Military Fitness

Extreme Strength and Endurance for Special Operations Issue #13 1 November 2003

Fear Reactivity and Selection Success

I get a lot of questions from people who want to know what it takes mentally to succeed at selection for Pararescue, SEALs, SF, etc I normally just tell them that there is no silver bullet and that you either rise to the occasion, or not. While I still stand by that, I have recently finished the book Body Flow, Freedom From Fear Reactivity by Scott Sonnon. This is an outstanding work and should be required reading for anyone either in or contemplating special operations work. The book chronicles fear in a way that no one else has dared to approach. Sonnon has been explaining the concepts of Flow and how it applies to us as human beings. Flow is the seamless transition from situation to situation, technique to technique, and moment to moment. When we watch a true martial arts master like Shidoshi Sharieshi it is actually very spooky to see how smooth and fluid he is in response to any spontaneous attack. It is flow that allows him to continue completely unfettered by the complete unexpectedness of what is thrown at him. We have all seen what Sonnon calls bound flow in both the acute and chronic scenarios. If someone throws a punch and you freeze or throw up your arms you are bound acutely. Instead of moving or acting as required by the attack, you froze. In the chronic bound flow scenario your body is full of tension, which causes actual physical and physiological impingements. A great example is the way humans carry stress in the shoulders. Over time the shoulders are raises and rolled forward. This inhibits full expansion of the rib cage preventing you from breathing as deeply as you should. Eventually the shoulders will adapt and hypertrophy will occur causing anatomical adaptation that holds you in this position. Over time you experience reduced oxygen flow because you cannot take a full breath and the PH balance of your blood changes causing illness, which causes more stress. Get the picture? This of course raises your center of gravity, which throws off the joint alignment throughout your body causing further anatomical adaptation, etc In the end, its a bad day for you. Further into the book, Sonnon shows us methods for reducing stress and fear reactivity. In a unique departure from the normal psychobabble of self-improvement books, Sonnon incorporates movement into the solution. I can assure you it is very effective. In the final analysis, this book is outstanding for anyone interested in learning more about themselves, fear, and how to conquer theirs. This book is required reading for any operator or wannabe.

From The Vice President of Pain Com. Spetsdiver

Comrades! The Vice President of Pain here at www.specialtactics.com has spoken with a tough new workout for anyone in SWAT, Fire, or other related fields. Check it out: I call this the Swat Breacher KB Drill. Its kind of a circuit workout, however between each drill you must Farmers Walk 2 KBs, 24 kg or 32 kg. Now like all my drills, its a spin off but it is mission specific for anyone who works with heavy Tool and moves over some distance. Gear needed: !"Open field or area x1 !"KBs or DBs x2 (at least 2 of the same wgt for Farmer's Walk) !"10-15lbs sledge Hammer and old Rubber Tire (optional) x1ea !"Old Fire Hose wrapped in a bundle or extrication/breaching tool for step Climb. (Optional) !"Something to mark Drill Stations !"KBs/Weights/Sandbags/Dumbbells, etc (Something to work out with at the stations) !"If the area has steps use them in your drill (optional)

www.militaryfitness.org

www.specialtactics.com

Military Fitness
Extreme Strength and Endurance for Special Operations
The Drill: Station #1: Swings 10-20 with KB/DB (1 or 2 hand) Farmers walk to next station with KB/DB x40ft-60ft Park bells Station #2: Snatches 10-20 each arm Farmers walk x40-60ft Station #3: Jerks (1or2 hand) x8-12 Farmers Walk x40-60ft Station #4: Sledgehammer strikes for 1-2 min on the tire Farmers Walk x40-60ft Station #5: Step walk or another farmers walk with tools/hose/KB, etc up the steps or another 40-60ft walk/jog #" Rest Interval x1 minute and repeat.
#"

Perform a minimum of 2 circuits!

If you have ever work at crash site vehicle accident crisis site or a structure Fire this Drill will give you a leg up and provide conditioning to keep the edge you need for mission completion. All the Drills have a cross over for a public safety or Military operator who needs to be conditioned for Fire Rescue or Breacher operations.

Push--up Variiattiions Push up Var a ons

We all know the drill. Front leaning rest, inhale as you descend, exhale as you rise. After about 100,000 push-ups, this is just a bit more than boring and tedious. Additionally, high reps arent exactly conducive to strength building. In stead, here are a couple of drills from Valdimir Vasilieve of Soviet Spetsnaz and Stephen Hayes, first American student of Ninjutsu. From Vasiliev comes a reverse breathing drill. Do as many reps as you like, but this time, exhale on the way down, and inhale on the way up. It is very interesting to note the differences. I tend to feel the inner abdominal muscles and the diaphragm hard at work as they stabilize the torso. Those of you familiar wit Pavel Tsatsoulines Spider Lift will immediately recognize the concept of creating an air balloon in the abdomen. From Hayes comes a great drill for strength. He drove a number of 4x4 posts into the ground at various widths at a height above the ground of about 1 foot. Then you do very deep and controlled (read High Tension) push-ups. Do 5-10 reps and then rest. Do many sets! To make this drill evil, drive in the posts in a line at varying widths so that you can simply shuffle to one side for the next width and set. Go through this at medium speed and no rest until you have run the rack. KB users can also use this drill, and in fact KBs make this drill portable. It is also harder as you must not allow the KBs to fall over. Place two bells side by side, grasp the handle and do push-ups. Then at the end of 5 reps, balance on one, slide the other wider or closer and do another 5. You get the idea. Enjoy!

Liiviing By The Motttto L v ng By The Mo o Nathanael Morrison

www.militaryfitness.org

www.specialtactics.com