8 Weeks to SEALFIT: A Navy SEAL's Guide to Unconventional Training for Physical and Mental Toughness-Revised Edition

By: Mark Divine
Date Read: 2017-06-23
Rating: ★★★★☆

1. Embrace the Suck

Welcome to 8 Weeks to SEALFIT! You’ve chosen to show your instructor (me) that you have the stuff to be SEALFIT. Now suit up and get the baseline screening test done! That’s right. You’re doing what you just read. If you can’t or won’t do this, don’t bother with the rest of the book. Put it down and walk away. I don’t work with people who aren’t ready to commit. When you’re ready to continue, complete:

  1. as many perfect, Navy SEAL–style push-ups as you can in 2 minutes
  2. 10-minute rest
  3. as many sit-ups as you can in 2 minutes
  4. 10-minute rest
  5. as many pull-ups as you can before you gas out
  6. 10-minute rest
  7. a 500-meter swim (or substitute a 2,000-meter row if you don’t have access to a pool)
  8. 10-minute rest
  9. a 1.5-mile run

2. Forging a Warrior Mind-set

WARM-UP: Watch range of motion (ROM), drills, burpee, and air squat video (www.sealfit.com/ videos) at SEALFIT’s Web site and practice 25 squats.

WORK CAPACITY: 5 rounds for quality:

  • 20 × air squats
  • 20 × burpees
  • 200m (meter) run
  • COOL DOWN: 1-mile jog and long stretch.

The 4–4–4–4 count is a box, hence the name of this drill. Do this breathing exercise before your training for at least 5 minutes.

3. Staying in the Fight

“Let the hammer hit your funny bone.” Rather than curl up and hunker down to ride out the storm, make light of the situation and find the lesson lurking inside.

Today’s first assignment: Grab your journal, sit quietly, and reflect upon which four dominant emotions drive your behavior. Do you operate out of fear? Anger? Jealousy? Love? Joy? Courage? Be brutally honest with yourself. No one’s watching. Write your four down. It’s very important.

Got your four down? Good. Now, answer the following questions: 1. What do these emotions keep me from creating in my life? 2. What beliefs create these four emotions? 3. What would I be like, and what would my life be like, if I could control these emotions?

  1. What benefit would it bring me and others if I acted with these ideal emotions?
  2. What beliefs do I need to change, and what new beliefs do I need to develop, to own these ideal emotions?
  3. What would I be like and what would my life be like, if I replaced my original four dominant emotions with these four ideal emotions?

Reflect on your answers daily for the next 3 weeks. After 21 days your new beliefs and emotions will begin to form habits, which will define your new character.

Your goal is not to just stay in the fight, but to crush it every time!

WARM-UP: Watch butterfly sit-ups, kettlebell swings, and push-up videos (www.sealfit.com/ videos). Then perform ROM drills, then 10 perfect reps of each exercise in work capacity.

WORK CAPACITY: Complete 21–15–9 reps as fast as possible, with great forms, of:

  • butterfly sit-ups
  • kettlebell swings
  • push-ups
  • 400m run after each set of repetitions

COOL DOWN: 1-mile walk or jog and long stretch.

COACHING NOTES: Hydrate and refuel. Journal your results. Perform 21 of each exercise, then 15 of each, then 9 of each.

4. Training Isn’t “Working Out”

Training is passionately applying carefully conceived principles to develop yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually. It cultivates a deep awareness of your inner and outer worlds and aligns these worlds into a serious force. You show up as exceptional every day.

WARM-UP: Watch rowing and box jumps videos (www.sealfit.com/ videos). Then perform ROM drills, then 50 air squats, then 25 tuck jumps (knee to chest).

WORK CAPACITY: 5 rounds for quality and time of:

  • 15 × box jumps (20 or 24 inches)
  • 18 × sit-ups
  • 20 × air squats
  • 500m row (substitute 500m sprint if you do not have a rower)

COOL DOWN: jog or walk 1 mile. Stretch or SEALFIT Yoga (see chapter 7).

COACHING NOTES: Hydrate, refuel, and journal results. This workout is about sustained workload across a broad time domain. It should take you around 30 minutes.

5. The Five Mountains

Mark Rippetoe: “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”

The Observe, Orient, Decide, Act (OODA) loop is the decision tool I teach for this skill.

Respect literally means to revisit or take another look at something. THE FIVE MOUNTAIN MISSION Pain is weakness leaving the body.—NAVY SEALS WARM-UP: Watch grinder PT (physical training) intro and do warm-up (www.sealfit.com/ videos). Then do pretraining SOP and ROM drills.

WORK CAPACITY AND STAMINA: Grinder PT—1, 2, or 3 rounds of the following as fast as possible with good form:

  • 10 × run and drop
  • 10 × DB (dumbbell)
  • 15 × squat jumps (20–40-pound dumbbells)
  • 20 × push-ups
  • 20 × leg levers
  • 15 × burpees
  • 10 × DB (dumbbell) squat jumps (20–40-pound dumbbells)
  • 20 × push-ups
  • 20 × leg levers
  • 15 × burpees
  • 15 × 4-count smurf jumping jacks
  • 15 × tuck jumps
  • 20 × DB thrusters (front squat followed by a push press in 1 flowing motion)
  • 20 × push-ups (narrow)
  • 20 × crisscross jumping jacks

COOL DOWN: 1-mile jog or walk. Stretch or SEALFIT yoga.

6. SEAL Fuel

TRACK YOUR DAILY INTAKE FOR 1 WEEK

  • When and where did you eat each meal or snack?
  • What did you eat at each meal or snack?
  • Describe your mind-set during each meal or snack.
  • How did you feel after each meal—physically, emotionally, energetically, and mentally?

WARM-UP: ROM drills, then 20 reps of air squats and push-ups, and 5 dead-hang pull-ups.

WORK CAPACITY: As many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 20 minutes of:

  • 5 pull-ups (substitute band pull-ups or sit-ups if you can’t do pull-ups yet)
  • 10 push-ups
  • 15 air squats

This equals 1 round.

COOL DOWN: 1-mile jog or walk, full body stretch.

7. On-Ramp Training

\3. The Morning Ritual The goal of the morning ritual is to engage your body and mind in a positive manner. You will connect to your purpose, cultivate your optimism and positivity, and ensure that your next actions of the day move the dial toward your goals. We want to energize your physiology and psychology for optimal performance!

STEP 1: Drink a large glass of water, then, sitting comfortably with your journal, ask yourself these empowering questions:

  • What and whom am I grateful for today? (Write down what comes up. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude!)
  • What am I excited about and looking forward to doing today?
  • What is my purpose and do my plans for today connect me to it?
  • What can I do to move the dial toward my purpose goals today?
  • Who can I reach out to and serve or thank today? Review your goals and ensure they are still aligned with your purpose.

STEP 2: Morning practice. Set up your space and settle into your morning practice.

  • Box breathing practice; 5 minutes.
  • SEALFIT Yoga: 10–45 minutes (you can substitute Qi Gong, a light workout, or a brisk walk here).
  • From resting pose after your movement conduct a short breath awareness meditation: 5 minutes.
  • Visualization or guided visualization: 5 minutes.
  • Shower up and get ready for your day.
  • Drink another glass of fresh water, and eat a healthy Paleo breakfast.

STEP 3: Before you leave for work, review your daily schedule.

Make any adjustments and block time for key project work and your physical training. When you get to your place of work, start performing and don’t let others take you off task, off focus, or off purpose. Use your presence practices to stay focused and energized throughout the day. Avoid food and drink that steals your energy (junk food, candy, excessive coffee, Rockstars, 5-hour energy drinks, etc.).

Appendix

4. Substitution, Scaling, and Standards

Body-weight Movement Standards (Elite)

Endurance Standards