Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

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Bronco
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Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Hey everyone, I'm currently a junior in high school planning on enlisting after I graduate high school with an 11x option 40 contract. I obviously don't have a contract yet, but plan on joining the DEP later in the spring. I have been running cross country and track since 8th grade and am a decent runner, nothing amazing though. However, my strength is terrible, I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 140 lbs. I'm considering not doing track so I can focus on improving my strength in order to prepare myself for RASP. Not only that, but I would still be running a good amount if I didn't do track.

I feel like if I did track I wouldn't be able to focus on improving my strength. I'm a long distance runner and during the season run anywhere between 30-50 miles a week and it's really hard to put on weight/gain strength when running that much. I know Rangers run/march everywhere and that you need to be a good runner in order to be a Ranger, but don't you also need to have a lot of muscular endurance. Running is one of my strengths while muscular endurance/strength is a weakness of mine and I feel like I really need to work on it in order to have a shot at passing RASP. I want to put myself in the best possible situation I can to pass RASP and I'm not sure if track is going to help as of right now. If anyone had any advice for me I would greatly appreciate it, especially if they went through the same situation I am going through now. Thanks.
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rangertough
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by rangertough »

Back in the day endurance was paramount to our success and was stressed more than strength.

Now the Regiments missions are requiring a more rounded individual. Reducing run distances and increasing per mile speed as well as sprints are a good start on the "run" portion of your workout.

Increasing functional strength is vital. Your ability to perform while encumbered by armor will make or break you in a fight. SOF forces have some of the best designed and comfortable armors in the world. That doesn't mean they are actually comfortable...just more comfortable than what the rest of the Army wears. Core exercises will allow you to handle the shifting load of your kit (by shortening your core muscle reaction times) and also help protect your spine from short and long term injuries.

Learn to move your body under load. Be it ruck, armor or your buddy. It doesnt matter if you can bench a bus if you can't throw your wounded buddy into a carry kit and all.

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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Sleepy Doc »

I would say you have to be a well rounded athlete. It is a balance of all three; endurance, strength, and flexibility. Don't discount the last one, for it is equally as important. I remember growing up in the 70's when things like yoga and tai chi were first starting to become widespread. People scoffed at them, thinking they were for crackpots and housewives because the only place you could find either was 30 minutes in the morning on PBS. Fast forward thirty years and you have kids in grade school learning them in school. It has been found that there are tremendous health benefits from both the flexibility and muscle control learned in doing them. (Interesting note: Bruce Lee always felt that a ballet dancer would make the best martial artist, due to their incredible amount of muscle control and flexibility..)

A workout plan that is well rounded would suit you best right now in your development. If you can maintain a 7 minute/mile pace running, you are right where you need to be. Try doing some type of workout that does body weight exercises and works on flexibility as well; crossfit, tae kwon do, Brazillian JJ... you name it. There is a flavor for every taste. You ever hear of Herschel Walker? Heisman trophy winner and one of the greatest running backs of all time? He wasn't huge, by football player standards, but he is chiseled like a Greek statue, and at almost 50 has taken up MMA. His primary work outs? Push ups, pull-ups, etc. For years he never touched a weight, but would do 1000 push ups in sets of 100 while watching TV. There is a reason why they call it "core" strength. As Tough pointed out, not only will it protect you from further injury as a pack mule, but without a strong core it is harder to strengthen the rest of the body. Think of it as the foundation of a house.

The plus side is that you have plenty of time to dial in your fitness. And watch your diet as well; steer clear of fast or fried food. reduce your intake of white powders (salt, refined sugar, refined flour) to as little as possible, or none at all. Eat lots of rabbit food (leafy greens and fruit) Fish is best, then lean pork/chicken, then lean beef. At 17 your metabolism is off the charts, and you will need at least 2500 calories a day being active.

There is a ton of info here, and elsewhere. Just be smart about what you decide to do.

On a final note, one of the most physically fit cats I have seen in my life was a former 1SG of mine. He literally looked like yoda and was a little older than I am now (mid 40's). The day he took over the company and the day he left he ran PT, and literally left every single person lying on the ground whimpering like a 5 dollar trick after fleet week. His workout plan? Push-ups, pull-ups, squats, etc. He used a barbel made from a pipe, two cans and concrete. For squats, He would put a few bottles of water in a ruck and throw it on his back. His main running workout was fartlek training. He wasn't the fastest, but could run a sub 7 minute pace all day long.

Don't worry. You have time. We'll get you there.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Thanks for the information and advice, I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to continue with track because my teammates are really depending on me, especially next cross country season. Even though I run, I'm not very flexible at all so I will definitely work on that. Lately I have been focusing on weight lifting, but I think I'm just going to do bodyweight exercises now.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by cams »

Mustardseed12 wrote:Thanks for the information and advice, I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to continue with track because my teammates are really depending on me, especially next cross country season. Even though I run, I'm not very flexible at all so I will definitely work on that. Lately I have been focusing on weight lifting, but I think I'm just going to do bodyweight exercises now.
I'm going to make this easy for you. Don't ask for advice from those that have been and some still are where you want to be, if you're going to discount what they say in your next breath. It's disrespectful and a waste of our time.

Go knock out 50pushups for not following the site SOP about addressing Rangers properly. When you're done go back and read the FAQ's and Site Rules and Regulations again.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Ranger cams I think you miss understood me. I'm not discounting what they said. I did listen to what they had to say. From what they said I learned that in order to be a Ranger you have to be well rounded in endurance/strength, flexibility and running. Before I posted this I felt like I needed to lift weights a lot more, but from what rangertough and The Sleepy Doc said it seems like the pt studs mainly focused on bodyweight exercises with a little amount of weights, so now I'm going to focus on bodyweight exercises instead. I'm planning on doing track because I think it will help me be more well rounded, but at the same time do a lot of bodyweight/calisthenic exercises such as push ups, pull ups and flutterkicks. In addition to that, I am going to work on my flexibility too. I'm sorry if I offended anyone and the fact that I wasn't clear enough.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Before I go on, I want to say that I am not disregarding anyone's advice they have given to me and I don't want people to think I'm feeling sorry for myself. I just want to see what advice you guys could give me about the whole situation.

Anyways, I talked to my cross country/track coach after school today and told him I am not wanting to do track, so I can focus on preparing for the Army. He basically said I'm not committed with running and would be letting my team down next cross country season, and preparing for the Army is easier than track. At that point I was pretty mad, I didn't come to run during the winter because I was lifting weights/doing calisthenics at home. I didn't say anything about trying to get into the 75th Regiment and becoming a Ranger because he wouldn't understand how difficult it really is. I told him I would be running a lot on my own, but he still said the same thing. He told me I need to focus on high school and running and that he doesn't expect me to be some college runner, but I need to still run track. I plan on running cross country, but I don't understand why I can't run on my own. In addition to that, I have all summer to train with the team before the cross country season even starts.

I'm aware that I said earlier that I'm going to do track, but the more I thought about it, I figured that track really wasn't going to help me and that I could run on my own and better prepare for RASP.

Here's some information about my cross country/track team: This year the cross country team made it to Regionals and were somewhat close to making it to state. We are losing three seniors who were on the varsity team this year and I was number seven this year, so we need guys like me to take their place next year.

I don't play an important role during track season because it is more of an individual sport, and there a six faster guys than me and only two guys from our school can participate in each event (I typically run the mile or two mile on junior varsity).
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Jim »

I don't see why you can't run track and prepare for service in the 75th Ranger Regiment.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Ranger Jim, thanks for taking the time to read and respond to me, it is greatly appreciated.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Slowpoke »

DO NOT LET YOUR TEAM MATES DOWN. It is a form of quitting and can become a habit. If you are truly dedicated you can train for both. I was 6' and 140 lbs when I came back from Viet Nam and looked like I'd just got out of a P.O.W. camp......eat some cheeseburgers!
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by Bronco »

Thanks Ranger Slowpoke and Ranger Jim, I will continue to do track while preparing for service in the 75th Ranger Regiment.
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Re: Not Doing Track To Focus On Strength

Post by goon175 »

I think track is a great sport for training for the 75th, as well as cross country. In fact, I joined cross country my senior year of high school to prepare, as I knew I wasn't a good distance runner. You want to know how you achieve balance? let track/xc be your run work out, and then supplement that with lifting 3-4 times a week. I would also like to echo the above, spend ten bucks and pick up a yoga dvd, use that at least 2-3 times a week, if not more. When you are lifting, it should not be for beach muscles, if the lift doesn't involve your feet being on the ground, then skip it. guess what, everything you lift in the army will involve your feet being on the ground. Power lifting or oly lifts for low weight, high reps is a great start in my opinion. If you don't know how to do them properly, get someone who knows what they are doing to teach you. On top of all that, throw a ruck on once a week, and get a pool session in once a week. And just so you aren't neglecting the muscle memory needed for an APFT, do 100 push ups and 100 sit ups every day during your warm up, regardless of what you have planned for your main work out.
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