Military Athlete

[CDG]

CDG - Maybe you should stop being a weak faggot and suck it up.....

High Bar is comfortable for me, but thats because Ive always squatted that way and Ive always had enough Trap padding.... That being said... Im definitely more powerful in the low bar, Im going to give a wider stance a shot and see how it feels.

Lol. I'm secure in my squat numbers. The problem is that since my traps are more "peaked" than broad, a disproportionately small amount of my body is trying to support a heavy barbell. We can't all look like Larry The Cable Guy, F.CASTLE. Some of us have to look good.

 

[F.CASTLE]

Pointless babble from troll

GFY Im a house!

I checked out Beastmodal btw, and it has some great stuff... Check out the blog he wrote, he's got some great ideas... When I was driving today I was thinking about things that MA lacks.... Consistent squatting and lower body centered movements were two big ones i.e.: Jump rope, box jumps

 

[CDG]

GFY Im a house!

I checked out Beastmodal btw, and it has some great stuff... Check out the blog he wrote, he's got some great ideas... When I was driving today I was thinking about things that MA lacks.... Consistent squatting and lower body centered movements were two big ones i.e.: Jump rope, box jumps

I agree. I will say though, that the lower squatting volume has not seemed to hurt my strength levels. My squat numbers are solid when compared to where I was after doing 5/3/1 for a few cycles. I think I may have lost some ability to rep heavier weight, but my 1Rm or 3RM numbers have stayed pretty consistent. There was an intital decline as I adjusted to the added volume, but now I am back at, or in some cases above, my old PRs. I do wish he did some more box jumps and added some double-unders in sometimes, but a program has gotta give somewhere. I still think it's the best program for a SOF wannabe, and if you are experienced enough you can make changes within the framework of what he writes to keep things from getting stale.

 

[F.CASTLE]

Etype had it right when he said it will work for some and not others... But ya, for SOF wannabes who have no clue what to do MA with some added running

 

[CDG]

The problem I face if I do my own programming is that I inadvertently end up doing too much shit I like (strength) and not enough shit I should (running and gym-based stamina). I would love to be able to train like a Strongman competitor and still be fine at Selection. I know that's not how it works though.

 

[F.CASTLE]

Fuck running anything over 400m

 

[Etype]

Etype - Bill Starr has some great stuff out there for building Press strength. He says his number one exercise for improving the press is weighted dips (on a bar, not rings).

Dips on bars are also great for shoulder health since most of the lift has your shoulder in flexion, while the overwhelming majority of other lifts only move the shoulder through a range of extension- which means slouching and SLAP tears. Ring dips are a bit sketchy since it's hard to keep your shoulders retracted while doing them- I treat them the same as kipping pull ups, I only do them during a benchmark WOD or directly competing against somebody, otherwise I just do them strict.

Etype had it right when he said it will work for some and not others... But ya, for SOF wannabes who have no clue what to do MA with some added running

Seriously, for selection, all you need to do is perform at an above average level for 3 weeks or however long it is now. Most dudes don't do anything crazy. I would say about 75% of SF guys just do Army PT at a high standard. There are a metric-fuck-ton of dudes in the Army who score 300s on their PT tests and finish their 12 milers well within the time standard and do nothing but push ups, sit ups, pull ups, run, and ruck.

 

[CDG]

For me, I not only enjoy barbell/DB/KB training far more than anything else, but I think the durability of training with weight is needed for me. I used to be about 20# lighter than I am now, and I'm hardly a big guy now at 6'2" 185#. I had a VERY difficult time with boats and logs at BUD/S, and started to suffer overuse injuries much earlier than I should have. I believe this can be attributed to me not having ever trained with weights in the time leading up to then, except for a stint on one deployment doing bodybuilder style training. Not only that, but I think doing heavy squats tests your mental fitness far more than a bodyweight PT session.

 

[Hillclimb]

CDG - Maybe you should stop being a weak faggot and suck it up.....

High Bar is comfortable for me, but thats because Ive always squatted that way and Ive always had enough Trap padding.... That being said... Im definitely more powerful in the low bar, Im going to give a wider stance a shot and see how it feels.

Etype - As far as running goes, I hate it myself, however #1 - Im a competitive bastard, #2 - For whatever reason our respective MOS'/Military feel the need to base a lot of our testing on LSD running (whether it be a selection or PFT based test), #3 - If the time comes that I have to run awhile and fast I want to do it at maximal capacity. Im trying to smoke some bitches.

Fuck running! A necessary evil. I'll usually take the month prior to a PFT/event to train for that run and then I'm done until the next year. Its not that hard to get back into the swing of things, its just more annoying than anything. I can usually maintain my cardio by other means. Currently looking into cycling, but even a used Trek/Cannondale bike runs pretty steep for my wallet.

Just make sure you give me a months notice prior to the zombie apocalypse.

 

[Boon]

Fuck running! A necessary evil. I'll usually take the month prior to a PFT/event to train for that run and then I'm done until the next year. Its not that hard to get back into the swing of things, its just more annoying than anything. I can usually maintain my cardio by other means. Currently looking into cycling, but even a used Trek/Cannondale bike runs pretty steep for my wallet.

Just make sure you give me a months notice prior to the zombie apocalypse.

Yeah, definitely a necessary evil, and a "perishable" ability at that.

The Zombie Apocalypse will warn no one!

 

[Etype]

But when the zombies come, there will be plenty of average Americans around- that means obese, and slow. I saw a lady at Wal-Mart today on a scooter that could feed your average zombie hoard for weeks.

 

[Etype]

... and 28 Days later is a bad model to use. Those British folks don't own guns... DORKS!!!

 

[CDG]

I've put up other posts in this thread with links to some of the specialty programs MA has to offer. They recently came out with two more. There is a 7-week Work Capacity Training Plan designed around building a base level of WC. There is strength and stamina work included, but the main focus is work capacity efforts. There is also an 8-week Military Athlete For CrossFitters plan. This plan is designed around introducing an experienced CFer to the MA style of training. Click on the link and scroll to the bottom of the page for the two newest specialty plans.

http://militaryathlete.com/page.php?page_ID=12&cart_category_ID=2

 

[lancero]

The MA for CFers looks interesting.

 

[CDG]

There is also now a 6-week Patrol Officer Training Plan designed around the following objectives:

Intense, sport-specific, 6-week training plan designed specifically for patrol officers in law enforcement or military police.

Training plan as four primary objectives:

1) Increase upper body mass and strength.We understand the deterrent value a big, strong chest and arms can be to bad guys and women who might want to mess with patrol officers. And if they do decide to try something, a strong upper body will help the officer take control. This training plan will to build upper body mass, and strength, including grip strength.

2) Increase Core Strength.This plan hammers your mid-section, especially your lower back. A strong mid-section will help you immensely in any scuffle or dangerous situation. It will also make you more durable and injury resistant.

3) Sprinting strength, speed and stamina.This plan builds lower and total body strength, then uses multiple sprint intervals to transfer that strength to sprinting speed and power. It’s unlikely a patrol officer will be running miles at a moderate pace during his or her duty day, but it’s very likely the officer could be called up to sprint, and sprint multiple times.

4) Build short, intense, multi-modal work capacity.Short intense events such as scuffles, sprint + tackle, etc. are a reality of a patrol officer’s fitness demands. This plan uses short, intense, multi-modal events to train work capacity and cardio/muscle power.

 

[Poccington]

Anyone have any experience with, or hear anything about MA's Hypertrophy Program?

 

[CDG]

Anyone have any experience with, or hear anything about MA's Hypertrophy Program?

I did part of it. I switched off of doing it because it looked like my enlistment was going to go through and so I wanted to do more conditioning. For the 2 weeks I did it, it was a tough program. The volume really adds up, especially if you're really pushing for max weight for the prescribed reps. I was sore as fuck all the time. There are better hypertrophy programs out there, but I think it's a very good program for its intended audience. Military guys generally can't afford to focus on mass gain to the exclusion of everything else, and the MA Hypertrophy program strikes a good balance between mass gain and also maintaining a good level of conditioning.

 

[F.CASTLE]

Anyone have any experience with, or hear anything about MA's Hypertrophy Program?

I used it after my last deployment and saw some weight gains. There was some "bodybuilding" type exercises included in the program which I kinda disliked. However it is meant to put mass on skinny dudes, not turn you into some sort of athletic superbeast. I agree with CDG, Rob Shaul does try to strike a balance in it, however its not the end all be all program.

Honestly though, any program is going to help you put weight on if your nutrition is dialed in to gain mass. Depending on your experience with lifting, there are ALOT of programs out there to fuck around with. the MSU experiment put weight on me, BIG 24 MA program added weight, Crossfit Football has added weight etc.... Its all about hormones and calories brother, IMHO.

 

[JohnnyBoyUSMC]

I've always been a slim guy though I keep in decent shape, though with my metabolism it's really hard to put any mass on, and finding the time/sheer will power to cram down a shit ton of calories (the good kind) has always been a challenge to me. Still, seen plenty of "slim guys" in the Corps that could kick a lot of big guy's ass's in PT.

 

[JohnnyBoyUSMC]

was looking at MA and am curious. gonna try the two week free courses listed on the web site, though perhaps someone to help me answer this. if I did decide to try it for a bit, how do you know when you up the weight on your exercises? or do you keep it just constant?