injinji
 

Injinji Outdoor wool socks are really good. They isolate each toe and help prevent blisters.

Rob has a good post at Military Athlete today about prepping for selection- specifically that you need to train for certain events (like rucking) and that MILATHLETE/CROSSFIT/ whatever new scheme that is out there isn't the end all be all. Seems like I have heard The Reaper say that, oh, about 200 times or so.

http://www.militaryathlete.com/subpa...279&page_ID=28

Battling Ropes
 

www.powerropes.com
This is a system of strength endurance designed by John Brookfield. I've been training with his various techniques for about 6 months. It's so simple yet so effective. The training I do on the ropes translates to other fitness realms like my Mtn. Bike. The only down side is that you have to acquire a 50' chunk of 1.5-2.0" dia rope.
Boomer

Since it was something new, I will post it here. Yesterday we did max # of bench presses in one minute with your body weight then moved to the pull up bars for max in one minute. After the pull ups we moved to the O course and did rope climbs to absolute, fall off the rope, muscle failures. Next was the Nasty Nick monkey bars. It was a good arm/back/chest workout.

Gym Jones
 

FWIW, This website has some very well-written articles. It does not offer mere facsimiles of workouts or workout plans. It is more about encouraging athletes to reach deeply within to push themselves past the point of mere discomfort.

It all comes down to the heart you put into everything. Take each task, one at a time, and perform it with enthusiasm and concentration.

I like how the authors of the page go on to talk about isolation/body-sculpting workouts. These workouts are solely useful for mirror-lookers who want to impress other people and ultimately, are not striving to achieve athletic performance.

Perform your workout movements, exercises, reps, whatever you call them with maximum concentration and effort. I love this ideology.

Or, they're used to address specific weaknesses that can't be properly trained using a multi-joint/muscle group workout. Be careful of completely dismissing a concept simply because it doesn't fit your particular needs.

I believe this article applies here.

http://www.humankinetics.com/product...xcerpt_id=3450


MILON

1-1 What's New
 

1-1 is running MACP classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, ultimately leading to an All-ARMY Okinawa MACP tournament with winners being sent to the All-ARMY MACP tournament at Benning. Also, for other 1-1 guys out there. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Riesner (on Kadena) Ivan Sakamoto (pretty much a ninja) runs a Gracie BJJ class that is one of the most intense workouts I have been lucky enough to receive. -Lyle

Hybrid PT from USMC Friend
 

A friend in USMC Force Recon provided me with the following 5-day workout, which I have found to be very effective in the development of functional strength, mastery of bodyweight exercises and anaerobic conditioning. The only drawback of the workout is that it favors hypertrophy and will cause you to gain lean body mass, which may or may not be your objective. It WILL NOT cause you to gain superflouos body-mass -- you will be bigger, leaner and more-functional. :lifter

Some of the exercises need explanation
1. TRIPLE BENCH PRESS is done w/ dumbells of 25% bodyweight each ( a 200lb man would use 50's). You begin by placing a bench in the incline position and perform max reps. Then you immediately lower the bench to flat and max out again. Finally, you lower the bench to a slight decline and rep out one last time. This is one set.

2. PULLUP MECHANICAL DROP SET is done by repping out in pullups (palms out) and then immediately switching to chinups (palms in) and repping out with no rest. The principle is based on beginning an exercise with the hardest hand position and switching to the easiest to continue the workload.

3. 30-MIN HOC (at the end of each workout) stands for HIGH-OCTANE CARDIO. HOC is performed by performing 10 reps of an exercise immediately followed by 100 jumps w/ a jump rope. You will perform the two exercises in succession for 30 minutes without rest. The primary goal of this type of training is to develop the anaerobic capacity to use functional strength when exhausted. The weight-load should be enough to produce exhaustion, but not muscular failure. Pace should be max heart rate sustainable.

1. PUSHUP
TOE-TOUCHES 5min

TRIPLE BENCH PRESS (50%BW) 5xMax
DIPS 5xMax
PUSHUPS 1 4xMax
PUSHUPS 2 4xMax

CHOICE TRICEPS 4x10

BURPEES 30min HOC
JUMP ROPE

2. DEADLIFT/ LOWER BACK STABILITY
FLUTTER KICKS 5min

DEADLIFT (bar loaded w/ bodyweight) 5xMax
DB DEADLIFT 5x10
STIFFLEG DEADLIFT 4x10
BACK HYPER 4x10

4-WAY NECK 4x10

KB SWING 30min HOC
JUMP ROPE

3. PULLUPS
JANDA-SITUPS 5min

PULLUPS MECH DROP (2-way) 5xMax
RECLINE PULLUPS 5xMax
CHEST-SUPPORTED ROW 4x10
FACE PULLS 4x10

CHOICE BICEPS 4x10

SLEDGE HAMMER SWINGS (50 reps) 30min HOC
JUMP ROPE

4. MILITARY PRESS
LEG RAISES 5min

BARBELL MILITARY (50%BW) 5xMax
UPRIGHT ROW 5x10
LATERAL RAISE 4x10
REVERSE FLYE 4x10

ROTATOR CUFF 4x10

KETTLEBELL, KEG or SANDBAG PUSH-PRESS 30min HOC
JUMP ROPE

5. LOWER BODY
PLANKS 5min

LEG PRESS (or SQUAT) 5x10
MACHINE SQUAT 5x10
SINGLE-LEG SQUAT 4x10
LEG CURL 4x10

CHOICE CALF 4x10

JUMP SQUAT 30min HOC
JUMP ROPE

Simple, Yet Effective
 

The last workout I posted was geared towards individuals looking to up their strength, with modest (but not superflouos) gains in size. If your primary concern is "leaning-out" and upping your endurance (both aerobic and anaerobic) here's something you might find useful.

First, determine how many days per week you can dedicate to PT. By "dedicate" I mean "allocate 30-45 minutes." Take this number and then select that same number of exercises -- all geared towards a specific goal. For our purposes, you will use bodyweight exercises and will build the workout around 5-days/ week. All you need is a pullup bar and a track (or a jump-rope)

Day 1: PUSHUPS
Day 2: PULLUPS
Day 3: BODY-WEIGHT JUMP SQUATS
Day 4: SITUPS
Day 5: BURPEES

Take an egg timer or any stopwatch and set it to 30 minutes. Perform one set of the specified exercise followed immediately by running one lap around the track. (If you do not have a track available or cannot run for some other reason, perform 100 jumps with a jump rope instead) Repeat this sequence for 30 minutes.

The objective here is to complete a maximum number of repetitions with a given exercise in 30 minutes. Ideally you will set a new personal record each time you perform each exercise, which will be once per week. Furthermore, the faster you can haul-ass around the track, the more reps you will be able to perform in the 30 minute timeframe. If it gets too easy, try it with a weight-vest or pack.

When you guage the total workload of this workout, you will find that you have performed hundreds of repetitions, while logging a couple miles on the track. You will also develop the anaerobic capacity to perform bodyweight exercises in high volume -- while completely exhausted -- which is extremely relevent to the stated purpose behind combat conditioning.

Been using the TRX Body Weight trainer for the last month with some really positive results. I had my doubts, but it works all kinds of muscles that you tend to take for granted, and it really works the core and back, which is what I need.

Got the Military version with the CD and the Military discount. Its a very versatile system and I like the fact that you can take it anywhere with you and even use it in the hotel room.


www.fitnessanywhere.com



Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkp8Is_1N9c&NR=1

New?...
 

Breaking away from the usual exercises can and will awaken "other" muscles. That is a function of exercise design. Body weight exercises in any form are not a New thing. Any of the systems mentioned here Cross fit, P90X, etc will give the same results with imagination in exercise design. Get a good trainer or knowledgable person to challange those muscles.
Your brain and you musles have always worked together. Don't be confused by the term "muscle confusion" because your muscles know and do only one thing CONTRACT. Decrease their length with force. Training the brain to ellicite the appropreate number of fibers to acomplish a movement is where the so called Muscle confusion comes from. Just be inventive with the different exercises you use and you can work all of those "taken for granted" muscles. Blitzzz

My .02
 

I spent May-Jul doing militaryathlete.com WODs. Definitely some tough stuff!

I've been doing the Crossfit Football WODs here at Ft. Knox Crossfit for the past month or so. CFFB includes major lifts in addition to the WOD. A few of my friends here take it a bit further and add crossfit endurance to the mix. I have 18 seconds to shave from my 2 mile before I'm back to my pre-surgery time, so it looks like I'll be hitting the track with them.

As for the earlier criticism of crossfit, I'd respond by saying that like any other decent idea, it's easily distorted. When in doubt, use common sense. Bad form is never a good thing. Just like the APFT, if you don't do the rep correctly, it doesn't count.

In the two Crossfit Affiliate gyms I've trained in, the trainers emphasize form over weight and/or time. When my form breaks down, I'm told to drop the bar, compose myself, and try again. The coaches put a lot of time into training the movement. If it's still not working, we reduce the load until I can do the prescribed exercise correctly.

I bought a pair of fivefingers kso's a few weeks ago, and I love them more every day. They're great for lifting, and running feels a little easier in them. As with anything YMMV.

You guys are wearing those shoes?

Sir,
If you can get over the looks and the shots from the peanut gallery they are the best work out shoe I have ever put on. I have a pair of the sprints and I don't like long runs with them because the rub your foot a bit too much but for the short 3 miles and under runs they are awsome. I would recomend them to anyone who is serious about pt. However, I'm not going to ware them at sfas due to the unwanted attention it would attract.