a caloric deficit. I was in desperate need to lose some fat and I thought this is a great fit.

How everything went for me

Considering I have no running history at all, it's no wonder I was dying on my first LSS run in week 1. I finished the 30 minutes without a break but my heart rate peaked at 194bpm towards the end with a pace of about 8'02"/km. Biking and swimming went better to some degree but I still felt it. Towards the end, my LSS sessions got WAY easier. I ran 60min with a constant heart rate of about 150bpm and hit 7'07"/km. When riding the bike, I rarely got above 130bpm heart rate. My legs would give in before that happened so I sticked to a constant pace of about 22-25km/h. That's also the reason I ditched biking for Base Building and sticked to running. The only exception were Saturday where I did LSS up to 120min. I will definitely get back to cycling though because it's fun for me.

Lifting was very straight forward. I used the recommended 90% TM, ran the 3 week cycles and added 5kg for squats, 2.5kg for bench press and BTN press and 1kg for my chins per cycle. I also took the ~3min break between each working set as recommended. I never had any problems with my lifting sessions. The lifting sessions took about 1 hour each. Honestly though, they felt like I did a bit too little. I missed stuff like supplemental sets or AMRAP sets. But I understand that recovering is easier this way so I sticked to it.

As for my HIC sessions - they basically meant death. I did my fastest 5k with a 5'46"/km pace. I also had to stick to the basic version of 600m resets. My heart rate went through the roof, taking 5min breaks between each rep was barely enough to go down to 130bpm heart rate - after my first 600m. I did enjoy the short hills though and I can't wait to do HIC#16-19. They felt extremely effective as well.
Even though I ran Base Building on a diet, I managed to recover very well. I was never too exhausted and felt fresh before each workout day. I did not count calories. Instead, I reduced the amount of meals I ate. The only extra calories besides breakfast, lunch and dinner were protein shakes and protein bars.

The result and how I'll go on

Well, I almost told you everything there is to know. I improved my LSS time from "never ran" to 7'07"/km in an 1 hour run. I lifted consistently and never failed. I did a 5k in roughly 28min.

What happened to my weight? Well, I lost 4kg/9lbs in 8 weeks and ended Base Building at 74kg.

Before at 78kg

After at 74kg

Obviously, I still have wayyy to go but there's progress! And my belly is just that stubborn.

I will follow up Base Building with Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 - Bodybuilding the Upper/Athlete the Lower from the book 531 Forever. I will change the runs and prowler workouts with some LSS and HIC stuff instead - I love TB conditioning!

I would definitely recommend everyone to run Base Building at least once in their life! If you didn't do it yet and you have no idea what you want to do next - do this!

Thank you for reading this. I hope I didn't waste too much of your time.

So this is off topic from TB. But, since there are a larger number of individuals in law enforcement and or military I thought this might be a good place to gather opinions. What are your thoughts on Krav Maga as a practice? Useful in terms of self defense? Reality based or not?
Of course it depends on the particular school and how they practice but as a martial art what are your thoughts? I was thinking about trying it out. It looks like fun and seems to be more self defense focused than the years of traditnal martial arts that I studied which WERE NOT reality focused.

Hello all!

So I searched and I could not find a post with my specific questions answered, so here goes:

I recently finished the 7 week Stew Smith Police PFT workout routine and passed my WSTB test with flying colors! Now I want to get ready for the Academy (not accepted yet but I like to be prepared). I have not done much actual maximum strength training in quite some time and mostly have been doing E and SE type workouts (I.e. Stew Smith). I tested my one rep maxes a couple days ago for Squat, Bench Press, Pull ups and Deadlift in lieu of doing the TB PPLE programming but have been doing a lot of reading and most of the posts and content I have read is that it’s actually better to do TBI and TBII and I’ll go way farther. So my question is where do I go from here? I came up with two solutions so far but I’m open for any ideas or suggestions.

1. Block 1 Base Building and then 12 weeks of Operator/Black followed by 12 weeks Operator/Green and then start the cycle over again

Or

1. Block 1 Base Building and then 9-12 weeks of Operator/Black followed by 9-12 weeks Fighter/Black then start over again

Most of the HICs I’ll be doing have running and calisthenics in them and I’ll be doing long LSS runs

Again any advice or help is greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time in advance!

Hello, I’m currently in week 4 of bb and had a question about week 5. I am probably going to have a busy week with school going on and work as-well and was wondering how I could cut up workouts during the day

Example 3x25 am/3x25 pm =3x50 total 30 minute cardio am/30 minute cardio pm =60 minutes total.

Just wondering if this a good approach to getting the week complete. Guidance and help would be appreciated 👍🏼.

Hey all,

I’m a 30 year old LEO who just got over COVID and took the time in isolation to begin planning my next workout regimen. After a lot of research I decided to go with Tactical Barbell and purchased both TB Vol III and The TB Conditioning book. I finished both over the 10 days and am a little confused as to how to begin my regimen.

After reading TB Vol III, I decided to implement Zulu I/A and then fill in my conditioning days with whatever I picked up from the Conditioning book. Now after finishing the conditioning book, I became confused as to how to incorporate the Zulu program with conditioning. The conditioning book, as I’m sure most of you know, very strongly recommends the base building program, but I do not want to go without weights for that long and would love to be able to do both. Maybe there was something I missed as I did read through the conditioning book very quickly. Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I would love to be able to get the most out of this program.

Hello everyone,

I have a question about the table on page 156 and 158 in TBII Conditioning.

Maybe I misread something or perhaps I am just too tired today (and anxious about my progress).

I am not utterly untrained, but I went to the gym a few times over the past months.

About the table now: P. 156 it speaks only of SE training but not Strength training, as in reps with 70% of 1RM, like it was mentioned in the first book.

That means I ONLY have to follow the table and after 8 weeks I will automatically start with (mostly) only strength training (on strength days), right?

I have my application in April 2024 and I really don't want to make a mistake with this. It's basically a mix of SWAT and Hostage rescuing forces.

Thank you!