r/tacticalbarbell • u/PapaEchoOscar • Jul 19 '25
Fighter protocol deserves some love
Background: 37 yo, 3 kids, youngest is 8 months, so sleep has been 5-6 hours at night, BJJ blue belt, rolls 2-3 times a week, LEO and shift work.
Been lifting/crossfitting etc since I was 15, been doing brosplits, doggcrapp, westside/joe defranco stuff, 531. Did TB in 20/21 until I started BJJ, since then it has been mostly Defranco stuff and Chad Wesley Smith’s programs, condensed conjugate programs.
Started at 93-94 kg, went up to 97-98 in the winter (fat..), down to 92/93 again now
I had a back surgery in 2016, still have some nerve damage so deads and squats are out. Shoulders can be a bit wonky, depending on BJJ and/or if I have been doing something stupid.
Started on Tb Fighter from Green Protocol in desember 24. Cluster was:
Bulgarian split squats: 80 kg Bench, shoulder width grip: 127,5 kg Pullup: 40 kg
I guestimated 1rms, rounded down and used a 90% TM. I used forced progression every cycle, as max testing is heavy for my joints.
I have now done 5 3-week cycles of Fighter, 1 3-week cycle of SE, 1 cycle of OP I/A, and 2 3-week cycles of Fighter again. The only changes in clusters have been high grip trapbar deads for OP I/A, and sometimes I used fatgrips for pullups. The last two cycles I have also done a set or two at 90% instead of 85% on week 3.
In addition to strength and BJJ I have done mostly E running, some fobbits with kettlebell-swings and ABC and some hill sprints, walking with a weight west when I’m out with the stroller and meat eater 2 twice.. I aim for 5-6 trainings pr week, the last cycle it’s been 7-8 times pr week (double workouts, E in the morning, bjj or strength in evening).
Today was the last workout for this cycle before vacation. It was the 7th workout this week, I slept 5,5 hours and felt wore down, it’s hot as hell, and breakfast was only a bowl of greek yogurt and an apple.
After BSS I went to benching, did an easy set @ 85% (110 kg), same @ 90% (117.5 kg). Next week is off week and vacation, so I thought «fuck it», and went for a PR. I changed grip from close grip to «one thumb length from the smooth part of the bar» and got up to 142,5 kg, thats the most I’ve ever done. I did 140 after doing mostly OP in 2021. I wanted to try testing pullups also, but I was shot, so maybe next cycle.
I have force progressed up to 145 kg in the bench, and if this hadnt been the 7th workout in 6 days, and if I had gotten enough sleep I probably could have gone higher. Still, it’s more important for me to know the «baseline» strength, what I can manage under less than perfect conditions instead of what I can do the day I’m rested, peaked and the the stars align perfectly..
So if anyone is strapped for time, and are hesitating going for Fighter, try it, you may be surprised.
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u/Side_Control90 Jul 19 '25
I love fighter! It's the most underrated template in the books imo.
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 19 '25
Yes, it’s mostly discussions about op vs op i/a, dup or pro, zulu ht or mass, rarely anything about fighter. For many it’s probably because of different goals, but for all those who have to mix and match and tweak to do some op variant because they want to do op, maybe fighter would work better. At least GP Fighter, which I enjoyed more than TB1 Fighter!
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u/gagesm Jul 19 '25
For sure, sometimes the answer really is to simplify and do less.
Id also note that high end of sets in fighter is about the same or potential more than the low end in OP.
Personally for the last nine weeks I've been doing fighter (90% TM and doing all 5 sets unless I'm really smoked)+ black pro and a bit of grappling, and making great progress. I tore my pec last year and have been my bench back up to around 130kg.
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 19 '25
Actually, I have only done 3 sets since december, except two weeks where I did 4 sets on week 1 and 2. This round I have been hellbent on doing as little as possible, but just enough tonget a positive adaptation.
When doing Fighter, that extra recovery day means a lot, especially if we are doing grappling or something else that strains shoulders etc. I got a partial tear in my pec in 20 when doing OP, when the weights got up well over 100 kg 3 times a week it was to much to recover from for me, even with «only» 3 sets. And that was before I started doing BJJ.
Less is more! Good luck with your pec, Fighter’s extra recovery day will do you good!
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u/noeboi94 Jul 19 '25
Love it, excellent write up. Literally the type of person it was made for. Fighter is great for sure and its great to see you’re informed/experienced enough to follow its slight modifications and make it work for you and still push the needle. Keep it moving bro, stay ready
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u/colourful1nz Jul 20 '25
Perfect timing for me to read this write up thank you! I only just decided today to switch to fighter as I prep for an upcoming mountain bike race. Now Im excited!
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 20 '25
I can recommend fighter from GP. I enjoyed ot more than regular Fighter, repeating weeks 1-3 felt kinda boring
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u/lylegod Jul 19 '25
Do you do Bulgarian split squats with a barbell?
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 19 '25
The first cycles I did them with db’s and a weight west. The last 2-3 cycles I did them with a barbell to save my lower arms a bit for BJJ
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u/philrox_ Jul 24 '25
Congrats mate. Can’t imagine how you got the time to train 5-8 times a week with 3 kids.
Tell us your time protocol ;)
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 24 '25 edited Jul 24 '25
The weekly schedule is very floating. I just plot in and fill in whats missing for that week whenever I can, trying to spread the different workout out as good as I can. This is one reason I like Fighter.
Working shifts is also helpful, gives me time to train in the morning and noon while everyone else is at work/school.
Recap some of the last weeks, as an example:
Monday - stroller walking with weight west, 45-60 min, avg hr 125 bpm, zone 1/2. BJJ in the evening.
Tuesday - stroller walking at noon, strength in the evening
Wednesday - E, running
Thursday - BJJ
Friday - Strength
Saturday - BJJ
Sunday - off
Monday - BJJ
Tuesday - Lifting
Wednesay - BJJ. I hosted a day time open mat, giving me time to do some E running in the evening.
Thursday - BJJ
Friday - E, running
Saturday - Lifting, PR day.
Sunday: completely shot.
This is not typical. It usually is 5-6 times a week. having KB’s and a pullup bar at home is convenient to get something done, and I have loads of hills and running trails just outside my door, so going out for a hill sprint session or a meat eater 2 only requires 30 min of free time.
—-
Some weeks, when I work late, I know in advance that I wont be able to do BJJ wed - sunday. Those weeks I either do the first strength workout that week on monday morning, bjj in the evening and then a second bjj on tuesday, just to get those two bjj’s in that week. Or I do bjj on monday and tuesday, and push the strength workout to wednesday noon, before work. Having only two strength workouts to worry about gives a lot of flexibility to move around workouts so I can fill up my week with what I want (2 lift, 2 bjj, 2 e/hic)
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u/PapaEchoOscar Jul 24 '25
I’m tired, Jr was up all night, last answer was probably more of a sleep deprived ramble..
In short: my main goal for each week is 2 strength, 2 BJJ and 2 E/HIC. If it’s going to be a HIC or an E is dependant on how hard the rolls are that week. If they are easy I compliment that with HIC. If the rolls are hard, I round that out with some LSS.
I spread out the strength days with at least one day in between, often it’s 2 or 3. The strengt days are not completely fixed. Day 1 is mostly on Tuesdays, sometimes wednesday. Day 2 is mostly on a Thursday, sometimes on Friday. This depends on if I get to go to BJJ in the evenings those days. I can lift any time, but BJJ is only in the evening, so if I work late i prioritizr BJJ those days, and move the other days around.
HIC and E/LSS gets sprinkled in between, sometimes using a weigthed vest to get up the heart rate while I walk with my kids/girlfriend to sneak in some extra work.
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u/philrox_ Jul 28 '25
You deserve an Oscar 💪
Great to see that you have goals for the week and whenever it fits you pack it into the schedule.
Definitely will steal the weight vest walking with kids/family!
Personally need to sprinkle in more E/HIC work.
Thanks for the detailed description, gives me hope that I will also find a way to incorporate it.
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u/DRS_89 Jul 19 '25
These are the kind of short stories I like to read. Realistic, no nonsense experiences one can relate to from normal people doing normal day to day tasks/jobs. 👍