5/3/1 and Preparing for the Infantry

Training Powerlifting
1

In four to five months I will be applying to the Forces and joining the infantry. I’ll have to go through basic, SQ, and Infantry Qualification. All physically demanding courses, on top of that I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that I get into a Light infantry Battalion in which case it will be much more physically demanding. Lots of running, push-ups, sit-ups, chins, and rucking.

I want to keep running 5/3/1, but am not sure how I should program my assistance. I’d like to keep the boring but big template; as I could use another 20 (That’s a lie I could use another 70) solid pounds over the next couple months, but I think it makes more sense to do the bodyweight template. Opinions?

I really need to work on running as well. Jim recommends hill sprints, but I don’t know if that is applicable to what I’ll need to be able to do on course.

Lastly. Rucking. Should I do any at all or should I just start out rucking in basic. It would be quite time consuming to do… but then again light infantry soldiers pretty much always have 100+ pounds of gear to fight and survive with on there person when in the field. So maybe I should start now.

Oh. I’m 19 so I would imagine I can recover from quite a beating as far as training goes.

Anyone with military experience, or even better yet combat arms experience feel free to impart as much knowlege to a young greenhorn as you possibly can.

2

Well, I was in the Canadian army a long time ago, and I’d say that I understand you’d like to lift weights (that’s why we’re all here) but that yeah, it’s all about the running.

Saying that,I don’t think you’ll really need to run 4 or 5 or more miles. They usually test with 2 miles…try to get that down to 14 minutes ( I think my time was 14 something,at about 210lbs, age 19)but I think running 3X pr week could be enough.

Maybe one day per week is where you try to do a fast 2 miles, the other two days could be 3 miles or so.I’d also recommend some good sprints, like running a 400m track as fast as you can for 1 lap, then walking half a lap, the fast for another 400m done 6 or 8 times.

If there’s one thing I would’ve liked to know before I went is that we had to run faster than I thought and not as far as I thought (they never made us do more than 3 miles I think)…and be ready to do 100 to 200 push ups daily. Chin ups were a pain too.

I remember my base had a gym that I still liked to use on Sundays, though I was usually too beat to get a good work out in.

Rucking is one of those things where if you can run, and if you’re a bigger guy ( maybe over 185lbs) then rucking will be relatively easy. I didn’t practice at all before going out and the only thing I had was sore shins for the first 2 or 3 miles…maybe you could avoid that by rucking just a couple of times before going, with 40 or 50lbs in the ruck.

I found it easier because they made us carry 45lbs and a rifle, but since I was about 210lbs then, it was a smaller percentage of my weight and I was so happy we weren’t running. The 150lbs guys had more trouble and looked like shit after 10 miles, but they looked better than I did after 2 mile runs.

The US army will be different I assume. There must be some forums out there that could help you even more.

Oh another thing…I wish I’d read “Starship Troopers” before I’d joined.Really. Best book on what it feels like to join/train in the infantry I’ve ever read. Not like the movie at all. Though the movie is a bit of fun.

Good luck and thanks for joining the army!

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I’m canadian too. What regiment did you serve with?

Thanks for the advice. More then likely you’ll recieve a pm or two from me as I get more curious about different things involving army life.

4

Well, now that I’ve been prodded I must admit I was a reservist, with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders out of Minto Armouries, Winnipeg.
I was trained by PPCLI and Airborne (before they disbanded!) if that makes me any better.
I still have a few buddies that are in and served in Afghanistan, so I can find out how things are now.

5

I have never been in the military, but if I were training someone for it I’d have them do the 4 main lifts with nothing but calisthenics (pushups, dips, pullups, situps, squats, lunges, etc) and running for assistance.

Worry about putting on weight and getting stronger after you’ve made it through.

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Personally I don’t think 5/3/1 is the best for military prep. Bench/DL/Press/Squat are not anything close to running/situps/pushups and pullups. You can do all that for assistance but at that point what are you trying to accomplish with the big lifts anyway

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[quote]Nards wrote:
Well, now that I’ve been prodded I must admit I was a reservist, with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders out of Minto Armouries, Winnipeg.
I was trained by PPCLI and Airborne (before they disbanded!) if that makes me any better.
I still have a few buddies that are in and served in Afghanistan, so I can find out how things are now.[/quote]

PPLCI is actually the regiment I would prefer to serve with. Being trained by the airborne reg is awesome.

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When I joined the Infantry, I had to put lifting aside. They train you up physically, so honestly you just have to be fit enough. The most important is being mentally tough. There were fat dudes who sucked it up and made it, becoming fit along the way. There were also dudes who were fit, could not adapt to a military lifestyle and didn’t make it.

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[quote]sufiandy wrote:
Personally I don’t think 5/3/1 is the best for military prep. Bench/DL/Press/Squat are not anything close to running/situps/pushups and pullups. You can do all that for assistance but at that point what are you trying to accomplish with the big lifts anyway[/quote]

My first post may have been a little misleading.

I’m not so much trying to prepare for the actual courses. I know I can pass them if I grit and bare it. I more so want to prepare for when Im in the field and in combat; as in the regular force infantry I’m guaranteed to see a lot of both. Push-ups and sit-ups are not going to prepare me for lugging 70-100 pounds around rough terrain in the heat of the desert. Even when operating at combat weight I’ll still have 30 maybe 40 pounds to carry. I need to be strong and be able to go. then go farther, then when I think I have nothing left go a lot more.

I figure 5/3/1 is a good program to develop strength while also increasing my run times and work capacity.

I’ll probably do what Nard said. Run longer distances for three days a week, and then go hard and do sprints a fourth day. Althought I don’t have much experience with running and will probably just run as fast and long as I can until I puke… In other words I have no idea how to program roadwork (anyone with experience your help would be appreciating).

I think I should do some other sort of conditioning involving external weights/bodyweight also, but I’m not really sure what exactly would be best or where to fit it in/how to program it.

I figure my schedule will look something like the following:

Monday - Military press 5/3/1 + assistance
Barbell complexes or something?
2-5 mile run a few hours after lifting or in the evening.

Tuesday - Deadlift 5/3/1 + assistance
2-5 mile run a few hours after lifting or in the evening

Wednesday - rest

Thursday - Bench 5/3/1 + assistance
Barbell complexes or something
2-5 mile run a few hours after lifting

Friday - Squat 5/3/1 + assistance
400-800 sprint intervals

Saturday & Sunday - rest

Pound back the food, milk, and water.

Thoughts?

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[quote]Smith K wrote:

[quote]Nards wrote:
Well, now that I’ve been prodded I must admit I was a reservist, with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders out of Minto Armouries, Winnipeg.
I was trained by PPCLI and Airborne (before they disbanded!) if that makes me any better.
I still have a few buddies that are in and served in Afghanistan, so I can find out how things are now.[/quote]

PPLCI is actually the regiment I would prefer to serve with. Being trained by the airborne reg is awesome. [/quote]

Yeah, but you’ll be more awesome because you’ll be reg force PPCLI. Whatever you do…don’t tell anyone a reservist like me gave you advice! They give you no end of shit!

Your plan looks good. Just I don’t think bench press will transfer well to push ups, but if you’re relatively strong already then rucking and bascially being on the move all day may not be a problem.
As you get closer to when you leave it would be a good idea to exercise earlier in the morning for obviuos reasons.
Also, the best thing is be sure you can do 2 miles in about 14 minutes or under. hat’s the way they test I believe.
If I were you I wouldn’t bring any supplements or protein powder, the staff may give you no end of grief and give you some pet nick name. Almost everyone gets one. I’ll tell mine later.

11

I just remembered one thing I’d love to send back to myself before I left.

Run half of a track (200m) as fast as you can, then get down and do 25 push-ups, then run another 1/2 lap and do 25 sit-ups, then another 1/2 lap and do 25 freehand squats…thne rest for 2 minues and do it all over again as many times as you can. Oh, if you can find a chin up bar nearby then do well, not 25! (unless you can) but 5 or 6 chin/pull ups ( I don’t think the army cares if you do chins or pull ups) A couple of years ago I did 3 sets…almost died.

It’s a killer that teaches your body to run and then not die when you have to do some sort of resistance.
PS: I got it from Crossfit…which I think can help in getting ready for the army, but not very good for more than that.

12

[quote]Nards wrote:
I just remembered one thing I’d love to send back to myself before I left.

Run half of a track (200m) as fast as you can, then get down and do 25 push-ups, then run another 1/2 lap and do 25 sit-ups, then another 1/2 lap and do 25 freehand squats…thne rest for 2 minues and do it all over again as many times as you can. Oh, if you can find a chin up bar nearby then do well, not 25! (unless you can) but 5 or 6 chin/pull ups ( I don’t think the army cares if you do chins or pull ups) A couple of years ago I did 3 sets…almost died.

It’s a killer that teaches your body to run and then not die when you have to do some sort of resistance.
PS: I got it from Crossfit…which I think can help in getting ready for the army, but not very good for more than that.[/quote]

Yes, Crossfit can be very useful.

Also, check out http://www.thesealquest.com/. It’s for people that want to be US Navy SEALS, but really the training carries over to any branch (with the possible exception of the swimming).

13

[quote]Nards wrote:
I just remembered one thing I’d love to send back to myself before I left.

Run half of a track (200m) as fast as you can, then get down and do 25 push-ups, then run another 1/2 lap and do 25 sit-ups, then another 1/2 lap and do 25 freehand squats…thne rest for 2 minues and do it all over again as many times as you can. Oh, if you can find a chin up bar nearby then do well, not 25! (unless you can) but 5 or 6 chin/pull ups ( I don’t think the army cares if you do chins or pull ups) A couple of years ago I did 3 sets…almost died.

It’s a killer that teaches your body to run and then not die when you have to do some sort of resistance.
PS: I got it from Crossfit…which I think can help in getting ready for the army, but not very good for more than that.[/quote]

I’ll Have to try this sometime next week. Not sure if I’ll get to many sets though haha.

Im gonna be honest. I did the boring but big template this week. I was unbelievably sore. I could hardly walk the day after deadlifts, and on the Overhead day the combination of MP and Chins made it so I couldn’t lift arms over my head or throw a decent punch (I like this program!). You wouldn’t think 5x10 at 50% would cause this much soreness

6:30 am and I here my brother’s alarm going off; he won’t be up this early until next christmas. Merry xmas and happy holidays everyone