Weekly Workout: Advanced Full-Body Day

Some workouts are long. They do not have to be, but if you are preparing for a Special Ops career, there is no 30-minute gym routine that will prepare you for a day of Spec Ops training.

Sometimes you have to progress so you can endure longer workouts and put in the time. Here is a longer-style workout that will push your upper and lower body as well as your core and cardio. The cardio events are interchangeable, depending on what you are training for.

Full-body workout:

Warm up with 10 minutes of a push-up/squat/run pyramid: one push-up, one squat, run 25 meters; two push-ups, two squats, run 25 meters ... Stop at 10 minutes. (This warmup is great on a basketball court or football field.)

Run up and walk down stairs for 10 minutes. On every flight, do 10 push-ups.

Repeat 3-4 times.

• Deadlift 5
• Front squats 5
• Overhead lunges 10/leg

Repeat 3-4 times.

• Pull-ups max
• Push press 10
• Overhead plate hold 1 minute
• Fireman carry or farmer walk 50 meters

Run 2-3 miles.

Swim a 500-meter warmup.

Repeat 10 times.

• Swim 100 meters fast
• 10 pullouts*
• 25 flutter kicks
• 1-minute plank

*pullout = pull body out of water using the pool's edge, like a muscle up.

Note: If you are preparing for Army SF/Ranger training, you can skip the swim and add a ruck of 3-4 miles.

Enjoy the workout. If you have to break it up into a few sessions, that is fine, too. This is typically a 90- to 120-minute workout.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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