I am having some problem finding the right balance of weightlifting with military style PT to maintain my PT score. Its hard because I become too when I do military PT and become more prone to injury.

But on the other hand If I lift too much I get too big and my run time suffers. In the SPEC OPS community you have to have that balance of strength and endurance, if there is anyone out there who could give me a few time I would much appreciate it !

dude honestly, i disagree when people get flamed for not using the search function and i can understand if they don't immediately see a topic like that but there is a thread 4 SPACES DOWN asking about this exact same thing.

so here's a fucking idea. exercise until you have a good pt score (min 90 in each event) then start incorporating heavy resistance training. your pt score will continue to fluctuate as your body evolves around your new added mass/different body comp.

when you start getting to a point where your pt score only continues to go down, then i'd suggest backing off gaining weight.

who the fuck cares about just spec ops. you need that balance in all combat arms branches, and even combat support units.


lame.

What do you mean your run time suffers? If your run time is still good enough to pass, that should be all you care about. If by "suffer" you mean your run time is not passing, that is a different story.

HolyMac, I got a week's pay that says my 5 mile time is better than yours. That's AF FTW.

OP, this is lame. If you were my troop, we'd be having a come to Jesus meeting. I'm (sadly) one of the stronger, bigger zoomies, and I still score well into the 90s on my PT test.

OP: You should first focus on developing, improving, "balancing" your SITUATIONAL AWARENESS...

This is what is going to save your ass not your PT score or running time.

madhorse's situational awareness is so poor, he tripped on a cordless phone.

ZING

What I mean is I still would like to keep my 2 mile and 4 mile run time low. But I guess I might just have to sacrifice a little size for endurance.

OP, my 2 mile time is 12:46. Don't believe the hype; weights can help your run. Just ask Alberto Salazar, winner of the Boston and NY Marathons a few times in the early 80s. He attributed his wins to squating.

HM...I have no retort. You win this round. But it does sound like I can out drink and out run you.

Lean mean fighting machine...

Unfortunately, it's all about calories, endurance (more than speed), and team compatibility... and yes, there is a stigma attached to "bodybuilder types" (and other such large bodied men) and their ability to perform duty effectively while out in the field.

Now I must say I don't quite follow this line of thinking entirely as a skinny fast runner who can't hump for shit is useless and is absolutely nothing when compared to the hefty guy that is a mediocre runner but can hump forever, smiling happily, with a heavy load upon his back. Mules are better than jack rabbits.

Wither it be in the military, diplomatic field services, contracting, etc. the larger guys apparently tend to need to be fed more and require more calories to move, function, and survive... and are labeled, often wrongly, as being slower in their reaction speeds and ability to move quickly over long distances and/or for long periods of time while in extremely difficult living/working conditions while in a conflict zone with barely sufficient quantities of food and clean water... also the extreme weather and elements do tend to nail the larger guys first from my first hand experience.

Last but not least is Team Compatibility... simple physics: the larger you are the harder it is to move around and orient yourself in and around a smaller made world... one must remember that equipment and gear has been designed around a fairly broad range of body types and sizes, but the monsters out there are way out of these parameters. I had one team mate who was 200 cm tall and 122kg; he had a hell of a time getting in and out of the armored vehicles, APCs, helicopters, etc. Plus, the bigger you are the bigger the target you become; you'll have more difficulty seeking and finding adequate cover. But in reverse one could argue that you're a perfect "bullet sponge" (cover) for the principal and are perfect for working in a crowd. And I don't know about you guys but I sure don't want to carry a 110+ kg "slab of meat" if he happens to get injured which I have done and it wasn't fun; but on the other hand he could carry half the team if they were injured!


In my own experience I found that I indeed suffered more at my heavier body weights than when I was lighter. I made the mistake one time years ago to go into a mission at around 94kg, as I always drop a good 5-10kg while on duty. I thought it would be wise to go in a little top heavy and this wasn't fat weight either, I was a solid 94kg at probably 13% body fat at the most. What a big mistake that was! I felt slower and less reactive in the difficult hot environment we were working, I was uncomfortable and my joints were sore from carry the extra weight, and the first couple weeks of the mission I was fucking hungry and caught myself day dreaming about food which is suicidal in my book. Maybe if I sat at that weight for more than 5-6 months it would have been a different story, I don't know.



So there is some logic to the all madness of focusing on endurance training programs... this doesn't mean that the existing programs would not benefit from additional "weight" and/or "weight bearing" training as I believe that "weighted" stair running and hill sprinting programs are pretty much hands down the best training for "our line of work" and if coupled with military calisthenics and powerlifting movements impossible to beat!

The only problem is that this type of training is extremely hard, uncomfortable, and not fun which makes it a big turn off for some, if not many.

Some food for thought.