I was originally going to call this article “The Secrets of MilitaryTraining,” but given recent events in the last four months, everyone out there seems to be exposing the “secrets” of how our military trains. Well, the secret is that there isn't any secret. The military just trains movements and exercises that you aren’t. Some things are kept in the dark and rightfully so. If you want to know what they are, find your local recruiter and sign on the dotted line.
Before I go any further, I just want to make it perfectly clear that I'm in no way undermining the training the military does. It's very brutal training that isn’t for the faint of heart and reading an article about it isn’t comparable to doing the task starved and sleep deprived. The military athlete needs to be strong enough to carry his wounded buddy out of a kill zone and agile enough to shoot, move, and communicate. It’s a fine line that needs to be taken seriously.
I totally believe that a military operator should be squatting and deadlifting at least 400 pounds. I’m a believer that increased strength will lead to increased strength endurance. If he can get to 500 and 600 pounds and still be a competent operator, why not? Picking up a 500-pound bar will make dragging a 160-pound dummy easier. The same can be said for the Olympic lifts, but the military (in my opinion) doesn’t need world class powerlifters or Olympic lifters. They need men and women who can defend themselves if things go south and who will enter an unknown dark room to keep you and me safe while we sleep.
Standards of the branch of service must also be met at the same time. When I got out of the Marines, it was still 20 dead hang pull-ups, 100 crunches in two minutes, and a three-mile run in 18 minutes or less for a perfect score on the physical fitness test (PFT). Before I got out, the Marines were still developing the combat fitness test, which requires runs, drags, presses, and other movements. I never took it, so I can’t speak highly of it. I do believe that it's a step in the right direction because, in my opinion, the PFT has some gaps in regards to combat effectiveness.
I’m here to tell you how to improve your levels of strength and conditioning using some methods from the military. If your goal is to be competitive in powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting, these may or may not align with your goals, so understand that this isn't an article written specifically for those purposes.
Loaded carries with a twist
One specific moment in November 2004 will always stick out in my mind—seeing a 200-pound man carry another 200-pound man with both of them wearing 80-pound rucks at the tail end of a six-hour run. This is my case for improving strength. Carries in the military are done slightly different than in the civilian world. It's the same basic concept but with even more imagination. Some of these are bridal carries (hold your buddy like you’re carrying your wife across the threshold), the basic fireman’s carry, and a farmer’s carry while wearing a ruck. A nasty twist on the fireman’s carry was to squat your partner. Team carries usually involve a log or another type of weight. I've found logs locally at the Tractor Supply Store for around $15 a log. Two to three people can carry those logs on their shoulders or attach ropes to it and low carry it. Don’t be afraid to press it either. The logs can also be cut into one man sections so that an individual can run with it on his shoulder.
You have to remember that the mission of the military and law enforcement is to complete the mission. That may involve carrying things that you never have in ways you probably never would have thought of.
Crawls
I almost never see crawls being done in the civilian world. This is a shame if you ask me. Crawls are excellent for improving endurance of the lungs, legs, and arms. Variations include the low crawl, where you want to remain as low to the ground as possible, and the bear crawl, where only your hands and feet are on the ground and your hips are high in the air. If you bear crawl, try to crawl in a straight line when you get tired. If you can find a sturdy pair of pants with a decent belt, have a partner lie on his back and reach up and grab onto your belt while you bear crawl. You have my permission to curse my name after ten meters.
Calisthenics
You need to be able to do at least 20 dead hang pull-ups. No more arguments. Just do 20. It wasn't uncommon to do 100 dead hang pull-ups or more in a single physical training session. Then you could do whatever you wanted for the rest of the day. I never heard of anyone overtraining dead hang pull-ups in the five years that I was in.
Any variation of a push-up is also a must in your program—clapping, Hindu, dive bombers, feet elevated four feet in the air, or diamonds. It was typical to line up seven or eight men and put your feet on their shoulders. Then the group performed push-ups as a unit. This could also be done with four people in a square. You learn a lot about yourself in these situations. Flutter kicks have also been relegated to the realm of “we don’t do those.” I know guys that could do 1000 four-count flutter kicks anytime you asked them to. That speaks to me. Other exercises that should be done in your training program are 8-count bodybuilders, mountain climbers, and rope climbs. My standard for rope climbs is at least one 20-foot ascent without your feet.
Running:
This isn’t a leisurely jog through the park. Buy some combat boots and military trousers and run in those. Run in sand, through knee deep water if you can, or tackle the steepest hill in your area. Buy a rucksack and a sandbag. Fill the sandbag with at least 45 pounds of sand and run with that. Then combine all those elements together. Safety note—always running with a ruck on will ruin your knees, so don’t feel the need to always have one on unless you're training for a specific purpose. Get a few of your buddies together—at least eight—and run in a line. The end guy sprints to the front, and when he gets there, the new end guy sprints to the front. Keep this up for six miles. Throw a rock or weight into the equation. The last guy has to sprint it to the front and the end guy can’t run until he has it.
Swimming
Our standard was to be able to swim 25 meters (82 feet) underwater in uniform without any kick off the wall and with one breath. Others require twice that distance. All branches of the military are getting more involved in the water now. It isn't just for the Navy and the Marines. Running three miles, swimming a click, and then running three miles were the easy days. Breath holds underwater (swimming underwater for one breath, two breaths, and then three back down and back up for 1000 meters) should be a walk in the park for you. Be sure to have lifeguard supervision. Buy a good pair of fins. This is where the flutter kicks come in to play. Think your legs have enough endurance? Try "finning" a considerable distance with a pack.
If you have aspirations of joining the military or law enforcement, this is for you. If you don’t but just want some new ideas to train with, I hope this helped. Competitive lifters won’t need about half of what I've written, but I know some of it will be useful. Granted this is only a tiny bit of what should be, could be, or has been done. Part of training isn't knowing what lies ahead. That’s another key attribute missing in civilian training. When you don’t know how much longer your misery will go on for, it plays with your head. In the civilian training environment, you do A–Z and you’re done for the day. The only thing that will surely happen in military/LEO/firefighter training is A. You don’t know when Z will come. I hope this helps some of you become better athletes. When doing any of this, train safely and smartly within your limits. If you serve our country or will serve in any shape, form, or fashion, I deeply thank you.