This article is written for the men and women of the United States armed forces. However, if you want to give this workout a try, by all means go for it.

I recently had the honor/opportunity to train one of our nation’s warriors and help get him in tip-top shape for Officer Candidate School. For those of you who aren't familiar with combat fitness testing, let me give you the list of events that our fighting men and women have to perform:

  1. 30-lb ammo pack overhead press (for time)
  2. 880-yard sprint
  3. Zigzag farmer's walk with two 30-lb ammo packs
  4. Over the shoulder partner carry
  5. Wounded partner drag
  6. Three-mile run (18-minute minimum completion time)
  7. 20 chin-ups from a dead hang

All of the above events are timed, meaning the recruit/candidate has to do everything under the pressure of the clock. One of the things I had to do was find a way to simulate as many of these events as possible. The only challenge was to improve my client’s times in three weeks! If this sounds like a daunting task, you would be correct in your assessment. However, with a highly motivated person and a well-designed program, anything is possible. So enough talk. You want to see what he did and here it is.

  1. Prowler sprints and suicides, 6–8 times
  2. Super heavy farmer’s walk, 3–4 rounds
  3. Narrow grip Swiss bar shoulder presses (for time)
  4. Dead hang chin-ups, 3 sets
  5. 100-yard sprints, 8 times
  6. Backward sled drags, 3–4 rounds
  7. Heavy sandbag shouldering, 3–4 rounds
  8. Three-mile run tested weekly

He came in three days a week, so this is what the program design looked like:

Day 1:

Foam roll/stretch/dynamic warm up

Chin-ups, 3 sets

Timed narrow grip Swiss bar shoulder press

Farmer's walks, 3–4 rounds

Prowler sprints, 6 rounds

Day 2:

Foam roll/stretch/dynamic warm up

Push-ups, 3 sets (just because it’s a classic military exercise)

Chin-ups, 3 sets

Backward sled drag/sandbag shouldering, 3–4 rounds

100-yard sprints, 8 times

Day 3:

Mock test

Backward sled drag

Sandbag carry

Shoulder press with Swiss bar (for time)

Three-mile run

This routine isn't perfect by any means. However, by the end of his training with me, he could perform everything better than when he first came to me. The most noticed improvement was in the three-mile run, which went from 23:45 down to 21:15—a full two-minute and 30 seconds faster.

Here are some clips of some the training he did for your enjoyment:

Backward sled drag and sandbag carry:

Lunges and Prowler sprints:

Prowler suicides, truck pull, and tire flips: