I’ve found 2-3 days a week of strength training and 2-3 days of running/conditioning, each workout done on a separate day, to be a sustainable mix. I’m currently running a program from r/tacticalbarbell and that might be up your alley if you need a structured way to program the two. (It’s targeted towards a military/first responder audience, but it can be used by folks in general.) I find the emphasis on two-a-days from other hybrid programs to be unrealistic as well.
Thanks! I do have the tactical barbell 3rd edition and the conditioning book. I have looked at that. My only concern I guess is that it’s purely strength training on the lifting day. I do like accessory work and didn’t see a good way to add that in without doing too much. Which program are you doing and how has your progress been?
Running basebuilding at the moment. Honestly there’s no reason you can’t add accessories to the strength training days. The programs just keep it minimal and state they’re not strictly necessary. If you stick to a minimal set of 2-3 main lifts you should still have time for accessory work.
The only problem will be if you try to focus on multiple goals at once. Strength, hypertrophy, and conditioning are all complementary fitness modalities but it’s hard to see progress in all three and once and how well you progress in any domain will vary with nutrition. Choose one domain to focus on for every 6-8 week block while maintaining the other two, then rotate to another focus on your next block.
Awesome info. I appreciate it. I have considered doing operator/green protocol and that may be the direction I go. What’s re you hopping on after basebuilding?
Still feeling it out, but I'm trying to do more seasonal training where I focus on running/conditioning in the spring and fall when the weather is optimal, and then strength/anaerobic in the summer and winter when working indoors is nicer. Probably going to do Operator/Black when I finish up in \~2 weeks and then switch to a 3 day/week running program in late August and scale back the lifting to 2 days/week.
The 3 day/week running program I'm going to do will be based off this guide: [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/runners-world-run-less-run-faster-become-a-faster-stronger-runner-with-the-revolutionary-first-training-program\_bill-pierce\_ray-moss/257994/#edition=6718812&idiq=4829065](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/runners-world-run-less-run-faster-become-a-faster-stronger-runner-with-the-revolutionary-first-training-program_bill-pierce_ray-moss/257994/#edition=6718812&idiq=4829065) \- it boils down to 1 tempo run, 1 interval run, and 1 long LSS run per week with training guides and progression based on distance. Lines up with the Black template really well.
So I will 2nd the tactical barbell recommendation. The beauty of their programming is the flexibility - you can easily add accessories or change rep ranges, depending on your goals.
No exaggeration, but I went from being an overweight dad bod to running half marathons and deadlifting 500 lbs. I am not a big guy either.
3 lifting days and 3 running days will make you a powerful generalist. I found it worked even better as a program than my days in CrossFit when I completed locally.
I’ve found 2-3 days a week of strength training and 2-3 days of running/conditioning, each workout done on a separate day, to be a sustainable mix. I’m currently running a program from r/tacticalbarbell and that might be up your alley if you need a structured way to program the two. (It’s targeted towards a military/first responder audience, but it can be used by folks in general.) I find the emphasis on two-a-days from other hybrid programs to be unrealistic as well.
Thanks! I do have the tactical barbell 3rd edition and the conditioning book. I have looked at that. My only concern I guess is that it’s purely strength training on the lifting day. I do like accessory work and didn’t see a good way to add that in without doing too much. Which program are you doing and how has your progress been?
Running basebuilding at the moment. Honestly there’s no reason you can’t add accessories to the strength training days. The programs just keep it minimal and state they’re not strictly necessary. If you stick to a minimal set of 2-3 main lifts you should still have time for accessory work. The only problem will be if you try to focus on multiple goals at once. Strength, hypertrophy, and conditioning are all complementary fitness modalities but it’s hard to see progress in all three and once and how well you progress in any domain will vary with nutrition. Choose one domain to focus on for every 6-8 week block while maintaining the other two, then rotate to another focus on your next block.
Awesome info. I appreciate it. I have considered doing operator/green protocol and that may be the direction I go. What’s re you hopping on after basebuilding?
Still feeling it out, but I'm trying to do more seasonal training where I focus on running/conditioning in the spring and fall when the weather is optimal, and then strength/anaerobic in the summer and winter when working indoors is nicer. Probably going to do Operator/Black when I finish up in \~2 weeks and then switch to a 3 day/week running program in late August and scale back the lifting to 2 days/week. The 3 day/week running program I'm going to do will be based off this guide: [https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/runners-world-run-less-run-faster-become-a-faster-stronger-runner-with-the-revolutionary-first-training-program\_bill-pierce\_ray-moss/257994/#edition=6718812&idiq=4829065](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/runners-world-run-less-run-faster-become-a-faster-stronger-runner-with-the-revolutionary-first-training-program_bill-pierce_ray-moss/257994/#edition=6718812&idiq=4829065) \- it boils down to 1 tempo run, 1 interval run, and 1 long LSS run per week with training guides and progression based on distance. Lines up with the Black template really well.
So I will 2nd the tactical barbell recommendation. The beauty of their programming is the flexibility - you can easily add accessories or change rep ranges, depending on your goals. No exaggeration, but I went from being an overweight dad bod to running half marathons and deadlifting 500 lbs. I am not a big guy either. 3 lifting days and 3 running days will make you a powerful generalist. I found it worked even better as a program than my days in CrossFit when I completed locally.
I recommend 2-3 weights and 2-3 running depending on the goal. Stick with more zone 2 cardio than not so you don’t lose muscle.