Extreme Fitness

Drown-proofing is one of the many parts of SEAL stress training that new recruits undergo.

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Elite units put their soldiers through physical ordeals that would punish even professional athletes. Examining the way in which Special Forces train their personnel reveals key principles of physical conditioning that can be applied to any extreme fitness programmes.

Military Workouts

There is much bravado among military enthusiasts, and among the military community itself, about which Special Forces units have the toughest physical training regimes. In truth, the selection and training programmes for all elite units tend to be gruelling in the extreme, hence the elevated failure rates for those attempting to join. In the U.S. Marine Corps, about 40 per cent of those who enlist fail the recruitment process. For U.S. Army Special Forces, failure rates hover at around 60-70 per cent, while for units such as the Special Air Service (SAS), British Royal Marines and U.S. Navy SEALs, failure rates are at an unforgiving 75-90 per cent. (All these figures vary, of course, according to the class going through the recruitment process.)

Not all of those who fail to make the grade do so by flunking the physical tests. Some simply don't pass the initial medical (often much to their surprise), while others have insurmountable problems adjusting to the discipline required. Yet a lion's share doesn't make the grade because they can't achieve the physical challenges within the training programme. Those who turn up for Special Forces selection without high levels of all-round fitness are doomed to failure. Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) emphasize to candidates that Special Forces training is not intended to take unfit people to super-fit levels, but relies on the candidates bringing a lot of strength, endurance and stamina to the table.

U.S. Army Physical Fitness Manual - Principles of Exercise

Regularity. To achieve a training effect . one should strive to exercise . at least three times a week. Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good. Regularity is also important in resting, sleeping and following a good diet.

Progression. The intensity (how hard) and/or duration (how long) of exercise must gradually increase to improve the level of fitness.

Balance. To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others.

Variety. Providing a variety of activities reduces boredom and increases motivation and progress.

Specificity. Training must be geared toward specific goals. For example, soldiers become better runners if their training emphasizes running. Although swimming is great exercise, it does not improve a two-mile-run time as much as a running program does.

Recovery. A hard day of training for a given component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest day for that component and/or muscle group(s) to help permit recovery. Another way to allow recovery is to alternate the muscle groups exercised every other day, especially when training for strength and/or muscle endurance.

Overload. The workload of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.

- U.S. Army, FM 21-20, 1-4

SEAL Training

A good benchmark for understanding Special Forces training, and the lessons it provides for developing extreme fitness, is the U.S. Navy SEALs Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL (BUD/S) programme. This infamous, punishing 24-week ordeal must be passed by those who wish to become SEALs, taking the candidates to the very limits of physical endurance in both land and aquatic environments.

SEALS regularly train in tough field conditions to develop their endurance and stamina.

U.S. Navy SEALS Deep Water Swimming

Swimming is an excellent aerobic exercise that uses many muscle groups. Deep water swimming is also great for building stamina and lung capacity.

Not everyone can become a SEAL in the first place. Recruitment is restricted to U.S. males between 17 and 28 years of age (although there are waivers for candidates aged 29-30). All require uncorrected vision of at least 20/70 in the worst eye and 20/40 in the best. The candidates need to be educated to high-school level, and have to score the appropriate levels on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), which is designed to test mental abilities in a range of cognitive fields. They also undergo a Computerized-Special Operations Resilience Test (C-SORT), a form of psychometric test that explores the candidate's mental toughness and defines his basic character type.

At this pre-recruitment stage, the candidate also has to perform an initial Physical Screening Test (PST) to ensure that he has the physical requirements to at least begin SEALs training. The PST breaks down as follows, with minimum and optimum time requirements shown in the table:

Test

Minimum requirement

Optimum requirement

Swim 457m (1500ft/500yd)

12:30

9:00

Push-ups

50

90

Curl-ups a.k.a. sit-ups

50

85

Pull-ups

10

18

Run 2.4km (1.5 miles)

10:30

09:30

Swim 457m (1500ft/500yd) (timed breast stroke or side stroke) - rest 10 minutes

Push-ups (max set in two minutes) - two minute rest

Curl-ups a.k.a sit-ups (max set in two minutes) - two minute rest

Pull-ups (max set in two minutes) - ten minute rest

Run a distance of 2.4km (1.5 miles) (timed dressed in running shorts and shoes)

Note the composition of this PST. By testing swimming, strength exercises and running, the PST delivers an all-round fitness evaluation. This is a key point about Special Forces fitness programmes to which we shall return frequently. An elite soldier needs to have a complete fitness profile - there can be no weak links in his physical armour. The SEALs clarify this point in their Naval Special Warfare Physical Training Guide, designed to help interested candidates improve their fitness in readiness for the PST and BUD/S:

Most of your cardiovascular exercise should focus on running and swimming, and your strength and calisthenics training should be done to develop the necessary muscular strength and endurance for maximum pullups, push-ups and sit-ups as they are necessary for success at BUD/S. Cross-training such as cycling, rowing and hiking is useful to rehabilitate an injury, to add variety or to supplement your basic training. Work to improve your weakest areas. If you are a solid runner but a weak swimmer, don't spend all your time running just because you are good at it. Move out of your comfort zone, and spend enough time in the water to become a solid swimmer as well. - NAVSOC, Naval Special Warfare Physical Training Guide, p.2

Types of Exercise

The advice here about 'move out of your comfort zone' is essential for anyone tackling extreme fitness challenges. It is often apparent how people can model their fitness on a limited range of exercises, then wonder why they feel so unfit when they try a new form of challenge. I, for example, might be able to run to the top of the most precipitous hills with vigour, but multiple lengths of a swimming pool using breaststroke seem to drain me, drawing as they do on a different range of muscle groups. For this reason, make sure you invest in what might be termed 'full-spectrum training', a physical regime that pushes into all the nooks and crannies of your physical development.

Keeping Hydrated

A mere two per cent drop in body fluids can result in physical symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, dizziness and lowered blood pressure.

In basic terms, the four fundamental types of exercise you should pursue are: endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. Representative activities in these categories are as follows:

Type of exercise

Examples

Endurance

Running

Swimming