Alright so this isnt about me training for the service but as im starting out as a personal trainer and have been trying to recruit a few people i know from my old job it seems a lot of them are training to get in shape for the Army requirements, boot camp, etc
ive never trained anyone for this before so im not sure how itd be best to go about it. i figure using a crossfit type approach would be suitable since they need to have strength and endurance and mass or aesthetics isnt really their primary goal.
so im just curious what everyone elses 2 cents are, thanks.
I think crossfit would be probably pretty close to what you’d want. A good conditioing type workout, it’s similar to what I do for police training. I still train with heavy weights but that’s really just for my own personal reasons.
I would do a mixture. Of course they have to pass the PFT, so obviously work on those requirements. Crossfit would be good, but the WOD that are just “clean and pres 1-1-1-1-1”, i think wouldn’t be to helpful. In that case you could do that an lots of cardio work or make your own weight trainign circuit to replace those
A combination of crossfit and running like it’s going out of style is most applicable to military training.
As to the PT test, pushups and situps are king. If they can do a pullup - a pullup - they’ll be ahead of the game.
If the guy you’re working with is big (‘big’ being a relative term; for them, it seems to mean ‘tall’ more than anything else) they’ll probably make him a machine gunner, so have him work deadlifts and farmer’s carries.
A combination of crossfit and running like it’s going out of style is most applicable to military training.
As to the PT test, pushups and situps are king. If they can do a pullup - a pullup - they’ll be ahead of the game.
If the guy you’re working with is big (‘big’ being a relative term; for them, it seems to mean ‘tall’ more than anything else) they’ll probably make him a machine gunner, so have him work deadlifts and farmer’s carries.
[quote]thomas.galvin wrote:
A combination of crossfit and running like it’s going out of style is most applicable to military training.
As to the PT test, pushups and situps are king. If they can do a pullup - a pullup - they’ll be ahead of the game.
If the guy you’re working with is big (‘big’ being a relative term; for them, it seems to mean ‘tall’ more than anything else) they’ll probably make him a machine gunner, so have him work deadlifts and farmer’s carries.[/quote]
I was under the impression some branches don’t test pushups? I’m currently working the shit out of my pullup in preparation to joining the Marines.
Crossfit in conjuction with crossfit endurance for the running would a perfect. CFE is designed specifically for distance running and some days are separated by the distance you’re training for. CFE also was designed to work in conjunction with crossfit traditional.
[quote]Vicomte wrote:
I was under the impression some branches don’t test pushups? I’m currently working the shit out of my pullup in preparation to joining the Marines.[/quote]
That’s possible. The guys I was worried about were headed into the army, and wanted to prep for Ranger school.
You don’t want to just condition the crap out of them. Train them like any athlete - I’ll call it the Eric Cressey approach for lack of a better term.
Of course, getting them to a perfect score on the particular fitness test of their branch is a great goal as well (go with a bare minimum of running - they’ll get faster later). So, always make sure you’re doing pushups and pullups. Ruck marching at least once a week is also very important, as is making sure they keep up their swimming proficiency, but you won’t be there for that stuff.
First priority - get them healthy and strong. Drop some weight if needed, and get their joints working correctly. They’re going to get the crap beat out of them. Muscle imbalances will be exposed, and strong/flexible muscles will stand up to the abuse. So, getting them to squat/deadlift/press correctly is not something you should avoid.
Traditional military training is the way it is because it doesn’t require non-mission related equipment, 100’s can do it at the same time, and it manages fatigue. Make the equipment and extra time you have available to you now work for you.
[quote]HoratioSandoval wrote:
You don’t want to just condition the crap out of them. Train them like any athlete - I’ll call it the Eric Cressey approach for lack of a better term.
Of course, getting them to a perfect score on the particular fitness test of their branch is a great goal as well (go with a bare minimum of running - they’ll get faster later). So, always make sure you’re doing pushups and pullups. Ruck marching at least once a week is also very important, as is making sure they keep up their swimming proficiency, but you won’t be there for that stuff.
First priority - get them healthy and strong. Drop some weight if needed, and get their joints working correctly. They’re going to get the crap beat out of them. Muscle imbalances will be exposed, and strong/flexible muscles will stand up to the abuse. So, getting them to squat/deadlift/press correctly is not something you should avoid.
Traditional military training is the way it is because it doesn’t require non-mission related equipment, 100’s can do it at the same time, and it manages fatigue. Make the equipment and extra time you have available to you now work for you.
[/quote]
of course my goal is to get them strong. its just determining which is the most suitable means of doing so. id love to train every one of my clients the way i train, but not everyone is going to have the same goals as me. im not trying to drop some weight and gain endurance for the military or air force.
i just figure using some crossfit template will be the most effective way to get them strong and able to handle shit. then again maybe ill just stick to what i know and train them bodybuilding style because i know people who went into the service and none of them did anything special to meet the requirements or pass the PTs. i feel like id have more control over the situation too because i know BBing training well and i know hardly anything about crossfit except they use compound lifts with no rest.