TRAIN YOUR BODY

Get out and ruck for a cause while prepping for selection

We have frequently in the past advocated for many of the fine organizations that support our Veteran community here at SpecialOperations.com, especially those who care for our Special Operations Forces and/or are conducting a fundraiser thru rucking. During the past weekend, the 30th annual Bataan Memorial Death March drew its largest field of ruckers and runners […]

Paratrooper: Following in my Father’s Footsteps

Today we’d like to share another story from one of our readers. Heath Hansen is a paratrooper and grew up watching his dad jump out of a perfectly good airplane with the 12th Special Forces Group, while a youngster. His story is one about continuing the legacy between father and son and the bond of […]

Learn How To Prepare For Cold Weather Prior to Selection

Because most of our military bases are in the southern United States, one area that can be neglected, especially when preparing for Special Operations training is cold weather training. It is surprising how many young people who enter the military don’t know or understand the basics of cold weather preparation. First some of the basics; […]

Rucking Trails in Deep Snow? Try Something New, Go Snowshoeing

We publish a daily workout regimen that we post for all of the aspiring Special Operations candidates to properly prepare themselves physically for the various Selection courses. And Sunday was supposed to be a long rucksack march. But Mother Nature decided to throw us all a curve here in the Northeast. Our first major winter […]

Gym Exercises to Improve Your Rucking Skills

We’re always talking about rucking here…it is one of our favorite subjects, a constant source of worry for Special Operations candidates and still one of our favorite activities. Anyone can do it, everyone can improve at it and it is a good way to get outside and get some exercise, whether you are an aspiring […]

Rucking Tips Refresher: Practice, Practice, Practice

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately again about passing the selection course and many of them have to do carrying a rucksack and many of the candidates are worrying about being able to tote the pain pill to the standards in the course. The first piece of advice I’ll give is to step […]

Aftermarket Rucksacks for Selection Preparation, Rucking and Hiking

We’ve gone over the rucking tips quite a bit and everyone preparing for selection should be very comfortable with a ruck on their back and be humping long distances. It goes without saying that rucking and land navigation is the bread and butter of special operations forces. If you can show the intestinal fortitude needed […]

Rucking Practical Exercise, Dodge the Rain Drops

Against my better judgment today, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go rucking despite having an injured calf/ankle. Last weekend I was shooting a high school football game for one of the newspapers I work for. Yes, that O&I photography class is still paying dividends after all these years. So, near the […]

Decreasing Lower Back Pain, Workout More Effectively

Like many of us, I had issues with occasional lower back pain while in the military. Eventually, suffering a major injury that required surgery, that was in no way related to the normal workout routine that the Army conducts with soldiers doing PT. However, it wasn’t until many years later, I was doing some physical […]

Mail Call… Rucking Problems With Shoulder Pain, How to Fix it

Mail Call | Rucking Problems With Shoulder Pain and How to Fix it

Getting prepared to pass Selection into Special Operations is a long, and difficult process. As the summer months begin to slowly morph into fall, many of the prospective candidates will begin their preparation in earnest to tackle the course. For many of the candidates, the two biggest elephants in the room revolve around carrying a […]