ive just joined the australian army as rifleman eager to do my bit for your american "war on terror" i was wondering if any of you seasoned veterans out ther ecould give me a good training program as i am only 17 years of age i havnt been around long enough to have a good steroid free muscle training program
plz help

well, i know stamina is importent, i do a 1km jog with a full bergen every morning,i can do about 20 pushups without falling over, im pretty new to all this so i dont know very much im afraid, i do tae kwon do but thats only 2 nights a week, would joing a gym help at all and are there any natural fitness helpers in pill form out there?

Well, the physical training programs are different for the Australian Army vs the US Army.  In the end they both pretty much do what needs to be done, but if I were you, I'd contact some of the Aussie members of the board directly and see if they know anything.  Get something from your recruiter as well.

A premium is going to be put on your endurance.  You need to extend your distance with the bergen.  You'll probably be better off with tabbing as fast as you can as long as you can with the bergen, rather than trying to jog or run with it.  Running with a bergen (or rucksack in American) will cause "bergen rash" pretty quick and the extra weight will cause alot of stress on joints, etc.  You need to build up your body for that stuff first by doing them as separate drills.

Run with good running shoes for 2-3 miles.  Aim for eventually 5 miles under 40 minutes. The purpose of the running shoes is to protect your feet.  You'll probably have to run in boots, but you need to train your feet to wearing boots.  Do that with the bergen tabb.

Do the tabb(forced march in American) with boots on.  They'll support you better, and train your feet to wear them.  Do it right and you won't get blisters or feet problems.  Aim for a 10km distance and about 13-22kg of weight in it once a month.  Use shorter distances, like 5km and less weight to build up to it.  Don't do too much at once.  It really tears a body up, and you're much better off getting used to the gear first with shorter distances, then adding to it (distance and weight) as you go.  It's more important to know how to properly wear the gear and not hurt yourself.  The body will follow.

I have a Brit PT program somewhere around here.  I'll dig it out and post it in this thread.  It's probably not going to be the same for the Australian Army, but it will probably be closer than anything from the American services.

Ross

thanks for everythin guys, im proud to be working with such great ppl hopefully in the future i could get a transfer to the US its a great place from what i hear its good to nurture brotherly relations with our good friends and allies

Hello.

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James

Here's what you should be able to do according to a Physical Training blurb from a British Army publication:

1. Run 3 miles in boots in less than 29 minutes.  

2. Complete a full assault course.

3. Jump into water from a height of 6ft and tread water for two minutes and then swim 100 meters.

4. Cover 10 miles, climb a 6ft wall, jump a 9ft ditch (I hope that's swinging with a rope), and then carry a man 200 meters.

Heck, if you can do all that, obviously you're in good shape.  The key is really overall fitness.  A good Physical Training (PT) program would be varied and broad enough that the above 4 standards should be attainable.  Go for an overall fitness level that will allow you to achieve the above 4 goals.  If you can do that, you'd be in good shape.

What I'm saying is to be carful how you use any comparison to US standards.  They aren't the ones you're going to be training for.  We only test the push-up, sit-up and 2 mile run.  The other US services vary somewhat, but it's pretty similar.  While the US scoring system is a good one to use, you're not going to be scored by the US system so don't get too wrapped up in it.  I'm willing to bet that the Australian system of testing battle fitness is going to be more invovled and similar to those 4 point standards above.  Use the US point system as a way to keep track of progress, but don't neglect the rest of overall fitness.  While those three events are the only ones we test for in the US, the actual training in the Army at least was broad based and varied enough for overall fitness conditioning.  It's just we only test those three.  Find out what the Australian Army tests for and train for that, but again, don't neglect other types of exercise drills.

Ross