Tactical Barbell Base - Max. Strength

Eight weeks of focused aerobic, endurance, and strength work to develop a "gas tank" and "engine" that other blocks of Tactical Barbell work off from. Similar to basic training, beginners in Tactical Barbell should go through Base Building to gain foundational skills before selecting another strength and conditioning block. It is also recommended to add a Base Building block every 1-2 years to reassess and shore up basic skills. 

Tactical Barbell is founded on the principles that general strength and aerobic capacity are the foundational domains of fitness. Base Building makes these foundations, continuing protocols and strength templates build upon them. 

Guidelines:
1) Develop aerobic system
2) Build strength
3) Prep for conditioning
4) Prep for max. strength training
5) Push mental boundaries for fatigue and pain

This program focuses on Maximal Strength first, mostly because I do not have a strong fitness background and need to develop my strength before doing Strength-Endurance work. Since I am starting from essentially zero, Tactical Barbell: Conditioning recommends to flip the typical Base Building template and use 5 weeks of Max. Strength before finishing with 3 weeks of Strength-Endurance (SE). The Max. Strength cluster is the standard Big Three lifts plus assisted pull ups. 

This program begins with a test day outside of the normal Base Building template to evaluate One Rep Maximums to base strength training upon. After testing, a 90% Training Max will be used by taking  90% of my ORM and using this to calculate the weight intensity of each day. Since I have little-to-none barbell lifting background, this test day and its warm-ups will also serve to familiarize myself with the correct form for the Big Three exercises.

My major Endurance (E) training will focus on walking, running, and rucking. This is due to my goal of joining the military reserves and since it is easiest to fit into my workday. Since I have not jogged or ran in a long time, I will begin the program with walking to ensure I maintain Zone 2 heart activity, but I hope to progress into run-walks and eventually 1 hour LISS (Zone 2) runs.

If you are using this program, feel free to substitute any other lifts or SE exercises, just make sure these exercises fit into your goals and the principles of TB. I didn't find many Max. Strength Base Building programs on BoostCamp so hopefully this helps someone who is looking for some guidance. I highly recommend at least reading the relevant sections of Tactical Barbell I & II before starting the program so that you can properly substitute exercises to fit your goals and understand the principles and reasoning behind the program. 

The relevant chapters in TB I are: 1. Principles, 2. Objective, 3. How To Use The Program, 12. Fighter, 14. Maximums and Test Days, 17. Strength-Endurance, 18. SE Circuits. 

Relevant chapters in TB II is the Programming chapter and the Endurance section in the Training Vault.

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Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Stretching

Cardio

Squat (Smith Machine)

Bench Press (Smith Machine)

Deadlift (Smith Machine)

Pull-Up (Assisted)

Max. Strength Test Day

Walk

Recovery Day - Light Exercise

REST - NO EXERCISE

Ruck

3 Circuits (0-90sec rest between sets)
2-3 min rest between circuits.

Kettlebell Swing

Romanian Deadlift (Dumbbell)

Push Up (Knees)

Goblet Squat

Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Plank to Push Up

3 Circuits (0-90sec rest between sets)
0-2 min rest between circuits.

TEST DAY - WK. 0

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