Well to say the least, week 1 was a good way to get into it. I felt shattered after day 3. I’d probably say that it’s because I haven’t done this much training for a while. There was no day during this week that I had off.
The weeks exercise regime consisted of:
Weights Sessions (Focussing on endurance and muscular strength)
Pack walking (Using a 35kg pack)
Runs (Over not so long distances, roughly 3.2kms)
Swimming.
Weights Sessions: After the weights sessions, especially the leg weights sessions I could honestly say that I’ve NEVER felt that sore in all my experiences with sport. Not even rowing workouts which are basely primarily on leg work has induced this level of leg soreness. The upper body weights also brought out a good feeling of soreness but I found I could at least move a little bit easier than my legs.
Pack walking: For the pack walking I was to walk continuously with a 35kg pack for 90mins at a speed of 6kms an hour. This is a difficult thing to measure, so what I did was hop onto google maps and measure out a lap around my neighbourhood that was about 6kms. It would be my aim to complete that lap in one hour. This wasn’t too much of a challenge for me. But after looking at the program I could say that the lengths of time and the speeds that I will be working at will increase.
Running: The weeks workout which consisted of a 3.2km run showed me just how far I had fallen of the wagon when it came to my distance running ability. It felt like my heart was going to pop. However I made it through and I’m glad that I now have the oppurtunity to get back into this. The distances and length of times to run will vary from week to week, but, the overall trend will be like the pack walking increasing.
Swimming: The swimming session consisted of me treading water for 2 mins continuously and then performing 12x 50m sprints with a 1:2 ratio of work and rest. Treading water was easy for me. The swimming was completely different. This is really something that I will have to work on. I use to be a good swimmer, but now I realise that I am probably not as flash as I once was. The swimming, like the runs and the walks will also increase.
Overall, for a first week it was good to help me get into the swing of things. Mentally I feel that I’m committed to achieving and completing the full fitness program. Can’t to see how this next week will turn out.
As promised. Here is the pre Australian Special Forces training body screen.
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 79.6 kg
BMI (Body Mass Index): 22.8
Total Body Fat %: 8.9%
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find out my resting heart rate and blood pressure so you’ll just have to take my word for it when I say that it is within a healthy range.
Here is my before training physique photos I am aware that there is a symmetry problem with my shoulders, that would be due to an injury I sustained in rugby a long time ago which severely damaged it. Word to the wise, use a more effective tackle than a head on shoulder clash with somebody twice your weight running as full speed.
I start the training tomorrow. So I will post the workout reviews weekly. The next post should be up on the 8th of May. Wish me luck everybody!
Hi everyone,
The purpose of this blog series is to document my journey over a period of 13 weeks in training myself for fitness that is at the level of SASR or Australian Commando standards. I found this program while I was skimming through a Men’s Health Magazine and there was an article on Special Forces. In it they included a booklet with the pre-selection program that was recommended by the Special Forces physical trainers and that right there is what sparked this idea.
Let me introduce myself and my reasons for doing this. I am currently studying a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education (Secondary) with a second major in Outdoor Education and a minor teaching area in Society and the Environment and I am currently in my 4th year. I have had a very keen background in sports and fitness ever since I started year 5. The sports which I was involved in include; Rowing, Rugby, X Country, Middle distances athletics, Hockey and Swimming.I have also accumulated a number of qualifications over the years that include:
- Certificate III in Fitness
- Certificate IV in Fitness
- Certificate IV in Sport (Development)
Why am I doing this? Well, quite simply it is a mixture of insanity and a very deep respect for soldiers, in particular soldiers who serve as Special Forces. An aspect of Special Forces which I also take an interest in is the selection process, which involves a very high degree of physical and mental toughness. In my opinion, there are two types of fitness. There is sports fit, and then there is functionally fit. I believe that I possess a good deal of sports fitness, however I would like to see if I can notice a difference in sports fitness and functional fitness. Another reason is because, ever since I started university studies I have not had as many opportunities to be fit and I feel that doing this program will allow me the opportunity to get my fitness back up to where I once had it.
How this program will operate is as mentioned before over a period of 13 weeks. From looking at this program it is evident that this is geared very much towards endurance, as well as aerobic capability and finally bodyweight muscular strength.There does not look to be very much rest involved during these weeks. However in each of these week’s there are sessions which can be considered light/recovery sessions. Blogs will follow my experiences on a week by week basis. I will describe to you the exercise sessions in these weekly blogs and of course how I feel my fitness has come along.I will be beginning my program on May 2nd, 2011. Before I begin my program I will be posting a blog which will have on it;
- BMI (Body Mass Index)
- Total Body Fat %
- Resting Blood Pressure
- Resting Heart Rate
- Weight
- Before picture of physique
- And an expected program conclusion physical outcome forecast.
Until then I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog and feel free to offer helpful suggestions and comments or words of encouragement.
