The answer is no. There is one key element missing, not just from boot camps, but from a variety of training methods used by individuals wanting to pursue a military career. But before we come to what that is, let us examine the fitness level required to join the military.

The Three Elements of Selection

Note: These three requirements are specific to the British Army, so be sure to research the specifics of the selection process for your branch of the military.

Although running is an integral part of being selected to join the Army, it is by no means the only method of training that should be utilized. Potential recruits are subject to a strict interview and selection process. There are three key elements of the initial fitness testing:

1. The Static Lift. The static lift simulates putting equipment onto the back of a vehicle at a height of 1.45m. A Powerbag is used to mimic the equipment with the starting weight as 15kg. You can then work your way up through 5kg increments to 40kg, when the test will end.
2. The Jerry Can Carry. This test determines the strength of your upper arms and shoulders. It is also a test of grip. You are required to carry two Jerry cans each weighing 20kg for a distance of 150 meters. With your arms by your side and carrying one Jerry can in each hand, you will be expected to complete this course in under two minutes. You are required to keep a pace of no less than 5.4km/h and scored on the distance in meters that you can carry the weights while maintaining the minimum pace.
3. The 2.4km Best Effort Run. Run times vary greatly depending on which branch of the Army you seek to join. Time markers range from 09:40 for units such as the Parachute Regiment to 14:30 for Junior Entry.

Most people don’t have a problem with the first two elements. Where it breaks down is the 2.4km best effort run. Second to standing completely naked in front of a stranger (this becomes oddly normal over the years for military members), the run element of selection is one of the most nerve-racking processes during the two-day interview.

“The underpinning reason for failure is that potential recruits just didn’t cut it. They were either beaten mentally through the pressure or physically through exhaustion or injury.”

I’ve heard all sorts of excuses, from “I have a cold” to “I’m missing a sock” (seriously, this happened). But let’s not sugar coat this. The underpinning reason for failure is that potential recruits just didn’t cut it. They were either beaten mentally through the pressure or physically through exhaustion or injury.

The required times are not particularly challenging. They barely represent any form of specificity to a combat environment. What this test does is allow for the Army to set a standard that is gender fair and that can easily be replicated. It also enables us as physical training staff to see who really wants it. This a job interview, after all.

These initial screenings will set you up for success later in your career.

Why You Need to Lift

If you are considering a career as a tactical athlete (and these men and women are indeed athletes in their own right), then you need to lift weights. The humble stress fracture is the most common pathology for young men and women going through training. Stress fractures are small fractures found on the tibia. They are painful and a potential career staller.

“Although I applaud those who run over 10km daily, test the 2.4km run weekly, and hammer themselves at a local boot camp, they are ruining their chances. These individuals are preparing to fail.”

Stress fractures tend to be a result of not adequately preparing. Although most recruits have run before attending training, they are not accustomed to the volume. They are not familiar with how to correctly approach their training and minimize risk of injury while maximizing physical prowess.

Although I applaud those who run over 10km daily, test the 2.4km run weekly, and hammer themselves at a local boot camp, they are ruining their chances. These individuals are preparing to fail. I have many such people break down and come to me for rehabilitation. They sit there in front of me, scared and teary eyed, wondering how they came to have a searing pain in their shin. Surely their hours and hours of beating the pavements leading up to recruit selection and training hasn’t played a major role in their demise?

Running is a repeated plyometric exercise. Later in military training, load will be added to this movement, so efficiency has to be pinned down before becoming a recruit. In order to improve efficiency and reduce risk of injury, we have to load our musculoskeletal system.

How You Need to Lift

The movement I always employ with my clients is the simple back squat. This movement not only improves the muscle strength of the lower limbs, but also benefits our skeletal system. By loading the lower limb musculature with what is referred to as the minimal essential strain (one tenth of the force required to fracture a bone), we can stimulate new bone formation throughout the lower limbs. This benefit, combined with the accompanying hypertrophic advantages leading to an increase in bone mineral density, could lower the risk of stress fractures and maximize your chance of completing training.¹

“By loading the lower limb musculature with what is referred to as the minimal essential strain (one tenth of the force required to fracture a bone), we can stimulate new bone formation throughout the lower limbs.”

The squat is also a direct correlate to the motion of running. One screening tool used to safely assess plyometric capability is being able to squat 1.5 times your body weight for 1 repetition and perform 5 repetitions in 5 seconds at 60 percent of your body weight.¹ These are the same markers I use when taking a patient through rehabilitation following a tibial stress fracture.

Soldiers carry out early morning physical training (PT) in the Jordanian desert.

Exercise Prescriptions

When preparing yourself for the 2.4km run, less is more. Combining the squat and its markers with a well-structured anaerobic training program will both improve your chances of becoming a soldier and reduce risk of injury along the way.

Training in a more anaerobic manner will not only shorten your training sessions, but will also elicit greater benefits, such as an increase in VO2 max and an increased resistance to fatigue.¹ Plus you will look better naked due to an increase in muscle mass and decrease in fat.

Linear sprint work has been utilized successfully as an anaerobic method in the rehabilitation setting. This allows us to push the soldier hard without the repetitive striking of the lower limbs and with adequate rest periods.

This plan has provided proven results, including for the arduous Parachute Regiment selection cadre:

Back Squat: 

• 5×4 at 80% percent of current 1RM.
• Apply a linear progression of 2.5-5kg on a weekly basis to allow for safe adaptation.

Sprint Work:

• Conduct sprint work using a mix of modalities including track, rower, and bike.
• Perform 200m x 12 totalling 2.4km. This relates directly to the 2.4km test.
• Use a work rest ratio of 1:1. For example, if you manage 200m in 40 seconds, you rest 40 seconds before repeating.
• The sprint sessions are flexible. You can mix up the distance while keeping the same total. For example, 400m x 6, again resting 1:1.

The above sessions can be run 3 times a week, with a test of squat 1RM and the 2.4km run test conducted every 8 weeks.

I have had proven results using this plan, including for the arduous Parachute Regiment selection cadre.

Set Yourself Up for Success

In summary, it is very easy to fail the Army fitness tests, no matter which country you reside in. The ways I have discussed to take your training to a superior level are used not just by tactical athletes, but also by major sporting clubs worldwide. These methods will not only test you physically, but mentally.

Remember, you’re training to save your life and the lives of others around you in combat. Don’t be the man or woman who compromises the patrol, or even worse, who never makes it out on patrol due to an injury that could have been avoided.

Further Reading:

• How to Construct an Effective Tactical Training Program
• Basic Training Breakdown: What to Expect When You Join the Military
• Military Special Operations: Do You Have the Mental Fortitude to Make It?
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1.Baechle, T. Earle, R. (2008). Essentials of strength and conditioning. 3rd ed. Champaign: Human Kinetics. Pp94-119.

Photo 1 by MoD/MOD via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 by Photo: Lt Col John Skliros/MOD via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by Photo: Sgt Mike Fletcher/MOD via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Why and How Tactical Athletes Need to Lift to Pass Selection appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

As the television ads suggest, earning a green beret is a state of mind, but what implication does our state of mind have on our physical performance?

Getting in the zone allows the athlete to elicit the best possible results from their training.

The Tactical Athlete’s Perspective

During my time as a tactical athlete, the vast majority being spent with Commando forces, I quickly discovered I needed to become happy with being uncomfortable. The feeling of your stomach churning with the eyes of the Commando training center looking down on you while you stand at the bottom of a thirty-foot rope, soaked to the bone on a cold winter’s morning, is something I could never replicate in the gym.

“Test day came with the added pressure of having to perform and brought a heightened psychological state that manifested itself physically.”

I struggled with the thirty-foot rope climb, especially when loaded with fifteen pounds of gear and a weapon. And on test day, we weighed a hell of a lot more due to all our gear being soaked through. I’ve always been physically strong, but I lacked the technique to climb a rope. It was hit and miss with me all the way up to test day.

But test day felt different. I felt psyched up. Test day came with the added pressure of having to perform and brought a heightened psychological state that manifested itself physically. While standing there shaking and sweating, I couldn’t help but wonder what effect this was going to have on my performance.

Anxiety Versus Arousal

Although I do kind of enjoy being put through physical hell, I don’t think it arouses me in the typical sense. Within sports science, arousal is a feeling of positive energy.¹ When it comes to game day, these feelings may be perceived as being anxious. There’s a fine line between anxiety, which can have a negative effect on performance, and arousal, which can have positive influences on our physical prowess.

“We must learn to accept and appreciate what impact arousal has on performance. The physical manifestation of arousal displayed through butterflies, shakiness, and increased heart rate is not something to be afraid of.”

Turning these feelings into a display of physical dominance in one of the most physically and psychologically draining environments in the world is all about getting your mind state in check. You can, must, and will complete the task at hand.

Putting this positive state of mind in place allows for extraordinary feats of strength. Arousal is linked to elevated anaerobic strength, an energy system that complements a rope climb. I wonder if this is what allowed me the extra burst of strength to push me to the top of the rope.²

There’s a fine line between anxiety and arousal, which can have positive influences on our physical prowess.

The Yerkes-Dodson Inverted-U Theory

In our everyday training, the notion of getting in the zone allows for the sports person, tactical athlete, and recreational gym goer to elicit the best possible results from their training. Though the science backs up this line of thought, we are all individuals and handle the physiological manifestation of arousal differently.³ Too much arousal and we face the prospect of crashing and performance levels decreasing. Too little and we don’t even get off the ground.

Figure 1

The Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U theory (pictured in figure 1 above) demonstrates that if an athlete can control his or her respective level of arousal without becoming over aroused and crashing, then he or she will perform at an optimal level. When applying this theory to a more general setting, we must remember that high levels of arousal can impact simple motor control through the physical manifestation of shaking and may have a negative effect on an athlete.⁴

Figure 2

More recently the zone of optimal function (displayed in figure 2 above) has come into the limelight.⁵ This theory takes into account that not every athlete has a need for maximum anaerobic performance and may benefit from a lower and more sustainable arousal level.

But how can we control the effects of arousal? Where do you sit on this graph and how aroused do you need to become in order to perform optimally?

A New Perspective

We need to create a psychological perspective that has a positive impact on performance. As tactical athletes, sports personalities, or regular gym goers we must have a high perception of self-confidence, or self-efficacy.

“Turning these feelings into a display of physical dominance in one of the most physically and psychologically draining environments in the world is all about getting your mind state in check.”

In the words of the late Robin Williams in the film Hook, “Think happy thoughts.” You must apply a positive state of mind throughout any form of training or competition, regardless of outcomes. Take away what you can from each and every competition and training session. This is how we manage our mental state when undergoing training for admittance to elite military units. We have to remain positive and be safe in the knowledge that we are becoming fitter soldiers who can operate more effectively under stress in a combat environment.

In order to control arousal levels, and in turn enhance performance, we must have an “I will succeed” mind set. Do not doubt your ability to succeed. When I attended Commando training I was a young seventeen-year-old boy. My mental approach was to keep pushing forward, past the thirty-year-old seasoned soldiers who had taken seat on their gear in the pouring down rain and were feeling sorry for themselves. I used to enjoy watching people take themselves off course or voluntarily withdraw. The morality of this approach may be open to question. But passing someone who should be performing better than me allowed me to increase my self-efficacy, control arousal levels, and secure the coveted green beret.

Without the mindset to keep pushing forward, I never would have secured the green beret.

Mind Over Matter

This mind-over-matter approach is what makes or breaks your performance. We must learn to accept and appreciate what impact arousal has on performance. The physical manifestation of arousal displayed through butterflies, shakiness, and increased heart rate is not something to be afraid of.

Arousal can have a profound positive impact on our performance. Conversely, it can have a catastrophic effect when in the presence of cognitive anxiety. Our minds and bodies are clever systems and work in complete harmony. Trust your abilities, learn from your mistakes, and move forward. Train the mind and the body will follow.

More Like This:

• How to Manage Arousal Levels for Competitive Advantage
• Arousal Management: The Science Behind Getting Mad at the Bar
• Techniques for Controlling for Performance Anxiety
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Martens, R. Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1987.

2. Parfitt, C.G., Hardy, L., & Pates, L. “Somatic Anxiety, Physiological Arousal and Performance: Differential effects upon a high anaerobic, low memory demand task.” International Journal of Sport Psychology. 26, pp.196-213. 1995.

3. Apter, M.J. “Reversal theory and personality: A review.” Journal of Research in Personality. 18, 265-288. 1984.

4. Parfitt, C.G., Jones, J.G., & Hardy, L. “Multidimensional Anxiety and Performance.” Stress and Performance in Sport. Chichester, UK: Wiley. pp. 43-80. 1990.

5. Balk. A., Adriaanse. A., de Ridder. D., Evers. C. “Coping Under Pressure: Employing Emotion Regulation Strategies to Enhance Performance Under Pressure.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35, 408-418. 2013.

6. Yerkes, Dodson. “The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation.” Journal of Neurological Psychology. (Figure 1), 1908.

7. Hanin, Y.L. “Emotions and athletic performance: individual zones of optimal functioning.” European Year Book of sports psychology, 1, pp. 29-72. (Figure 2), 1997.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

Photo 3 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

Photo 4 courtesy of Breaking Muscle UK.

Photo 5 by LA(PHOT) A’BARROW/MOD [OGL], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Train Your Mind: The Real Meaning of “Mind Over Matter” appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

As the television adverts suggest, earning a green beret is a state of mind, but what implication does our state of mind have on our physical performance?

Before embarking on any form of training whether it be as a tactical athlete or complete beginner to exercise, it is important for us to have our mind in the right place. Getting up at 0500 in the snow to run a thirty-miler across Dartmoor takes a certain amount of mental toughness (or stupidity).

As the television adverts suggest, earning a green beret is a state of mind, but what implication does our state of mind have on our physical performance?

Getting in the zone allows the athlete to elicit the best possible results from their training.

The Tactical Athlete’s Perspective

During my time as a tactical athlete, the vast majority being spent with Commando forces, I quickly discovered I needed to become happy with being uncomfortable. The feeling of your stomach churning with the eyes of the Commando training centre looking down on you whilst you stand at the bottom of a thirty-foot rope, soaked to the bone on a cold winter’s morning, is something I could never replicate in the gym.

“Test day came with the added pressure of having to perform and brought a heightened psychological state that manifested itself physically.”

I struggled with the thirty-foot rope climb, especially when loaded with fifteen pounds of kit and a weapon. And on test day, we weighed a hell of a lot more due to all our kit being soaked through. I’ve always been physically strong, but I lacked the technique to climb a rope. It was hit and miss with me all the way up to test day.

But test day felt different. I felt psyched up. Test day came with the added pressure of having to perform and brought a heightened psychological state that manifested itself physically. Whilst standing there shaking and sweating, I couldn’t help but wonder what effect this was going to have on my performance.

Anxiety Versus Arousal

Although I do kind of enjoy being put through physical hell, I don’t think it arouses me in the typical sense. Within sports science, arousal is a feeling of positive energy.¹ When it comes to game day, these feelings may be perceived as being anxious. There’s a fine line between anxiety, which can have a negative effect on performance, and arousal, which can have positive influences on our physical prowess.

“We must learn to accept and appreciate what impact arousal has on performance. The physical manifestation of arousal displayed through butterflies, shakiness, and increased heart rate is not something to be afraid of.”

Turning these feelings into a display of physical dominance in one of the most physically and psychologically draining environments in the world is all about getting your mind state in check. You can, must, and will complete the task at hand.

Putting this positive state of mind in place allows for extraordinary feats of strength. Arousal is linked to elevated anaerobic strength, an energy system that complements a rope climb. I wonder if this is what allowed me the extra burst of strength to push me to the top of the rope.²

There’s a fine line between anxiety and arousal, which can have positive influences on our physical prowess.

The Yerkes-Dodson Inverted-U Theory

In our everyday training, the notion of getting in the zone allows for the sports person, tactical athlete, and recreational gym goer to elicit the best possible results from their training. Though the science backs up this line of thought, we are all individuals and handle the physiological manifestation of arousal differently.³ Too much arousal and we face the prospect of crashing and performance levels decreasing. Too little and we don’t even get off the ground.

Figure 1

The Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U theory (pictured in figure 1 above) demonstrates that if an athlete can control his or her respective level of arousal without becoming over aroused and crashing, then he or she will perform at an optimal level. When applying this theory to a more general setting, we must remember that high levels of arousal can impact simple motor control through the physical manifestation of shaking and may have a negative effect on an athlete.⁴

Figure 2

More recently the zone of optimal function (displayed in figure 2 above) has come into the limelight.⁵ This theory takes into account that not every athlete has a need for maximum anaerobic performance and may benefit from a lower and more sustainable arousal level.

But how can we control the effects of arousal? Where do you sit on this graph and how aroused do you need to become in order to perform optimally?

A New Perspective

We need to create a psychological perspective that has a positive impact on performance. As tactical athletes, sports personalities, or regular gym goers we must have a high perception of self-confidence, or self-efficacy.

“Turning these feelings into a display of physical dominance in one of the most physically and psychologically draining environments in the world is all about getting your mind state in check.”

In the words of the late Robin Williams in the film Hook, “Think happy thoughts”. You must apply a positive state of mind throughout any form of training or competition, regardless of outcomes. Take away what you can from each and every competition and training session. This is how we manage our mental state when undergoing training for admittance to elite military units. We have to remain positive and be safe in the knowledge that we are becoming fitter soldiers who can operate more effectively under stress in a combat environment.

In order to control arousal levels, and in turn enhance performance, we must have an “I will succeed” mind set. Do not doubt your ability to succeed. When I attended Commando training I was a young seventeen-year-old boy. My mental approach was to keep pushing forward, past the thirty-year-old seasoned soldiers who had taken seat on their kit in the pouring down rain and were feeling sorry for themselves. I used to enjoy watching people take themselves off course or voluntarily withdraw. The morality of this approach may be open to question. But passing someone who should be performing better than me allowed me to increase my self-efficacy, control arousal levels, and secure the coveted green beret.

Without the mindset to keep pushing forward, I never would have secured the green beret.

Mind Over Matter

This mind-over-matter approach is what makes or breaks your performance. We must learn to accept and appreciate what impact arousal has on performance. The physical manifestation of arousal displayed through butterflies, shakiness, and increased heart rate is not something to be afraid of.

Arousal can have a profound positive impact on our performance, conversely it can have a catastrophic effect when in the presence of cognitive anxiety. Our minds and bodies are clever systems and work in complete harmony. Trust your abilities, learn from your mistakes, and move forward. Train the mind and the body will follow.

More Like This:

• How to Manage Arousal Levels for Competitive Advantage
• Arousal Management: The Science Behind Getting Mad at the Bar
• Techniques for Controlling for Performance Anxiety
• New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

References:

1. Martens, R. Coaches Guide to Sport Psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1987.

2. Parfitt, C.G., Hardy, L., & Pates, L. “Somatic Anxiety, Physiological Arousal and Performance: Differential effects upon a high anaerobic, low memory demand task.” International Journal of Sport Psychology. 26, pp.196-213. 1995.

3. Apter, M.J. “Reversal theory and personality: A review.” Journal of Research in Personality. 18, 265-288. 1984.

4. Parfitt, C.G., Jones, J.G., & Hardy, L. “Multidimensional Anxiety and Performance.” Stress and Performance in Sport. Chichester, UK: Wiley. pp. 43-80. 1990.

5. Balk. A., Adriaanse. A., de Ridder. D., Evers. C. “Coping Under Pressure: Employing Emotion Regulation Strategies to Enhance Performance Under Pressure.” Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35, 408-418. 2013.

6. Yerkes, Dodson. “The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit formation.” Journal of Neurological Psychology. (Figure 1), 1908.

7. Hanin, Y.L. “Emotions and athletic performance: individual zones of optimal functioning.” European Year Book of sports psychology, 1, pp. 29-72. (Figure 2), 1997.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of Jorge Huerta Photography.

Photo 3 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain).

Photo 4 courtesy of Breaking Muscle UK.

Photo 5 by LA(PHOT) A’BARROW/MOD [OGL], via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Arousal 101: What “Mind Over Matter” Really Means appeared first on Breaking Muscle.