Base Building SE Phase Progress

I’ve completed the first phase of a Tactical Barbell Base Building block and am just about to finish week 5.  While I still have another 3 weeks to go, I figured the conclusion of the SE phase was a good time to assess my progress so far.  I am seeing improvements in the pace I am able to maintain while still remaining in zone 2 and more importantly it’s given me a structured way to incorporate running alongside strength training, which is where my training was lacking and what I was looking for in a program.  Its schedule has helped me become a more consistent runner which in the near term is where my biggest gains will come from.

I also like to periodically test myself by running a burpee ladder for time.  I was able to complete a baker’s dozen burpee ladder in both directions in 13:47 which is just over a minute better than a previous attempt of 14:58. The baker’s dozen burpee ladder involves performing 13 burpees walking back and forth 8 feet and then performing a similar round with 12 burpees.  The walk is then repeated and the burpee count decremented by 1.  This process is repeated until a single burpee round is reached.  At that point a round with a single burpee is repeated and the count incremented back up until a round with 13 burpees is completed.  While credit for this improvement cannot completely be attributed to the base building phase (I also ran AthleanX’s Anabolix and Train like Bane programs since I last tested) the SE phase definitely helped further add to work capacity. 

I am looking forward to the next 3 weeks of max strength and future training blocks leveraging this system.