The paradigm of military special operations training poses an ironic problem: the most valuable aspect of special operations assault forces are the assaulters themselves; however, the investigative measures into the physical preparation of these men pale in comparison to those directed towards their technical-tactical training.
If one accepts that the foundation of the hierarchical structure of sports training is constituted by physical preparation then the logistical dynamics of assaulter training are, and have historically been, mismanaged.
Similar to the sports training industry in CONUS, whose physical preparatory measures are by in large still operating under misguided coaching efforts, the successes of our elite fighting forces occurs in spite of insufficient physical preparatory efforts.
While there has been a recent surge of human performance interest in the various branches of the military over the last few years, the pool of candidates from whom the military are drawing from, to physically prepare our fighters, are those who are products of a flawed educational system. It is the same academic curricula and certifying organizations that misguidedly attempt to prepare individuals for careers in the sports training industry whose physical preparatory efforts lack sport physiological merit. Similarly, the semblance of military selection course and operator physical training is ironically dissimilar from what even casual time: motion assessment of mission profiles reveals.
Special Operators are only as valuable to the men next to them as their physical condition allows them to be.
The logistical challenges surrounding their stateside technical-tactical training schedules and trips make it difficult for operators to formulate consistent physical preparatory routines. The typical fallbacks exist as improvised sessions of one or more of the following: running, calisthenics, resistance training, combatives, and elements of Mixed Martial Arts. A collective of means which is no doubt relevant towards their multi-faceted operational challenges; however, similar to Cross-Fit, while the training means are sound and the operators intentions are honest- the execution is far from optimal and more often an exercise in futility.
To add to the scheduling challenges of our nation’s most skilled war fighters, at the Tier 1 level it is not unusual for operators to spend over 300 days a year out of town.
While the job hazards and work schedules of the men in our elite fighting forces pose far greater challenges than those of any professional or Olympic level athlete, from the perspective of constructing a physical preparation program the solution is an organic one: the physical preparation program must work backwards from the most physically stressful/demanding aspects of their stateside training periods, follow the thematic principles of sequentially themed blocks of intelligently structured training, and support the, in their case, technical-tactical/combat biodynamic/bioenergetic structure.
In this way, each unit must prepare for unique physical stressors ranging from: HAHO, HALO, Fast Rope, Caving Ladder, IAD’s, VBSS, CQC, LRP’s, and more; all in various geographical environments. Different units possess different skill sets and mission objectives which demands unique physical preparatory training plans to increase the durability of their bodies and prolong their operational longevity.
While it is irrational to presuppose that an operator, particularly at the Tier 1 level, will be able to adhere to a set schedule of physical preparation for months on end in CONUS (under the current work schedule parameters), it is entirely rational to expect that operator to be able to satisfy the conditions of general and special physical preparatory training leading into their most physically stressful technical-tactical training periods. In this way, the assaulters are assured to follow intelligently planned sequential blocks of training that will serve to optimally prepare them for subsequent tasks.
Thematically, all that needs to be satisfied is that the assaulters do what they can- when they can. The optimization of the training effects of such a plan occurs from them being provided with the understanding of what to do and when; consistent with the training means that correspond to the particular block of training. This type of programming and organizational strategy, while flexible must not be confused with random or spontaneous, subverts the pitfalls associated with the so many failed attempts of operators to institute more rigidly constructed physical training plans into their stateside training.
In the end, as with all facets of sports training, the ultimate solution lies in education in order that assaulters are as self-sufficient as possible in all realms. There’s no question that self-sufficiency is inherent to their technical-tactical abilities; however, taking care of their bodies and prolonging operational longevity are the limiting factors and the resources currently set in place to enhance them are unworthy of their attention.
These concepts are discussed in further detail in my lecture DVD “Military Special Operations: Physical Preparation Concepts” that may be purchased from my website: www.powerdevelopmentinc.com. I am donating all proceeds to: http://www.giveforward.com/thebroncoproject
PDF 
The Thinker is a veteran of the US Armed Forces. As a coach he specializes in T&F sprints/horizontal jumps, speed development, as well as physical preparation coaching and consultation for Olympic sport, professional sport, and Military Special Operations applications. His website is www.powerdevelopmentinc.com
The physical requirements vary so much that it is hard to pin-point exactly what works best. Honestly, the tier 1 guys are similar to professional athletes, in their ability physically, so most anything they do will work.
I normally go out of my way to read whatever the Thinker puts out. This article is a suprise to me as it doesnt come across like any of the information i have read that he has previously put out.
First portion
paraphrased)’ Everyone else is wrong.’ (like most performance articles)
A line that rubs me the wrong way: ‘Special Operators are only as valuable to the men next to them as their physical condition allows them to be.’ Anyone who has had exposer to any sort
of ‘spec op’ training as a coach or as a trainee or an operator knows theres way more to it than physical demands/contributions. The mental is what carries you above and beyond, not the physical. No idea what he was thinking here.
Last portion
paraphrased) ‘I have it figured out, buy my dvd.’ Very disappointed here. While i’m not expecting some shakespearean(sp) article that re-invents the weel from the Thinker, I was in no way expecting the entire article to be an ad for one of his products. Hopefully I am misinterpreting this.
One thing Ive found is that it all works. The difference, to me, is the mental make up. Did your athletes lose the national championship because you do Olympic lifts and your opponents didnt?
Or because you follow a linear progression versus the Block Sequence? Did your unit get blown up in combat because you only bench/squat/deadlift?
I admit that I am not too in tune with what goes into the make up of our special forces. But I dont recall any news story pointing out that our success or failure was due to the physical capacity (or lack thereof) of our fighting units.
If the current preparation of these forces was “not worthy of their time” then we wouldnt have a special ops to begin with. No one could make it through the selection. Im sure the members of our special forces come from all sorts of training backgrounds. I dont think their is one “cure all” training methodology. The selection process itself weeds out those who cant physically handle it.
S.H. While you are correct, that viewpoint should in no way serve as a vehicle for dismissing the scrutiny that is required to ensure that the training of these men is optimized.
Glen, I’m not going to get into a back and forth here for a number of reasons; however, it appears as if I should have included a few disclaimers:
For those readers who may be new to this site, I have extensive experience consulting with Tier 1 operators.
A re-read of the article will make clear that the underlying theme is the need to improve upon the current conditions and prolong operational readiness. In this way, the limiting factor is always the physical component because the body is the first to break. For those unfamiliar with the Tier 1 selection process, if the psychological capacity is not sufficient these men won’t make it past selection in the first place, and they surely won’t last at the command as a shooter if they fail to demonstrate competency in the field.
The difference maker in terms of the length of their operational status is without question their physical capacity. This is not debatable.
This is directed towards the men already working as special operators, particular the Tier 1 level.
3 assault team members from a Tier 1 unit reviewed this article before I had it submitted and all of them gave it their approval. Perhaps those who are unconvinced by my argument will take the word of three men currently doing the job at the highest possible level. Granted, while I wouldn’t suggest that a client endorsement be taken as gospel I am privileged to state that my Tier 1 guys are very well informed in this regard.
Glen, with respect, the one thing you are correct about is the fact that I wrote this to promote my DVD because, as I stated in the last line of the article, all proceeds are being donated to a fundraiser for a friend of mine who was in one of the Tier 1 units who was killed last year.
The content of the DVD was also approved by Tier 1 operators and none of what I wrote in this article or spoke about in the DVD is theoretical. This programming has been used and while, as S.H. pointed out, anything works, the question is how well does it work and how well rooted in task biodynamic/bioenergetic structure are its foundations.
Make no mistake, I have no shame in doing all that I can to sell as many of these DVDs as possible. Check out Adam’s fundraiser, it’s a terrific cause and the content of the DVD will assist anyone in more effectively assisting these commandos in optimizing their training.
Glen,
Having known SEALS. Their Physical preparedness is what allows them to think and perform. Not vice versa. Yes there is psychological aspect when u have live fire, HALO jumps, etc.. no shit.
Had u actually read everything closely u would have also realized none of his DVD’s proceeds are going to himself, but rather a greater cause.
If u don’t like what he has written, then keep your negative cognitive skills to yourself and use them instead while jumping out of a plane at 15000 feet and see how well it works for u
@ Glen. There is nothing wrong with promoting your product, especially if it will help others increase their athletic or physical capabilities.
I thought this was a great article. ThanksThinker.
Great point about programming being flexible as opposed to random. There is a big difference between preparing for any random task, and randomly preparing for an unknown task. @Glen: proceeds are going to a charitable organization, so promotion is less self-serving than it may appear at first.
As an airborne/light infantryman, who has spent a year long deployment in which we were required to hump weight on our backs for hours every single day, while at the risk of being attacked by IEDs and small arms, I can say with confidence that our “physical training” back here in the ‘States is a complete and utter joke. A few select NCOs and officers have the sports and resistance training experience to be able to teach junior soldiers how to be physically stronger, faster, etc, but that experience is almost never applied. It is impossible to teach an entire battalion or company worth of ‘men’ (kids fresh out of high school) to take care of themselves properly. As far as I can tell, the Army wants our soldiers to be skinny, weak, with strong mental capacities for fatigue and the ability to run 10 miles at a slow pace, on a hardball road. I have taken it upon myself to encourage my soldiers to not fall into the Army’s form of physical training by taking it too seriously, and to conduct resistance training in their off time.
Bottom line: Army physical training is a joke. You will ‘look better’ (skinnier), but you will never get stronger or more physically capable while doing it. You will simply learn how to suck for however long you need to suck.
@Craig : Agreed.
@Simpleton : If somone doesnt want potential negative feeback, then dont post anything on an open forum. Nowhere on here does it say ‘Only ass kissers may post’.
@Michael Roe : Certainly nothing wrong with promoting your product, but placing it in a place usually reserved for putting out relevant information isnt the place to put it. Label it as such in the title. Its like a Tnation or muscle & fitness article. Just an add. I appreciate the fact it is for a fundraiser. An extremely worthy cause. If that is the most important function of the article, then post the intention. Not leave it till the last line and sneak it in.
@Thinker : Agreed regarding the back and forth. Not necessarily the place for it. Your folks support a more physical model, the folks I train believe in a more mental model. Like was posted earlier, lots of models work. Lets leave it at that.
@ Glen & Craig – “Looking at “what is” and enforcing more of the same at the expense of what “could be” is folly.” – Charlie Francis
Good article. Right on target. The ideas and lessons to be learned are also being applied to conventional forces.
Having purchased the DVD, I would highly recommend it – its very detailed, easy to use in a military situation (i.e. minimal equipment) and presented without alot of overly technical language (believe it or not). Its the best I’ve seen on long term programming for the military (I wish I had access to this when I was in) and I’m sure LEO/firefighters etc could also learn alot from it.
To assume that everyone except The Thinker operates under misguided concepts is folly.
Is the training a joke because the people who are hired to train are misguided? Or are the higher ups who make the decisions on what to utilize misguided?
Simple example from the college sport world. Basketball coach says squatting is bad for your knees and does not want his players doing any squatting, even though the strength coach believes otherwise. Who is misguided?
Joe SEAL or Dan DELTA don’t have no time for block periodization. The suggestion borders on ludicrious.
With all due respect, unless you are of the mind that the Army/etc knows everything and is always right and everything it prescribes is the best option, every time, then this article is not useful–unless you really were born yesterday.
Most of the time what The Thinker writes is excessively long winded but you can find a meaningful answer and solution somewhere (like the hamstring rehab question/article).
Especially here, the tone of thinker’s writing (whether intentionally or unintentionally) sends of the signal that he thinks pretty much everyone is completely retarded except for himself, which may work if he provides something groundbreaking but instead he provides what amounts to something EVERYONE pretty much agrees upon–the military can be a little slow and isn’t perfect. MRE’s, injury prevention, etc etc, there is a long list of things that could be improved.
I’m glad folks are taking it serious. Back in the day, we ran or rucked for morning PT; weight room at lunch and whatever our squad leader told us to do after work. It beat a lot of guys down and I think we lost a lot of good Rangers from over use.
Glad you’re back Randy.
As they say, there’s no such thing as ‘bad’ publicity; regardless of how uninformed some of the criticisms appear.
Most importantly, a few orders have come in since the article was posted and that was the point. I’d sure like to sell a lot more though so I can make the biggest possible donation to Adam’s fundraiser.
Thanks to those of you who purchased the DVD.
If you’re on the fence about it, remember that the money is going to a fantastic cause and I assure you, regardless of how against the grain I happen to be regarding the corporate status quo of the industry or the way you currently think about sports training, the DVD includes original content that I’m confident you haven’t seen elsewhere that will benefit the preparation of athletes and commandos alike.
I normally like everything the Thinker writes, but this was one big long advertisement for his DVD. Also having done 21 years in the Army…..5 1/2 years in elite units I found his info a bit dry.
Those units you are reffering to already have support systems in place to handle strength and conditioning requirements.
This DVD is an excellent resource not only for special operators and military personnel, but anyone interesting in programming and organization. For those individuals who are interested in a structured sport training model where all training stresses are accounted for look, no further. This DVD is also somewhat different from the others he has produced because it lists some good practical videos. Anyone who is not interested in supporting the Bronco project, that is fine, but do not try and disused others. That goes especially for anyone who has not at least reviewed the material. If you follow the latest news from Afghanistan the Special Operations community needs our support now more than ever
I would suggest some of the people who had more negative commentaries toward the article, or towards the approach James takes towards the physical preparation of special forces operators, take a chance on the DVD. If you still don’t like what he has to say, then all you “lost” was a donation to a very good cause. But, I think you will find that there is a lot of good information presented.
I own the DVD. I purchased it due to my continued interest in James’ work. I am a civilian with no military service, but was very interested in how one could intelligently program physical preparation for the elite of the military community, It was an interesting look at how James approaches this training. I think, if the people would allow themselves to approach it with an open mind, they will benefit from his DVD. For the special forces operator who’s job is of the utmost importance and worthy of my greatest respect, the benefit of James’ DVD is obvious. But even for the curious civilian, or fans of James’ work, I would highly recommend the DVD.
As I discovered James and his work many years ago, it is vital for anyone that is interested in supporting a great cause and viewing informative information concerning the training of special ops that you purchase this DVD. I am not from a military background, but do have friends in a few different branches who will find this information very informative. For those of you who either: A. Like to help others, or B. Like to learn then this is for you.
I’ve actually worked for a “top tier” private training facility ( most would consider it THE top facility for training athletes.) that is involved in a lot of military physical preparation trying to get Govt. contracts. I was also a Sgt. in the USMC so I know first hand on both sides what goes on.
While PT in the military as a whole will mostly be misguided by the uneducated, there is definitly use for James’ resources. He already works with Team 6 guys. He isn’t saying everyone else is stupid, but rather most of the “educated” trainers in the U.S. aren’t really educated or qualified in the realms of sport science and physical preparation. To some this sounds crazy, but its very true.
I worked at a sports performance facility (not a franshise) that is considered the best in America. People commonly pay in the thousands/month to train there. I worked personally with the guy who they send to bases for 2 weeks at a time to train the guys. It’s not good. He had guys doing EXACTLY what everyone else at the facility did. Everyone does the same thing regardless of what sport they play, and this is the “best” training facility in America!! there’s no thinking process which is where James is different then 99% of the coaches out there.
Purchased the DVD and found the military-specific material to be unique and very worthwhile, even for conventional troops like myself (AF CE guy). Highly recommend it. Some of the ideas in particular I wish I had thought of when I was in my last unit and helped prepare some of our Airborne and Air Assault qualified combat engineers for their respective schools. I own a couple of James’ DVD presentations, and found this one to be the most ‘user-friendly’ and easy to understand by far in terms of how the material was presented. I wrote the Tactical Meathead series that was published here on EFS not too long ago, and James gave me a lot of the ideas on how to organize our unit physical training that was mentioned in the articles. For this reason, I was very excited when this product was announced and it did not disappoint. The price is very reasonable compared to others’ products and it all goes to a great cause. Thanks to James for putting this together.
I was disappointed. I clicked on this article expecting to learn something useful that I could apply to my own training, and instead all I got was an explanation on why training is wrong and you should buy a DVD.
I feel like I should ask:
Where’s the meat?
Chad,
The meat is in the DVD
I wrote the article to elucidate the problem, what the DVD focuses upon, and to promote the sales of the DVD
What the corporate population of the sports industry fails to realize is the error in their ways and thus is unequipped to identify the problem. As I stated in the article, this is a function of a flawed academic system and certifying organizations. Furthermore, most mentor:apprentice situations only serve to further corrupt an already dysfunctional system. As a result, the masses fail to ask the proper questions.
Any competent high level specialist (M.D. PhD, Lawyer, Mechanic, …) follows a formulaic approach that begins with intelligently directed diagnostic evaluation. Only then, may one formulate an effective solution.
Regardless of how confident others may feel in their coaching efforts, the result is immaterial if the direction they’re taking isn’t the right one.
Having educated myself and corresponded with certain associates abroad, unlike many others I have made observations that, while seemingly obvious to those who take interest in what I have to say (but only after the fact), go unobserved by so many who don’t.
To the point, I aim to make the most significant contribution to the Bronco Project as possible.
A note on the helo crash the other day: I have unbreakable bonds with certain members of Team 6; some of whom represent my closest friends in this life. While none of my close friends went down the other day, I did know some of the men who were killed.
Here’s to those guys. They will be avenged.
Thinker, what are your thoughts on Crossfit for the tactical athlete? I feel that the lack of periodization is a limiting factor to its effectiveness, yet there are some military units who have adopted this methodology as the only way to train its members.