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The demands on our day-to-day lives range from the trivial to the fundamental, based on the needs and expectations set by both ourselves and those around us. The average person is constantly beset with ‘what needs to be done’, and as responsibilities grow - so, too, does that list.
Recently, I wrote an article about Goal-Specific Training, and how important it is to consider the end goal, for both the overarching type of training program you are doing, and the individual exercises you do each day that you train. As an example, I included a small, infantry-specific program that demonstrated how you can take a defined set of goals and create a program that is applicable, effective, efficient, and enjoyable. I decided that after writing that program, I wanted to write a separate article going into more detail about why I chose those exercises for an infantry soldier, as well as some considerations that should be reflected in how combat soldiers could employ strength and conditioning to make them as effective as possible in their role.
This Program is a very basic 6 Week Conjugate Rotation, modified from a program I wrote for myself a little while ago and really enjoyed. It is designed to build a bigger Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. It is really back-to-basics style programming, and I’ve written it for people who are looking for a new program, or would like to try a conjugate style program for the first time.
Size. Strength. Bigger Squat. Better 10km run time. Better conditioning. Bigger Bench. I always had a goal. And yet, if you had followed that up with another (probably even more important) question, “show me how your program will help you achieve that?”, or, “how will your workout today take you one step closer?”, I would have probably been a little stumped. Sure, I could tell you I wanted a bigger bench, and point to my Arnold 6 week program full of supersets and push-pull splits, and say, “well, if I do enough flat bench twice a week, surely my bench will go up?” Yeah, it might. But, is that all there is to it? And, why do I want a bigger bench? And, what if that isn’t actually working?
The population’s experience with mental health concerns is subjective, and varies from person to person, so when someone who hasn’t directly experienced or witnessed something as complex as PTSD - from where do they draw their understanding? What about someone who is experiencing it, but their personal experience doesn’t align with their current perception? What is the first step in understanding an acronym that represents a complex and diverse levels of experience?
How long does it take to form a habit? How about an addiction? How many times must I perform an activity to cement it in muscle memory? And, how long does it take something to become monotonous, especially if I’m just doing the same thing over and over again?
And why does any of that matter?
I admit that for 2-3 years, I fell into the crowd of people that didn’t see any compelling reason to train my biceps - and I admit that the most likely reason for that was a lack of research on my part. While there is no clear cut group upon which you can label ‘bicep denyers’, the belief appears to have the highest presence amongst the ‘functional’ fitness communities.
During the time that I wasn’t adding some kind of direct bicep stimulation into my programs, I did a range of different training types, and none of them seemed to me as sports in which I needed bulging biceps to excel. As I look back now at the training I’ve done in the past and the ways I could have improved it, one of the things I wonder is if doing some kind of isolated bicep training would have been beneficial.
During the time that I wasn’t adding some kind of direct bicep stimulation into my programs, I did a range of different training types, and none of them seemed to me as sports in which I needed bulging biceps to excel. As I look back now at the training I’ve done in the past and the ways I could have improved it, one of the things I wonder is if doing some kind of isolated bicep training would have been beneficial.
Volunteering – It’s like your first “LIVE” hand grenade throwing range experience. It’s a bit scary, you’re relying on others NOT to screw up. It can be funny (like the guy who let go on the downward swing in front of himself and everyone); then a run for dear life, a dive and three guys piling onto the Sergeant behind the sandbags. Then, the swear words and the usual debriefing - it happens!
Never Volunteer for Anything: “Nunquam Voluntarius Pro Quisquam”
It was recently brought to my attention that with the issues of gun control and mass shootings in the United States, it was counterproductive for me to post pictures of soldiers firing their weapons at the range on our Instagram page. The argument presented to me was, “If we are trying to promote a community focussed on positive mental health, pictures of us with guns will work against us because gun control and mass shootings are at the forefront of social and political focus in the US.”
Initially, I had a whole range of different reactions to this perspective. As an infantry veteran who spent a significant period of his early adult life learning the specifics of various weapon systems, and subsequently teaching these to countless new soldiers as an Australian infantry instructor - I found it very difficult to see a correlation between civilian mass shootings, gun control debates, and images of soldiers on operations overseas. As a professional soldier, the importance of weapon safety, the lives of your mates, and the rules of engagement are drilled into you with every training scenario or learning opportunity. For a link to be considered between a supplementary image on an article post and the mass shootings overseas was deeply insulting.
Initially, I had a whole range of different reactions to this perspective. As an infantry veteran who spent a significant period of his early adult life learning the specifics of various weapon systems, and subsequently teaching these to countless new soldiers as an Australian infantry instructor - I found it very difficult to see a correlation between civilian mass shootings, gun control debates, and images of soldiers on operations overseas. As a professional soldier, the importance of weapon safety, the lives of your mates, and the rules of engagement are drilled into you with every training scenario or learning opportunity. For a link to be considered between a supplementary image on an article post and the mass shootings overseas was deeply insulting.
