typical suburban dad, put on a little covid weight, got a lot of it off but some more to do. I'm currently doing 5x5 and have a garage gym I'm in 3 days a week. Hadn't lifted since college but making decent gains in weight over the last few months.

My cardio sucks. I don't like to run but also want to get ready for a fun-run.

I can ruck and hike, we do a few 3+ milers every week (my kids have tiny legs) and I get at least 4 miles walking in wooded trails during a regular work day.

I have ~25 pounds I think I'd like to lose to hit my goal weight. Have gotten close to my goal weight with keto, but honestly since lifting (and a really terrible last year) I'm a bit over where I want to be.

I'm willing to cut back on carbs, cut out (most) alcohol, and start training more aggressively. What else do I need to be doing to get into "good enough" shape for a 40 year old to compete in the old man division? I'm a former semi-pro 3 gun shooter so I'm pretty comfy with that aspect but have a lot to go on the fitness side of things.

Just cut out all sugar, drink only water and do push-ups daily.

Invest in a fitness coach that can help you reach your specific goals. You need accountability and a workout and meal plan to get in to the shape you want to be in. You know most successful athletes have coaches right? Do you just teach yourself to shoot 3 gun or do you go to courses/learn from someone that knows what the hell they are doing?

You've got no one holding you accountable and thats why you are where you are. Not a hit on you, we all could use coaches in many aspects of our lives to reach our goals. I'm not a coach, but have used them before. Do your research and read reviews. I'm telling you, you'll see results fast than if you try to figure stuff out on your own. A year is NOT that far away, almost to far away to not kick the can down the road and before you know it, you're a month and a half out, haven't done jack and you failed to make your dream a reality.

Lets go!!

The Tactical Games is no joke. But, a year is plenty of time to get ready. You absolutely have to get your cardio on point. You’ll also need muscular endurance. Put those together and call it work capacity. You’ll need a fair bit of raw strength, but not at the expense of hustle. Extra body weight will be a penalty, because you’ll have to drag it around all day.

You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. You can improvise things like a sled, a sandbag, or water jugs for farmers carry. I like kettlebells for this kind of training. You’ll need to learn to climb a rope.
You’ll need a plate carrier. You can make or use training plates. Aim for the target weight of 15 pounds. Bring a few oz extra, in case you need them to make weight. Any extra weight is a penalty because you have to hustle it around all day.

5x5 is a great program, but it isn’t geared towards “tactical fitness.” Think sled drags, farmers carry, sandbags, deadlifting odd objects, rope climbs, weighted burpees, overhead press odd objects, thrusters, and other exercises that combine muscular fatigue with elevated heart rate.


Have a retention holster. Don’t have unneeded equipment on your belt or body. Read the equipment rules for guns. You don’t need a $4000 handgun. A Plastic gun will make any shots that you might have and you won’t feel bad thrashing it. For rifle, red dot or LPVO is your choice. Different venues might favor one or the other.

A three gun background will be useful, if you can do it with a 150 heart rate.

Practice shooting at an elevated heart rate.

Practice shooting at an elevated heart rate some more.

I’ve run a few TG and skirmishes. I’ll be glad to offer any insight that can help.

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Look up metcon workouts.

I posted this on the 27th, and immediately got a head/chest cold that meant I couldn't even go up a flight of stairs without sucking wind, so wasn't off to a good start.
however, I did cut both carbs and my drinking, got back to week day intermittent fasting and got serious about getting back into Keto. As of this morning I'm down 6 pounds from the 27th. I have also hiked at least 4 miles a day since Sunday and got a good solid 5x5 in yesterday afternoon, so I'm making some progress.

@rock71 thanks for that write up and congrats on doing well! I am not "worried" about the shooting portion so much. I used to train for 3 gun by getting elevated heart rate and shooting stages. I'm much more worried about the fitness side of things. I was debilitated and hospitalized 3 years ago due to some damage to my low back. It's bad structurally but I've been working with PT and rehab for a while and I'm not using a cane anymore. I want to lose more weight before I start impact stuff like running and uneven lifts. Also want to get a bit stronger generally before adding a weighted PC to my stuff.

Should I be doing lower-impact cardio in the meantime? and if so, what? I don't have any real gear but open to getting stuff as needed.

Should I supplement the 5x5s with some of the exercises you mention?

how far into training did you start doing it with a PC? I'm an office drone so not like it would be work related for me, and I'm genuinely hesitant to run around our subdivision with a PC that's not obviously a work out one because of a shooting we had here last year.

I'm not going to go nuts with gear, but I don't have any full size optics ready pistols. I have and carry two different 365s with dots (one XL with a comp) and I'm willing to get retention holsters for either if needed. I'm also willing to buy a full size something with dot as incentive to get my ass in gear, as I do seem to be motivated by that kind of thing.

I have a heavy older 3 gun rifle (jp barrel, lancer lower, etc) but recently built a 14.5 "lightweight" version that's closer to 7 pounds with a trijicon 1-4x than the JP was at ~12 pounds. I'll need a new comp from what I was reading but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

That “cold” is going around. I’m glad that you are feel better. I’ll throw out some random thoughts.

Losing weight and getting stronger will both be beneficial. After a certain point, you might adjust your diet to match the intensity level of training and competition. A full TG is two hard days and I wouldn’t want to do one while also on a low energy diet plan, or while cutting weight.

5x5 is a good program. It’s definitely not wasted time. TG does incorporate some heavy lifting, often in the form of heavy sandbags and farmers carrying. The Deadlifts and OHPs will pay off.

There’s always going to be movement involved, whether it’s a long distance movement, or some type of shuttle/relay. So, cardio is at least as important as raw strength. Muscle fatigue is the order of the day. As mentioned by someone else, look at METCON type workouts.

If you aren’t ready for running and loaded moves, look for other workouts. Do you have access to a swimming pool? There are some pool workouts that will absolutely jack your heart rate. You could always resort to the old standby of Burpees. Do shuttle sprints in your yard. Add something to carry back and forth as a next step.

Air Squats and step ups can get your legs tuned up. Do them loaded when you are ready.

Buy or build a sled. I made one from a recycled tire and some old concrete weights. It’s inexpensive, low impact, and has no soul.

Do grip work. Again, Deadlifts are good. Maybe add pinch grip carry of some plates.

Do pull ups and rope climbs. If those are a problem, look up a “how to” pull-up program and get after it. If you don’t know how to climb a rope, learn. (You don’t want to do the alternate work. Lol)

Do dips. Loaded and unloaded.

If your back is a weak point, do a lot of core work. Planks, Russian Twists, and Turkish Get Ups all come to mind. Unfortunately, the TG is not necessarily lower back friendly, especially since everything is done loaded. Training for the TG requires a lot of loaded time.

I’m going to emphasize this. There is no substitute for training in your gear, especially the vest. Sure, you can be in world class condition otherwise. But, between the movement restrictions, the change in balance, the positioning of equipment and the mental aspect of being confined in a vest, you have to spend time with it on to get physically and mentally prepared. If you are concerned with appearances, several companies make workout vests that might look more normal and less tacti-cool. You can splurge on Rouge, or you can get one off of Amazon and fill it with sand.

I come from a background where I wear/wore a vest at work. So, I got after it fairly early. If you aren’t accustomed to it. Do your workouts for a few weeks before, then add the vest. You’ll be amazed at how different it is. You can always scale the weight as needed.

It sounds like you are set for guns. Personally, I would favor the lighter setup. Same goes for your belt rig. It’s not combat. Wear the minimalist set up that will work and retain your stuff.

A year is plenty of time. Stay motivated. TG is on social media. They also have training dates and programs that you might check out to stay engaged.

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Look for a spartan race/ocr gym for a couple workouts.  They are usually climbing ropes, jumping walls, and carrying heavy things.  Should give you better pictures of where you're at, and what other people are doing.  If there's a good coach they should be able to modify for whatever issues you have.  Also good to have a little competition for that extra push.

@rock71

thanks for the additional write up, I appreciate it.

Rule question, I'm getting ready to order a plate carrier probably in poppy. It looks a lot like my slickster that I have "real" plates in so makes sense to stay similar.

can I use plates like Jacked Rabbit that are soft and flexible or do they need to be solid?

Unless something has changed, those would be legal.

I once made some training plates out of 2x2 tiles and chem tape. Attached File

Look up Jacob Hepner on YouTube. He won this years TG and was a crossfit competitor for a number of years. He offers TG training programs and good workouts on his you tube page.

Best of luck with your training!

Just to throw this out there, but a year is a long time out. Enough that you can spend the next 9 months working through a general strength & conditioning program, and then the 3-4 months leading up to an event doing specific preparation for it.

If it were me, I'd break it down like this:

- 8 weeks/2 months of basic endurance conditioning emphasis. Each week consists of 2 x full body strength routine (i.e. pressing, pulling, squatting), 1x per week of strength endurance, and 3x per week of Zone 2 cardio (rucking, running, rowing, biking, etc.). For the cardio sessions, keep your heart rate in the 130-140 range.

- 24 weeks/6 months of general strength and conditioning. Each week consists of 3-4 strength sessions, either full body 3x per week or some kind of upper/lower split with each done 2x per week. If doing 3x per week, then the conditioning shifts to 2-3x per week of high intensity conditioning (sprints, metcons, conditioning circuits, etc.). Do a 30-45 minute Zone 2 session every other week to maintain that endurance component. So that would look like Week 1: 3x high intensity, Week 2: 2x high intensity, 1x Zone 2.

- 12 weeks to 16 weeks /3-4 months sport specific workup to the event. Strength training moves to 2x per week, total body sessions (Monday/Thursday). 2x per week high intensity sessions (Tuesday/Wednesday, with a different emphasis on each day). Zone 2 on Friday for 30-45 minutes. Saturday becomes an "event day" where you practice the kinds of things you would do at the event. Do circuits with sandbags, sprints, etc, and then do dry fire in between each round of the circuit.

An example of an "event day" workout might look something like this:

Wearing your plate carrier, perform:
Load a 150 lb sandbag over a bar set at 52" high,
Pick up the sandbag and bear hug carry for 50 feet,
Load the bag over the bar again,
Run/cycle for a distance/time,
Rest 2 minutes (perform dry fire drill during this time).

That's one series. Repeat this series for 5-10 times.

Another example might be:

Burpees x 10,
run 400M (or air bike 30 cals),
Heavy KB swings x 10 (or KB snatches, sandbag over shoulder, et.),
Rest 60 seconds (do dry fire during this period)

Repeat for 4-5 rounds.


In the 1-2 weeks leading up to the event, back off on the sets/reps and give yourself time to rest so you show up fresh.

If you're in need of conditioning workout ideas, I'd go pick up Tactical Barbell II: Conditioning. It's super cheap as an e-book and has all of the programming you'd need on the conditioning side. I'm a fan of the strength training programming as well (Tactical Barbell I, 3rd ed.), but you could do well with any 2-4 day strength program.

Join a good CrossFit gym.  It's expensive but they will push you.  Also shoot, and do some obstacle course racing.  Put them together as you approach comp day.

Almost 3 months into 2024! Update OP!

@steviesterno16

O.S.T.

Bigger_Hammer

@BlackRifleJihad
@rock71
@Bigger_Hammer

not a ton of good news to share. I re-pissed off my hip and back so took some time off from the weights. I am focused on the rehab and getting that back to where it needs to be, and after ~6 weeks I think we're pretty close.

I did quit drinking for january, and cut back since then.

I also got more serious about IF/Keto and made it all the way to carnivore since the beginning of the new year. I am down ~15 pounds as of this morning, getting me to the "lightest" I've been in a number of years. Sleeping better and generally doing better stuff health wise, so hoping this trend continues and I'll work towards it.

Doesn't look like the finals is anywhere near me this year so that kinda took a lot of the motivation out of it for a bit.

Well keep us posted unless its not one of your goals for 2024 anymore. We all need accountability to achieve our goals! Keep us updated in the thread here. Peer pressure is a good motivator! Lets go!

If it makes you feel any better, this happened about 10 weeks before Mammoth. It definitely put a hitch in my training. I still went. But, it’s just now getting back above 87%.

Training around injuries and old age is just a fact of life. Stay motivated. Attached File

https://www.ar15.com/forums/general/I-m-shooting-my-first-match-in-almost-a-decade-tomorrow/5-2712633/&page=1&anc=108312799#i108312799

been working on carnivore and keto, down ~19 pounds since the first of the year. My hip and back are good so getting back into the weights finally. Progress!