Will get back to posting meals this week. I bought dates and this is a food I can not responsibly keep around, haha. I’ve had like 1500 calories of these in the past two days, too caloric and pure sugar to be just housing them.
These and nuts a a great example of how our food environment confuses us.
If you were to try to actually harvest dates, you’d go through a LOT of work to get them.
Just imagine trying to CLIMB one of these bastards in order to get a FEW dates for you to munch on. Let alone a carton of the things. That’d be an OUTSTANDING workout: well worth the fruity reward. Same with if you ever tried to harvest an actual handful of nuts: it’d be an all day adventure, and when you were done, that would be ALL the fruit and nuts you’d eat for the year, because you just harvested your entire crop.
But now, we can go to the store and pick these things up and just snack on them. WAY too easy to balloon up. And our biology hasn’t caught on: “Hell, if you’re EATING this, you must have EARNED it”.
I’ve definitely fallen into the same trap, and nut butters were ESPECIALLY bad, because now we just made it even MORE concentrated and palatable.
I’ve definitely been taking note of things like this since we talked about peanut butter a couple weeks back. If I can eat unlimited amounts of a food without ever getting full, I probably shouldn’t be eating it. Peanut butter, I can add it to everything and get 1500 extra calories without feeling full. Dates are the same and lead to constant snacking because the sugar is addicting. Even in a gaining phase, that’s not a good thing!
It’s like the inverse of eating a TON of low/no calorie foods during a cut just to fill your stomach. I don’t think it’s beneficial to mess with any hunger signaling, etc. I found hunger so important on my last cut, and I’m finding the full feeling to be important in the gaining phase. Those are literally pre-programmed indicators! I’m a bit hungry throughout the day and before bed, I will likely lose weight. I’m getting close to full and having an extra meal or shake at night, I will likely gain weight.
Incredibly well put, and it hinges on eating real/unprocessed foods in an evolutionarily appropriate manner. Fruit grow seasonaly and should be eaten as such, nuts are harvested sparingly, etc. We see the same issue with those trying to go carnivore: an 800lb cow is only going to have 1 liver: you’re not going to be able to eat a pound of it a day normally.
I always like the “raw potato test” when it comes to hunger. You’ll eat one of those if you’re REALLY hungry. If not, what we’re dealing with is something OTHER than hunger.
Funny you posted this, because I literally bought a box of dates from the supermarket on Sunday and have been snacking on them the last 2 days. OI eat very little in the way of sugary treats these days and these little dates are like chocolate bars for me. It will not be a regular occurrence but I am enjoying them none the less.
Taking the last few days and today easy. I have a follow up regarding my liver panels and fatty liver this afternoon. I was told not to workout for a few days, which sucks, but I’d rather get it all figured out.
I’ll cut this week by a day. Instead of 3x BP/SQ/PU I’ll do 2x with the deadlift day.
BW 189.5. 190.4 average still. Discussed this recently but the Trend seems to be shoot up a pound, stay there for 2 weeks, shoot up another pound. Still progressing!!
Only did the main work today plus going to be walking a ton. Long post below.
@T3hPwnisher I’m finding myself coming back to this comment from a couple months back. Honestly after 6 weeks of Operator, testing week, and now 5 weeks of Mass Template, I am pretty run down. I’m definitely getting stronger still and growing but I am not feeling my best. Specifically my elbows with low bar squats and chin-ups 3x per week and other residual tweaks, etc. I should have taken the Bridge week advice from the book more seriously, rather than trying to fit everything in perfectly before my vacation in a few weeks.
That said, I think I’m going to cut this cycle of Mass by a week and skip straight ahead to Bravo on Monday. That’ll give me 3-4 weeks of Bravo, 10 days off for Europe, and I can decide how I’ll proceed when I get back, hopefully feeling refreshed. But honestly, switching up the exercises right now will be a nice mental change too, so maybe I’ll want to stick with Bravo.
I used to think Wendler’s traditional 531 advice of de-loading every 4th week was silly, but I totally see it now. I’m not injured but I’d be stronger and progress more if I was felt more recovered on a daily basis. Learning on the fly here and adjusting when needed is a nice perk of the Tactical Barbell programming.
Bravo is basically an A/B structure with lifting 4x per week. Going to turn it into an Upper/Lower split. Will decide on exercises by Monday but general outline below.
Day A
Incline Dumbbell
Dips
BB or DB Row
Hammer Strength Row
BB Curls
OH Extension
Day B
Hack Squat or SSB Squat
Leg Press
RDL
Leg Curls
Calves
Abs
Re: the dates…I had a huge problem last year with grapes after I cut most sugar and processed foods. I’d always been fairly indifferent to fruit, but suddenly I was spending $20 a week on grapes and stalling my progress. So delicious suddenly!
Now I have the fruit in yogurt, and try to stick to berries.
The yogurt solution is great. Moves them to a meal instead of constantly snacking on them! Fruit is hard. I try to stick to bananas because I’m never going to eat 10 of them.
Totally agree. I was reading through the clusters in the book and thought the overlap didn’t make sense in some of them. Kind of excited for hitting some classic leg days though. Those days usually spike my appetite by a ton. And I’m finding gaining weight a bit harder after getting lean, so that should be a nice bump haha.
TB Specificity Bravo - Cycle 4, Adjustment Week, Workout 1
Leg Curls 110x4x12
Hack Squats 3plx2x12 3.5plx2x10
RDL 225x4x12
Belt Squats 2plx4x12
Donkey Calf Raise 50x4x12
Decline Situps 2x15 5lbx2x10. Using a weight behind the head is so much harder than without weight. Nice to know.
Trying out exercises and rep ranges/weights to set myself up for a 3 week cycle starting next week. Going to swap some things out. Belt squats will be swapped out for SSB squats. Squat work will be very quad targeted from now on. My legs look too small, haha.
The program uses percentages but I think I will have to eyeball some of these exercises. Not sure a percentage of max makes sense on most of the exercises I’ve picked. I’ll come up with some weight increase scheme, that’s what this week is for.
These workouts are a different kind of draining. More of a wobbly leg type of workout than feeling it more in my CNS with full body workouts. This will be a good change of pace but will be high effort. Really fun day.
10/2/2025
BW 189.7. Damn. Going to up food intake and take my eat whatever I want day seriously.
TB Specificity Bravo - Cycle 4, Adjustment Week, Workout 3
Sprints x10. Varying distances, all out with full rest.
I am so sore from yesterday. Triceps and back are absolutely torched. I need connect a bit more with my chest work. Going to try DBs and focus on a slow eccentric and making the reps better.
Food log below from today. Making sure to get protein in and not crazy strict otherwise. The big effort has been replacing peanut butter. Meal 3 is pointless and I ate it on the go. Better off having whey and meat or something. The muffin, if my wife bakes and I’m home and not cutting weight, going to eat it. Same with my mom and grandma.
Probably the first time I’ve done SSB squats. Damn they’re hard. Right on the quads which is what I’m looking for. Have room to add weight on it. And getting a good idea of what my progression will look like workout to workout.
29th birthday today. Goal is to go into 30 even better next year and set myself up for the next decade. Progress at this age will compound, wish I was thinking like this at 19. Time to get to work!!
10/4/2025
BW 190.3
TB Specificity Bravo - Cycle 4, Adjustment Week, Workout 5
Incline DB Bench 75x2x12 75x1x12+
DB Row 90x3x12 90x1x12+
DB Side Raise 15x4x15+. Last set did 2-3 rounds of rest pause with 15 seconds rest.
Dip BWx2x12 10x2x12
Bicep Curls 80x2x12 90x2x10
Tricep Pushdowns 110x4x12
Program calls for 4-5 sets, going to adjust this to 3-5 and determine as needed. I’d rather start lower volume and have room to add volume. I felt the incline DB press much more in my chest than BB, so that’s here to stay. I dropped a back exercise and replaced with side delts to get some shoulder work.
Going absolute beast mode eating today, eating everything in sight and hitting a steakhouse tonight. Pump check from todays workout, this is after 2 donuts, a muffin, and eggs.
