What Is Your Fitness Range? By Nathanael Morrison
As we have said many times, military fitness is specific to the demands of military service. A few years ago I came up with the concept of classifying fitness training into ranges for military personnel. It became a very easy way to explain to soldiers how to structure and focus their training.
Long Range
Long-Range (LR) fitness refers to all the things that go into the tactical approach to battle. This is the act of walking (ruck/forced marching), swimming and mountain climbing to get to the objective area. This training is characterized by performing these activities followed by any extra special strength and conditioning training as required to develop the proper qualities of speed, efficiency and capacity. There are simply no shortcuts here. No separate exercise or exercise method can condition the body and mind for this activity. In addition, critical lessons are learned about gear. The way boots fit, stability on skis, efficiency of gait, etc… all play out here.
Infiltration Range
Technically the Infiltration Range (IR) is part of Long Range. But it bears mention because there are some slight changes in the final approach. Depending on the mission, the approach is slower and often with less weight on the soldier. Often IR is characterized by creeping forward, carefully moving to and from points of cover, terrain masking, etc… The IR is
Mid-Range
The mid-range fitness refers to movement skills employed once the battle is joined. Rounds are flying and the soldier is constantly dropping to the ground, rolling, springing up, sprinting for a few seconds, negotiating obstacles as quickly as possible and employing his weapons as accurately as he can. Training for MR should be performed at a moderate pace and the skill component cannot be understated. The thing that separates the elite from the novice is the ability to perform these actions faster and more accurately than all others. We see this in 3-gun matches where champions finish the course in 45 seconds with every round fired hitting the target. Screw up the skill piece of this and you are worthless to your team!
Training at a moderate, even slow pace for an extended period of time builds stamina and allows the soldier to focus on building skill and awareness. This is not where you blast the body for 20 minutes and call it a day. The Battle of The Black Sea Market in Somalia lasted 18 hours!! Train to thrive in that situation!
When training for MR, additional exercises become applicable. Interval Circuit and properly executed Continuous Circuit training with implements such as kettlebells, sand bags and pull-up bars are very beneficial. This is also the realm where obstacle courses are highly beneficial. Remember to run the O-Course for skill before speed!!
Short Range
Short Range (SR) training refers to training for hand-to-hand combat beginning at bayonet range. This training is predominated by actual combatives training. The primary principles and areas of study include breathing, posture, alignment, biomechanics, striking, weapons employment and combat psychology. All of these areas have profound implications on all other training ranges, but prove themselves most important in the SR.
Sport fighting is wholly inappropriate in the military setting. The purpose of a soldier is to kill. To this end, it is in his best interest to end a hand-to-hand fight immediately with the least effort expended. To this end, combat systems such as Systema should be trained, while the popular sport fighting methods should be prohibited.
Training in this area involves specialized calisthenics in addition to actual fighting. Other drills include breathing and relaxation drills as well as specific studies of biomechanics.
Structure of Training
As detailed in my new book, using a ‘Super Training’ approach will net the greatest results. During a day or week a soldier may perform a training session targeting one of these training ranges. Rarely should you perform more than one range together in a single session. It is better to conduct monthly or quarterly full mission profiles to evaluate progress. When conducting the FMP, careful attention must be paid to the technical correctness and accuracy of the men. If the men seem to be physical specimens but cannot hit the broad side of a barn, the next training cycle must correct this deficiency.
