"fit" for combat

I would'nt worry so much about numbers in and of themselves. I would strive for balance. When I was younger I worried about the 350 lb. bench. Other than bragging rights it really did'nt mean much. Obviosly stronger is better but don't give up your aerobic ability for the strength. If you make a point to do some form of aerobic activity 2-3 times a week and a reasonable program of resistance training 2-3 times a week you'll be more fit than 95% of the population. Being fit is really not a piece of the survival puzzle, it's a prerequisite. It enables you to do everything else to a higher degree. I follow the above mentioned program and at 41 I'm always in the top 3 for PT scores in my military reserve unit of about 75, regardless of age. From the military standpoint my goals are for a 10 minute 1.5 mile run and 100 push ups and sit ups in 2 minutes each. For my personal goals I am satisfied with a 24 minute 5K run and a 300 lb. bench. FWIW I'm not a big guy at 5-9 180. Good luck and remember the real key is just to do something.
 
Its all about supporting your body weight and how well you can mange. Do stress reps, they work best imo.

Max pushups in 1 minute(Marine pushups for strengthing wrist also)
Max situps in 1 minute
Max pullups in 30 seconds(Drop all the way down and up again)
Jog in place for 2 minute(Lift your knee as high as you can)
Max flutter kicks in 1 minute(Keep your toes pointed straight up and your knees locked)
Shark swim for 1 minute(Think superman stretch, cept you raise your arm and leg alternatvly. Ie, left arm/right leg and right arm/left leg)

Do all that continusly(sp) without stopping for half hour and you got a pretty decent workout. Granted you actually have to want to do it inorder to get any benefit, else your just wasting your time.
 
Hey porskin a good base for upper-body pushing strength is always at least being able to bench your body weight. The real question is....what do you do from there. It sounds like you are just looking for a OK level to "sustain" and not worry about improving. The thread title says combat, but I dont think you are really talking about combat. It sounds like you just want to feel comfortable in your ability to handle yourself in a street fight. If that is the case, then benching will not do t he job for you. Flutterkicks will not do the job for your. Pick a fighting technique.....any fighting technique, and do whatever exercises that are encompassed in that technique.

Even in the Military, the physical fitness test doesn't really say much. It may be a good indication in your ability to carry out your combat mission, but in the end, if you can't move with/operate the equipment that you are given, you are combat ineffective. No matter how many push-ups, pull-ups, 1.5 / 2 / 3-mile run, dead hangs you can do. None of these tests are designed to test your heart/will....that which makes you do what is needed in the face of danger.

I also think that people use the word "combat" toooooo loosely. Combat means killing someone for an objective. Fighting in the streets and operating in combat are two very very different things. Maybe if more people actually knew what combat involved, they would be less apt to plunge into a war.

(ohdeargawd...you guyz made me start preaching!!)
 
I am 55 now and have worked in enviroments that have been real hard. I am no warrior as far as training but have kept myself fit and challenge myself to test my abilities. I am nobody special and I am just like any one of you.

I have been tested under fire but none of my strength or agility was needed like you see in the movies. You get shot at by gun or by bomb and you just make what decisions that are available. You will do what you have trained yourself to do if your courage doesn't fail you under fire.

Train hard but don't hurt yourself doing it. Injuries last forever. My 2cents
 
One more thing I ought to add, Your size and strength are not always what is going to keep you alive. I have seen women 5foot 8 120 pounds win fights against attackers with AK 47s and RPGs. She was in a guntruck with the convoy and when she cut loose with the 50 cal it made us all happy. None of the men she killed even knew who did it.

Then we went out with a different group and one of the guys on the gun truck was so scared he never fired a shot. Hell everyone was scared and with good reason. Some of the guys come into unloading and they had unexploded RPGs stuck in their trucks.

If your gonna fight then you better be willing. There are alot of good men over there, much better than I am and I hope you you all realize what they are doing for you whether you agree with the war or not.

I am not special and deserve no allocades so please just take this for information and move on. (edited to say) I just worked over there to help in the fight, I am no hero. It's the military that deserves the real thanks, God knows they kept this old man alive.

25
 
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Model 25-hope you're back from it, and if so, glad you are. If not, hope you and your buds are back soon. I get my kid back in 65 days, give or take and provided the bad guys don't get overly rowdy. He's a combat medic in the
3rd ID runnin with the grunts. He'll tell you that he's just doing his job like you and most of the others-but if it weren't for all of you guys doing your job, from delivering the mail to delivering hell to the other side, somebody's not comin home. Good job, and thank YOU!
 
The Marine Corps told me that for max points for promotion I needed to be able to do the following:

1. Run 3 miles in less than 18 minutes. (6-minute miles)
2. Do 20 pull-ups.
3. Do 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes.

I was able to max the PFT every time, and, IMO, the run is what mattered. If you can run 6-minute miles for 3 miles, you are going to be in shape. Period.

It is my belief that running is the most important skill to have. Mainly to get away from the fight in the first place....

:p
 
so... i think we're back to stamina. :D

and Rugerdude, (i love my Ruger too) i think you better get used to doing sit-ups.
 
the physical conditioning's nice...

...but somebody in a wheelchair can be just as tactially prepared without being able to "push" anything but themselves. It's what's between the ears that matters most. If you want to get into hand to hand combat, I'd go spend a few years in martial arts. You'll get good conditioning, quickness, and the moves you might need. If you want to stay OUT of trouble altogether, common sense and a quick mind are the primary need, backed up by sufficient firepower. Nothing is 100% guaranteed, but as the pen is mightier than the sword, the brain and the tongue can often be mightier, quicker, and safer than the brawn.

My highly overinflated $.02., from a middle aged lady that pushes....grocery carts. her children to do their laundry, and the choir to get to practice on time.

Springmom, waiting for the dog to come back in at 3:53 a.m.....
 
i said baseline! i would wager i'm in better shape than most anyone on this board. 6'0'' 175lbs. 100 straight hindu squats. 1 mile run 6 minutes and 45 seconds. did 39 consecutive dips last week. i wasn't asking for myself, but rather to see what shape you guys kept yourself in. also losangeles, richard marcinko is a liar. westside barbell club doesn't have that many 500lb benchers and they are the strongest gym in the world. it is completely unrealistic to expect someone to bench 400lbs. that would be "elite" powerlifter status for anyone under 200lbs. just stupid. i can bench 225 lbs for 2 reps by the way. that is the test for nfl players so i think anything more than that is just risking injury and is a waste of effort. this was a tactical forum and dern if the powerlifters didn't go all "t-mag" on us. matt furey's combat conditioning is a much better route for average people to get in combat shape. my $.02...
 
Uhm, Porkskin... You might be surprised by who follows this board (5:22 mile). Check out my other sport: http://www.usbiathlon.org/ (and yes, I wear spandex)

I should also add "good for you" for keeping yourself fit!
 
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I have 2 guys who work for me: 1 benches 565 and the other 535.
The 565 guy is a gym rat. 5 hrs a day in the gym. No other life other than work and gym. He did a demo at a high school for where he benched 235 for 62 reps.
The 535 guy was U of IN football team captain, had been drafted by Dallas but blew out a knee in training, and his dad played for Dallas and Pittsburg. The guy's mom has bigger hands that I.
Both are big ole boys. They got that way naturally - good genes and lots and lots of gym time. Getting uniforms to fit and look decent is a job for the tailor. Just too much upper bulk and body taper.
 
Endurance

As far as fit for combat goes, stamina and endurance are most definitely the key. The NUMBER ONE indicator of survivability in combat is your level of physical fitness. Being more fit lets you perform better and, at least as importantly, gives you the strength and reserves to recover if you do get hit.

A couple years ago, when it became apparent I was going to be taking a trip to the desert I finally got back into regular workouts. I don't have and equipment so I just went with pushups, situps and running. (What can I say, I'm unimaginiative) :rolleyes: After several months I got up to around 75 pushups, 90 situps and and 2 miles in ~14 minutes. I'm mid 30's. I actually put on weight doing it, but slimmed down a bit. Had I NOT done this I very much doubt I would be here. I did wind up spending quite some time in the hospital, losing about 50 pounds (among other things.:) )

I can't emphasize enough, if you expect to be heading to combat, get in shape!. Don't worry about how much you can lift, reps, etc, just work. Most especially, run or do some other cardio for endurance.
 
for combat duty stamina and endurance are the keys....including mental endurance
you dont fight in PT uniforms and running shoes.

when I first enlisted there was no such thing as a PT uniform and personal hygiene time....

you marched out to the PT field in your OD Utilities, grounded your hat and uniform jacket. performed physical PT, came back put your hat and jacket on and went to breakfast and then to work....lol

Now I retired.....my knees are shot so I dont do any running. In fact I dont do much at all..lol. need to start back excercising..lol

However on Sunday I spent 11 Hours removing trees and sawing up a 3 feet in diameter oak tree using sledge hammers and wedges and chainsaws....so I guess I am still in decent shape.
 
Something that is overlooked is athleticism. I have seen huge gym monkeys taken down by little baseball players because they didn't have an ounce of athleticism. I don't care how much you can bench, squat, curl, etc. If you are goofy, you are going to lose. I strongly recommend training in empty hand combat, martial arts, defensive tactics, etc. Not many people fight on a regular basis unless it is your hobby or profession. I would say that for the average Joe to get out of the S#@t, you need the right mindset, common sense, and some athleticism.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying to hang out on the couch all day and eat doughnuts. It's important to be physically fit-whether that's 30 min. of cardio and a little weight training 3x a week or going to the gym everyday. It's also important to know what to do when you need to do it.
 
i agree with k9. i also will add that if you don't know any submission grappling/brazillizn jiu jitsu, that you should get a little more familiar. being on the ground with a good grappler is like being drowned by an alligator if you are inexpirienced. and western boxing beats mcdojo tae kwon do any day of the week. i just thought we'd dicuss what level of fitness you guys feel like you should keep up.
 
You'll are right when you talk about athleticism you look at who passes bud training or the ranger qualification they aren't that bulky at all. Also anyone try free running that takes a little bit of athleticism in it self.
 
I agree completely with the athleticism proposition. It's not completely size. You rarely will have a 250+ lb athletic guy. Most elite level athletes are in the 190 - 225 lb range.

I still go back with my earlier proposition. Remember, I wasn't talking baseline -- I was talking being able to outman over 95% of potential adverseries.

No, 400 lbs bench for a 200 lb guy is not elite. I'm a powerlifter, I know. I went 418 lbs at 198 lbs in competition and won a national bench competition -- but that was for an older age group. The top guys in their late 20's to mid 30's were doing over 500 in the mid divisions. And the 220's were getting close to 600's.

But back to the athleticism proposition. Many of those powerlifters can't run well. That's why I propose minimum 4.6 on the 40 yd dash (that's not world class, either), and the long distance running.

You can easily get guys like the profile I mentioned in most Division I & NFL football programs -- look at the running backs, receivers, outside linebackers, safeties. I was a recruited for Div I as a safety, and can say that profile is a dime a dozen. Again, I'm talking about being able to out-man over 95% of possible opponents, not baseline for the average Joe.

But I'd apply the same tests for the average Joe, with baseline marks being lower (with the exception of the long-distance running which I'd have to say should be the same).
 
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