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Tactical Barbell: Definitive Strength Training for the Operational Athlete Paperback – September 18, 2016

by K. Black (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,366 ratings
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Operational athletes are a unique breed. You need to physically perform at an extraordinarily high level in stressful situations. Often in dangerous or unstable environments. As a SWAT operator, combat-arms soldier, or first responder, you have to be a Jack of All Trades. Let’s take that a step further. You have to achieve some degree of mastery. You have to be strong, have incredible levels of endurance, and be capable of sustained bursts of intense activity. All while tired, hungry, cold, or worse. You can’t train like a bodybuilder. You can't be sore for a week after 'leg' day. You can’t afford to specialize like a powerlifter. You have other abilities you need to develop, things like cardiovascular training, work capacity, and occupational skills. Anyone that’s operational knows it’s a constant juggling act trying to become (and stay) superhuman.Tactical Barbell is a strength training program designed specifically for operational athletes using correct principles and best practices. The objective being to increase maximal-strength and strength-endurance, while taking into account the need to simultaneously train other fitness domains. Periodization based, with a simple progression model that allows for a great degree of customization. You won’t find cables, balance boards or medicine balls in this program. What you will get is a reliable, repeatable, cutting edge system to increase your strength dramatically. In a manner that leaves you time and energy to train all those other things you need to be good at. No fluff. No frills. If you live in the arena, you know talk is cheap. The program includes a built in strength testing component. You will know whether or not your strength has increased, and by how much. Simple.
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  1. Book 1 of 4
    Tactical Barbell
  2. Print length
    138 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    September 18, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 0.32 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1537666932
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1537666938
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

KB is the pseudonym for a 20-year military and federal law enforcement veteran. The author has served in variety of physically demanding units; as an infantryman, paratrooper, operator and subject-matter-expert on a federal hostage rescue team.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 3rd edition (September 18, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 138 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1537666932
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1537666938
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.32 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,366 ratings

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K Black

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
1,366 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Syncro
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Gold!!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2024
Verified Purchase
Simple, concise, and to the point. I wish I had this book 20 years ago in my military career as it would have saved me a lot of wasted time and prevented a lot of overuse injuries. I stumbled on this book and it echoed the knowledge of 2 decades of my trial and error and then some. This book is definitely worth its weight in gold as it provides sound programming for anyone looking to maintain fitness. I cannot recommend this book enough!
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Wally
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome program (updated Nov 3)
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
I bought this book based on one quote from the publicity:

"You're not a professional bodybuilder. You can't afford to be sore for a week after "leg day"."

Exactly. I'm not a tactical professional, I'm a normal guy with a sedentary day job and a passion for sports in my spare time. I had been doing Starting Strength for more than a year, and that was absolutely an awesome way to learn the lifts and build up a baseline level of strength. But it was getting harder and harder to keep adding weights, and I was getting more and more sore more of the time. I bought Rip's "Practical Programming for Strength Training" and thought about trying something besides the linear progression. Then I saw this.

I was already doing the 4 basic lifts - squat, OHP, deadlift, bench. I was also playing ice hockey (goalie) 3-4 times a week for 6 months of the year, and doing outdoor active stuff (biking, hiking, light running) the other 6 months. The lifting was getting in the way of enjoying my sports because I was always sore. (I'm no spring chicken at 53.)

I've been on Tactical Barbell, "Zulu" template for about 12 weeks and I love it. I am lifting 4 days a week now, but each session is only a half hour. I am not nearly as sore, I am enjoying my hockey again, and I am continuing to get strong. Maybe not as quickly as I might have by continuing SS or picking one of the templates in Practical Programming for Strength Training with more volume. But I am getting stronger anyway, and I'm not planning on entering any powerlifting contests or bodybuilding shows. For me, the benefits of SS and this have been enormous - excellent strength and agility gains, and the complete elimination of ANY back, knee and hip pain that had been dogging me. It's even fixing a chronic shoulder injury from 30 years ago. (Thank you, overhead presses.)

I like the periodized structure. There's a light week, a medium week, and a heavy week. Rinse and repeat. This morning, at the end of my 12th week, I did my heavy squats and overhead presses, 8 hours after I crushed myself at the rink for 90 minutes trying to stop pucks and then got 6 hours of sleep. Like the author says, it is designed to "leave some gas in the tank" for fighting bad guys (or in my case for stopping pucks.)

My "test day" is next week, and I think it's safe to say I've added 15-30 pounds to my 1 rep maxes on all 4 lifts. I may update this next week.

I'll be forever grateful to Rip and SS for getting me started in strength and for learning the lifts properly. I even spent some time with an SS coach to help fix my squat. After gaining that base, I really like this TB for a long-term approach to getting stronger and actually, you know, having an active life as well.

Thanks K.Black and Thanks Mark Rippetoe.

-------

Update November 3, 2015

One day, I'll learn to count. I just finished 9 weeks, not 12. I decided to test anyway. The book has many different templates, some 2 days a week, some 3, some 4. I was doing 4 days a week. Day 1, squat and overhead press. Day 2, bench and deadlift. Repeat for days 3 and 4. Here are the gains in 1 rep max in 9 weeks:

squat +29 lbs
dead + 21 lbs
bench + 20 lbs
OHP + 14 lbs

I wasn't starting from scratch, either, I was doing starting strength reasonably consistently for about a year. I was more consistent on this plan and missed fewer workouts. It's working for me.
33 people found this helpful
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Larry Stevenson
5.0 out of 5 stars Applications of this book are endless!
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book to an individuals library of on-going knowledge in the never ending pursuit of self-perfection. This book can also stand extreme firm by itself to the individual only concerned with performance enhancement. To those of you reading, as I, this treasure contains material (procedural) that can be applied to host of different realms such as martial combatives, knowledge inoculation, microscopic skill development/ enhancement in support of technique building, etc. Further, the author is there to assist you should questions arise upon reading/ developing the material. Rather than providing a thorough review, I will explain my experience (as to not give away free what is contained in the book) so 1.) an individual can see "what could" happen and 2.) so those reviewing can think critically as to whether or not this purchase is right for them.

Background: Who am I? I am a 36 year old male, 6'2 216 lbs. I practice/ instruct martial combatives, workout early mornings regularly, compete in 2-gun matches, and enjoy a good mil-sim game every now and then. My sleep schedule is clock work, and I eat clean, although I am not on any kinda paleo, vegan, or vegetarian diet.

I acquired this book via Kindle on June 15, 2014 and began one of the ideas described in the book. I then emailed the author because naturally questions arose in concert with the training methodology I was applying. His response back had interesting insights, and I thought I would re-develop the workout program to those suggestions, and the following are the results from his suggestions:

Week 0. I maxed out on Bench Press, Squats and Deadlifts to ascertain my current strength levels.

Bench Press was 185 lbs
Deadlifts was 185 lbs
Squats was 225 lbs

Weeks 1-3. The workout program was executed to the letter of the methodology explained in the book.

Weeks 4-6. The workout program was executed to the letter of the methodology explained in the book. However, I did notice an increase of strength, so let me share that with you.

At week 4 day 1; I noticed I was now able to Deadlift my Squat equivalent in weight at that week.

At week 4 day 2; upon completion of my Deadlift workout I attempted and completed 255 lbs which was over my original Squat Max.

At week 5 day 2; upon completion of my Deadlift workout I attempted and completed 295 lbs which was leaps and bounds over my Deadlift max. Further, upon completion of my Squat workout I attempted and almost (95%) completed 290 lbs which I didn't quite get the 90 degree angle Squat.

Week 7. New Max Day
Bench Press increased to 195 lbs (only a 10 lbs increase in weight)
Deadlift increased to 315 lbs (a 130 lbs increase in weight)
Squat increased to 305 lbs (a 80 lbs increase in weight)

Total Workout Program: 8 Weeks
Actual Weeks Worked: 6 Weeks
Specialized Weeks: 2 Weeks (Pre-Max to determine strength levels, Post-Max to determine strength gains)

Other factors to Consider:
1. Perhaps being workout consistent/ goal-oriented along with posture conscious led to huge increase in Deadlifts/ Squats.
2. One day was dedicated to lower body weight exercises, and one day dedicated to upper body weight exercises.
3. Cardio was done 4 times a week.
4. Stretching/ warm-up was approximately 45 minutes (15 warm-up/ 30 stretch) to complete before executing tactical barbell program.

I sincerely hopes this gives you a little insight as to whether or not you should make this purchase. That being stated understand that every individual is different, and everybody responds differently to different programs. This program has thus far provided me with welcomed results.

Larry
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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KayDub
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and clear- everyone should read
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2024
Verified Purchase
51 years old, former competitive runner. Have always lifted weights, martial arts, running, etc. In terms of programs, I have run starting strength for years, wendler. 531, infinite intensity- Ross training, and of course CrossFit.

All the above programs are excellent within their own domain- but what this program does is find a meaningful and reasonable way to incorporate cardio, skill/ sport activities, hitt. Etc.

I think a good book /exercise program makes you sit back afterwards and say to yourself- "that was so obvious". Nothing complicated. Preaches sub maximal effort and consistency versus balls to the wall training. As an older athlete, consistency in the face of frequent injuries and diminishing energy makes staying fit a challenge. This would apply even to younger people and I wish many gym goers would read a book about periodization before hitting the gym. Like running around in circles versus having a map and a destination.

Simply an excellent read and program.
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matthew larsen
5.0 out of 5 stars cool book
Reviewed in Germany on March 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
I’m getting into more max strength work. I’ve done more body weight/ conditioning for years and I definitely hit a point where I can barely hold on to the intensity and strength I have. Pushing the max strength is helping my overall abilities in body weight and trail running. Great mix.
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MarkFu
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, no nonsense, get in the gym, get it done
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
I've had a few of the TB books for several years now. I may occasionally veer away from the routines (I did Pavel, Dan John, Geoff Neupert kettlebell routines during the covid gym shutdowns), but I'm back on Tactical Barbell again. I ran Fighter for a few months and have just stepped back up to Operator. They are fantastic no frills, no fluff routines and the progression is relentless as long as you're consistent, eat and rest properly. I do keep kettlebells as part of my strength endurance work (my own little short triathlons at the end of a lifting session), and should probably run a bit more, but my lifting routine will always follow tactical barbell principals. It just fits perfectly with my lifestyle and I never feel too worn out, yet I am still always progressing. On other routines I can feel a stall on the horizon, I never have with TB though (deloads dont feel necessary due to the 70 & 75% weeks). I've been training for around 10 years now, I've no desire to compete in PL or bodybuilding, I just want to be a lot stronger than average into my older years (which I am) and TB is helping me to keep it that way.
5 people found this helpful
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Parchemin
5.0 out of 5 stars Simple
Reviewed in France on May 15, 2020
Verified Purchase
Dans la lignée des principes de strongfirst. Rien d’exotique ou d’original. L’auteur se concentre sur la prise de force pure à travers un seul équipement :la barre (avoir un banc et un rock peut être une bonne idée mais pas obligatoire).
Attention il n’y a aucune description des exercices il peut être judicieux de prendre en complément le guide des mouvements de musculation de F.Delavier ou starting strengh.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide on how to get strength
Reviewed in Australia on May 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
This book is much like the training methods described within; easy to comprehend and cut down on wasting words. Everything in this book is explained in a simple to understand manner and the core concepts are reiterated throughout to ensure they are embedded into the reader. This book will answer all your questions about planning training and what to do if you are plateauing or not getting results. This book will not teach you how to do the exercises or give you a comprehensive nutrition strategy (although there is a section that the author explains what worked for him with some general accepted nutritional basics). The value of this book is the planning and conducting of training which is so often muddled especially when people are using bodybuilding guides, which are great but not inclined towards long term strength. This book is a must buy for anyone who wants to train to become a well rounded athletic for their particular occupation or the casual trainer who wants to challenge themselves.
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