GB, Foundation and the Military / Emergency Services

[Callum Muntz]

CAVEAT - My question (somewhere within this block of text, I promise) is largely aimed at Military & Emergency Response type people. I have no doubt others will find interest and please, feel free to chime in – especially if fitness and ‘being fit’ is a part of your day to day job Ideally I would love to generate some discussion on this topic.

 

After following GB Foundation and Handstand courses for nearly a year and a half now (with relatively consistent commitment – work interrupts this from time to time) I have absolutely no doubts on the intelligent construction of the program. Up front, let me say this is the best training program I have ever seen. Noted, it is very specific (for Gymnastic Strength Training™ – you won’t find barbell lifts within), the template and methods of approach are outstanding and I believe could be applied to nearly every sport.

 

Now, before I open up my question I feel like a little background on me would assist in understanding where I am coming from to shape the discussion. I have been in the military for ten years now and undertaken a variety of different training ideologies. Long distance running, rowing, barbell training, traditional ‘body-builder’ weightlifting, crossfit, crossfit endurance on top of Military training (circuits, field time, obstacle courses, pack marches – or ‘rucking’ as the US calls them, military skills competitions, orienteering, etc). I am also a qualified Combat Fitness Leader which allows me to construct and deliver Physical Training programs for military units, generally spanning a 12 month period. My mindset towards training is ‘how do I make you more resilient, both physically and mentally’ which, I believe is the core (or Foundation) to improving fitness in a Military perspective. I note that this statement is very broad, however whenever designing training I return to this ideal as a self-check.

 

At the moment, my training week looks like this:

-          2 x F1 sessions (doing F7, so all elements, within a single session)

-          3 x H1/H2 sessions (doing Wrist Strength exercises, HS and pHS elements)

-          1 x Interval session per week (alternating between 4 weeks of running and 4 weeks of rowing. Interval types vary, but an example session would be 3 sets of 600m, 400m, 200m with 1:1 work/rest ratio between each interval)

-          1 day of complete rest.

I also warm up each session with a 2km run at 5:00 minute/km pace (that equates to an 8:00 minute mile) – nothing arduous, just a warm up, but also serves to get weekly ‘volume’ under my belt. On one of the H1/H2 days I also extend this warm-up to 5km for added recovery benefit (ordinarily at the end of the week).

 

Now, my question. Are Military and Emergency Response personnel out there using F1/H1 as their primary component of training and how are you/they finding it?

 

I personally have seen some notable strength increases in my core and pressing strength. Pulling strength has not changed too much (but I was never strong in this area). I find that after a session of F7 my nervous system is often quite taxed, particularly on week 3 of a cycle. This often leads to the next day’s training reducing in intensity somewhat. I am also considering reviewing the supporting work (intervals, etc) to generate a bit more 'military specific' training, such as pack marching, running in equipment, etc.

 

I would be very interested to hear what has and has not worked for you; if you are using F1 as your primary training component, or as a supplement to your regime (and if so, what your primary component is?); have you found it translates well to ‘on-the-job’ fitness; and just your general thoughts on applying F1/H1.

 

Lastly, as a final note/point – I am considering utilising Foundation training to supplement preparation for Special Forces selection. I would be particularly interested if anyone has used GB training for a selection course and to hear how it went / played out.

 

[Blairbob]

 You could contact Jeff Severn up at Trident Athletics as he is a former SEAL to get his opinion on GST for special forces training. Obviously he came into GST after his service but I'm sure his opinion would be valuable. 

 

 As for my friends who are in EMS, they value the ability to pick up heavy stuff, especially when they have to move patients who are bed-ridden (AKA super OBESE). They also value the ability to be mobile and ready for a call at any given time when they are on-call.

While I'm not so sure, EMS duties would require ruck marching as part of their fitness program, I could see it as being very valuable for firefighters when they are in the field besides the typical stair tests in gear just as any soldier would need to be able to ruck and move while loaded when out and about.

Just my 2 cents.

[Callum Muntz]

Good points Blairbob. Stair sets in gear could get tough quickly.

 

I should try to contact Jeff Severn (never heard of him before). I checked out his website, but it was fairly generic 'Cross Fit'.

[Callum Muntz]

I had a conversation with a mate at work this morning about different training regimes. His workouts are focused on two per day sessions (of which I would love to hear what people's opinions on this are), the session in the morning is largely conditioning (circuits, intervals, running, etc) and the afternoon is weightlifting. At the time I thought man that is some volume however when I think back to how I trained two years ago, this was exactly it - and I maintained it for a good seven months with no detriment.

 

I note at this point that I was eating an insane amount of food (as the Army was providing all of it). However, I got stronger (my max effort lifts sky rocketed) and was very conditioned - plus I managed to fill out to 73/74kg (which is good for me - I currently sit at around 65-68kg).

 

Fast forward to now and I dread the thought of doing two sessions per day if one of them was F7. That would crush me. Plus, the Handstand days in my programming serve a second purpose of being a lower intensity day to assist in recovery - and I look forward to every one of them!

I find it interesting that Foundation moves can appear so 'simple' over other activities (like a crossfit circuit, or heavy lifting) yet I find them so much more taxing. 

Still, fitness has not dropped overall (although my max lifts have gone down). I can still outpace 95% of my peers over short distance, which is great for the ego

... just a reflection I guess. 'Intensity' training appeals to Military personnel, as does the idea of GPP, so F1/H1 is a hard sell for my peers to understand when all they want to do is torch themselves. Ironic given my experiences with Foundation.

SIDE NOTE - My thoughts on GPP can be summed up nicely in this article: http://robbwolf.com/2013/05/09/randomization-forging-mediocre-fitness/

[Blairbob]

 I met Jeff at the seminar in Phoenix in May of 2010. I don't think that was his first seminar. He's also hosted GB instructors at Trident Athletics. I want to say Jeff or Dillon went there and possibly Coach Sommer too for mini-seminars/clinics a few years back.

 

 While his facility is a CrossFit with Weightlifting, Jeff is into GST at least somewhat. No idea what he does anymore besides coach at his gym anymore. I'm not sure it's implemented at his gym and to what degree but he had some competency in it. He was fairly fit and a decent lifter (he's had Coach Ma from China and Lindenwood) lately and decent at the seminar for someone who is of a tall and lanky build.

He also is close to Charles Poliquin or the Poliquin group. Not exactly sure on those details without some fact checking.