The Definitive Spec Ops Resource
THE DEFINITIVE SPEC OPS RESOURCE FOR FITNESS AND SELECTION
Monday we’ll focus on some speed work with the shuttle runs rather than a longer duration. By now after the training program has been in effect for a while, your feet shouldn’t be bothering you too badly after the ruck march from Sunday.
Training:
More preparation for the UBRR
2 x 1-minute Pushups
2 x 1-minute Sit-ups
2 x 1-minute, Crunches
2 x 1-minute, V-ups
2 x Dips as many as possible to muscle failure
10 x 40-meter shuttle run
Stretch well after completion
Back in the gym this morning before heading out for a run. We’ll break up the routine next week with some speed interval running, that will help to build up your short area quickness and speed.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)
3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front
3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises
3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise
3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press
3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press
3-mile run
Stretch well after completion
Continue to prep for the UBRR. A second Leg Day this week as we’ll blast them good today in the gym. Make note of your times in the run and your workouts in your workout log book.
Training:
3 x 10 Pullups
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter dumbbell)
3 x 10 Barbell Squats
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
3 x 10 Romanian Lunges
30 x “V” ups
3 x 1 mile run with 1-minute rest in between. Run those as fast as you can
Stretch well after completion
Continue to prep for the UBRR Leg Day is a fun day with a trip to the gym today. Make sure you keep track of your times on the run in your workout log book.
Training:
3 x Pullups 10 reps
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter dumbbell)
3 x 10 Leg Extensions
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
3 x 20 Sit-ups
30 x “V” Ups
3-mile run
Stretch well after completion
Back to the gym today, working on your shoulders and traps, which all he when either toting the rucksack or climbing the ropes.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, behind the neck (go as heavy as possible)
3 x 12 Lat Pulldowns, front
3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Front Raises
3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press
3 x 8 Shoulder Shrugs
4 x 25-meter Shuttle Run
3 x 3 Cone Drill
Stretch well after completion
Continue to prep for the UBRR and get some leg work in with a trip to the gym today.
Training:
3 x Pullups 10 reps
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)
3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter dumbbell)
3 x 10 Leg Extensions
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
3 x 20 Push-ups
30 x “V” ups
2-mile run
Stretch well after completion
Today we’ll hit the legs hard again and then rest on Sunday. More reps on the legs today, as we’ll get ready for the Rifle PT squats, that everyone loves so well.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
First, head into the gym:
3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight, more reps)
3 x Goblet Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight, more reps)
3 x Hungarian Lunges 20-15-12 reps light weight
3 x 10 Pull-ups
3 x 10 reps Standing Arnold Press
3 x 25 Push-ups
30 x “V” ups
6-mile rucksack march with 45-pound minimum
Stretch well after completion
Training:
Shoulders and Chest Day in the gym, all of this will help with the UBRR
Stretch well after completion
SOF Selection PT Preparation 3.23.2017
A heavy day of preparation with the pushups, sit-ups, and crunches. Plus, the longer ruck march to get you ready for a tough day ahead.
Training:
More Preparation for the UBRR:
100 x pushups (no time limit)
100 x sit ups (no time limit)
100 x crunches
3 x 20 dips or until muscle failure
25 x V-ups
6-mile rucksack march (45 lb minimum) over varied terrain, note your time
Stretch well after completion
While preparing to go to Selection, there is a lot of individual work that must be put in. Finding and breaking in the best boots for your feet and prepping your feet for the long road ahead. Then there is the Land Navigation training and map reading which, if you aren’t ready for can be daunting. Then, of course, is the physical training, and finally, the rucking that goes in to prepare. No one says you can’t have a little fun while rucking and preparing for Selection which leads us the GORUCK Challenge.
What is GORUCK? GORUCK is a company that was started by Jason McCarthy after his Special Forces service with the 10th SFG(A). He originally was trying to just sell his gear that he was manufacturing. But then he got an idea to promote the gear and let people, many of whom had never rucked or experienced anything close to being in the military a little taste of what Selection is like.
But this event is built on having fun, sweating up a storm, working within a team and accomplishing a goal under the watchful gaze of a Special Operations cadre member. It is built around events that you’ll encounter in Selection, doing PT in the sand, or in some cases the water, carrying heavy objects as a team, (logs, telephone pole sections) and then building an apparatus that has to carry about 500 pounds and then moving it around a city in the US. Sounds strangely familiar?
The different GORUCK events last anywhere from:
The Light – 4-5 hours, 7-10 mile distance
The Tough – 10-12 hours, 15-20 mile distance
The Heavy – 24+ hours, 40+ miles distance
Selection – 48+ hours, 80+ miles distance (has a less than 5 percent finish rate)
They also have an Orienteering course, a Scavenger Hunt, as well as others.
So, while you’re having fun, you are also getting some difficult and useful training in. Preparing for Selection is a lot of work. It is demanding, tough and generally a lonely process, as the onus is on yourself to get ready for the challenge ahead.
This is a chance to put together a like-minded group of individuals to enjoy the camaraderie of the course, getting some challenging training in, all while in a much more light-hearted atmosphere than the Selection courses.
If you want to give your friends a taste of wait awaits you or just want to get training partners involved in a break from the monotony of singular training than the GORUCK challenge would be a fun way to do just that. And if your Land Navigation is a particularly weak area, the 36-hour Navigator course, taught by Special Forces cadre members will be a good, learning tool while also being taught some survival skills.
Now don’t think that this is a harbinger of things to come at Selection. There is no way, I’d ever try to sell you that and the GORUCK people wouldn’t either. Their course is based on having fun while you’re working your tail off.
I’m in the midst now of trying to convince some friends and family members to put together a team and attempt one of the challenges that are upcoming in the next few months. My wife thinks I’m insane to want to do this, “After all this time, you want to go back to being in selection?” Perhaps she has a point.
But being a Special Forces guy means always being up to the challenge, right? That’s what it is all about. That and doing what we love and most importantly doing it with the ones we love. That being said, I doubt I’ll have any luck convincing anyone to do the Selection challenge, but hey, it is time to throw the ruck on and get outside and work out the kinks this morning. Let’s go rucking.
Photo courtesy of GORUCK