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Month 6: training update as Force Fitness owner trains with Building The Elite

October 25, 2024 3 min read

6 months ago, Force Fitness owner Rich set himself a 12-month challenge: to pass the selection criteria standards for the special forces. He’s working with Building The Elite to train and prep for the standards. Let’s catch up with him at the half-way mark.

Force Fitness – inspired by the world’s elite forces

As a brand, Force Fitness aims to bring the ethos of elite-level training to everyday athletes. We’re inspired by the all-round elite fitness of the world’s military, and that’s where this challenge originated. Rich wanted to see if a busy guy can get in “special forces selection” shape whilst running a business, travelling, and being a dedicated family man?

Can a civilian train like the elite forces?

Rich used to be a bodybuilder, then got into endurance events and completed an Ironman triathlon. But he’s always been interested in people who can do it all – strength, endurance, capacity work.

He started working with Building The Elite, who specialise in special ops forces selection training, and the goal is meeting the entry standards of the special forces.

We need to be clear – Rich isn’t actually going to apply for selection. This training challenge is an experiment to see whether a civilian fitness fan can meet the standards.

What are the standards Rich is aiming to pass?

Running -

Anything under 2 miles - 6 min miles

3-4 miles - 7 min miles

5 miles - 8 min miles

Rucking -

50lb pack under 15 min miles for 12 miles

Pushups -

100 in 1 set

Pull Ups -

15 in 1 set

Sit ups -

70-80 in 1 set

Swimming -

460m under 10 mins

Strength training – see below

Power endurance -

500m row - 1:30

2000m row - 7:00

Power -

Broad Jump - 9ft

Vertical jump - 30”

100m Row - 1:20 500m average pace

Month 6: high volume and long duration

Month 5 of Rich’s BTE programme included benchmark testing across strength, conditioning, and work capacity. You can read about it and see some sample sessions here.

Month 6 training block was higher volume, with lots of circuit-type training featuring multiple stations over 20-25 minute sessions. Some sessions were 20-25 minutes of farmers walks.

Rucking duration went up to 2-3 hours at a time on the weekends, and Rich did two open-ended workouts this month which went like this:

3-4 mile ruck

4 x 400m sprint

25 push ups

5 pull ups

400m farmers walk

“This time of year is busy for us in the business, but the extra stress has made me lean into training,” Rich said. “I’ve really pushed my weight on everything including my rucks where I’m now using the 20kg plate.”

Rich’s highlights of month 6

Rich did the Paras10 endurance even this month – it’s a 10-mile endurance race based on the Parachute Regiment’s actual selection march.

“On paper it sounded pretty easy, but I underestimated the terrain,” he said. “The hills are crazy – there’s one called Land of Nod, it’s steep! Every mile had multiple short steep hills.”

Rich was meant to do the race with 35lb, but our 10kg plate would have been too light, so he used a 15kg plate. Combined with the weight of the bag, this made 42lb. Maybe Force Fitness need to add a new weight to our selection?

Next blog: month 7 of Rich’s training with Building The Elite

We’ll catch up with Rich in a month to see how his training has ramped up in the second half of this year-long challenge. In the meantime, check out Building The Elite to get inspired!