Here is a fun one: Crushed for Time? Try this Quick Upper Body AMRAP After a day when life had a way of adding several unscheduled, emergent activities, the planned workout was reduced to just 20 minutes. If you're looking for a fast, effective way to condition your upper body and core, this 20-minute blitz circuit is designed to help you feel like you did something and even boost your high-intensity conditioning. The goal is to complete as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) within 20 minutes, pushing yourself while maintaining good form. Here’s a breakdown of each exercise: AMRAP Upper Body 20-minute workout Pullups 5-10 (assisted if needed) Burpees 10Pushups 10 + 5 DB row/arm while in the up pushup position (after 10th pushup) KB swings 10 KB Farmer walks 2x25m (fast) Each round took 2-3 minutes, and getting 5-6 sets was about all I could do in the time I had available. See if you can get more. Perhaps on a normal day, doing this circuit would see better performance, but at least you feel like you did something with it, even if you only do 15-20 minutes. Pullups (5-10 reps) - Start your circuit with pullups, a classic upper body move that targets your back, shoulders, and arms. If you need assistance, use resistance bands or an assisted pull-up machine to help complete your reps. Focus on pulling your chest to the bar, keeping your core engaged throughout the movement. Burpees (10 reps) - Burpees are a full-body exercise that amps up your heart rate while engaging your chest, arms, and shoulders. Begin standing, drop into a squat, place your hands on the floor, kick your feet back into a plank, perform a push-up, jump your feet forward, and finish with a jump overhead. Adding burpees to your short circuit training day is a good way to get more out of quick workouts. Push-Ups (10 reps) + Rows (5 reps/arm) - Perform a set of push-ups to target your chest, triceps, and shoulders. Add the hand release portion if you prefer (Army FT). Immediately after, stay in the push-up position and execute dumbbell rows by lifting one hand at a time, pulling your elbow back toward your hip. This movement strengthens your upper back and stabilizes your core. This is a classic push-pull combination.

Hey Stew! Do you have any recommendations on or can reference to a good source for making a military grade pull up bar? Diameter of bar Material for outdoor use Specs for sturdiness: size of beams, depth of submergence, etc Thanks!! Blaine

A recent workout challenged the group this week as we built leg strength and durability. These workouts are part of a strength and conditioning routine but focus more on conditioning than on strength. In other words, this type of circuit is more about muscle recruitment and metabolic conditioning than a pure strength training workout. By stacking variations of the same movement (the squat) with different loading implements, you can target your lower body with a "mechanical drop set"- style fatigue. Here is how it works: Warm up with an air squat pyramid 1-10: Do 1 squat, jog 50m. 2 squats, jog 50m. 3 squats, jog 50m. Continue up to level 10. You can mix in some dynamic stretches during the jog distance. This totals 55 reps of squats and 500m warmup jogs once you get to set 10. After set 10, jog 1 mile or ride for 10 minutes on a bike. After the warmup, hit this circuit: Repeat 4 times Barbell or KB squats 5 (moderately heavy weight) Sandbag squats 15 (40-50lbs) Air Squats 25 - jog, bike, or stair step for 5 minutes. The weighted squat for 5 reps is moderately heavy, so you do not want to select a weight that you can easily do 10 reps with. Roughly 60-70% of your 1 rep max is a good place to start, but you may need to reduce the weight in upcoming sets, as this circuit will total 180 reps of calisthenics and weighted squats. Cardio Cooldown – Depending on what you are training for, you have a choice. You can opt for swimming with fins, rucking, or running. Here is the breakdown of why this specific sequence is so effective, as each squat type in your circuit serves a distinct physiological purpose: - Barbell Squats (The Foundation): These allow for maximum external load. You’re targeting absolute strength and taxing the central nervous system (CNS). - Sandbag Squats (The Simulator): Unlike a barbell, a sandbag is perfect for the simulation of a log. During many training programs, Log PT is done with a 5-7-person team, with roughly 250-300lbs. log. Typical weight distribution is 40-60lbs per person.  The sandbag is perfect for introducing shifting center of gravity, forcing your core and smaller stabilizing muscles to work overtime to keep you upright. - Air Squats (The Finisher): By the time you hit these, your fast-twitch fibers are fatigued. Air squats flush the muscles with blood, raise the heart rate, and build muscular endurance/stamina. Learning to work with tired legs is something you need to get used to if your military selection program contains any load-bearing activity. -

A recent conversation led me to ask over 100 military members and veterans alike what their favorite workouts are. There were no parameters to this question, but the most common answers were the following types of workouts: 1. PT Pyramid – The Classic 1-10-1 (any exercise can be added) The PT Pyramid is a dynamic calisthenics circuit “loved” by military members for its blend of challenge, camaraderie, and adaptability. Personally, this is my number 1 favorite because it creates the perfect workout: a warmup, a max-out, and a cooldown. Start with one repetition of an exercise (like push-ups or pull-ups), then add one repetition each round, climbing the pyramid, until reaching a peak, then descending back to one. For example, a pyramid might go 1, 2, 3, up to 10, then 9, 8, and back down to 1. Typical pyramids include pullups, pushups, sit-ups, and dips, but you can also add squats, lunges, and even running as an “active rest”. This format is perfect for groups: everyone works at their own pace but remains together, encouraging teamwork and persistence. It’s efficient, versatile, and requires only bodyweight movements, yet is not limited to calisthenics, making it ideal when time or equipment is limited. See the ways you can use the Classic PT Pyramid. 2. Hypoxic Swim Workout – Skip Breathing Freestyle Sets Many of the SEALs, Recons, and Divers I spoke with still enjoy swimming, not just for cardio conditioning but also for its non-impact benefits. For aquatic conditioning, the hypoxic swim workout is a military favorite. The principle is simple: swim laps while limiting breaths per stroke, such as breathing every 4,5,6,7,or 8 strokes (or more). This workout just makes swimming harder and gets you in and out in as little as 30 minutes. It also helps with breath control, and mental grit under taxing conditions. You can also add a pyramid to the skip breathing sets – See Hypoxic Swim Pyramid.

Have you ever noticed that when you take a fitness test, your individual scores are much better than your combined scores when tested together? While this could be a conditioning issue, it is likely more of a low blood sugar issue. A new study examines the effects of carbohydrate ingestion on exercise metabolism and physical performance, and compares low-carb diets with higher-carb diets. Here is a related question where this research can help you: Stew, I recently took a Navy PST. While I usually do well on the swim and calisthenics, the run at the end is much worse than my normal run (when fresh). I imagine this is a fueling problem, but what do you recommend? I typically don’t eat many carbs, as I have been on a Keto-type of diet for several months and have lost over 20 lbs. What do you think? Thanks, Victor. While this study is written on athletes in competitions lasting 2-3 hours or more, the concept still holds true for high intensity fitness testing such as a fast 500m swim (8-9 min), max pushups (80-100), sit-ups 80-100, and pullups 20, then a 1.5 mile run in 9 minutes. These are the type of advanced scores you should strive for, given the jobs you are seeking (SEALs, SWCC, EOD/Diver, Rescue Swimmer, Special Ops Corpsman). To reach this level of fitness, it requires consistent training, consistency, and fuel in the form of a carbohydrate that agrees with your digestive system. I usually go with a banana and juice before the test and sip on juice between events of the 5-event Navy PST. I found that once I started doing this, my scores were close to (within 5%) fresh max efforts in the individual events. No longer was I dropping on the last half of the 1.5-mile run, 1-2 minutes from my normal run time. Your job is to continue training consistently and with a specific focus on getting used to the test. Swim first. Always start your swim with a 500-yard warm-up. Because, on the day when you take the test for real, you can calm down your “pre-game jitters” and nerves by saying, “500yds swim – this is my warmup.” Then, swim your pace, swim your race. See the 50-50 swim workout to help with this type of conditioning.