Strength Training For The Military
As you think about strength training for the military you can also bring in tactical training and law enforcement training.
The first thing you need to do when training is to look at the specific test you will be physically evaluated on and the requirements needed to pass those tests. Second, you want to look at sports that will transfer well, like wrestling, combat sports, 400-meter runners, and CrossFitters.
Establishing the lens of the sport, you can then pinpoint potential mistakes you will make. For instance, saying you should train like a CrossFitter is legit, but it also has pitfalls of only developing endurance and missing other areas of concern.
You want to focus on relative strength. You need to be stronger pound for pound. You can develop relative strength by doing calisthenics and high-intensity weightlifting movements. You need to do a lot of pull-ups and rope climbs as well.
You need to focus on explosiveness. Don’t just do crazy endurance work. Improve your jumping ability with plyometrics and technical coordination movements. You need to do impulse training to develop your power to increase your rate of force development. Just remember to rest for the proper amount of time.
All of that said, you do need to increase your endurance. With your endurance, look at establishing a baseline with long slow distances. You can then train higher power output development through sprint interval training and high-intensity interval training. It is important when you train endurance to vary the domain focus to fully develop your total range of endurance capabilities.
Finally, strength training for the military benefits greatly from combat sports by developing high levels of cognitive functioning while under fatigue. Being able to focus in high-stress situations is a great skill. Ask yourself math problems or logic problems while under the stress of endurance to develop your brain.
Also learning how to control your breath will not only improve your endurance, but it will also allow you to focus and make on-the-spot decisions with clarity.
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Yo, It's Dane
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