On the 22nd
of November the Desert Ultra in Namibia will take place.
The Desert
Ultra takes place across 250k of the Namib Desert testing runners as they cross
dried-up river beds, huge dune fields and run through grasslands with the
majestic volcanoes and mountains as a back drop to the race.
With the
extreme conditions and amazing location this fantastic race awaits those
willing to tackle this challenge.
As a
self-sufficient race you will be responsible for carrying all of your kit and
equipment for the entire race, which includes a sleeping bag, food, safety
equipment and a minimum of 2.5 litres of water.
David
McIntosh is an Adventure Athlete and Ex-Royal Marines Commando.
So it was obvious he sought out other Ex-Royal Marine who are now a Physios.
This week
David has been preparing for the Ultimate Desert Ultra with some injury
prevention from Bulletproofbodies.
David's body will endure 250 km of hot and sandy desert where the normal Ultra-Running injuries will apply.
Tight hip flexors
Lateral knee pain
Tight Calves
Achilles tendinopathy
&
Plantar Fascia pain
So what do
you listen to that will help Bulletproof Your Brain when you are running this intense 5 day race?
The answer
is simply, Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins.
The
Bulletproofbodies team met Goggins this Summer and were massively inspired by
his talk.
He is the Authentic
Athlete.
Goggins now stretches for hours daily after all the grueling endurance events he has endured including 3 Hell Week sin a single year!
The hip flexors stretch is the most important for runners.
Kneel down is a Lunge position.
Put a cushion under your knee to prevent discomfort.
Raise your arm on the same side upwards then over.
By adding some Lateral (side) Flexion we increase the stretch and mobilse in two different planes of movement.
Hold from 30 seconds to 2 minutes to be effective with your stretching.
From Ex-Royal Marines to another, we wish David McIntosh good luck and salute him as he attempts this mother of desert races.
Today is a special day
as we remember Sgt Barry Weston from her Majesty’s finest Royal Marines.
On 30th
August 2011 Baz was serving on operations with 42 Commando Royal Marines in
Afghanistan.
His patrol was
participating in an Operation to draw insurgents away from the Civilian
Population in order to disrupt their activity and further expand the influence
of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
During the patrol Sgt
Weston was fatally wounded by an Improved Explosive Device (IED).
Former Royal Marine Joe
Townsend has won gold for England after winning the first Commonwealth Games
Para-triathlon.
Joe, a former Royal
Marine, lost both his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2008 at the age of
19.
I had the pleasure of meeting Joe back in my days at Headley Court. Part of the Royal marines family.
Since then Joe's also become a Strength and Conditioning coach as well as an athlete.
He has now followed on successes at the Invictus Games to claim his first
gold medal at a major games.
Joe first got into
triathlon when he first completed the Ironman UK triathlon in July 2011.
He has
since competed at the Ironman World Champions ships, finishing second in the
disability category in Kona, Hawaii in 2012.
At his home Paralympic
Games, Joe carried the Paralympic flame into the London 2012 stadium as part of
the opening ceremony, making a dramatic overhead entrance to the arena
suspended by wires.
Joe went on to claim 4 gold medals at the 2014 Invictus
games and competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro.
Joe Townsend, the Bulletproofbodies Team salute you.
10 years ago, while everyone was getting ready for Christmas, the Royal Marines were out if Afghanistan.
On Christmas Eve 2007 Royal Marines Commandos were on patrol. Mark "Rammers" Ormrod was about to have his life changed forever.
The first triple amputee to survive his injuries and pioneer the way for others that would unfortunately follow.
It was an absolute privilege to be his Physiotherapist at Headley Court after he survived an Improved Explosive Device (IED) whilst in Afghanistan.
Happy "Bang-aversary" to quite simply, the most inspirational man I know.
I interviewed Mark awhile ago and this is his inspirational story:
What motivated you to join the Royal Marines in the first place?
When I was about 15yrs old & approaching the end of my compulsory education I had a sudden realisation that once I had taken my GCSE's & the exams were over that I had a huge choice to make, that choice was to either continue my schooling with further education or go out into the big bad world & start earning a living.
At that point I was pretty much done with school, not because I didn't enjoy it or I wasn't any good at it (I got 9 GCSE's A-C & 1 D) but because I wanted to be out there earning & gaining an education in life. Now the problem that I had was that I really didn't know what it was that I wanted to do, I knew that I didn't want to be in a suit working a 9-5 but I wasn't really sure what all of the wider options were. After lots of thought, research & seeking advice from others eventually I narrowed my options down to the Fire Brigade, the Police or the Army.
As a 15yr old I really had no idea just how much the Fire Brigade actually do & assumed that all they did was put out fires (I now know much differently) & back then that didn’t really appeal to me and so I scratched that off my list.
Joining the Police didn’t materialise either as I thought that maybe that could be something I’d look at when I was a bit older & had a bit more life experience & so in the end I decided to join the Army. So one day I went down to the careers center, spoke to the guy in charge & came home with all of the relevant paperwork. Once my parents found out my plan my Dad took me to see an Uncle of mine who unbeknown to me had been a Captain in the Royal Marines. He talked to me about the differences between the Army & the Royal Marines & told me a little bit about his career, after that I went back to the careers centre and spoke with the man in charge of recruiting for the Corps. I sat down with him & had a chat, watched the standard recruiting video & that was the moment that I made my decision that I wanted to become a Royal Marine’s Commando. What appealed to me was that these guys were so flexible & could deploy to any environment in the world, arctic, desert, jungle, woodland & they could do it by land, sea or air, it seemed like the complete package & I knew that by joining it was going to make me grow enormously as an individual. I also did a lot of research & found out just how hard the training was & so I thought to myself “might as well go all in & push myself to see if I have what it takes”
What kept you going at Lympstone (Commando Training Centre Royal Marines)?
I think what kept me going through my training initially was my ego & pride. I was only 17 at the time & one of the youngest in the troop & so I felt like I had something to prove, it also made me sick to my stomach the thought of quitting because it was too hard or being kicked out because I wasn’t good enough.
As the weeks went by I watched people quit & get kicked out & I imagined how bad they would feel being on that train on the way back home & having to face their friends & family & tell them that they didn’t make the grade, I couldn’t handle the thought of that being me & so I used that to push me on through the tough times. Even if we were doing things like speed marches, yomps or any other kind of physical test as hard as it was & as much as I wanted to quit (even at times throwing up as I was running) I couldn’t bare the thought of getting back trooped & having to go through that pain again in two weeks time with another troop. It would feel like all of the pain I was going through was for nothing & I remember always thinking to myself “well I’m already in pain, it already hurts so I might as well get a reward from it” & so I continued to push.
Of course there’s also the rest of the lads that are around you. Everyone has their strengths & everyone has their weaknesses & when a member of the troop is struggling the rest of the lads rally around to help him through & then later down the line he usually repays the favor, that’s how the military works.
There was of course also the thought of becoming a fully trained Royal Marines Commando by the age of 18! That really spurred me on. I remember thinking how cool would it be not only to have passed the longest & hardest regular forces infantry training in the world, but to have done it by 18 would have made me a stud! (Well in my mind anyway)
What motivated you after the success of getting your green beret?
After I got my Green Lid what motivated me was standards. I had an absolutely incredible training team when I went through Lympstone and every single one of them always held themselves to the highest professional standards at all times, they were men that I respected & looked up to & men that I wanted to be like.
There was also pride. Training to become a Royal Marine is world renowned for its difficulty & so when people see that Green Lid or those Commando flashes or that Globe & Laurel tattoo they know what you’ve been through & what kind of man you are. Now I don’t necessarily mean a tough guy/steely eyed dealer of death etc… but the kind of man that holds himself to a high standard & pushes himself to be better & who never quits & always finds a way around things, that’s what I wanted people to see when they looked at me & that motivated me even more to be all that I could be. I also had visions one day of being on a training team myself & having other young, raw recruits look up to me the way I looked up to my training team.
How you felt after you got injured?
After I got injured I felt the same way I guess most people felt. I knew deep down that my career was over & I had no idea what I was going to be able to do to support my family. I thought my days of being physically fit & able to train were over (boy was I wrong!), I knew my days as a Thai Boxer were over which was hard to take & I really had no idea what the future held.
The early days during my recovery were turbulent & like most people I’d have good days & I’d have bad days. Some days I felt suicidal like everything I had ever worked hard for had been taken away from me & I’d have to start again from scratch to rebuild my life but then I’d think “OK well I’m 24yrs old so there’s plenty of time to rebuild.”
It was tough trying to figure everything out & it was an emotional roller-coaster for everyone that was involved but there was so much help & support on hand that it helped me & everyone around me to focus on the positives & the little wins & get through the hard times.
What inspired you to keep going with your rehabilitation?
To keep me going through my rehab & to keep me moving forward I had a mindset shift & started to look at things differently & tried to pull all of the positives out of my situation. I started to look at my situation as a challenge just like when I was a 17yr old going through training with the odds stacked against me except now I was the UK’s first triple amputee from Afghanistan with no path to follow & I just thought “well if I can get through training I can get through this”. Again pride played a huge part in my recovery
If you were to change the way the Military trains its personnel, how would you change it?
I’m not sure to be honest its hard to say as the training needs to be brutal, it needs to push you mentally & physically to your breaking point because when you’re in a combat zone you need to know you have what it takes when the lead wasps start flying in your direction.
I think after training it would be really useful to have mentors/coaches available to help guide people through their careers as when you’re a young man/woman it can all be a bit overwhelming & sometimes people aren’t always aware of what is available to them, I know I certainly wasn’t.
The biggest change I’d like to see is more support during the final 12 months of people leaving the services. This may have changed now but I remember situations where friends had put in there notice to leave & during their final 12 months they were sent out on 3-6 month exercises on the other side of the world rather then focusing on things like re-training, re-settling their families & preparing themselves for civvy street.
How do you motivate yourself and what lesson can we learn from your example.
I motivate myself by given myself mentors & role models to aspire to be like & by constantly setting myself goals in all of the areas of my life which are important to me.
The only advice I can give is to not get stagnant & to pro-actively keep moving forward & setting yourself goals not matter how unobtainable they may seem or what anyone else thinks of them. You have to make a choice to focus on the things you want in life, cut out the drama & things that aren’t important & keep heading towards what it is that you do want.
A Navy SEALS workout is
different to the goals of a typical fitness or bodybuilding workout. A typical
fitness workout may focus on improving endurance and reducing fat, where as a
bodybuilding workout focuses on the aesthetics of building muscle.
A Navy SEALS workout
needs to deliver so much more than just muscle and endurance. It needs to
deliver strength, speed, flexibility, endurance, power, and mental toughness
and fast rates of recovery.
Power is a key word
here. Navy SEALS are required to deliver short bursts of intense physical
exertion. These short bursts need to be fast and strong. And that is what power
is all about, strength AND speed.
The Navy SEAL also
needs to be able to quickly recovery from these power bursts and become
mentally and physically ready for another burst of activity when required.
3 Elements Of A SEALS
Workout
There are 3 main
factors that a SEALS workout needs to abide by:
1. Portability
SEALS need to be able
to train anywhere and at any time.
Therefore a workout
should require nothing more than the body of the operative himself. No
equipment or weights should be needed.
The workout should also
be able to be completed within a small area of space. Typically no more than
the space required to lie down in.
2. Efficiency
The workout needs to be
quick. Operatives are extremely busy and have a hectic schedule and thus do not
have time to spend hours each day working out.
Ideally the workout
should last between 20-30 minutes.
3. Tactical Relevancy
The workout needs to
improve the key tactical physical skills required. It is not just about
exercising for the sake of it and improving all round general fitness.
A Navy SEAL workout
needs to be specific to the physical requirements of the field: power, speed,
agility, strength, quick recovery, and mental toughness.
Example Navy SEALS
Workout
Below is an example
workout that can be used to build Navy SEAL fitness.
The workout uses simple
bodyweight exercises that I am sure you have already come across.
Instead of doing the
typical 4 sets of 25 reps of each exercise, to make the workout relevant to the
SEALS it is a good idea to perform it like a superset.
This is where you do 25
reps of one exercises, and then go straight onto 25 reps of the next exercise
but without a rest. Continue until you have done all 4 exercises in a row. THEN
rest. And repeat.
E.G: Push-ups x 25 >
Sit-Ups x 25 > Pull-ups x 10 > Squats x 45 > REST > REPEAT
You can try mixing up
this workout with other bodyweight exercises such as dips etc. Also try
increasing the reps and trying to reduce the rest period as you progress.
Navy SEALS Workout
Summary
This page has provided
a simple example of the sort of workout that contributes to Navy SEAL fitness.
The aim is to develop
tactical fitness and not just general fitness.
For maximum intensity,
the exercises should be done quickly, one after the other. The rest period
should only come each time the complete cycle of exercises has been completed.
For more information on
the sort of bodyweight exercises Navy SEALS perform, see the author's related
pages on bodybuilding without weights
[http://musclewithoutweights.com/bodybuilding-without-weights] and chest
exercises without weights [http://musclewithoutweights.com/chest-exercises-without-weights].
A few years ago, I
bought a book about the Navy Seals and how they worked out. I tried to find the
book as a reference for this article, but couldn't find it.
Either way, I've
retained some information from memory that I'd like to share. First of all, there
were four main parts to the Navy Seals program: upper body training, core
training, stretching, and cardio.
For some reason, the
book did not talk about lower body training. Either way, the workouts presented
in the book were very minimalist and 100% bodyweight exercises. I remember in
particular the format of the workouts. The used a pyramid style of training.
For example, lets say
that your workout consisted of pushups and pullups. Here's what the workout
would look like using the pyramid method:
Pullups, 1-2-1 reps
Pushups, 2-4-2 reps
You can either
alternate between the two exercises, or just rest in between each set. The Navy
Seal book actually features 2-3 variations of each variations for each workout.
The core workouts followed a straight set approach. For example, if you were
doing situps and leg raises, the workout would look like:
Situps, 4x25
Leg Raises, 4x25
Naturally, this is not
how the Navy Seals actually train. If they did, then I'd be afraid that the
strength and conditioning programs of out military were not optimal for combat.
However, what this book does is open up people to the idea that they can train
like the military in the comfort of their own homes.
Military Workouts for
Fat Loss
People are marveled at
how incredible well conditioned the military is, despite training with just
their bodyweight. The truth is that the military training program has
transformed over the past few years. They've gone from training primarily with
bodyweight to incorporating a lot of different training methods.
Some military programs
have full gyms were soldiers perform strength workouts similar to bodybuilding
and powerlifting programs. Others focus primarily on Crossfit and Kettlebell
training regimens. But, if you were to enter basic training tomorrow, you'd be
exposed to 100% bodyweight training.
Hence, the base of
military fitness still lies in basic bodyweight movements. The Navy Seal book
focused on pushups, pullups, core training, and swimming as the four
fundamentals of training. I personally feel that all you really need are
pushups, pullups, bodyweight squats, and situps to develop a base level of strength
and fitness.
Military Principles for
Fat Loss
It's not really the
exercises that are special, but it's the principles that the military follows
that gives them such great results. They could probably achieve better results
than you can, even if you had a better workout program at your disposal. The
reason is that they follow two very important principles that can help achieve
success with any goal you may have:
Train Early in the
Morning
Training early in the
morning will jump start your metabolic rate and have you burning fat all day
long. The days I workout first thing in the morning, I feel incredibly hungry
and energetic throughout the day. I'm alert, and ready to get things done.
Training is Mandatory
There are no excuses in
the military. That's why they're so disciplined and they get the results they
get. If you have goals to achieve, there's no way you'll achieve them if you
don't actually do your workouts. Start today by getting rid of all the
distractions and excuses you might have.
Military Cardio for Fat
Loss
We've discussed
workouts, exercises, and principles. Now we get to the fun part - cardio.
Actually, to most people cardio is not fun. Especially me. When you look at
traditional military workouts they do a lot of running, and a lot of swimming.
They also do a lot of circuit training and obstacle course training.
They pretty much do
cardio everyday and all day. They're always on the move. So what can you learn
from them? Well, one of the biggest aspects to their is that they are in a
large group. You don't need to start some workout club, but running, swimming,
or biking with a friend will help you get your extra cardio in.
When I was in Karate, I
performed my best when I was fighting or competing against someone who was able
to push me hard. My friend Dominic and I were of equal strengths and
techniques. So when we fought, there was war. But it was fun, and we both
burned off a ton of calories during the workout.
Putting it All
Together: Military Style Workouts you can Do at Home
Well, if your goal is
to get started with some basic military training, then you should take the
following steps:
Stick to the basics:
pushups, pullups, situps, and squats.
Get a friend to workout
with. Make sure you push each other.
Train first thing in
the morning.
Make sure you train on
a consistent schedule. Don't let yourself make any excuses.
Find a fun activity to
perform. This is the best cardio.
The last step is to
actually get yourself a very basic bodyweight program you can do at home. My suggest
is the Average Joe Fitness Program. For more information on this amazing
manual, check out my site, WorkoutWithoutWeights.Net
[http://workoutwithoutweights.net/]
You have permission to
publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as
long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all
hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info.
“Amazing and absolutely
awesome day. The best obstacle course I have ever seen. Well organised and
professional. This is a must for the rookie and the experienced fighting fit.
Buzz was really good. Helpful marshals and Royal Marine Matt Doherty was a pleasure
to talk to. Great T shirt and medal. Day was WELL WORTH THE MONEY. Definitely
going in September!!!”
Quite
simply, Mark "Rammers" Ormrod is one of the most inspirational people
I have ever met.
It was an absolute privilege to be his Physiotherapist
at Headley Court after he survived an Improved Explosive Device (IED) whilst
surviving in Afghanistan.
I
did an interview with Mark last year and this is his inspirational story:
What motivated you to join the
Royal Marines in the first place?
When I was about 15yrs old
& approaching the end of my compulsory education I had a sudden realisation
that once I had taken my GCSE's & the exams were over that I had a
huge choice to make, that choice was to either continue my schooling with
further education or go out into the big bad world & start earning a living.
At that point I was pretty
much done with school, not because I didn't enjoy it or I wasn't any
good at it (I got 9 GCSE's A-C & 1 D) but because I wanted to be out there
earning & gaining an education in life. Now the problem that I had was that
I really didn't know what it was that I wanted to do, I knew that I didn't want
to be in a suit working a 9-5 but I wasn't really sure what all of the wider
options were. After lots of thought, research & seeking advice from
others eventually I narrowed my options down to the Fire Brigade, the Police or
the Army.
As a 15yr old I really had no
idea just how much the Fire Brigade actually do & assumed that all they did
was put out fires (I now know much differently) & back then that didn’t
really appeal to me and so I scratched that off my list.
Joining the Police didn’t
materialise either as I thought that maybe that could be something I’d look at
when I was a bit older & had a bit more life experience & so in the end
I decided to join the Army. So one day I went down to the careers center, spoke
to the guy in charge & came home with all of the relevant paperwork. Once
my parents found out my plan my Dad took me to see an Uncle of mine who
unbeknown to me had been a Captain in the Royal Marines. He talked to me about
the differences between the Army & the Royal Marines & told me a little
bit about his career, after that I went back to the careers centre and spoke
with the man in charge of recruiting for the Corps. I sat down with him &
had a chat, watched the standard recruiting video & that was the moment
that I made my decision that I wanted to become a Royal Marine’s Commando. What
appealed to me was that these guys were so flexible & could deploy to any
environment in the world, arctic, desert, jungle, woodland & they could do
it by land, sea or air, it seemed like the complete package & I knew that
by joining it was going to make me grow enormously as an individual. I also did
a lot of research & found out just how hard the training was & so I
thought to myself “might as well go all in & push myself to see if I have
what it takes”
What kept you going at
Lympstone (Commando Training Centre Royal Marines)?
I think what kept me going
through my training initially was my ego & pride. I was only 17 at the time
& one of the youngest in the troop & so I felt like I had something to
prove, it also made me sick to my stomach the thought of quitting because it
was too hard or being kicked out because I wasn’t good enough.
As the weeks went by I watched
people quit & get kicked out & I imagined how bad they would feel being
on that train on the way back home & having to face their friends &
family & tell them that they didn’t make the grade, I couldn’t handle the
thought of that being me & so I used that to push me on through the tough
times. Even if we were doing things like speed marches, yomps or any other kind
of physical test as hard as it was & as much as I wanted to quit (even at
times throwing up as I was running) I couldn’t bare the thought of getting back
trooped & having to go through that pain again in two weeks time with
another troop. It would feel like all of the pain I was going through was for
nothing & I remember always thinking to myself “well I’m already in pain,
it already hurts so I might as well get a reward from it” & so I continued
to push.
Of course there’s also the
rest of the lads that are around you. Everyone has their strengths &
everyone has their weaknesses & when a member of the troop is struggling
the rest of the lads rally around to help him through & then later down the
line he usually repays the favor, that’s how the military works.
There was of course also the
thought of becoming a fully trained Royal Marines Commando by the age of 18!
That really spurred me on. I remember thinking how cool would it be not only to
have passed the longest & hardest regular forces infantry training in the
world, but to have done it by 18 would have made me a stud! (Well in my mind
anyway)
What motivated you after the
success of getting your green beret?
After I got my Green Lid what
motivated me was standards. I had an absolutely incredible training team when I
went through Lympstone and every single one of them always held themselves to
the highest professional standards at all times, they were men that I respected
& looked up to & men that I wanted to be like.
There was also pride. Training
to become a Royal Marine is world renowned for its difficulty & so when
people see that Green Lid or those Commando flashes or that Globe & Laurel
tattoo they know what you’ve been through & what kind of man you are. Now I
don’t necessarily mean a tough guy/steely eyed dealer of death etc… but the
kind of man that holds himself to a high standard & pushes himself to be
better & who never quits & always finds a way around things, that’s
what I wanted people to see when they looked at me & that motivated me even
more to be all that I could be. I also had visions one day of being on a
training team myself & having other young, raw recruits look up to me the
way I looked up to my training team.
How you felt after you got
injured?
After I got injured I felt the
same way I guess most people felt. I knew deep down that my career was over
& I had no idea what I was going to be able to do to support my family. I
thought my days of being physically fit & able to train were over (boy was
I wrong!), I knew my days as a Thai Boxer were over which was hard to take
& I really had no idea what the future held.
The early days during my
recovery were turbulent & like most people I’d have good days & I’d
have bad days. Some days I felt suicidal like everything I had ever worked hard
for had been taken away from me & I’d have to start again from scratch to
rebuild my life but then I’d think “OK well I’m 24yrs old so there’s plenty of
time to rebuild.”
It was tough trying to figure
everything out & it was an emotional roller-coaster for everyone that was
involved but there was so much help & support on hand that it helped me
& everyone around me to focus on the positives & the little wins &
get through the hard times.
What inspired you to
keep going with your rehabilitation?
To keep me going through my
rehab & to keep me moving forward I had a mindset shift & started to
look at things differently & tried to pull all of the positives out of my
situation. I started to look at my situation as a challenge just like when I
was a 17yr old going through training with the odds stacked against me except
now I was the UK’s first triple amputee from Afghanistan with no path to follow
& I just thought “well if I can get through training I can get through
this”. Again pride played a huge part in my recovery
If you were to change the way
the Military trains its personnel, how would you change it?
I’m not sure to be honest its
hard to say as the training needs to be brutal, it needs to push you mentally
& physically to your breaking point because when you’re in a combat zone
you need to know you have what it takes when the lead wasps start flying in
your direction.
I think after training it
would be really useful to have mentors/coaches available to help guide people
through their careers as when you’re a young man/woman it can all be a bit
overwhelming & sometimes people aren’t always aware of what is available to
them, I know I certainly wasn’t.
The biggest change I’d like to
see is more support during the final 12 months of people leaving the services.
This may have changed now but I remember situations where friends had put in
there notice to leave & during their final 12 months they were sent out on
3-6 month exercises on the other side of the world rather then focusing on
things like re-training, re-settling their families & preparing themselves
for civvy street.
How do you motivate yourself
and what lesson can we learn from your example.
I motivate myself by given
myself mentors & role models to aspire to be like & by constantly
setting myself goals in all of the areas of my life which are important to me.
The only advice I can give is
to not get stagnant & to pro-actively keep moving forward & setting
yourself goals not matter how unobtainable they may seem or what anyone else
thinks of them. You have to make a choice to focus on the things you want in
life, cut out the drama & things that aren’t important & keep heading
towards what it is that you do want.
