QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 2013-04-08

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QUESTION
Hi Rob,

I will be deploying shorlty, and my acces to gym facility, or equipement will be more than limited, i’m trying to bring as much stuff as i can thru my supply chain, but ops kit goes first. I would like to know if you already have a package build for this kind of situation. I should have enough time daily to train exception for running that will be impossible pretty much, and it will be really warm.
Let me know if you have something you can refer me.

Thank you

– C.

ANSWER
Our Afghan Pre-deployment training program requires minimal equipment, C. It’s no joke.

To receive the plan for free you need deployment orders to Afghanistan. Do you have those? If so, please provide your military email.

If not, you can purchase the plan through the website store: http://militaryathlete.com/page.php?page_ID=12&cart_category_ID=2&&cart_ID=83

– Rob

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QUESTION
Sir,

I’m a soldier in the Virginia Army National Guard as well as an ROTC Cadet, slated to commission in a about a year. My MOS is 11B – so I’m on the hunt for a program that provides both functional/tactical-based fitness with a heavy emphasis on endurance (while still providing good, solid upper body strength training) in order to train well and to set myself up with a good baseline of fitness for the future with things like Ranger School, hopefully Selection, etc. I’m definitely more inclined towards endurance sports, but I love strength training in the gym as well and enjoy having a more versatile, functional body that can meet all of my needs. That all being said, my primary physical commitment for ROTC/Officer Candidacy is scoring well on the APFT. Do you have a recommendation from all of your programs? I’ve reviewed most of them several times and I’d like your thoughts before buying a program. Obviously there is no perfect fit for both a functionally-based program and something designed to make you score well on the APFT, but the best general program would be awesome. I’m pretty familiar with most conventional lifts (though some of my Olympic lifting is rusty) and I’m always willing to learn. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

Sincerely,
– S.

ANSWER
Our programming has two basic categories: (1) Base Fitness, and (2) Sport Specific Fitness.

Base Fitness = the Operator Sessions on the website. The Operator Sessions is the day to day strength and conditioning I recommend for Military Athletes. The overall goal of the Operator Sessions is soldier, or "deployment" fitness – total body strength, work capacity, load bearing capacity, core strength, stamina, endurance, sprinting ability and especially, durability.

Sport Specific Fitness = the various training plans we’ve developed such as the APFT Plan, Ranger School Plan, Ruck Based Selection Plan, etc.

Understand that "deployment fitness" is not the same type of fitness which will max your APFT. Downrange you need strength for load bearing, sprinting ability, a little more upper body mass for armor and barricade removal, more durability. At no time downrange will you be doing pushups and sit-ups unloaded. At no time downrange will you be running distance in shorts and a t-shirt. The APFT was built for skinny guys who ran a lot and were good at pushups. It’s not the best measure of deployment fitness.

In general, the closer to your event/mission/selection/school/assessment, the more "sport specific" your fitness should be. For example, you have an APFT in 9 weeks, I’d recommend you subscribe to the Operator Sessions and complete these for 6 weeks, then 3 weeks out from your APFT, cancel your Operator Sessions subscription, and purchase/complete the sport-specific APFT plan. Once you take the APFT, drop back into the operator sessions.

Use this model for Ranger School, etc.

Some guys are hesitant to subscribe to the Operator Sessions. For these guys, who are looking for focused training, I generally point them to one of our strength plans first. In my experience, strength is what is most lacking for military athletes. Strength is the key to performance, confidence and, most importantly, durability.

So, specifically for your question, do the Operator Sessions now. If you’re hesitant to subscribe – do the 357 Strength plan.

– Rob

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QUESTION
Hi Rob,

Though I’ve been training consistently for four years, I herniated two lumbar discs back in December at the ripe old age of 22. I’ve learned that the injury is primarily due to a few factors: weak core muscles, tight calves, tight hamstrings, and tight hips. I’ve learned that my weak core has caused some muscles in my lower back to become overdeveloped and over-strained (e.g. gluteus medius, piriformis). Therefore, I’ve been led to believe that fixing this muscular imbalance will require strengthening my core and decreasing tightness in my lower back.

I’m wondering if the 8-Week Lower Back Program is based on this sort of philosophy. The program description talks about building lower back strength, but I’m not sure if this goal is for me. For example, exercises such as "Supermans" are often recommended to folks with low-back weakness, but I simply can’t do them with herniated dics. I hope you won’t mind me asking before purchasing the program; I’m a student and just wanted to know a bit more before investing the $40.

On a final note, I’m wondering if you have any general thoughts for folks with herniated dics. Exercises such as deep squats and deadlifts are commonly thought to be paramount for any strength athlete. However, it was by doing these movements (without having the requisite flexibility) that I injured myself. I hope to be able to do them properly someday, but I just don’t know if it’s advisable given the injury. Thanks very much for doing the work you do, and thanks in advance for your consideration.

– S.

ANSWER
I’m not a doctor and am not sure our program is right for you S. Understand it’s not a rehab program, but rather designed to build strength and fitness for guys with consistent low back issues. You’re injury sounds not chronic, but rather, incident generated, so I’m not sure.

Again, on your herniated disk question – I’m not a doctor so I can’t give medical advice. In general – at you’re age, I’m not sure you should give up the idea of ever squatting again. I feel the worse thing you can do is nothing – there’s actually a name for this in the low back literature – "Deconditioning Syndrome" – you should try to continue the range of motion, even if it’s unloaded.

– Rob

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