Consider the "Tactical Groundhog Week" When Changing Training Cycles

Tactical Groundhog Week = Assessment Week

When going from the Winter Lift Cycle when you focused more on strength / power / speed / agility, you should assess yourself as the time toward Spring gets closer and closer. Your scores may justify another 3:1 cycle of lifting depending where your strengths and weaknesses are after such a week of testing.  Here is what we are doing prior to making the switch to Spring / Summer Cals / Cardio / Running Progression Cycle:

Day 1:  Your Fitness Test - For instance, the PST / IFT Test (500yd or 500m swim, pullups, pushups, situps, 1.5 mile run. Depending on these scores, you may want to focus more on cals / cardio if these suffer.  Questions:  What is your weakness? Work on your weakness the rest of the workout time:  PT Pyramid, thr 50-50 swim workout, 10 x 400m goal pace runs.

Day 2:  Dead lift 3RM, Squats 3RM, but mix in some 5-10-5 agility tests, a standing long jump, and a 300yd shuttle run (12 x 25yds).   You can spread this one out into two sessions if needed. Questions:  How is strength / power? 1.5x your bodyweight? 2x BW? Speed decent? 

Day 3: Mobility Day - Plus 1000m swim with fins for time. ALso do the Drownproofing / 100m swim workout to see how your pool skills are coming along.  Questions: Having issues with mobility after added mass? Comfort in the water needs work? 

Day 4: BW Bench Press - max reps (10-20?), 20lb Pullups - max reps (10-20?).
4 mile ruck with 40-50lbs (less than 40-50 min?)

Day 5:  3-4 mile timed run (6-7 min mile pace?), 200m fireman carry with someone your weight. Swim with fins 2000m for time?

Day 6:  Fun Workout Challenge - Sandbaby Devil Murph: 

Here is a combination of the Sandbaby Murph, Devil's Mile and The Murph workouts. They are arranged in an order that will challenge many top-level students with a 90- to 120-minute workout. Can you handle this much volume of work?  See the official SB Devil Murph

The Sandbaby Devil Murph requires a 40- to 50-pound weight. We use sandbags and create a circuit of exercises - a non-stop movement workout: Log PT Simulator + Murph + Devil's Mile 

Run 1 mile 

Do in as few sets as possible:

100 pullups
200 pushups
200 SB squats
200 SB situps
100 SB Push Press
- run with SB 400m each complete max rep circuit

Devils' Mile
400m bear crawl
400m walking lunges (SB)
400m fireman carry (200m each person)
400m burpee broad jump or 2 x 40lb KB farmerwalk 400m

Run 1 mile

Enjoy. Make sure you stretch well, stay hydrated and pace yourself. This one is special.

At the end of this week, you should be able to deduce where your strength and weaknesses are on the tactical fitness spectrum:  strength, power, speed, agility, muscle stamina, endurance, grip, flexibility / mobility, swim skills / technique, work capacity, and overall soreness after high rep calisthenics.  

The answers should drive your toward one of the following options:

- One more cycle of lift (3 weeks lift / 1 week cals / cardio focus)

- Start Spring Training Cycle (3 weeks cals / cardio focus / 1 week strength)

This is IF you want to use the 3:1 Block Periodization Model of course:

The 3:1 Block Periodization model works well for adding to a program. 

So YES, you could actually do three weeks of the Spring / Summer Cycle and 1 week of the Winter Lift Cycle and get a similar model to this program.

The beauty of the 3:1 Block Periodization model vs. other types of models is with tactical fitness training those who had sufficient strength saw increases on strength-endurance and timed cardio events. Those who had sufficient endurance saw significant increases in strength and running speed with the block periodization system.   

Who Needs This? 

If you are preparing for the Navy PST or the Air Force PAST as well as other Combat Fitness Tests in our military, you need to try this method of training. This will help you not only get TO the training (Phase 1 of tactical fitness), but prepare yourself to get THROUGH the training (Phase 2 of tactical fitness) Also, if you are preparing for special ops training pipelines where all the elements of fitness (strength, power, speed, agility, endurance, muscle stamina, flexibility, mobility, grip) need to be highly developed, try 3-4 months of block periodization and maintain your strengths while building up your weaknesses.

Increase Strength and Crush the PST / PAST - This is a lift focused cycle with a cals / cardio maintenance - just the opposite of the above new SPRING Training. For the ebook, check out this link - Increase Strength and Crush the PST / PAST 

Other Tactical Fitness Programs Specific to Your Goals

These Seasonal Tactical Fitness BLOCK Periodization programs will walk you through 4 x 4 weeks cycles with 16 weeks of each season in two programs. 


OR You can opt to get Super Specific to Your Training and Do Any of the Following Options:


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Dive deeper into the world of Tactical Athlete training and mental toughness by exploring Stew Smith Fitness Programming for the Tactical Athlete online store. Uncover the strategies and techniques used by elite forces to push past physical and mental barriers. Visit StewSmithFitness.com now and equip yourself with the tools for success in many special ops-level selection programs in the military and police world. 

Here is a list of what we do at StewSmithFitness.com

Who is Stew Smith? Coach, Trainer, Author, Podcaster 

I'm the former Navy SEAL that special ops candidates go to for books, ebooks and online coaching to prepare themselves to get to and through intense tactical assessment and selection programs and qualify for service in their chosen tactical profession.  See More at StewSmithFitness.com

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As you cross the wonderful milestone of 50, you might find that your body doesn’t quite bounce back the way it used to. You’re not alone in this—many men and women in your age group are searching for ways to revive their fitness levels without feeling overwhelmed. That’s where longtime coach and fitness writer Stew Smith’s newest book, "The Ageless Athlete: Fitness Over 50," comes into play. This book may just be the spark you need to ignite your fitness journey.

Truth is, there are people over 60 and 70 doing this workout. Even the advanced section. It works and will help you progress from beginner to intermediate to advanced. 


Remember, as you age, your training needs to adapt.

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New Tactical Fitness Training Course!

Getting TO the training does not guarantee you get THROUGH the training. Learn about the two phases of tactical fitness you need to develop thoroughly before getting to BUDS. Check out the Online Course - Getting TO and THROUGH Special Ops Selection.

Training is What We Do: 

Need Programming for Fitness Tests and Beyond?  We are all about getting you TO and THROUGH your future training program.  See how that works.  

New Tactical Fitness Training Course!

Getting TO the training does not guarantee you get THROUGH the training. Learn about the two phases of tactical fitness you need to develop thoroughly before getting to BUDS. Check out the Online Course - Getting TO and THROUGH Special Ops Selection.

Where to Find More Information About Optimal Performance Training Programs

When you start training again, consider the seasonal tactical fitness model.  I call it A WAY to train and obviously not the only way to train. But it offers the opportunity to never neglect your weaknesses, improves flexibility and mobility, and puts you at a level of physical ability where you are happy with your overall ability to do just about anything. We have a system where the seasons dictate our training. When it is nicer outside, we tend to run and do more calisthenics.  When it is colder and not so nice, we lift more, run less, and still maintain our outdoor activities with shorter runs and rucks. Check it out: Seasonal Tactical Fitness Periodization System.  

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Online Coaching is Available with Stew Smith Fitness - Weekly Workouts created personally for you.


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If you want access to years' worth of workouts, many of the top eBOOKs, favorite workouts of the week, a free fitness APP, a closed Facebook Group, a video/picture library of exercises, and more access to LIVE Q/A sessions, check out the Stew Smith Fitness Members Section. 

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Best of all, if you have questions, email Stew Smith himself (Stew@stewsmithfitness.com).  Join the tactical fitness group discussions, latest articles, LIVE QA videos, swim critiques, podcasts, and much more at the Stew Smith Tactical Fitness Training Closed Group on Skool.

 

Questions?  Just email - Stew@StewSmithFitness.com

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