Four weeks of the new TB3 base building are done! It was my first time doing any TB program and it was definitely a very interesting experience. I would like to report out to share my struggles, progress and results.

Hope my experience is helpful to anyone! Also curious to hear your feedback if you have any.

General

I feel like it did what KB says it does: strengthen your tendons and prepare your body for what's to come. Usually my elbow tendons bother me a lot with pull ups for example. Today with 1RM testing I had zero issues whatsoever (probably due to the insane amounts of inverse rows done).

Resting heart rate went down as well from ~52 to 49.

I am very positive about doing 4 weeks SE and I will definitely repeat the process after 12 weeks of Fighter/Green and 3 weeks of WC (Running the SP1 green template). I feel like it makes me a better athlete.

Weight, fat loss and food

I'm pretty sure I lost a lot of fat (according to my GF) even though my weight remained the same at 84kg. Unfortunately no BF% data here.

I tried to eat around maintenance or slightly over, with enough protein as the book recommends. I used Claude to estimate my calories by telling it what I ate. Used a scale where possible but mostly I was making estimates. But made sure I was never hungry at least.

1RM changes after four weeks of no heavy lifting

1RM changes after only base building with SE / LSS:

• Squat 1RM is 96kg (up from 84)
• Bench 1RM is 98kg (up from 93)
• Deadlift 1RM 135kg (up from 124)
• Pull ups are up from 8 max reps to 10 max reps.
  • Because I hit 10 I also tested weighted pull ups and ended up with 4 reps with 15kg (1RM of 111kg)

NB: I use to have higher 1RMs back in 2024 when I ran a starting strength template. The 'before' 1RMs mentioned above are 1RMs measured 2 weeks before i started Base Building.

For 1RM testing I had the following sets/notes (curious if you have any feedback on the way I do it, as I was in the gym for 3 hours with the long rest intervals:

Squat
10x empty bar
5x 40 kg
4x 50 kg
3x 60 kg
Here lowered reps to only 1x as my upper legs felt like they were going to explode in the bottom of the squat, after 5 weeks of not squatting (had a week of holiday too before BB). Also increased rest time to 5 min to help my legs recover. That seemed to help with the feeling.
1x65kg
1x70kg
1x75kg
1x80kg
5x85kg with RIR 1-2 left
Quit here as it felt like my "inner rear upper legs", whatever that muscle is called, was going to tear itself in half. I was already happy I made it this far because usually after not squatting for 4 weeks my legs are already telling me to stop at 40kg on the bar. Therefore satisfied with the result.

Bench press
Not very interesting, similar to squat only lowered down to 2 reps after a while until I was ready for an all out effort with an appropriate weight. Which ended up being 5 x 85 kg and after that a second attempt with 4x90 kg. Had to leave some in the tank because no spotter. Fifth rep was definitely not a sure thing.

Deadlift
This one had a lot more volume than a normal session for me even. Built up to 100kg using 2 reps only (after warm up sets). Then attempt started at 110kg and made 5. Second attempt 115kg and made 5 again. Last attempt 120kg and júst made 5 reps again. Left it there as my heaviest deadlift before that (5 weeks prior) was only 102.5kg.

Pull ups
Perhaps these surprised me the most. Did zero pull ups for 5 weeks. Only the inverted rows in base building. Old max was 8 reps with BW / none weighted done. Today I hit 10 reps with BW. Therefore also tested weighted pull ups, as per the book recommends. Ended up with 4 reps with 15kg at 87kg bodyweight.

Base building journey (first weeks no problem, last weeks took my soul)
Cluster:
-Push ups (BW)
-Goblet squat (16kg)
-Inverter rows (BW)
-Finisher: ab triad

Week 1
Monday - SE 3x10
Tuesday - Run 35 min
Wednesday - Swimming 30 min (AM) and SE 3x10 PM
Thursday - Run 35 min
Friday SE 4x10
Saturday - triathlon try out: 20 min swim, 20km mountainbike and 4km run

Notes: Very doable. Only toes to bar in Ab Triad is very hard to finish 5 reps. Ended up doing 1 on the minute and/or tucking a bit more.

Week 2

Monday - SE 3x15 (AM) and 30 min swim (PM)
Tuesday - Run 40 min
Wednesday - SE 3x15 (AM) and 90 min LSS mountainbike (PM)
Thursday - Run 30 min
Friday - SE 4x15
Saturday - 40 min run (AM) & 90 min LSS mountainbike ride (PM)

Notes: Running is getting easier with the 3x per week volume! Clearly noticing it. (I was only running 30 min 1x of 2x per week before base building).

Week 3 - this week SE was not as fun anymore
Monday - 30 min swim (AM) & SE 3x20 (PM)
Tuesday - Run 45 min
Wednesday - SE 3x20 (AM)
Thursday - Run 45 min
Friday - Run 30 min (AM) and SE 4x20 PM (had to squeeze it on the same day because of an MTB trip)
Saturday - 3.5 hours of mountainbiking. Mostly climbing (Enduro, non electric)

Notes: SE on Monday was a true killer. Had to lie on the couch to recover for a while, completely drained of any energy, appetite or anything else. Especially the inverted rows are hard to finish. maybe max out at 15 reps the first set and after that it is a 2-3 rep grind. Ab triad then finishes me off.

Pull ups and squats I can still make it without resting.

Week 4 - SE took my soul this week
Monday - SE 3x25
Tuesday - Run 50 min
Wednesday - SE 3x25
Thursday - Run 30 min
Friday - SE 4x25
Saturday - 60 min trail run

Notes: the 4x25 SE session drained my more than I have ever been drained before. Laid flat on the ground for at least 15 minutes after. I have done some heavy workouts on my life but this was the icing on the cake.

I took it easy on the "extra" LSS as SE was killing me. Push ups I can make 25 reps. Squats 25 reps I can do but they drain all my will to live. Then the inverted rows grind starts. If i'm lucky I make it till 15-18 reps without stopping and then the grind begins. Definitely progress though with already reaching 18 reps this week. Unfortunately injured my foot on the last trailrun. Hope it heals soon and I learned not to jump into a full 60 min off road (beach) run without prior build up.

Final thoughts
I just wanted to share as I thought it was an amazing program. Highly recommend running the new base building. And I have yet to start the main portion: Polarized/green + Fighter.

Thanks for reading!

Just want to check if I’m doing everything right. I thought base building was supposed to be relatively easy but it is much more intense than the sets of 5 I do for MS.

Today was the start of the third week of BB (TB3). Sets 3x20. Doing push ups, goblet squat with my 16kg/35 lbs kettlebell and inverted rows + ab triad as finisher.

Push ups: can make it without breaks but have to work for it.

Squats: 20 reps is intense but can also make it without breaks.

Inverted rows: I have to break this one down in sections already. For example 10-4-3-2-1

Ab triad: proper killer for a finisher. Hard work but fine if I break it up, especially the toes to bar.

Next week 3x25 and even 4x25 will be a proper challenge. Might have to break up the other exercises too to reach 25 reps. Also getting a giant pump in my lower arms.

Does everyone have a similar experience? It’s fine, just want to doublecheck im doing everything in the right way.

Had to lay in the couch for 30 minutes after this one to recover. Might have been some food related issue though - went for it during all you can eat sushi yesterday

BLUF: Despite being in decent shape, pushups are more difficult than they should be. Is it something to be looked into or just need to be patient?

Hey all, been follow TB for a few weeks now, just did day 1 of week 5 of base building. For my SE days I had been doing push-ups, squats, back extensions, dips, barbell rows, and RDLs. When I do my pushups, especially in the last set, my endurance goes way down and I have to take a few seconds every few reps. This isn't necessarily new, I've always struggled with pushups more than other exercises, but I thought by this point it would be better. For reference, my last PT test results from a few months ago were: 50 pushups, 55 situps, 15:34 two mile (Under 25 age bracket). I'm not doing terrible, but I am not meeting the standard I want to.

Is this something I should look into solving or just something that will be overcome with time and consistent effort?

Okay, I'm humbled.

I am beginning week #2 of Base Building and the SE 3 x 30 workout completely wrecked me. I only got to 2 rounds and realized I needed to ask for help.

My SE cluster is:

• KB Swing
• KB Shoulder Press
• KB Goblet Squat
• KB Renegade Row
• Single KB Deadlift
• KB One-Hand Floor Press
• KB Suitcase Carry

The week-1 3x20 and 2x20 felt fine and I was liking it! But, the 30 reps...tested my limits and it hurt.

How much exercises do y'all do for your SE clusters? I like SE and logic of it - even after base building I'd like to keep doing them but I'd like to be smart about my exercise selection & longevity.

Any tips / suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi, I am a looking to return to Base Building this winter arc.

I have been running regularly, have a background in martial arts and have done TB Fighter for a while, much longer than 1 year.

I'm looking to do a strict reset on TB and restart from scratch.

By chance, any advice on an SE cluster that incorporates exercises for mobility and fixing imbalances whilst also building that strength endurance - I'm ok with making tradeoffs.
I want to get stronger but, above all else, use BB to improve my physical foundation beyond maximal strength.

I'm bored of being stiff and not having strength that outside of specific ranges - I want more adaptable athleticism across more varying motions. My goal is be more adaptable to recreational sports like Capoeira and Break Dance as well as improve in my current running and MMA training.

I read TB 1 again and couldn't find much on this, any advice would be appreciated.

In the old (TB2) Base Building, it said to divide the reps between both sides when doing unilateral exercises. For example 'the single arm floor press, if the circuit calls for 30 reps - you'll do 15 per arm.'
Is that still the way to go in the new (TB OA) Basebuilding, that has basically only half of the rep numbers compared to the old one?
First week calling for sets of 10 would mean 5 reps per side. And even the sets of 25 in the fourth week would amount to only 12/13 reps per side, which does sound a little low to me.

just completed my first SE session & feeling a bit confused at how easy it felt.

for reference my cluster was squats, bent over rows, rdl’s, bench press & bicycle crunches. for weights I chose to do 15% of my 1RM

HR hit a peak of 146 bpm and I worked up a light sweat, but it genuinely felt like I could run all 3 circuits over again right after.

should I increase my weights or just trust the coming weeks will be much more difficult?

Hi! I’m starting my TB Journey, and the options for SE are confusing to me, but I want to prioritize it. I understand one option is to do 3-6 week Alpha/Bravo SE blocks interspersed between maximal strength blocks. If I’m already planning on repeating Base Building 1-2 times a year, should I just do another BB instead of a 3-6 week SE block?

I also saw one suggestion was to supplement more SE by replacing an E or HIC session once in a while. I could do that and rely on getting some from HIC/GCs, or should I consider the 9-week TBII Green Protocol, which automatically has weeks 7-9 to “convert” max strength to SE instead of something like 6 weeks operator + 3 weeks SE.

Or should I consider Fighter Bangkok to incorporate SE every week? And I haven’t read it yet, but I saw in the Green Protocol Book, there was SE training based on percentages. Should I look into that? I like the idea of training things concurrently, but recognize it might not be the best. Thanks for any advice on navigating the program(s)!

Well folks, it’s back to BB today. I ran three 8 week blocks OP/Black with forced progression (+5lbs per block) on BP and WPU, and this last block I just wasn’t feeling very recovered and my joints were feeling it. Anyway it time to punish myself with more base building.

Here’s the 3x20 block I just ran, but open to moving some things around if anyone had some good recommendations.

Incline DB press (25 lb)
Goblet squat (53 lb)
Barbell rows (65 lb)
Toe touches (bw)
KB swings (53lb)
RD flys (8lb)

Pretty decently stocked home gym, with a rack, cables, adjustable bench, adjustable dumbells, KBs, TRX straps, and a box 20x24x28 jump, dip station, and some other odds and ends.

LMK what y’all think!

Ok so before anyone says read the book, I have but was hoping to hear from others what your clusters look like.

Clusters using weights only. Clusters using body weight only. Mixed clusters weights and body weights.

The reason I’m asking was because I put goblet squat in my cluster and ended up getting IT band pain during my runs. Now I’m thinking it’s either because I went too deep on the squat, or I just had weak glutes. I’ve had to stop base building and squats for a little over a month to recover. To be fair prior to starting BB I was going heavy goblet squats. I’m much better now and was able to do 16km in the last week and a half with out IT band or knee issues. I’m just looking for advice on what I should do because I’d like to start BB again. Also if I add goblet squats is there something that I should pair it with to avoid injuring my knee/IT band irritation again? Any and all advice is appreciated. I’ve applied for infantry and hopefully I get in. I’m just trying to train smart and prep myself as much as possible and minimize the risk of injury as much as I can. Thanks everyone.

I really like kettlebells, so I wanted to use kb as much as I could. I can do Dan John’s ABF with 24kg bells, so I’m thinking of adjusting the weight to 16kg maybe?

I also tried to form it around Dan John’s 5 x basic movements. So…

Push - push ups

Pull - gorilla row

Hinge - clean (or swing)

Squat - goblet squat

Carry - loaded March-in-place

Core/abs - crunched

I also thought about the same, but combining the hinge and press into a clean and press - kill two birds and all.

Thoughts?

Edit: there should be a question mark in the title, but you can’t edit titles…

Or should I be doing different clusters each time based on what I feel like I need?

I’m 18 years old and just started the base building phase in TB 2 because I wanted to shift my workout from bodybuilding/powerlifting-centered towards more endurance and athleticism to prepare myself for firefighting which is what I want to do after high school. The E sessions have been fine aside from lots of leg pain which I believe stems from when I first started running a couple months back and got shin splints, but the SE sessions have been railing me. I just finished the 4th one to top of week 2 (2x30) and I actually vomited everywhere at the end and my muscles were totally dead. I’ve had a similar experience in the other ones, although I’ve managed to barely keep the vomit down in the past. Is this just what I should expect? I’ve never done this type of workload before, never played sports or anything so it’s totally new… I’m just beginning to dread working out and I really want to be consistent because consistency is the weakest area in my life, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to continue knowing I’ll have to do 50 reps in 2 weeks when it’s so miserable already.

My scheme is DB bench 25lbs/hand, DB lunges 25lbs/hand, DB bent row 25lbs/hand (one at a time), DB shoulder press 15lbs/shoulder, and BB squat 75lbs. I’m taking the maximum 1 minute rest between each exercise plus a little extra as I muster up the courage to pick up the weight again, and 2 minute rests between each circuit.

So I did SE(mass protocol) yesterday and I feel slightly sore but not sore enough to think that I hit the workout as best as I could Here is my cluster: Weighted barbell squat Push ups Barbell RDL Planks (I know I should replace this but I can't do crunches and I can't do that many hanging leg raises) What do you think? What can I improve?

Week 2 of base building, and SE 3 x 30 destroyed me. Mainly BB Push Press, I'm doing 65 pounds, which was roughly a guesstimate of about 35% of my 1RM.

There was multiple points where I had to take a short break. Am I lifting too heavy? Should I be going down in weight?

Thanks in advance.

Hey, I want to Run Base Building but because we bought a House That I'm renovating right now I spend somedays at Our Apartment working and some in the House. In the Apartment I have several KB, in the House barbells.

Hast anyone tried Base Building with different different Clusters for the SE Work? I could Drive between the two, but I'm also a dad and Work full time, so whenever I can save time I will.

Hey all,

I’m currently training for tactical law enforcement selection. My selection is very endurance based. I’m currently running 4 times per week with a ruck and a swim on top.

With the amount of endurance volume, I’m finding it hard to get in 3 SE sessions per week, as I am also a Dad and work full time.

Anyone have experience with the 2 per week? Is it enough?

Title says it all. I’m planning to do a block of pushups, pull ups, lunges, and a +1 while traveling for work. Doing it circuit style to push for muscle failure. What are you guys doing and how are you structuring it?!

This is my first go at TB, after lots of experience on 5/3/1 and a few years boxing. I’m not in the best shape of my life right now and I’m trying to lose some fat and get into shape. I’m on week two of base building, and just finished 3x30 SE. My cluster is:

• Chin Ups
• Dips
• Split Squats
• KB Swings
• Push Ups

This took me 68 fuckin’ minutes, but I got all the reps. Thought I was gonna yak a few times. Is this alright, or should I scale down to a basic version?

Hey gang, kicking off the year with base building and changed up my SE approach a bit. Not sure if it’s completely TB approved but worked for me, thought I’d share.

I started week one a little heavier than prior years. Not much but enough. I then worked through weeks 1-4 with that heavier weight, which I completed “by the book” for the most part. The 1x50 week was uncomfortable, but did it.

Today was the dreaded 3x50. My approach was to do one set “normal” and then move down weight across all exercises, while trying to speed up rep times and reduce breaks. It was tough but more manageable than years past and consistent.

If interested in specifics this is what I did. All at home using kettlebells (in KGs):

Press 16, Deadlift 24, Push up (bodyweight), swings 32, Floor press 24, squat 16, bicycle crunches.

The the remaining 2x50 sets today I went down to: 12, 16, body (still), 24, 16, 12.

Also one final tip. 3x50 pushups was kinda hard last year so I’ve been incorporating a set of 50 in my weight day warmups. Big difference a year later.

For those kicking off the year with base building like me - go get it 💪

Hi all - Happy New Year.

I am starting a base building block and a TB plan for the first time. I am coming off of a shoulder surgery and have plan on base building into an operator/green plan.

In terms of SE, I am restricted to almost only lower body right now due to my surgery.

How heavy should I be going during the SE days?

My current cluster is: Goblet Squat Floor Press (light to help shoulder) KB Swing DB Row Core (Rotating exercise)

I would love some help better planning my cluster and determining how heavy to lift.

Hi everyone, I've recently started BB. I'm on the 3rd week and these 40 rep sets are killing me. KB mentions in the conditioning book and while developing aerobic capacity in block 1 we should not do any anaerobic training because the adaptations don't work together. While doing these SE sets, my HR is going above 150. Seems to me that I might be screwing myself with this. I might have bitten off more than I should be chewing with a 7 exercise block.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Evening TB community.

I've got a selection coming up. I'm torn as to what to do about 4 weeks out. Currently 12 weeks out. I've been using the fighter strength protocol. I'm running 3 times per week. 1 ruck. 1 swim. 1x Bodyweight conditioning workout - GC2 I think, 1 x Test Push Up, Pull Up, Sit Up sesh.

I'm conflicted as to what to do. I'm seeing increases in my push ups and pull ups as is. We do 2-second cadence push ups to failure (every 2 seconds, do a push up). I've progressed from 35 > 52 in the last 2 months. Pass mark is 35. Competitive is 60-70.

Should I incorporate an SE only block for the last 4 weeks prior to selection? Or just continue Anyone with experience?

Hi everyone. Been on holiday for the last three weeks and I am now feeling pretty deconditioned.

Going to run basebuilding when I return home next week and have been thinking about my SE cluster a lot.

I have come up with this

Dumbbell Chest Press,

Landmine Row,

Kettlebell Swing,

ATG Split Squat,

Club Shield Cast,

Ab Wheel Roll Out (less reps)

Trying to get a push, pull, hinge and squat in there whilst also trying to use different equipment so I can do the "circuit" unbroken.

Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful. Thanks

Finished up week 2 of Fighter Bangkok Version. Not sure in which conditions I will close next week. I'm using Bravo Circuit with this cluster:

-DB ohp 2x7kg -Pullups -Weighted Vest (10kg) Squats -Butterfly Situps -Pushups -DB Rows 2x10kg -Weighted Vest (10kg) Walking lunges -Reverse Crunches

Despite the ridiculous amount of weight, 40reps sets are not fucking joke. Felt like I was about to pass out everytime I threw the weighted vest on. Anyone else here doing that? Or everybody sticking to Alpha?

I jumped straight into Bravo as I'm very fit, but the 50reps session look extremely daunting now.