An Cosantóir

32 "There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body has been awakened to their true potential, it's impossible to turn back." - Henry Rollins. Scofield & Kardouni (2015) write how, regardless of occupational specialty within the military, there is always a possibility that physically stressful situations will occur suddenly, where the absence of physical preparedness may prove to be a serious liability. They highlight this using the example of a clerk (company or otherwise), who on occasion may take part in field training exercises, or deploy to a hazardous environment (overseas), where reacting to incoming fire, performing installation security duties, or responding to injured or endangered colleagues may be a possibility. Both the British and U.S. militaries, having learned from recent operational experience, changed their annual fitness tests in order to make them more role, or job specific, particularly for infantry, or ground close combat roles. These fitness tests went from being predominantly aerobic and muscular endurance based, to including a number of strength, power, speed, and strength endurance based tests. The British role fitness test includes: • Back to back loaded marches of 4km and 2km, carrying external loads of 40 and 25kg respectively. • Casualty drag simulation: dragging a 110kg bag 20 metres in 35 seconds or less. • Carrying 2 water cans, each weighing 22kg, 240 metres in under 4 minutes, to simulate carrying a stretcher. • Vehicle casevac: deadlifting a 70kg weight from a lower position than your feet to simulate dragging out of a hatch, and holding it for 3 seconds. The U.S. have included: • Deadlifting 120-420 lbs at least 3 times, to "simulate movements required to safely and effectively lift heavy loads, jump, bound, and land safely." • Explosive medicine ball throw backwards and overhead. • 5 x 50 metre shuttles, which include sprinting with a 40lb kettlebell, and dragging a 90lb sled. STRENGTH: "A prerequisite to developing speed and explosive power is the development of strength. Strength allows you to produce force. Heavy lifting prepares your nervous system for all out efforts, to be prepared for struggle.." (Even-Esh 2014) There are many definitions of strength. • Muscular strength has been described as the ability to produce force against a resistance. • Zatsiorsky (2006) states that muscular strength is the ability of an athlete to exert maximal force on the environment. • In military terms, the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment describe strength as the ability to carry your external load for an undetermined period of time, to carry the wounded buddy next to you, or the ability STRENGTHENING THE NATION RESISTANCE: A NECESSITY (PART 2) to get in the window or climb the rope. MAXIMAL STRENGTH: • Absolute strength: This is the maximum amount of force you can exert regardless of bodyweight. It can vary depending on the situation in which force is required, e.g. training, competition, life or death situation (fight or flight). • Relative Strength; Maximum force produced in relation to your bodyweight. Military personnel require a high level of relative strength, e.g. 1-2 x bodyweight. TRAINING FOR MAXIMAL STRENGTH: Studies have shown that as a beginner, or untrained individual, lighter loads of as low as 50% 1RM can increase strength as your body becomes accustomed to and gets better at performing the exercises through motor learning. As you become more advanced in your training however, your body will require greater stimulus, to recruit sufficient motor units for muscular strength increases. In order to continue to produce increases in maximal dynamic strength, loads in excess of 80-85% are required. Below is a table showing resistance training guidelines: By Sgt Mick Lennon Photos provided by Sgt Mick Lennon STRENGTHENING THE NATION RESISTANCE: A NECESSITY (PART 2) Strength development is a necessity in the battlefield as it will be necessary to perform casualty evacuations, saving the lives of your fellow soldiers in arms Reps Sets Rest (secs) Load (%1RM) Days Recovery Hypertrophy 6-12 3+ 60-120 60-80 3-6 24-48hrs Strength 1-6 2-7 180+ 80-95+ 2-4 48-72hrs CALCULATING 1RM: Most traditional resistance training guidelines give rep ranges at a certain percentage of your 1 repetition max (1RM). It isn't necessary to know your 1RM for every exercise you perform in training, however it should be calculated for all your primary exercises: • Squat (Back or front) • Deadlift • Bench Press • Prone or Pendley row • Pull-up/Chin-up. 1RM can be calculated in a number of ways: • True 1RM: Performing a single repetition with the maximum

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