magnkarl Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) Since roughly 3 weeks or so I've been helping a son of a friend of mine get ready for his SAS selection test. I'm getting on in the years so I can't really keep up with the heavy lifting and repetitive push ups/sit ups but I can give him some pointers as the test is fairly similar to when I did it in the 70's. He's totally neglected heavy load marching/running so I'm taking him hiking with 50 kilos of kit every 2 days in his boots. Over the last week we've been jogging to another friend of mine, filled up our backpacks/two carrier bags with bark that my friend's got lying around and jogging back. He wants to be in the mechanised or mortar company so I've told him that he's got to get used to running with extreme load on his elbows and joints, he's not doing too well with the 20 kilo sacks of bark that I've got him running with now so we've got a long summer ahead of us.. I'm not sure what type of mortar they use in the army nowadays but back in the day the light model weighed around 300 pounds with two people carrying it. The M2 weighs around 40 kilos from memory so we need to go up in load for him to be able to be effective. I've got him on BCAA to help the pain, but he's still complaining about being really sore in his neck/back. Anyone got some good exercises I can get him to do to strengthen his grip apart from the obvious pullups/chin ups? I also need to get his body builder style muscles to respond a lot better to extended load over a longer period so any hints would be great. His build looks great (in a not gay way) but he's got the stamina and muscle endurance of someone who's only focused on looking good for the ladies. It's a great way to get free bark for my garden though! Edit, he's got about 2 years until he reckons he'll get to the test. First he's got to excel in the army where he starts in about 3 months. I'm just helping him get started. Edited June 30, 2017 by magnkarl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) On 30 June 2017 at 11:02, magnkarl said: Anyone got some good exercises I can get him to do to strengthen his grip apart from the obvious pullups/chin ups? In the gym farmers walks and heavy deadlifts. Out of the gym go climbing! Indoor or out. Will have his forearms and grip firing for sure. ps how did you get on with your test in 70s? Edited July 2, 2017 by villaglint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnkarl Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 2 hours ago, villaglint said: In the gym farmers walks and heavy deadlifts. Out of the gym go climbing! Indoor or out. Will have his forearms and grip firing for sure. ps how did you get on with your test in 70s? I didn't pass it, though I finished just outside the limit on the forced march part. I was mainly only trying to see if I could get in as it's probably the hardest physical test in the country. Essentially there's two instructors doing the march up the Brecon Beacons, one at the front walking as fast as he can - and one at the rear holding a pace which will get you within the limit. I lost the lieutenant at the back with about 2 miles to go in the haze of being extremely exhausted. I'm pretty glad that I didn't get into SAS now as they had some pretty awful rep after the year I tried out with waterboarding IRA members and doing some pretty bad stuff in Biafra. Instead I got out of the service after 3 years in the mechanised infantry regiment. Essentially I saw no action, but we were on stand by with the Cod Wars with Iceland - though I don't think that would've ever turned into anything needing military action. I'll try to take him climbing one of these days and see how he gets on. I think his biggest problem is that he's got too much "dead muscle" on him that serves little purpose for this sort of action. He's built himself up to look good and not be functional so he's got a lot of weight he really doesn't need for the army. As when I trained for the test he'll need stamina, grip, back strength and extreme mental toughness. I've also got to get him to get used to drinking a lot of water while being in the red zone of O2 uptake - this is what gets people to lose their composure on the endurance test. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 5, 2017 Moderator Share Posted July 5, 2017 Having a good run of it injurywise myself these days actually. Considering the grief the shoulder was giving me, the fact I'm back benching over 200lbs means that particular range of motion is back to what it was at its peak. But I'm too afraid to go back to dumbbell shoulder presses or barbell overhead/military presses because I suspect that's what was causing the problem in the rotator cuff. So yeah, the shoulders aren't getting anything like the workout they used to get. But I'm back squatting too which is something. A fringe benefit of which is the range of motion required for the bench. After that it's lat pulldowns. I've ditched the skull crusher because of an elbow issue and am now doing rope pulldowns instead - which seem to hit the core too. Bicep curls at 22.5kg and now have a love/hate relationship with planking So it's probably not as comprehensive as it could be, but it's keeping me active and it's not injuring me which is the most important thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted July 6, 2017 Share Posted July 6, 2017 On 30/06/2017 at 11:02, magnkarl said: Since roughly 3 weeks or so I've been helping a son of a friend of mine get ready for his SAS selection test. I'm getting on in the years so I can't really keep up with the heavy lifting and repetitive push ups/sit ups but I can give him some pointers as the test is fairly similar to when I did it in the 70's. He's totally neglected heavy load marching/running so I'm taking him hiking with 50 kilos of kit every 2 days in his boots. Over the last week we've been jogging to another friend of mine, filled up our backpacks/two carrier bags with bark that my friend's got lying around and jogging back. He wants to be in the mechanised or mortar company so I've told him that he's got to get used to running with extreme load on his elbows and joints, he's not doing too well with the 20 kilo sacks of bark that I've got him running with now so we've got a long summer ahead of us.. I'm not sure what type of mortar they use in the army nowadays but back in the day the light model weighed around 300 pounds with two people carrying it. The M2 weighs around 40 kilos from memory so we need to go up in load for him to be able to be effective. I've got him on BCAA to help the pain, but he's still complaining about being really sore in his neck/back. Anyone got some good exercises I can get him to do to strengthen his grip apart from the obvious pullups/chin ups? I also need to get his body builder style muscles to respond a lot better to extended load over a longer period so any hints would be great. His build looks great (in a not gay way) but he's got the stamina and muscle endurance of someone who's only focused on looking good for the ladies. It's a great way to get free bark for my garden though! Edit, he's got about 2 years until he reckons he'll get to the test. First he's got to excel in the army where he starts in about 3 months. I'm just helping him get started. It's amazing how many lads have great looking bodies with big muscles, but have absolutely no strength or stamina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I've decided I'm gunna drag my ass to a Gym, I've never been to one before, I used to cycle and then I used a stationary bike at my old flat but I had to get rid of that when I moved into my current flat because I don't have space for it. Has anyone ever used The Gym Group in town? the one by the Bull Ring, next to the Barclays? it's only £15 a month and there is no actual contract so it sounds pretty good for a beginner I reckon. I'm only really looking at the cycling machines, I doubt I'd do any running because of the problems I've had with my hips in the past I've always tended to stick to the low impact sort of stuff. Anyone got any idea how busy it gets there? I'm pretty damn nervous about it I'm a pretty big lad these days so I'm self conscious, I know that people say you shouldn't be but it's pretty daunting when you've never done it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 16, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 16, 2017 14 minutes ago, leemond2008 said: I've decided I'm gunna drag my ass to a Gym, I've never been to one before, I used to cycle and then I used a stationary bike at my old flat but I had to get rid of that when I moved into my current flat because I don't have space for it. Has anyone ever used The Gym Group in town? the one by the Bull Ring, next to the Barclays? it's only £15 a month and there is no actual contract so it sounds pretty good for a beginner I reckon. I'm only really looking at the cycling machines, I doubt I'd do any running because of the problems I've had with my hips in the past I've always tended to stick to the low impact sort of stuff. Anyone got any idea how busy it gets there? I'm pretty damn nervous about it I'm a pretty big lad these days so I'm self conscious, I know that people say you shouldn't be but it's pretty daunting when you've never done it before. A cheap gym in the city centre is probably going to be very busy. But I've not been to that one so can't say for sure. My advice would be to go in at the time you're likely to use it and ask for a look around before you sign up. That'll give you an idea of how busy it will be. As for the self consciousness, look back through this thread. Everybody feels self conscious when they first go to a gym. It's a hurdle you have to overcome. The advice I always give is generally people at the gym don't give a shit what other people there are doing. Nobody is looking at you. And if the odd person IS looking at you and judging you then they're a word removed. Most people in a gym will be more likely to help a newbie than to judge them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 7 minutes ago, Stevo985 said: A cheap gym in the city centre is probably going to be very busy. But I've not been to that one so can't say for sure. My advice would be to go in at the time you're likely to use it and ask for a look around before you sign up. That'll give you an idea of how busy it will be. As for the self consciousness, look back through this thread. Everybody feels self conscious when they first go to a gym. It's a hurdle you have to overcome. The advice I always give is generally people at the gym don't give a shit what other people there are doing. Nobody is looking at you. And if the odd person IS looking at you and judging you then they're a word removed. Most people in a gym will be more likely to help a newbie than to judge them. I'll generally be using it when I knock off work at 4pm so I'd imagine it'd be pretty rammed then, as I said though I'm only after the bikes so as long as they have plenty of them I should be fine, I'm an early bird as well so there is every chance that I'll use it before work as well so at about 6am(ish) which I would assume it would be pretty empty then. It's open 24/7 and for £15 a month I'm not expecting anything great but I don't really need anything great either. There is one opening just up the road from me in September but I can imagine that there will be some right dodgy **** signing up for that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 16, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 16, 2017 If you're only after cardio machines then you'll probably be fine wherever. Most gyms these days seem to be about 4/5 cardio machines and 1/5 weights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 On my way back up there, when I went the other day I didn't spend long in there at all, it was more about just seeing the place and getting a feel for it, like I say it's all new to me. Now that I've been there it seems a bit of a waste to just do 30 minutes on a bike and then **** off home so I might have a chat with someone there and see if they can recommend something else for me to do before I jump on a bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 If they have one, get them to show you how to use it and have a go on the rowing machine. One of the best cardio exercises you'll be able to do in a gym,. it's exercises the whole body. It'll make you hurt in parts of your body you didn't know existed, but it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 What a waste of time that was, managed 20 broken minutes and knocked it on the head, me sister has been in a minor car accident and as I work in insurance she needed my help with what to Do, my phone was going every2 minutes so I just couldn't get into any sort of rhythm and I quit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted July 20, 2017 Moderator Share Posted July 20, 2017 15 minutes ago, leemond2008 said: What a waste of time that was, managed 20 broken minutes and knocked it on the head, me sister has been in a minor car accident and as I work in insurance she needed my help with what to Do, my phone was going every2 minutes so I just couldn't get into any sort of rhythm and I quit. Well in your defence you can't legislate for a family member having a car accident. I hope everything's OK. But you'll have better days. I go to the gym when I'm on-call and sometimes you get a call and have to leave. It's very frustrating. But at least I don't enjoy leaving the gym in that manner. That'd be worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Started at the gym last night. First time in 13 years I've set foot in one and **** me how times have changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 1 minute ago, Rugeley Villa said: Started at the gym last night. First time in 13 years I've set foot in one and **** me how times have changed. Sometimes I think we are the same person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 1 minute ago, leemond2008 said: Sometimes I think we are the same person We are....remember Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leemond2008 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Rugeley Villa said: We are....remember Oh shit yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Stronglifts has been going well, but today was terrible. Just about finished my sets of Squats, but failed at the last set of both bench and rows. 60kg felt so much heavier than 57.5. Hoping it was just a bad day, that's the first time I've failed on more than one set. Considering I struggled to bench just the bar a few months ago though... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villaglint Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) 17 hours ago, leemond2008 said: Oh shit yeah 17 hours ago, Rugeley Villa said: We are....remember I always thought there was a great book about RV but now it's the Brummie fight club I'm thinking a film maybe the better way to go. Edited July 21, 2017 by villaglint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 16 minutes ago, villaglint said: I always thought there was a great book about RV but now it's the Brummie fight club I'm thinking a film maybe the better way to go. I'm no common brummie, I'm from the shires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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