By Guest Author Jake Jackson

You’re making your fitness way too complicated.  Seriously there are only two basic things that any type of athlete does to increase their fitness.  You can manipulate external objects, or your body weight, and that is just about it. However, we in the fitness industry have done an excellent job of bringing in extraneous detail in order to make it more complicated than it needs to be.  

This article will cover the very basics you actually need to concern yourself with so that you can put together a basic fitness plan that actually makes a difference in your day to day life.  It will also include a great general fitness program that is very effective.

To clarify, I’m not implying that the scientific mechanisms behind physical fitness aren’t complicated, or that there aren’t training programs that are very difficult to understand.  I’m simply telling you that 95% of of us don’t need such complication in our personal fitness plan.

Here are the most important factors you need to consider when you are making improvements in your own fitness.

Goal Setting

In the 10 plus years I’ve been doing this, this is the number one area where I see people make a mistake.  You can’t accomplish anything without a solid attainable goal paired with a realistic timeframe.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a new person walk into the gym and give me the old, “I want to get into better shape.”  I understand what this means to me, but it might mean something very different to you, which is why we need to have a solid understanding of what you really want.  

That type of goal is very fuzzy, but we can make it more concrete by saying something like, “I want to lose 5% of my body fat in 8 weeks.”  That is a much better goal. It is measurable, and attainable.

A different version might be, “I want to run a 5k race under 30min in one month.”  You’ll notice that these goals are all reasonable and tied to a timeframe. In my experience no timeframe equals doing it later, and later generally never comes.  

Planning Your Resistance Training

There is no physical fitness goal that isn’t better accomplished by a stronger person.  There have been dozens of research studies that show even elite endurance athletes can run better after a period of heavy strength training.  

Depending on your personal goals we might just want to increase your strength without adding too much size, or it could be the complete opposite. Some of us enjoy having trouble fitting into cars, and only care about muscular size!  

The best rule of thumb for strength adaptation is to stick to weights that are above 80% of the heaviest weight you can move for one rep.  You will be doing sets of 5 or less with these heavy weights.

If you are looking for muscular size, then you should probably be doing 8-15 reps with weights that allow you to finish the set with maybe a rep or two left in the tank.  

Cardiovascular Training

Just like strength training this needs to be a part of everyone’s fitness plan.  Even athletes who only care to lift heavy things, and avoid libraries, will be able to do more sets and reps if their cardiovascular system can help them recover more quickly between sets.  

There are many options here.  The easiest of which I call sandwich training.  This is where you simply start your normal gym routine with 10 minutes of cardio and end it with 10 minutes of cardio at a moderate intensity.

In my experience it’s very easy to get this done, and there is some solid research showing that a 10 minute long easy cool down really increases your strength, and muscle mass gains in a relatively short period.   

Putting a Plan Together

If I’m being honest I very rarely see someone who really works hard in the gym that does more than 4 sessions per week consistently.  They still get great results because you really don’t improve from the workout, you improve from the recovery after the workout.

The following is a great general plan that can be done in 4 sessions per week.  

This program assumes a couple of things.  First it assumes you have the basic equipment to do the moves.  You will need a bar and plates, a few dumbbells, and a place to do dips and pull ups.  

It also assumes that you have a good understanding how to safely perform the deadlift, press, and back squat.  It’s ok if you aren’t there yet as there are many resources to help you out. You can hire a personal trainer for a few sessions.   You could drop in at a crossfit class, or go to a specific class put on by weight lifting coaches. Or my personal favorite, Youtube.

Realistically you will always be better off receiving some professional instruction, but some folks can watch someone do something and replicate it.  In my experience that’s not very common and those folks probably know who they are.

This program has some elements that are for time, meaning that you should accomplish this as fast as you can do so safely.  There are no really heavy weights here, but when you are fatigued you need to pay attention to your form to avoid injury. It’s always better to back off a few pounds, or a few percent, and avoid injury, than it is to keep going and take yourself out for weeks.

By the end of this program you will be putting in a fair amount of work, and I expect each session to take around an hour.  You should select the days that you want to workout based upon your schedule. Generally I recommend 2 days of workout, one day of rest, 2 days of workout, 2 days of rest.  


This is a very broad topic and a little beyond the scope of this article, so I will offer a few tips here that should help you out.  First try to eat real food. If it came in a package with a nutrition label it’s processed and not as good as regular food.

Secondly, try and have a piece of meat, fish, or poultry or eggs with each meal.  Right now the amount doesn’t really matter, just get into the habit of eating protein.  

Lastly don’t go crazy with a new diet plan and this program.  You will have a hard time sticking to this program if you are also adapting to a new diet.  Just try and pick a few healthier choices to eat and then after you accomplish this plan, work on making more improvement in your diet.  

Resources for Future Training

If you enjoy this kind of workout, and want to learn all the nuts and bolts to creating your own custom plan then check out this ebook, Programming Your Fitness.  You’ll find a ton of information in this 125 page guide including the science behind creating fitness plans.  It also addresses the most common issues athletes face such as: losing fat correctly, increasing strength and muscle mass, and how to program endurance and lifting simultaneously.  

Otherwise I’ve got dozens of plans on my website, Tier Three Tactical, and they are all free.  They are written for crossfitters, and they are all pretty miserable.

Lastly I encourage you to workout with a friend or a group.  I’ve seen very few athletes really get in great shape by themselves.  It’s much more common to see them workout with a group, or a lifting partner who can help keep them motivated, and stay consistent.  Now get out there and start moving!

About the Author

This article was guest written by Jacob Jackson, the owner of Tier Three Tactical, a website that provides in depth information on fitness, tactical training, and gear.

Jake is a Former Marine Officer, holding both Ground Intelligence Officer, and Infantry Officer MOS’s.  He has deployed to Afghanistan as Task Force Intelligence Officer in 2012.

He is a lifelong fitness and shooting enthusiast, and is currently a Level 1 Crossfit Coach at Crossfit Annandale. He currently serves as a police officer in a major metropolitan department on the east coast.  He may, or may not be guilty of listening to the AWS podcast while on patrol.

You can contact the author with any questions at  You can follow him on Facebook and Instagram.  

