Special Forces Workout Training

For many men, working out is not just about putting on a lot of muscle. Instead, their focus is on getting stronger, tougher, fitter and healthier. You might decide that learning how to be able to protect yourself and your loved ones in an emergency takes precedence over just looking good. If you are looking to achieve this level of physical capability, Special Forces troops are a good example. These are the best the military has to offer, elite soldiers who are picked for the toughest missions. Special Forces generally refers to the Green Berets, but also commonly includes other elite units such as the U.S. Army Rangers or the U.S. Navy SEALS.

Significance

Military training and Special Forces training in particular is geared for performance over aesthetic qualities. After all, there is no point in having enormous muscles if you can't run far or fast enough in an emergency. In 1926, a strong man by the name of Earle Liederman wrote a book called "Endurance" in which he laid out five requirements a man should be able to perform to save his life. These were functional skills, including swimming at least half a mile, sprinting 200 yards, jumping obstacles at waist height, perform at least 15 chin-ups and at least 25 dips. This kind of functional ability matters more in terms of everyday fitness than being able to bench large amounts of weight.

Considerations

Special Forces training requires you to be prepared for any eventuality. The Navy SEALS Physical Screening Test encourages functional strength and endurance. An average score is a 500-yard swim in about nine minutes, 100 pushups in two minutes, 100 sit-ups in two minutes, 20 pull-ups and a 1.5-mile run in around nine minutes. To get into the Army Rangers, you need to pass the Army Physical Fitness Test with good scores, aiming for around 14 minutes for a two-mile run and then around 100 sit-ups in two minutes and the same for pushups. You will then need to complete the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course.

Time Frame

The Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course lasts several weeks and again tests your functional fitness, comprising physical training sessions with running, pushups, pull-ups and sit-ups, as well as tackling obstacle courses, rucksack marches and orienteering. recommends alternating sets of calisthenics with fast-paced runs to improve your ability to handle Special Forces-type training.

Features

To emulate Special Forces fitness training, Stew Smith, former Navy SEAL and fitness author, recommends swimming two to three times a week, aiming to swim around one or two kilometers each time. You should also run nearly every day, aiming for a three- to five-mile run as fast as you can. Calisthenics should also be part of your regime. Aim to do a session two or three times a week, comprising of 100 pull-ups, in 10 sets of 10 repetitions, 200 to 300 pushups in 10 to 15 sets of 20 repetitions, and 200 to 300 sit-ups, in five to 10 sets of 40 to 50 repetitions.

Types

Individually, none of the exercises you encounter should be too difficult. However, Special Forces training is about becoming tough enough under any conditions. Marching and hiking in combat boots carrying 50 lbs. is considerably more tiring after sleeping rough, while swimming 15 meters sounds easy until you try it fully clothed and carrying your combat gear. Prepare by wearing a weighted vest as you exercise and resist the urge to take breaks. To improve your mental and physical conditioning, try to complete100 pull-ups, 200 pushups and 300 sit-ups in as few sets as possible, running a quarter of a mile in 90 seconds between every set. Try to complete this without rest, as fast as you can.