By Rob Shaul
After several requests, this week we designed and completed a US Army Civil Affairs Selection & Assessment Training Plan.
In designing this training plan we brought to bear the decade of experience we’ve had in designing military and law enforcement special forces selection training plans. This 8-Week, sport-specific program is ruck-intensive, reflecting the ruck-heavy characteristic of Civil Affairs selection, but also includes focused APFT and 5-Mile run training for initial selection gates.
The APFT, 5-Mile Run, 8-Mile Ruck and MTI-inspired multi-modal work capacity event are assessed three times during this training plan and follow-on progressions are based on the athlete’s most recent assessment results. In this way the plan automatically “scales” to the incoming fitness of the athlete and continues to push them as their fitness improves.
This program gets progressively harder each week, until week 8, when the training tapers down into the start of selection. The plan is designed to be completed the 8 weeks directly before selection. Again, week 8 is a taper into the event.
This is an intense training plan which will demand physical and time commitment. To successfully complete this program you’ll need to make training for selection a priority during your work day.
Ruck Intensive
This plan is “sport specific” to the specific fitness demands you’ll face at the Civil Affairs Selection and Assessment – specifically rucking, running, work capacity “smokers,” grip strength, etc. You’ll ruck 2 days/week and run 3 days/week. It also includes:
- Testing and progressive training for the APFT
- Extended, multi-modal work capacity events
- Grip strength training.
- Shoulder strength endurance work
- Loaded runs and carries
- Intense core, mobility, and stabilizer strength training for durability
- 4-Square Drills for ankle and knee durability
The plan includes 48 Total Training Sessions. It is intended that you’ll train Monday-Thursday with a long ruck on Saturday. Friday and Sunday are rest days.
Weekly Training Schedule
- Monday: APFT Work & PM – Ruck Run Intervals
- Tuesday: Work Capacity, Chassis Integrity
- Wednesday: 2-Mile Run Intervals for 5 Mile Run Improvement
- Thursday: APFT Work
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: Long Ruck
We’ve also built two plans for follow on Civil Affairs training – one for those preparing the Civil Affairs Q-Course, and one designed for the latter portion of the Civil Affairs Post Language Course Training Plan to ensure success on the final physical gates of the training pipeline. This course, and those two are included together in 3-plan Civil Affairs Selection & Training Pipeline Packet.
Questions?
Email coach@mtntactical.com