I came across a couple of decent special forces selection preparation programs yesterday that are ideal for weight vest owners. If you want to maximise your weight vest training this is the way to go. Just use your vest instead of the pack.

Its better for your body with a vest. Before I post the programs here are some videos to whet your appetite. The first is on Australian SAS selection which looks bloody tough. This is a full documentary – its good too.

The second is on New Zealand SAS whom I was fortunate enough to do some training with many years ago as an infantryman in New Zealands Army.

There are 18 parts to that one so search the rest on youtube. Just remember when the guys do it in the Army its without food or sleep unlike civilians who usually are not that intense. Also with the military approach you will inevitably be injured and often quite seriously. I don’t encourage you to push that hard as a civilian athlete.

The Australians have a very intense selection process including an initial 20km ruck march to be completed in 3 hours 15 minutes with a 20 kg pack, an insane exercise called “happy wanderer” carrying over 100lbs 150 km over a mountain range for 5 days alone. That’s over rocks and up very steep terrain & in the middle of a bunch of other insanely difficult testing. They also do a six hour 10 km march with a full pack and two 20 liter jerry cans, That also is a monolithic killer.

The New Zealand SAS has an exercise called Von Temsky which involves a 77lb pack, final march is (60km) 37miles, pace is relatively slow, 3km per hour. Operation Von Tempsky is a ball breaker, 24hrs marching with ruck, webbing rifle through a swamp while carrying alternately one or two full 20L jerry cans.

Swamp VS mountain ? yeah what ever

OK so that basically is coming close to the limits of human endurance so You know how high you can strive – remember they do it without food or sleep too. On operations they do worse stuff.

I was going to post these here but its a hassle – instead you can download them:

http://www.freefitnessguru.com/Downloads/13weekSFtrainingprogramme.doc

http://www.freefitnessguru.com/Downloads/6WEEKTRAININGPROGRAM.doc

http://www.freefitnessguru.com/Downloads/SAS selection 13 week prep.pdf