March 10th, 2010
Hello. Basically I consider myself to be a healthy young man of average fitness (e.g., not a gym guru, but not a couch potato). I have about two months, give or take, to get to a good fitnes level for my Royal Marines selection. I feel that I am better aerobically rather than with my upper body strength.
I work 9-5 and have dinner with the folks about 6, so could get to the local gym about 7.30. The gym has a swimming pool as well as aerobic equipment and weights.
Bearing in mind I am going for Royal Marines selection what’s the best sort of workout plan, in brief?
Thanks a lot!
And is two months long enough- would I train every night? Thanks
Below are two links to the two days of fitness tests we have to do-
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server.php?show=nav.4046
http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server.php?show=nav.4047
Fit and healthy? I hope so. The tests described on the pages you linked to are going to be pretty tough for someone who isn’t used to that kind of intensity.
Your training (2 months should be fine providing you’re already fit & healthy) should focus on two areas:
1. Endurance. A 10k run over rough ground at 8min. mile pace is very do-able. Its just that this is at the end of all the ‘fun’ you’ll have had over 2 days. I’d start your training off by going for a run every morning. Make it a nice gentle jog for the first minute, a medium pace for the second and then a fast pace for the third. Then keep doing a minute of medium and then a minute of fast until you’ve finished your run. Aim to do this for 10 minutes by the end of week 1, 15 minutes by the end of week 2 and 20 minutes by the end of week 3. Then work on getting faster. Also, replace this with a longer, run once a week at a steady pace. See if you can get through a 10k run in 50 minutes by week 6 or 7. Thats the kind of performance level you’ll need to be able to get to.
2. Strength training. You’re going to need to do 60 press ups in a row. If you are fit, this is no problem at all. If you aren’t then it might be a problem. Can you do 60 press ups in a row? If you can, try to do more. As for training, if you can do the program in the link below 3 times a week, then you’ll be on the right track (adjust the weights to suit your levels of strength but if you find you can actually complete any of the sets, then increase something). Remember not to rest between the exercises in each superset. You put the weight down, pick the next weight up and keep on going.
Remember to drink plenty of water, eat healthy meals (lots of green veggies, lots of lean meat & chicken), and don’t skip breakfast when you get back from your morning run.
Best of luck, fella.
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