Have you ever thought to yourself I’m fit enough to take on a military assault course or run a marathon with a fully loaded 34kg bergen on your back?
Well now could be the chance to put your fitness through the same military fitness challenge that our British Army has to challenge themselves with.
Farren Morgan, a serving soldier in the British Army, currently operates as a PTI for the Coldstream Guards in Westminster London and has undergone the notorious P-Company training to earn his Maroon Beret and British Military Jump Wings.
He also runs The Tactical Athlete program which turns civilians into soldiers and has helped hundreds of people across the globe prepare for and pass selection processes.
Morgan really is a champion of the warrior mentality mindset, a mental tool he uses to push himself beyond his comfort zone to achieve unique feats of physical endurance most recently he achieved a Guinness world record for the fastest marathon whilst carrying a fully loaded 34kg backpack, he achieved this remarkable feat in 6 hours and 50 minutes.
The Tactical Athlete programme is for those looking to take it a step further with access to a full gym setup and trust me The Tactical Athlete programme is not for the faint-hearted, you will be challenged, it will be testing, and you will certainly grow as a person.
This programme has been designed for those looking to push their limits, both physically and mentally, through intensive strength and conditioning work alongside runs, tabs & Engine days that only become more challenging as the cycle progresses.
Bodyweight Session
Prep/Activation
This is quite a long session with 3 parts, dependent on your fitness level you can section to make exercises easier or choose to drop 1 section if the volume is to much for you I’d recommend you should be training 3-5 times a week with a mix of strength training and high-intensity exercise in order to complete this workout as prescribed.
This activation section is focused on increasing your heart rate, getting you warm and prepped for the exercises you will be completing later, you should have elevated breathing levels but still be able to hold a conversation.
3 Rounds
30s Bear Crawl – Front and back – Hand and feet on the ground thinking about keeping your back flat to the floor and your knees no more than 2 inches off the floor, your shins should stay parallel to the floor at all times.
10 Band Pull Apart – The lightest band you have access to – grip the band with 1 end in each hand held out in front of you and bring your hands apart until the band is flat to your chest, think about squeezing your shoulder blades together whilst doing this.
6 Cossack Squats e/s – Also known as Russian squats, you are going to take a wider than shoulder-width foot stance and drop down into a squat with your weight over 1 foot, as you drop down the other leg should remain straight and your toes will come off the floor giving you a stretch in your calf and adductors.
Tactical Start/Warm-up at Moderate effort (Again elevated heart rate but you should still be able to talk but maybe not in full sentences…)
100m Run
8 Chest to Floor Burpees (No Jump, No clap)
200m Run
10 Chest to Floor Burpees (No Jump, No clap)
300m Run
12 Chest to Floor Burpees (No Jump, No clap)
200m Run
15 Chest to Floor Burpees (No Jump, No clap)
100m Run
Main Detail
Time to work! We are looking for consistent efforts in this section, with no jump and clap these burpees can be performed quicker than the sort you’ll see in CrossFit, etc.
Focus on economical movements and bracing through your core, the easiest way to make a burpee more difficult is to have a softcore and peel yourself off the floor like a string, think about your spine having an immovable piece of iron going through it and keep it that way through the whole movement.
Set your score in round 1 and hang on (or as close as possible) to that score throughout.
Part 1.
4 ROUNDS
2 Mins on 1 Min off*
Max Chest to Floor Burpees (No Jump, No clap)*
*Aim for the same amount of burpees in each effort
Rest 2 Mins
Part 2
You’ll need somewhere to do pullups and dips here, on deployment we make gyms out of anything, a bridge, a tree or some scaffolding.
You want to push yourself on this to make sure you get at least 30s rest before starting the next portion – those who seek out short-term pain are rewarded with long-term gain…
Run that first portion hard to earn your rest, the bodyweight strength work shouldn’t be affected too badly by the cardiovascular effort at the start (it might be uncomfortable but it won’t stop you from getting the work done).
E3MOM x 4
– 200m Run
– 5 Burpee Pull-Ups
– 10 Bench Dips
– 15 Press Ups
Rest 2 Mins
Part 3
We finish with some old-fashioned grunt work, in the army the ability to work cardiovascular and then execute a physical task is ultra-important.
You should be treating the burpees as a timed activity here not a rest – run hard finish hard – congratulations you are on the path to tactical athlete success!
1k Run
*Every 250m Complete – 5 Burpee*
After 250m, stop and complete 5 Burpees, then carry on running
To find out more and if you’re brave enough to accept the challenge head on over to The Tactical Athlete