Recently I had a short conversation with some guys about how I stay fit and capable of hauling a 30 pound plus combat load up and down hills all day without much need for recovery time. As is normal, I get asked how I got to where I am in fitness and how one might get to the same point. I always say the same thing…. stay away from the gym. I will explain more later in this article, but the core message is that in order to get good at something, do that ‘something’ a lot, and then do it more with little food and rest. Sounds simple, right? It is so simple that people have a hard time believing it.
For whatever reason, people try to find some way to merge their ignorant way with the proven way and they always fail. I've seen it all from bodybuilder types to CrossFit jokers and office couch potatoes fall short of performing as they should, and all because they are not conditioning properly with their chosen fitness religion (CrossFit, Powerlifting, long distance running, etc.), and yes, they are religions when people become egotistically attached to them.
MISUSING THE WORD ‘FITNESS’
How many times have you heard people yack on about “getting fit”? I hear it all the time. Also, people will attempt to compliment me on “being fit” and then get slightly insulted when I tell them that I am unfit per my area of training at the time. Why do I say I am unfit? Because for what I am trying to be fit to do, I fall short of my performance goals. I chase physical performance, not physical appearance. Most of the compliments come from a combination of my appearance and my performance.
Fitness is often used to describe a physical look and less for a physical capability. People think fitness is a six pack with bulging arms. However, do those characteristics automatically mean that person is capable of punching hard, running fast, doing handstands, rucking all day with little food and next to zero water? Can you look at someone and know when they will quit an activity as in military selection courses? No!!! Unfortunately, you have been dealt a bucket of bad goods. Being fit is supposed to describe someone’s physical performance, not their physical appearance.
Looks and performance can sometimes go hand in hand with each other. For instance, most Olympic long-distance runners are going to be skinny whereas people who do a lot of advanced gymnastics-style work (rings) will have a more muscular appearance. It comes down to the muscles used and your level of performance. In cases like these, you can judge a book by its’ cover, to a point. You can have a fat linebacker, but rarely will you see a chunky wide receiver. Its simple physics, and the ‘iron marshmallow’ concept is a lie and you can freely judge any fat person to be ‘unfit’ and incapable of performing any strenuous task for long durations without risking injury. In the case of being a fatty, the human body tells the story of someones’ ability. Also, just remember that skinny does not equal fit, but muscular does not equal strength endurance. Looks can be deceiving in the skinny versus muscular world, but only to a point. Bottom line, looks are useless; focus on ability and performance. Too many people talk about wanting to lose weight when instead they should be wanting to GAIN a physical ability or reach a performance goal.
How many times have you heard people yack on about “getting fit”? I hear it all the time. Also, people will attempt to compliment me on “being fit” and then get slightly insulted when I tell them that I am unfit per my area of training at the time. Why do I say I am unfit? Because for what I am trying to be fit to do, I fall short of my performance goals. I chase physical performance, not physical appearance. Most of the compliments come from a combination of my appearance and my performance.
Fitness is often used to describe a physical look and less for a physical capability. People think fitness is a six pack with bulging arms. However, do those characteristics automatically mean that person is capable of punching hard, running fast, doing handstands, rucking all day with little food and next to zero water? Can you look at someone and know when they will quit an activity as in military selection courses? No!!! Unfortunately, you have been dealt a bucket of bad goods. Being fit is supposed to describe someone’s physical performance, not their physical appearance.
Looks and performance can sometimes go hand in hand with each other. For instance, most Olympic long-distance runners are going to be skinny whereas people who do a lot of advanced gymnastics-style work (rings) will have a more muscular appearance. It comes down to the muscles used and your level of performance. In cases like these, you can judge a book by its’ cover, to a point. You can have a fat linebacker, but rarely will you see a chunky wide receiver. Its simple physics, and the ‘iron marshmallow’ concept is a lie and you can freely judge any fat person to be ‘unfit’ and incapable of performing any strenuous task for long durations without risking injury. In the case of being a fatty, the human body tells the story of someones’ ability. Also, just remember that skinny does not equal fit, but muscular does not equal strength endurance. Looks can be deceiving in the skinny versus muscular world, but only to a point. Bottom line, looks are useless; focus on ability and performance. Too many people talk about wanting to lose weight when instead they should be wanting to GAIN a physical ability or reach a performance goal.
DISCOVERING YOUR ’SOMETHING’
First step in fitness is to define what fit is for your specific needs. For this article, the example will be dismounted light infantry work since light infantry conditioning is what people ask about the most. Arguably, light infantry is the hardest job out there and definitely requires a unique level of conditioning to perform at a high level of competence. It also requires an incredibly unique conditioning plan.
For light infantry work, you will need to be capable of operating indefinitely with a full combat load (15-20lb) on your body at all times, and with periodic increases of up to a third of your bodyweight (55lb) during fast operational movements lasting up to 5 hours. You can expect to only be able to eat once or twice a day, and sleep may be as little as two hours a day with periodic power naps. Expect to operate with little to no protection from the elements during tactical situations. During combat, movements will have to be quick and precise, even after spending hours or days moving tactically with little rest. All skills will be expected to be performed perfectly, regardless of how tired, sore, injured, or inconvenienced you are.
First step in fitness is to define what fit is for your specific needs. For this article, the example will be dismounted light infantry work since light infantry conditioning is what people ask about the most. Arguably, light infantry is the hardest job out there and definitely requires a unique level of conditioning to perform at a high level of competence. It also requires an incredibly unique conditioning plan.
For light infantry work, you will need to be capable of operating indefinitely with a full combat load (15-20lb) on your body at all times, and with periodic increases of up to a third of your bodyweight (55lb) during fast operational movements lasting up to 5 hours. You can expect to only be able to eat once or twice a day, and sleep may be as little as two hours a day with periodic power naps. Expect to operate with little to no protection from the elements during tactical situations. During combat, movements will have to be quick and precise, even after spending hours or days moving tactically with little rest. All skills will be expected to be performed perfectly, regardless of how tired, sore, injured, or inconvenienced you are.
- Strength endurance
- Power (sprints)
- Stability
- Agility
- Coordination
- Quick Recovery
GETTING OUT OF THE GYM AND GETTING AFTER IT
The above example is what a lot of people talk about being ‘fit’ for. They will talk about their ability to deadlift or do heavy bench-press, but rarely will they be talking about their ability to go days with little food or water and still be able to carry a combat load and conduct fast agile movements for hundreds of meters and still be able to continue rucking a third of their bodyweight for hours without rest at the end of it. None of the above qualities I put above are going to be able to be worked on at a gym. No machine or set of weights is going to help you more than just putting on a heavy pack and doing light infantry stuff.
The above example is what a lot of people talk about being ‘fit’ for. They will talk about their ability to deadlift or do heavy bench-press, but rarely will they be talking about their ability to go days with little food or water and still be able to carry a combat load and conduct fast agile movements for hundreds of meters and still be able to continue rucking a third of their bodyweight for hours without rest at the end of it. None of the above qualities I put above are going to be able to be worked on at a gym. No machine or set of weights is going to help you more than just putting on a heavy pack and doing light infantry stuff.
THE RECIPE
The way I go about preparing and conditioning my body is so simple that it should make you cry and tear up your gym membership. I put on a pack and go for a jog in my neighborhood. The pack weighs 35lb, which is roughly 1.5x what my belt kit weighs. I go for only a mile or two at a time on jogs, but I do it at least twice a day. Other times I will do a 4 mile quick march where I will take the same load and walk as fast as humanly possible, but without trotting or jogging. Below is a general idea of things I will do in a week for conditioning. This is just a small part of my conditioning schedule, and not a comprehensive how-to guide.
This is just a brief introduction to the type of things I will do, minus the drills like reacting to contact in full gear, staying up for two days in full gear while fasting, and doing various calisthenics in gear between weapon training drills. My conditioning cycle involves continuous movement, strict dieting with regular periods of reduced food and water during high activity, along with purposeful exposure to excessive heat and cold without aid of appropriate clothing. My point is that if my intent is to train my body to function as a light infantryman, I will condition it to be capable of doing what light infantry does and in all conditions. Of course, it helps to have served as light infantry so you have experience in light infantry work.
The way I go about preparing and conditioning my body is so simple that it should make you cry and tear up your gym membership. I put on a pack and go for a jog in my neighborhood. The pack weighs 35lb, which is roughly 1.5x what my belt kit weighs. I go for only a mile or two at a time on jogs, but I do it at least twice a day. Other times I will do a 4 mile quick march where I will take the same load and walk as fast as humanly possible, but without trotting or jogging. Below is a general idea of things I will do in a week for conditioning. This is just a small part of my conditioning schedule, and not a comprehensive how-to guide.
- Pack jog 1-2 miles (morning, mid-day, evening/night) 2-3x per day, 2-3x per week
- Pack walk 4 miles (65min time limit) 2x per week
- Combat load burpees (10-20 reps/5-10 sets) daily
- Combat load high crawl 25 meters (1 minute time limit/ 3-5x) daily
- Combat load stealth high crawl 25 meters (3-5x) 2-3x per week
- 40-50lb Ruck march 5 miles (80min time limit) once a week
- Timed Position Agility in combat load (standing, kneeing, prone, kneeling, standing/3-5x) daily
This is just a brief introduction to the type of things I will do, minus the drills like reacting to contact in full gear, staying up for two days in full gear while fasting, and doing various calisthenics in gear between weapon training drills. My conditioning cycle involves continuous movement, strict dieting with regular periods of reduced food and water during high activity, along with purposeful exposure to excessive heat and cold without aid of appropriate clothing. My point is that if my intent is to train my body to function as a light infantryman, I will condition it to be capable of doing what light infantry does and in all conditions. Of course, it helps to have served as light infantry so you have experience in light infantry work.
THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE/INDIRECT WAY
You cannot get this kind of performance out of doing muscle isolation lifts at a gym. And no, CrossFit is not an acceptable alternative. I don’t care what the claims are, the strength endurance and activities you have to be good at cannot be indirectly trained. Having endurance as a jogger doesn’t spill over to endurance in high crawling with belt kit. Doing pullups, squats, etc with shitty form at breakneck speed in CrossFit doesn’t spill over to you conducting contact drills with a ruck on for hundreds of meters after not sleeping or eating.
You cannot get this kind of performance out of doing muscle isolation lifts at a gym. And no, CrossFit is not an acceptable alternative. I don’t care what the claims are, the strength endurance and activities you have to be good at cannot be indirectly trained. Having endurance as a jogger doesn’t spill over to endurance in high crawling with belt kit. Doing pullups, squats, etc with shitty form at breakneck speed in CrossFit doesn’t spill over to you conducting contact drills with a ruck on for hundreds of meters after not sleeping or eating.
GET OUT OF THE GYM AND INTO GEAR
If your goal is to attain the fitness required to perform at a high level as a light infantryman, you will have to get rid of the gym membership and prioritize doing light infantry stuff. With the number of skills you need to be good at (Shooting, communications, stealth, camouflage, battle drills, medical, planning, navigation, survival, etc.), on top of being fit for the job, the gym is just a waste of time and money with no reward. Keep in mind that this is also not something you can do for one hour a day. Light infantry work is an all-day thing. Light infantrymen are out all day and up all-night planning, plotting, fighting, or preparing for a fight. If you are going to condition yourself to be a light infantryman, you have to conduct physical exercises for hours on end in what I call Macro-circuits. I’m sorry, but that is the only way. There is no shortcut since your body only adapts to the stimulus given. If the stimulus is always short, you will only ever be capable of short work. The choice is yours, but you can’t supplement, replace, or find a shortcut for this type of thing.
If your goal is to attain the fitness required to perform at a high level as a light infantryman, you will have to get rid of the gym membership and prioritize doing light infantry stuff. With the number of skills you need to be good at (Shooting, communications, stealth, camouflage, battle drills, medical, planning, navigation, survival, etc.), on top of being fit for the job, the gym is just a waste of time and money with no reward. Keep in mind that this is also not something you can do for one hour a day. Light infantry work is an all-day thing. Light infantrymen are out all day and up all-night planning, plotting, fighting, or preparing for a fight. If you are going to condition yourself to be a light infantryman, you have to conduct physical exercises for hours on end in what I call Macro-circuits. I’m sorry, but that is the only way. There is no shortcut since your body only adapts to the stimulus given. If the stimulus is always short, you will only ever be capable of short work. The choice is yours, but you can’t supplement, replace, or find a shortcut for this type of thing.
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