The Army Strength Athlete

There are multiple reasons multiple people join the Army, some join for benefits, some join to give their life meaning, and even some join just to get into shape. This was not the case when I joined the Army. I was a benefit guy that benefited more from the Army then just the school help. I joined when I was playing defensive line for the Minnesota State University, Mankato football team. I had been training for college football for as long as I can remember, knowing it would all lead up to one day playing in college. In college I was on a small enough scale (Army wise) that I could defiantly get away with both trying to get big and strong for football and still succeed in the Army’s physical training program.

The Army mandates that National Guard Soldiers take the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) once a year, twice while on active duty orders, such as deployments. The APFT consists of 2 minutes of pushups, 2 minutes of sit ups and a 2 mile run. There are standards based on the Soldiers age to determine if the Soldier passes or fails, each event is scored on a 100 point scale, 60 being just passing and 100 being a good pass, or “PT stud”. So if a Soldier scores 100 points in all three events he/she gets a score of 300, if a Soldier scores 60 points in all three events that Soldier gets a score of 180. If the Soldier drops below the standards of the PT test he/she is subject to remedial PT and possibly kicked out of the Army.

I have never been a 300 guy, I’ve scored well, 250+ but never a 300. I possess the upper body strength to max out the pushups, do real well in the sit ups but the run is always what gets me. Currently at my age (29) I have to run 2 miles in 17 minutes, this is not a problem but to get 100 points I have to run it in 13 min. Naturally I am closer to the 17 minute range than the 13 minute range, however, I have never failed a PT test.

You see when we are all born we are born with a specific percentage of muscle fibers. These fibers are broken down to fast and slow twitch fibers. There are nearly dozens of different types of muscle fibers but we all have a specific percentage of slow and a certain percentage of fast twitch, then comes the ever popular type IIb muscle fibers, these fibers are trainable. These fibers can switch to act as either fast twitch fibers or slow twitch fibers. As a former football player my IIb fibers have learned to act more as fast twitch fibers than slow twitch and thus my difficulties with the 2 mile run.

So when I got done playing football it was just a natural fit for me to merge into strength sports. I have competed in both powerlifting and strongman. I enjoy training and I don’t enjoy training without a goal. My inability to succeed in a 2 mile long slow run has made the PT test not as appetizing to me as others. Deadlifting 700 pounds however is appetizing to me, pressing a 330 pound log over my head is downright delicious. I enjoy strongman and hope to soon be awarded with a Pro Card from the ASC making me a professional strongman. However, I am still in the military and will continue to be in the military for a while.

Currently I’m deployed in Kuwait in support of Operation New Dawn and the draw down in Iraq, this is interesting because believe it or not they don’t get a lot of strength athletes that come around here. Although they do keep gym records, when I got here the deadlift gym record was 585, the squat record was 600 and the bench record still stands at 500. Within the first 6 weeks here I had re-set the records to 650 deadlift, and 725 squat, they don’t follow any powerlifting feds so the squat was a little high, but they counted it. Currently my weight is 275 lbs.

So with my upcoming goal of winning my Strongman Pro card and my everlasting thrust for strength you could imagine that I’m a little different looking than most Soldiers. Trying to get as strong as humanly possible all the while still being able to go for a 2 mile run in a passing time has stretched me both ways. The Army is attempting to fix the APFT to be more “combat like” however, that seems to be deadlocked. Not to mention the Crossfit community runs rampant around the military. My issues with crossfit can be saved for another post, however I have never figured out why they continue to ask if I want to crossfit….does it look like it?!?

When it comes down to you as a strength athlete in the military I have to run long distances. It may not be the best thing for my pursuit of strength but it is what it is, this is the life I have decided to live. That will not deter me from going into the weight room and lifting heavy. Today my training partner said to me that when I lift it’s like a spectator sport because everyone stops doing whatever they are doing and watches me squat 600+ pounds. Am I the ideal Soldier? Absolutely not. Should all Soldiers train like me? Absolutely not. Should there be some sort of mix between strength and endurance for military members? Absolutely! I think that is the biggest point people miss, they see me and they think I want everyone to look and lift like me, I don’t! There is nothing wrong with Soldiers getting cock strong though.

So in conclusion I have rambled quite a bit; however, if the reader can take anything from this realize that human beings aren’t cookie cuts. But if there is a standard it must be met, sometimes you just have to show off your athleticism and surprise some people!