Rip,
I bought SS about 5 years ago, and like many others have been heavily influenced by it. Thanks!
Over the past several years I've struggled to integrate BB training into my overall training program. As a tactical athlete my goals are closer to "the sport of fitness" than those of a powerlifter. However, like many (many) others I see the limitations of CF-style training. The question is how to integrate strength and stamina training to produce functional work capacity in a smart way, that uses the principles outlined in, for example, Practical Programming?
What I've fallen into is cycling between 3-4 months of almost pure strength focus, followed by 4-6 months of CF type work during which time I see my strength steadily decline. When I get disgusted enough I return to a progressive BB focus. My work capacity steadily declines and I then return...you get the idea.
I see the value in progressive approaches to both strength and stamina. Any thoughts on what might be the most efficient way to combine them? It's pretty easy to maintain a base level of stamina while focusing on strength (I just need to be more disciplined about it). But I'm less clear on how I might keep strength gains from dropping off while engaged in a progressive stamina program. What does it take to maintain (or at least arrest the decline) while focusing on sprinting, jumping, sandbags, climbing, etc?