Entry Challenge

[The Battle Chef]

 

Hello everyone, my name is Ian, aka Azukmul gro-Dragnar (‘cause the Elder Scrolls are awesome.)   I’ve been part of the Academy for a few years now, training off and on depending on the cards life dealt me.  I respawned back in December and have been going strong so far.

Here are my quests for my first challenge.  Some of these will actually extend past the posted challenge, but that’s ok with me.

 

 

Main Quest:  Restart the Tactical Barbell program.
I enjoy barbell training, as well as the Ranger archetype of cross-training.  Tactical barbell does a good job balancing strength, conditioning & endurance in a flexible way.  I was doing it for a few weeks before I fell off the fitness wagon, and enjoyed it.  Start of this challenge will be the start of my first 6 week block. Might go into more detail about the block later.  Week 1 to 3 will be focusing on 3 strength training sessions and 1 swimming session.  Week 3 to 6 will add a conditioning session on top.

 

Secondary Quest: Get to the pool once per week.

Swimming is a great exercise and I swam a lot in school, but that was a while ago.  I am not a “people” person, I don’t like sharing equipment, tools, or pool lanes.  I do have access to a free (though small) pool through work and I need to take advantage of it.  All I need to do is get in the water, swim until I am tired (don’t care about time), soak in the hot tub and go home.

 

Secondary Quest: Get to the gun range once per week.

I grew up on a farm, hunting pests & predators.  Now I (mostly) shoot paper for fun.  Skills need to be maintained, and I have been getting rusty.  The range is a pain in the butt to get to (middle of nowheres on bad roads), and much for the same reason as going to the pool it can be too “people-ey” for my taste.

 

Secondary Quest: No Fast Food or Alcohol.

I am starting my vacation the same time I start this challenge, coincidentally.  The fast food part I plan on maintaining FOREVER, the alcohol one just for this challenge.  I don’t have a problem with drinking, but being on holiday would lead me to spend way more money (and calories) on liquor than I care to.  Fortunately I have plenty of tea on hand.

 

 

If I successfully complete this challenge I’ll be rewarding myself with a Witcher’s Wolf Medallion.  I enjoy the Witcher games and world.  Maybe not as much as Elder Scrolls, but I don’t have to play favourites

 

 

If any more experienced members could point out some way I could improve my challenge outline, please let me know.  I’ll likely post updates 3-4 times per week.

 

[Hazard]

 

Hi, Ian!

 

I cleaned up your post a little bit, removing most of the boldface.  Please don't write completely in bold in the future, it makes it much harder on the eyes to read it.

 

If you have‘t already done so, please make sure to read the thread “NF Beginner Guidebook” pinned to the top of this subforum.

 

Welcome to the Challenges!

 

 

[The Battle Chef]

Sorry about that, I had copied/pasted from a word document, it became bold automatically, and for some reason I could not un-bold it.  

[Hazard]

28 minutes ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Sorry about that, I had copied/pasted from a word document, it became bold automatically, and for some reason I could not un-bold it.  

 

No problem.  It's something to avoid for future posts if at all possible.   If you're on a PC, you should be able to select text by holding the right mouse button and dragging the cursor across the text, then click on the "B" button on the menu at the top of the post's text box to turn Bold on and off.

 

 

1 hour ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Secondary Quest: Get to the gun range once per week.

I grew up on a farm, hunting pests & predators.  Now I (mostly) shoot paper for fun.

 

What firearms?

 

 

[The Battle Chef]

2 minutes ago, Hazard said:

What firearms?

 

 

Handguns (.22, 9mm) & bolt action rifles (.22, .223).   Canadian gun laws can be wonky. Hunting rifles and shotguns are non-restricted, and as long as I have a valid license I can walk into the woods and shoot at cans all day.  Handguns and AR-15 type rifles are restricted, involve more paperwork and can only be shot at ranges where you are a member.   The only range in my area is 30 km away on roads resembling spaghetti.  Once I get carpal tunnel surgery in July I'm getting back into archery as well.

[Hazard]

11 minutes ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Canadian gun laws can be wonky. Hunting rifles and shotguns are non-restricted, and as long as I have a valid license I can walk into the woods and shoot at cans all day.  Handguns and AR-15 type rifles are restricted, involve more paperwork and can only be shot at ranges where you are a member.

 

And now I know not to move to Canada.

 

 

12 minutes ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Handguns (.22, 9mm) & bolt action rifles (.22, .223).

 

I always wanted a bolt action.  I'll probably pick up one a few years down the road when it's time for my daughter to start learning to shoot.

 

 

[The Battle Chef]

16 minutes ago, Hazard said:

I always wanted a bolt action.  I'll probably pick up one a few years down the road when it's time for my daughter to start learning to shoot.

I have a heavy bias in favour of bolt action rifles, simply because it's what I grew up with. Groundhogs & coyotes rarely give you the opportunity of a follow up shot. 

I have nothing against semi auto rifles, they're just low on my priority list.  Same as shotguns.  Have one, put a few shells through it every year to knock the dust off, but just no appeal.

[Laghail]

2 hours ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Sorry about that, I had copied/pasted from a word document, it became bold automatically, and for some reason I could not un-bold it.  

Happens to all of us.

 

That program sounds intense, how'd you pick tactical barbell over the other similar program like soflete?

 

[The Battle Chef]

8 hours ago, Laghail said:

That program sounds intense, how'd you pick tactical barbell over the other similar program like soflete?

 

Because I never heard of it until now!  I was searching for "something like CrossFit but more programmable" years ago and Tactical barbell kept coming up.  I checked it out because people seemed to like it's flexibility and that's something I needed with the messed up schedule being a Chef gives you.  

[Laghail]

16 hours ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Because I never heard of it until now!  I was searching for "something like CrossFit but more programmable" years ago and Tactical barbell kept coming up.  I checked it out because people seemed to like it's flexibility and that's something I needed with the messed up schedule being a Chef gives you.  

 

That is literally the process I use for every choice I make in my life. My google search history tells all. 

- Should I murder my annoying coworker?

- Felony conviction mandatory sentencing?

- How bad is prison food?

- Surviving prison gang rape?

- Coworker relationship management in an office setting?

[The Battle Chef]

1 hour ago, Laghail said:

 

That is literally the process I use for every choice I make in my life. My google search history tells all. 

- Should I murder my annoying coworker?

- Felony conviction mandatory sentencing?

- How bad is prison food?

- Surviving prison gang rape?

- Coworker relationship management in an office setting?

- Yes

- Only if you get caught.

- Horrible.

- Not fun.

- Be Alpha all the time until they just leave you alone.  Or just become Ron Swanson.

 

[Laghail]

42 minutes ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

... just become Ron Swanson.

I appreciate that this one item can answer every question. Every question. Ever.

[Talulah11]

No alcohol while on vacation is tough! Good luck! 

 

And witcher > elder scrolls

[LucentFrost]

A respawner! Welcome back

[Crimpfingers]

Hello fellow beginner!

I look forward to hearing more about your tactical barbell program.

Best of luck

[The Battle Chef]

Tactical barbell is based on percentages of your 1rm.  I haven't touched a barbell in over a year (mostly been doing calisthenics since December).
Following 1 rep maxes:

Overhead Press: 115 pounds

Pendlay Row: 145 pounds

Squat: 145 pounds

Deadlift: 170 pounds (grip gave out before my legs did)

 

I weighed in at 301 pounds this morning.

 

Starting Sunday my work sets will be 70% of those numbers.  Day 1 & 3 I'll be doing press, row, squat.  Day 2 I will swap the row for deadlift.  If the weather is co-operating I'll hit the pool Monday.

 

[The Battle Chef]

I just realized now that I forgot to put on my knee & ankle tensors and they didn't bother me at all.  So that's good news!

 

[Laghail]

1 hour ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

I just realized now that I forgot to put on my knee & ankle tensors and they didn't bother me at all.  So that's good news!

 

That's very good new man.

[Siuken]

I've not heard of the tactical barbell program till now. But that looks and sounds awesome. I'm doing something kinda similar, 5x5 strong lifts. Also the Whicher is so damn good, so is elder scrolls! Good luck, have fun!

[The Battle Chef]

29 minutes ago, Siuken said:

I've not heard of the tactical barbell program till now. But that looks and sounds awesome. I'm doing something kinda similar, 5x5 strong lifts. Also the Whicher is so damn good, so is elder scrolls! Good luck, have fun!

Basically it's wave periodization (week 1 70% week 2 80% week 3 90% repeat etc), with conditioning & endurance sessions as your training block permits.  I like it because it has enough flexibility that I can add more work or take some off depending on my schedule.  (What's that?  a lifting program that doesn't assume lifting is the only thing in your life?!?!? lol)

[The Battle Chef]

Also HOLY CRAP I forgot how hungry I get after a heavy lifting session.  Thankfully the challenge starts monday.  #snackattackfromhell

[Crimpfingers]

12 hours ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Tactical barbell is based on percentages of your 1rm.  I haven't touched a barbell in over a year (mostly been doing calisthenics since December).
Following 1 rep maxes:

Overhead Press: 115 pounds

Pendlay Row: 145 pounds

Squat: 145 pounds

Deadlift: 170 pounds (grip gave out before my legs did)

 

 

 

Yeah cool looks good man. And so are you just doing as many reps as you can at that %?

no bench press though? 

 

[Siuken]

4 hours ago, Azukmul gro-Dragnar said:

Basically it's wave periodization (week 1 70% week 2 80% week 3 90% repeat etc), with conditioning & endurance sessions as your training block permits.  I like it because it has enough flexibility that I can add more work or take some off depending on my schedule.  (What's that?  a lifting program that doesn't assume lifting is the only thing in your life?!?!? lol)

Hahahaha true enough. I sometimes just modify the 5x5 workout due to a time limit. but my current schedule at least gives me an hour m, w, f to complete it. And its simple, which is good for me cause I just kind of unwind and let the workout do its thing and not even think about it. ( if that makes any sense)

[The Battle Chef]

6 hours ago, Crimpfingers said:

Yeah cool looks good man. And so are you just doing as many reps as you can at that %?

no bench press though? 

 

They advocate 3 to 5 sets of 5, depending on other factors in your program/life.

And no bench press for this block, I'll likely swap it out next time.   I will elaborate more when it is no longer 4:30 in the AM.  Grumpy orc is grumpy.

 

[The Battle Chef]

Ok, so I hope this explanation makes sense.  I was out late and woken up early so the smart sponge in my noggin is still warming up.

 

Tactical barbell (now referred to as "TB") was designed by an ex special forces/swat guy to give the law enforcement/military operative a solid strength & conditioning foundation so they can perform their duties better without the training wearing them out too much.  One of my biggest criticisms of programs like Greyskull, Starting Strength, etc is that they all seem to assume training is going to be the biggest physical stressor in your life.  I make no claims to military/law enforcement badassitude.  I'm a chef and that takes a priority in my life.  I can't afford to be in a constant state of DOMS because it makes my job suffer.  My job is also seasonal, with October to January being incredibly busy, Feb to April being incredibly slow, and the rest of the year being average.  Having flexibility helps me stay in the game without my brain giving me crap for "backing off" during the holiday rush.

TB is a template based program that gives you flexibility to support your main goals (which is your job/duties.)  These templates are either 2, 3 or 4 strength training sessions per week, depending on your needs.  If you are training less days per week it is recommended to do a bit more strength training per session to make up for it, if you are doing more days per week you can get away with a little less per session.  The remaining days per week are expected to be filled with conditioning/endurance sessions, or job related physical training like unit PT. The books go into more detail.  One full day of rest and one recovery session per week is advocated, though I don't think I'll be going quite that intense just yet. 

 

The blocks are 6, 9, or 12 weeks long.  You pick a "cluster" of exercises that you will do for the whole block.  They advocate for compound lifts with the biggest carryover like squat, pull ups, bench press and the occasional deadlift.  Other exercises for the core, or calisthenics are incorporated into conditioning days.  Weight lifted is based on your 1 rep max, typically 70% on week 1, 80% on week 2, 90% on week 3 and repeat.  They prescribe 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps, depending on your ability and the % you are lifting (hill sprints yetserday?  Like fuck I'm squatting 5x5 today!).  There is a mandatory 2 minute rest period between work sets so you don't completely wear yourself out.  At the end of the block, you can choose to re-test your 1 rep max, or you can choose to add a few pounds to the number you are calculating from in order to force progression.  You can also swap out exercises if you need to (such as alternating overhead press and bench, or pull ups with barbell rows.) I picked the press and rows because I can't effectively train pull ups until I get my surgery this July and I didn't want to do 2 exercises with the same perpendicular arm movement in a session.

They also have an 8 week "base building" program that is heavily biast towards endurance.  It is recommended that you do the base building block once per year to build up a good level of cardio that can be maintained throughout your regular training.