PART III: TACTICAL FITNESS
WORKOUTS

In the workout charts that follow this section, you will see various terms used to annotate different types of workout protocols including:

5 minutes warm-up/stretch

You will see this on most days of the workouts. Simply warm up by following the Dynamic Stretching routine (this page) or by performing what has worked for you in the past. It is up to you how you like to warm up.

Repeat 5 to 10 times

Throughout the workout, you will see “Repeat × times”. This is a basic circuit of exercises ranging in number from 2 to 10 (sometimes more) in a series. Repeat the exercises that follow in a circuit fashion until you reach a break or a space in the workout column for that day.

Cardio of Choice

Choose a cardio activity such as rucking, running, swimming, biking, or elliptical and do 20 to 30—minutes. Whichever you choose, just get moving and do some cardio for that day. If you wish, you can even pick more than one option to do for that day and mix in a walk with a bike or a swim.

Supersets

Supersets are circuits in which you pick two or more weighted exercises and go from one to the next without rest (other than whatever time it takes to transition to the next exercise, usually 10 to 15 seconds). The workout typically uses the following types of exercises: push/pull exercises (upper body exercises like bench press and weighted pull-ups), full body exercises (refers to more dynamic lifts like dead lifts, power cleans, thrusters, burpees, or MJDBs), and legs/abs (exercises like squats and sit-ups).

Plank—1 minute

You will notice a “1 minute” indication next to the Plank pose. See how long you can hold the Plank and build up to 5 minutes for maximum performance.

Light-Weight Shoulders

This refers to the Light-Weight Shoulder Exercises on this page-this page, which is comprised of six exercises to be done with no rest using 3 to 5 pound dumbbells for 10 reps each.

Core Circuit

Perform 8 to 10 exercises of your choice in the Core Exercises section (this page-this page) for 30 to 60 seconds each.

Grip Circuit

Perform 4 to 5 exercises of your choice in the Upper Body Pulling Strength and Grip Exercises section (this page-this page) for 30 to 60 seconds each to challenge the gripping muscles of the forearms, hands, and arms.

Hard Circuit

These workouts will have several exercises in them and are meant to push you for that 45 to 60 second time block per exercise. Move to the next exercise with minimal rest.

5 Minutes On/5 Minutes Off

When you see the 5 on/5 off workouts, this means you will be doing a hard 5 minute cardio followed by a hard 5 minute circuit usually of 4 to 5 exercises with minimal rest in between. The 5 minutes of cardio are often Tabata intervals, or increasing resistance each minute where you make each minute harder than the previous minute for a total of 5 minutes.

Swim Workouts

Swim using your preferred stroke such as Combat Swimmer Stroke (CSS) or freestyle. Usually these will be mixed together with a hypoxic set of freestyle added. “Hypoxic” means low oxygen and is a nickname for skip breathing on your freestyle strokes. Instead of breathing every 2 to 3 arm pulls during the crawl/freestroke, hold your breath a few more strokes and breath on the 8 to 10 arm pulls for a challenging cardio workout.

See related swim technique footage on my Youtube Channel, Stew50Smith.

If you cannot swim, take a swimming course as this is one of the most basic of survival skills. If for some reason you cannot do the swim workouts in this book due to lack of facilities, simply replace swimming with another form of non-impact cardio like rowing, biking, or using an elliptical trainer. If you are more interested in the Army Special Forces side of Special Operations, replace most of the swimming workouts with more running and rucking workouts.

Bike or Elliptical Pyramid

When you see the bike/elliptical pyramid workout, this requires a stationary bike that allows you to adjust the resistance. Make each minute of your workout tougher by adding a level or two of resistance until you fail to keep up with a minimum 80 rpm. The goal is to do this for at least 20 minutes.

Bike/Elliptical Tabata Intervals

The Tabata interval is a cardio challenge where you sprint for 20 seconds and then go slow for 10 seconds for several sets that usually lasts a total of 4 to 7 minutes. I recommend doing 5-minute Tabata interval sets.

Special Ops Triathlon

This is simply a run, swim, and a ruck. Make it more tactical by using fins during the swims. Carry the fins in your ruck, then run slick (normal, without weight). These are the three main cardio elements of the Tactical Fitness Test.

Triathlon Day

This is usually any three cardio options of your choice. The most common is the run, swim, and bike triathlon, but you can also opt for another non-impact option and do elliptical, rowing, or whatever you need to work on at the time.

Build Your Own Workouts

You will see a variety of options in the charts using the phrasing, “Build Your Own Test.” This can be your regular PFT or another you would like to challenge yourself with. Usually the options include a long distance cardio, speed test, upper body calisthenics, and abs/core strength test. The “Build Your Own Spartan” is a reference to the popular Spartan 300 workout where you pick six exercises and do 50 reps of each for a total of 300 reps. The “Build Your Own Sets” will allow you to select upper body push/pull, full body, legs, and abs exercises and place them into a superset for multiple rounds.

Spartan Runs/Timed Runs

This refers to mixing running with other PT exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, squats, or lunges. Run fast intervals when you are running, then stop and catch your breath with added calisthenics exercises. When you see “Timed Runs” this is simply an all-out effort as if you were taking a fitness test and trying to get a good time on a sprint or distance run. In other words, it is not just a jog.

Max Rep Set

When you see workouts like “Pull-ups 100,” “Push-ups 200,” and “Sit-ups 300,” these refer to max rep sets done in a circuit fashion. You continue the circuit of pull-ups, push-ups, or sit-ups using max rep sets per 1 to 2 minute time limit until you have accumulated the 100, 200, 300 rep requirement for completion of the workout.

Goal Pace Workout

When you see running, rucking, or swimming workouts with the term “goal pace” in them, this means you do that distance at your goal pace of your test. For instance, if the workout says “run 400 meters at goal pace,” this means to run it as if you were running a 1.5 mile timed run pace. So you if you are shooting for a 9 minute 1.5 mile timed run, you would run your 400 meters at 90 seconds. The same goes for swimming 100-meter sets at goal pace for the 500-meter timed swim test.

Run and Leg PT Workouts

This mix is an excellent way to build muscle stamina and endurance when running and rucking. Adding leg PT of simple bodyweight squats, lunges, and step-ups will challenge your run times each set. You will see two versions of “Run and Leg PT”: the “Repeat 4 to 5 times” with a certain distance of running mixed with squats/lunges and “Run for 50 minutes but every 10 minutes stop and do 20 squats/lunges.”

Fitness Test Day or Double PST

These are actual fitness test assessment days where your workout for the day is the actual fitness test you are training for (or one you make up to challenge yourself). The Double PST version means you do the fitness test twice. For the Navy SEAL PST, doing the test in reverse order works well (start and finish with the swim portion), but it is up to you how you arrange the double PST.

PT Pyramids

There are many types of pyramid workouts which you will see in the charts. These workouts simply get harder on each set in repetition counts. For instance the Burpee/Pull-up/Run Pyramid requires you to add in a 50-meter run in between the locations of where you do the pull-ups and burpees. In this case, your workout would start off with 1 pull-up, then run 50 meters; 1 burpee, and run 50 meters. The next set would be 2 pull-ups, then run 50 meters, 2 burpees, and run 50 meters, and so on. Do this until you fail at pull-ups or burpees (but use all the pull-up options in this book to make the pyramid last longer when you fail at normal pull-ups). Try not to kip unless your test actually has you do performance kip-ups as in the UBRR test. Regular PT Pyramids will usually have 2 to 3 exercises with no running in between, like the pull-ups/push-ups/sit-ups pyramid where you do 1 pull-up, 2 push-ups, and 3 sit-ups at each level of the pyramid until you fail. Each set requires you to increase by 1 on pull-ups, by 2 on push-ups, and by 3 on sit-ups. In this case, your 10th set would be 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups, and 30 sit-ups.

Carries and Crawls

These workouts will challenge you to carry weight, a person, or gear, as well as practice bear crawls and low crawls for a certain distance in between other exercises. You can also use these types of movements when doing the PT/Run Pyramids and get creative in thinking about how you can move from the burpee/pull-up positions.

Buddy Tow and Drown Proofing Workouts

These swim skills are tested in the Tactical Fitness Test (buddy tow) as well as by many other Special Ops training schools. Getting used to treading water (without using your hands), bottom bouncing, floating, and buddy breathing are good skills to master to help with your ability to remain comfortable in the water. You do not have to be a world class swimmer to be in SEALs, PJ, Diver, or even Rescue Swimmer programs, but you do need to be comfortable in the water.

Two-a-Day or Split Workouts

If time runs tight on some of the days you are training, split the workout in two and make yourself a Two-a-Day workout. Some days will be specified as “Two-a-Day,” so try to work in an AM and a PM workout during that day if possible. Remember, there is no 30-minute gym workout that prepares you for Tactical Training programs—put in the time and work to see the results you want.

Hellacious 100s

This is a tough max rep circuit workout in which you have to reach a total of 100 repetitions for several exercises before you are finished. Even the cardio portion requires you to burn 100 calories on the bike or elliptical. To do this fast, max out the resistance and elevation and go as fast as you can to see if you can burn 100 calories as fast as you can (you will likely have to input your age/weight into the machine for a more accurate assessment).

Heavy Lift Warm-Ups

When you are getting into the heavier lift cycles such as bodyweight bench press or 1.5 bodyweight dead lifts, give yourself a few sets to warm up and build up your weight progressively during the first 10 to 15 minutes of your workout. It is recommended to do a series of two repetition sets and resort to 1 repetition as you near the last 25 percent of your max lift weight.

Weekly Charts

For each week, you will see Days 1 to 6 in the workout charts. Fit the 5 to 6 workouts into your 7 day week and pick the day off that fits best for your schedule and fitness needs.

EVERYDAY HERO

Workout #1

Beginner 30-Day Program

Workout #2

Build Muscle Stamina: Six weeks of calisthenics only with running and swimming/non-impact cardio base training

BEGINNER TACTICAL ATHLETE

Workout #1

Increase Endurance and Muscle Stamina with Weights: Six weeks of calisthenics, running, rucking, and swimming with moderate weights

Workout #2

Maintain Cardio and Increase Strength, Speed, and Agility: Six weeks of advanced weight training, speed work, and limited long cardio for muscle gain

ADVANCED TACTICAL ATHLETE

Workout #1

Increase Strength, Speed, Agility, and High Intensity Cardio: Six weeks of heavy weights, speed, and agility

Workout #2

Combine All Cycles for Full Test Prep: Six weeks of tactical fitness testing preparation