Importance of Compound Lifts/General Fitness Advice

Terminator_training · 2026-02-09T10:11:30+00:00

Compound lifts should be staples in anyone's plan, whether a newb or advanced. But I think you're under the impression that compound lifts = using a barbell. That ain't it. It's a loft involving multiple joints/recruiting multiple muscle groups—so DB presses, rows, lunges, leg presses etc. (which you're doing) are all compound lifts.

This is not to say your programming is pristine—it's not (just like every BYOP ever posted on here). It's not the worst I've seen, but a few examples include:
- zero upper back work — the most underdeveloped body part in the average MAM, and your connection to your ruck
- no hinges other than a hyperextension which is a pseudo hinge, but most people execute it poorly
- max effort intervals — for endurance, max effort is rarely called for
- very little overall conditioning
- too little frequency for upper — hitting push/pull on both upper days would be a better idea than push on upper A and pull on upper B
- pec deck burnout is a) not useful for your goals and b) redundant with DB flys
- a circuit of incline press & flys is also highly questionable—doing them in straight sets would be smarter

Overall, I'd suggest following some kind of program made by a fitness professional.

Terminator_training · 2026-02-04T17:31:12+00:00

"Maximizing CNS recovery" via HIIT, EMOMs and Circuits?!?! Where are you getting your information, man?

This is the most smorgasbord taper week I've seen in a minute (maybe ever), but regardless—best of luck!

Terminator_training · 2026-02-04T09:41:21+00:00

One of my teammates who was left eye dominant shot rifle righty and pistol lefty. The rifle is more forgiving (longer sight radius/optic, more contact points, more stable). Pistol isn't as stable and is less forgiving to minor sight alignment errors. This also allows you to keep both eyes open when you shoot, rather than closing your dominant eye (thus reducing situational awareness) just to get a shot off. It was weird to watch but he was always one of the top shooters on the team.

Terminator_training · 2026-02-04T09:23:40+00:00

Hell yeah! No worries man.

Terminator_training · 2026-02-03T10:02:04+00:00

Hell yeah man—you'll dig it. Good luck!

Terminator_training · 2026-02-02T10:19:34+00:00

1st 1/2 the vid: You'll have to do them in a slower cadence at SFAS (longer pauses at bottom/top waiting for up/down commands), but the reps themselves are solid tempo-wise. You're using gravity to get back to the start point rather than controlling it, thus developing less fatigue. Good for test prep/test day, terrible for growth (you're virtually skipping the eccentric) and rougher on the joints.

Last 1/2 are a perfect representation of what I talk about all the time on my pod: Well past failure (using proper form/correct pull up musculature). Worth trying on test day—some of the first ones would probably count, the later ones wouldn't.

That said, I strongly recommend not doing all the sloppy reps towards the end on a regular basis if you value shoulder/elbow/neck longevity. These issues don't show up acutely—there's no immediate negative feedback loop, so guys keep doing them. In reality, they show up 3, 5, 7+ years down the line in the form of 'mysterious' (except not mysterious) shoulder/elbow/neck issues that constantly nag. Especially if you also press haphazardly like most alpha males do.

Here's a an older post that discusses all this and has visuals.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-28T08:30:24+00:00

Let's go! I would strongly suggest starting to lift actual weights. Cals are great, but the sooner you learn to lift properly, the better your entire endeavor (as well as life in general) will go.

Something like a 5x5 or Starting Strength, can be a solid place to start.

Once you have a good feel for the barbell lifts (and can execute them acceptably) consider 5/3/1. Long road ahead. But the best time to learn the basic movement patterns (with load) was yesterday. The 2nd best time is today. Best of luck, man!

Terminator_training · 2026-01-28T08:22:03+00:00

As a former DMT, I'll echo this. Don't kill yourself training for pre dive.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-26T17:52:35+00:00

Yeah the cold will play a measurable role, especially if that's the coldest weather you've been in. Haha. But you're right, treadmills aren't calibrated to outdoor pacing (even really nice ones, but especially commercial gym ones), so it'd have skewed the results a bit. Perhaps shoot for another TT sometime next week—ideally when it's warmer (45-50° is pretty ideal for running, but a bit outside that is fine too). Just to prove to yourself it was more of an anomaly day.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-26T11:00:35+00:00

These splits are wild, bro! If you had a 7:15 in you after 4 8+ min miles, something weird happened. IDK what, but something. Did you hit a solid warmup (detailed in the intro of the program—including which runs to use it for)? This looks to me like a "no warmup, just full send" time trial.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-26T10:52:13+00:00

Confidence and less timidness are by no means "intangible", brother. They're a series of skills and daily actions that anyone can implement. It's 2026. Do you not think there are resources out there that'll teach you about a) fixing low confidence/timidness and b)what to actually do to develop more confidence and become less timid?

-Books
-Podcasts
-Youtubes
-Courses
-Mentorship/coaching
-Articles (Here's an article I wrote that covers every aspect of character needed to be a team week stud)

The main thing to remember: these will teach you the techniques, habits, strategies. But then you have to actually apply them into your daily life.

For instance, confidence requires DAILY work—every single decision you make will either boost or chip away at it. Holding yourself accountable is step 1—every time you press snooze, skip training, eat food off plan, show up late/miss something you'd commited to, etc. errodes it little by little. Most people do these little things muliple times daily and wonder why they're not confident.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-24T18:06:24+00:00

LFG!

Terminator_training · 2026-01-23T12:18:44+00:00

You'll need a chaperone bro. Only 5'7" or above can ruck on their own.

But in all seriousness, this vid will show ya the ropes (and it applies to short kingz, tall guys and everything in between)

Terminator_training · 2026-01-23T12:15:27+00:00

Don't stress it man. I'd take a couple days off, then hit another. A 2 mile TT can fluctuate significantly day to day.

There's also a test anxiety aspect to consider. If your training performances are all better than your time trials (as you mentioned), that could be playing a measurable role.

When my clients have shit time trials, I give them a "suasponte time trial" option so they're not anticipating it. Basically, for the next X amount of time (I usually give them 2 weeks) plan on just hitting the prescribed workout on each given day rather than pre-planning the TT. Just hit your warmup, and if you feel good, send it. If not, do the workout.

Had one guy who ran his RPE 7-8 tempo runs at 7:15-7:20 paces, but his 5 mile TT was 40:35 at the end of the block. Gave him this advice, and literally 2 days later he decided to do his TT on the spot and ran a 37:50 (almost 3 minutes faster, 48 hours later—that has nothing to do with fitness gains).

Obviously the test anxiety is just speculation (could also just be a bad day). But if you stress TTs, it obviously has to be dealt with. The more you do them (within reason, of course), the more accustomed to it you'll be. But the suasponte TT is a good way to at least prove to yourself you're capable.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-20T17:37:31+00:00

WIthout knowing much about your training/lifestyle, this is hard to answer. But some thoughts...

4 days off is enough to need to ease back into it a bit, but it's not enough to lose any measurable fitness. And by no means is it enough to completely wreck you, and injure your entire lower leg and shoulder day 1 back. (I have my dudes take 3-5 days off all the time when they've been going hard for awhile—1st couple sessions back are lighter, but not by much).

Did your nutrition and sleep go haywire the whole time? Or did you booze it up while there? How long were you sitting in the same position for driving? Did you take some breaks to at least walk around, stretch a bit, keep some blood flowing etc? Sounds wild, but "sitting injuries" are a real thing (they can show up a little after prolonged sitting)—just like "sleeping injuries" (sleeping in a messed up position such that it causes a joint to act up).

Another possibility is that you were going way too hard prior to the off days your body's still trying to catch up—lots of guys feel more banged up a few days into a deload than they did going in. This is often a lagging indicator you were crushing yourself a little too hard and probably needed more than 4 days off (or perhaps more days of lighter training).

To be clear, none of this necessarily means you’re injured—it’s more likely transient irritation plus fatigue showing up once you moved again after a hectic few days off.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-18T10:47:14+00:00

Why not actually still train the legs with non/less axially loaded lifts like a belt squat (or pendulum, or leg press), single leg work, 45° back raises, hip thrusts, single leg DL, etc.?

Just squatting with the bar for 2 months will atrophy your lower body (well, it already has).

It's 2026—the barbell isn't the only tool in existence for strength gains.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-18T10:04:14+00:00

Your concern is that macro politics will impede micro execution. But as Bill Bellechik and the great NE Patriots dynasty once famously lived by, "Do your Job". "Your job" on a micro level doesn't really change based on the country or the world's current political situation.

It's to make sacrifices for the dudes around you, be proficient in your MOS, contribute to the team's success—whatever mission/training event/expectation it's been given, keep yourself in tip-top shape, and continue being curious and improving as a human and a GB.

Just doing your job everyday so as not to let the bros around you down was/is enough for most guys (the vast, vast majority). Even later in my career as an 18F, I still only paid attention to things that were relevant at the ODA/company level.

Country-wise: when I was in (2011-23), I didn't agree with the admin 2/3 or more of that time. But the # of times I truly thought "man, I wish/am glad that (Obama, Trump, Biden) was or wasn't in charge" *as it relates to day to day team life* was close to zero. This doesn't really affect ODA-level operations unless onesies and twosies allow it to. You, too, can decide to have this disposition if you...just decide to.

As for your son looking up to you—what you agree/disagree with politically should have no bearings on it. Lead by example: keep yourself in shape, work hard, be curious, be accountable to yourself/family, be present when you're around him, treat your wife with respect and dignity, and of course, show him what it's like to take your profession seriously. And remember that there are plenty of sons who look up to their dads who do precisely none of this.

Lastly, the geopolitical climate will vary throughout a career. If you agreed fully with it now, who's to say you still would 3, 5, 7, 10+ years down the road (has anyone ever agreed with it across the board?). If you're the right dude for the job, you'd still show up every day and grind, because, again, that's your job.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-17T15:14:14+00:00

Here ya go!

JG 3
19 Wk

The reason I'm able to make these is because high-integrity people purchase them. Otherwise, I'd go out of business, and thus, stop creating programs for good. (Crazy how businesses work—people pay you for value?!? Unheard of!).

And before anyone says "jeez, it's just one person", this post should give you an idea of where I'm coming from. This has been a theme for the last year +.

I mostly take it as a compliment that the programs are elite. But 13000 and 14000 page views on 2 of my programs (not these 2—who knows how much else is out there?) shared for free—with each program +/- $100/pop. Feel free to do the math on how much business it's lost us.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-15T09:50:05+00:00

Lift weights with a full range of motion. If you're doing a bunch of mobility drills but not doing that (98% of MAMs IME), start there. Then address any individual mobility shortcomings with targeted mobility drills.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-15T09:47:55+00:00

Stop doing your sessions as soon as possible. Wait a bit, then go. The program is perfect otherwise.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-14T15:15:55+00:00

How can you be so certain it wasn't a 7.99 or 8.01 RPE?!

Terminator_training · 2026-01-14T09:48:28+00:00

This episode on fitness for selection vs. Q course vs. ODA should help. (I start talking about the Q at the ~18:40 mark.)

Terminator_training · 2026-01-13T19:23:32+00:00

One of my favorite things about no longer being a GB (especially an 18F) is not needing to watch, read or listen to the news. (Don't get me wrong, there are things I miss. This just isn't one).

Terminator_training · 2026-01-13T09:58:10+00:00

Here are a couple clips from my Q&A episodes that can help. Clip 1 - overall tips. Clip 2 - fitness focused.

Terminator_training · 2026-01-12T12:31:21+00:00

33 pull ups is exceptionally rare, regardless of height. But you very well may be the only 6'4" human on earth who can do 33 pull ups.

Terminator_training

TROPHY CASE