Episode 3 - A Case for “Combat” PT
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Overview
Every soldier is a soldier just like every Marine is a rifleman. “Combat” oriented physical training gets a bad rap because it’s neither combat nor physical training; however, I build a bit of a case supporting its occasional inclusion as a PT session. Randomness can be detrimental to progress when it’s all you do but beneficial as a check on fitness. There are also several pros to combat PT beyond the x’s and o’s of strength and conditioning.
Former Army Ranger and Special Operations Human Performance Coach, Nate Palin, offers a reality based approach to coaching the warfighter on how to shoot, move, and communicate more effectively on the front lines and the home front. I reconcile high performance ideals with an often volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous reality faced by the warfighter - so you can focus your effort where it matters most.
Episode Topics
You’re either an asset or a liability.
Non combat arms professions still need to maintain a minimum level of combat proficiency and physicality. Traditional strength and conditioning should be the primary means of physical development but not necessarily the only means of physical development. The military has less an issue with how physical fitness training is conducted and more an issue with it not being conducted at all. Regardless of whether it’s helping initiate or elevate PT, “combat “focused” physical training has as much a place as traditional training approaches - Less as a substitute and more as an additional option.
The Pros of Combat PT
Face Validity - soldiers buy in because it looks like soldiering
Leader Led - leaders take responsibility because it’s within their comfort zones
Teamwork - nobody wants to be the weak link
Skill Opportunities (tactics & techniques) - touch on infrequently trained skills while under physical duress
Equipment aka Gear - test out gear in a safe but feedback rich environment
Check on Fitness - ensure raw physicality supports mission relevant demands
Ergonomic Unfriendliness - picking up a barbell and a body are not the same
Terrain - the weight room is built for safety while the world is less forgiving
Weather - if it aint raining you aint training
Cognitive Elements - physicality’s value is in how it supports more cognitive demanding tasks
= Beneficial Randomness
