Month 8 of Force Fitness owner training with Building The Elite
Force Fitness owner Rich set himself a big challenge this year – to train like the world’s elite forces and ultimately meet the selection criteria. This month, Rich has been busier than usual. On top of being a family man and running businesses, he went to Canada with his family for a few weeks. How did he manage his training in the Rocky Mountains?
Force Fitness – bringing elite training inspiration
Why has Rich set himself this challenge? As the man behind Force Fitness, Rich wants to walk the talk. Force Fitness is a brand that brings some of the legendary military styles of training to the everyday person. We can all put on a weighted ruck and take inspiration from the elite forces training.
Rich has always wanted to work out how military personnel can peak their CV fitness, strength, and endurance at the same time. He wanted to train like the special forces (or as close as a civilian can) to see if a busy Dad and business owner could meet the standards.
How to train like the special forces
8 months ago, Rich started working with Building The Elite, who specialise in training special ops forces for selection. His year-long programme will culminate with those entry standards tests – then Rich will know if this civilian could theoretically meet the standards!
What are the standards Rich is aiming for?
Running -
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 8: running at altitude in the Rocky Mountains
Month 7 of Rich’s BTE programme was volume-heavy, with a lot of long weighted carries, like 30 minutes of unbroken farmers walks.
This month, Rich admits that he didn’t do any structured Building The Elite training at all. The reason? He spent most of the month in Canada with his family. He made the most of the change of environment by increasing his running, tackling 4000ft altitude runs in -16*C temperatures near Canmore and Banff. All of his strength training was bodyweight work – pull ups, push ups, and bodyweight squats.
Going off book gave Rich some interesting biofeedback. His HRV (heart rate variability) was all over the place as his body acclimatised to the altitude. But once he got back to lower ground, he ran a 10K PB and a 10 mile PB with ease.
“Our final stop on the way home was New York City,” said Rich. “Me being me, I saw a running race being set up, and I entered on the spur of the moment. Turns out it was the Ted Corbett 15K which attracts 5000 runners. All that running in the Rockies boosted my endurance because I ran the 15K in 1 hour 20 minutes which is a great pace for me.”
Rich’s highlights of month 8
Jumping into that 15K race on the spur of the moment and finishing in 1 hour 20 was a highlight, but Rich says he’ll never forget running in the Rocky Mountains in -16*C with icicles in his beard.
“The scenery is absolutely beautiful,” he said. “Running out there was one of the best experiences of my life. Just knowing there are wolves, bears, and coyotes around is crazy. One on of my runs, my phone died and there was nobody around for miles. I had to find my way back by following my footsteps in the snow. Amazing memories.”
A lot of people would let a month of travelling throw them off course, but Rich embraced the changes and capitalised on the natural challenges of altitude. Military-style training aims to get people physically and mentally ready to tackle anything – we reckon he did pretty well.
Next blog: month 9 of Rich’s training with Building The Elite
Rich is back in the UK now and picking up where he left off with Building The Elite. Those benchmark tests are just a couple of months away now! Feeling inspired? Check out Building The Elite.
