Too Muscular for Spec Ops?

[quote]mapwhap wrote:
Spec-ops guys are an interesting breed. During my time in the Army, I was around quite a few[/quote]

Really? That doesn’t comport with my actual experience. In Officer Candidate School, I actually trained with several Green Berets. Most were quite muscular, and all of them wanted to get even more jacked.

Granted, during training they would lose mass, but that’s because of the lack of sleep and hypocaloric state they’d be put in.

If you’ve ever been to San Diego and hung around a “SEAL bar,” you’d see a lot of very ripped and muscular guys. The kind of guys you’d think twice about messing with - even if you didn’t know they were SEALs.

Just like everyone “does MMA,” it seems everyone has “been around” special forces guys.

[quote]BradTGIF wrote:
W8 LOGIC wrote:
TQB wrote:
Should you really have that low bodyfat? Considering that swimming in cold water and survival without supplies under extreme conditions might be necessary, a bit of blubber is not bad. Just ask any seal:-)

I have always had low BF. I have stayed b/w 4 and 7% most of my life. I can see what u are saying about the extra insulation though.

I’m a former Navy FMF Corpsman, so I’ve been around the block a couple of times.

I think with those stats that the instructors are purely fucking with you and you’re young enough or immature enough to let it get to you. There is nothing wrong with your stats dude. Take the beatings with a grain of salt, jump through all the hoops, and handle your business. Either that or quit. Seems to me that if you’re on this forum crying about getting hassled by your Cadre you’re not mentally ready for EOD anyway.

Good Luck,

B.

Come on man, I am not crying or bitching to get praise or solitude. I was just wondering if other members on this site get harrased for being too muscular in certain sitiuations. Since u were a former navy man, and in FMF then u should realize how much training and brotherhood mean to Spec Ops guys. I just dont like to get criticized by someone just because I like to lift weight a little more than the average person.

[/quote]

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
You’re so full of shit. I have many friends in SpecOps and most of them were at least your size or larger. All of them were trying to get bigger and stronger.

If your stats were truthful (a dubious assumption), then you would have the perfect build for combat. I just don’t believe you.[/quote]

Man, u are such a negative person. I guess all those days working the beat as a cop make u angry. I am not talking about after training dumbass, im talking about during training. Yea i know some SEALs out here who started lifting after BUDs to get bigger. But that is after they finished SQT. I wouldnt be asking members about by size if I was already an EOD tech. Start reading…it helps a little. My stats I represented are quite accurate. I just finshed a PST yesterday and I made measurements last week. I am not making extreme ridiculous statements here. Your negative connotations are an example of your ignorance. All of your posts revolve around bullying people who have questions. Get a life man.

W8,
I’ve gotta go with BradTGIF on this one. The instructors are likely just fucking with you. Dude, if you can do the shit you gotta do, and fit into the gear you’re given- it doesn’t fucking matter what size you are. SpecOps hombres come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Granted, immediately following SERE and the various selections, many look like Auschwitz survivors, but that’s because they’ve just been through training hell and food/sleep deprivation. Even Ronnie Coleman would look like shit at that point IF he made it through.
Just focus on your tasks, do your best, and let the personal criticism slide off. But listen to the technical criticism. If you can’t handle the flak- you’re in the wrong place. Learn to deal with it. You requested to be there. Focus on your job and why you want it; to be SPECIAL Ops, you can’t let anything get between you and the goal. Not even instructors.
-B

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
You’re so full of shit. I have many friends in SpecOps and most of them were at least your size or larger. All of them were trying to get bigger and stronger.

If your stats were truthful (a dubious assumption), then you would have the perfect build for combat. I just don’t believe you.[/quote]

While BDUs don’t highlight a physique, I don’t think anyone would call these Green Berets “skinny.”
http://news.soc.mil/releases/05OCT/XL0R1324.JPG

I thought it was a 500m swim, not yards.

Anyway, instructors at military schools harass because they need to see if you can take it. Can you function in a stressful environment? If you can’t, they need you out, especially of EOD. If you were fat, they’d harass you for being fat. Lean, too lean. Big, too big. Strong, too strong, need more endurance. Marathon man, need more strength. Etc, etc, get the idea?

Psychological profile and physical performance (on the entry test) has been shown to correlate well with in-the-field performance. So, that is what they are measuring.

(…and FWIW, I have never seen 115 GOOD push-ups in 2 minutes. Most testers will bust your chops and count half or less just to make you sweat.)

[quote]W8 LOGIC wrote:
Man, u are such a negative person. I guess all those days working the beat as a cop make u angry. I am not talking about after training dumbass, im talking about during training. Yea i know some SEALs out here who started lifting after BUDs to get bigger. But that is after they finished SQT. I wouldnt be asking members about by size if I was already an EOD tech. Start reading…it helps a little. My stats I represented are quite accurate. I just finshed a PST yesterday and I made measurements last week. I am not making extreme ridiculous statements here. Your negative connotations are an example of your ignorance. All of your posts revolve around bullying people who have questions. Get a life man.[/quote]

Why do I think you’re FOS? In an earlier thread you vigorously argued that Ken Shamrock would defeat Tito Ortiz in Ortiz-Shamrock III. That was so silly that only someone truly clueless could have made that argument. You also made some other ignorant assertions in the same thread.

People remember your other posts. If you’re FOS in one context, it’s hard to take you seriously in others.

Of course, if you really have the physique and stats you claim to have, then assuming you have mental toughness, you’ll have everything you need to succeed. Best of luck.

[quote]W8 LOGIC wrote:

Come on man, I am not crying or bitching to get praise or solitude. I was just wondering if other members on this site get harrased for being too muscular in certain sitiuations. Since u were a former navy man, and in FMF then u should realize how much training and brotherhood mean to Spec Ops guys. I just dont like to get criticized by someone just because I like to lift weight a little more than the average person.

[/quote]

Well, dude, you’re going to have to deal with that weather you’re an operator or stuck in a cubicle crunching numbers. The iron game is looked upon very stereotypically from any proffesssion. If you can’t handle that kind of criticism then how are you going to handle setting charges in 80 feet of water in the dark? Thicken up your skin and shave off your ego or else it will be your demise. Lives are on the line in your prospective field of work and no-one has time to deal with your hurt feelings. Instructors will always be instructors, and with that comes tons of criticism. Let it go and handle your business.

Be a proffessional.

B.

I have no military experience, but the answer seems pretty simple to me. Do whatever you have to get through EOD, then pick weightlifting back up.

[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Just like everyone “does MMA,” it seems everyone has “been around” special forces guys.[/quote]

It sure does.

The problem I see is your run time and thats what they may be alluding too. You are kicking ass and maxing in all your stregnth moves, but I believe max points for 1.5 mile is 9:30 or 9:00. And you will find most spec ops and even divers are going to be sub-9:00.

Also remember that more muscles means you need more O2. They are going to be trying to drown your ass on a regular basis and the extra muscle could hurt you there.

doiron wrote:
I thought it was a 500m swim, not yards.

Anyway, instructors at military schools harass because they need to see if you can take it. Can you function in a stressful environment? If you can’t, they need you out, especially of EOD. If you were fat, they’d harass you for being fat. Lean, too lean. Big, too big. Strong, too strong, need more endurance. Marathon man, need more strength. Etc, etc, get the idea?

Psychological profile and physical performance (on the entry test) has been shown to correlate well with in-the-field performance. So, that is what they are measuring.

(…and FWIW, I have never seen 115 GOOD push-ups in 2 minutes. Most testers will bust your chops and count half or less just to make you sweat.)[/quote]

the physical screening test is 500yards which equals to a about 425meters. It gets confusing sometimes. your right my 115 pushups get sloppy around 85 or so. My last PST I did 105 and the instructor only counted me for 90.

Why do I think you’re FOS? In an earlier thread you vigorously argued that Ken Shamrock would defeat Tito Ortiz in Ortiz-Shamrock III. That was so silly that only someone truly clueless could have made that argument. You also made some other ignorant assertions in the same thread.

People remember your other posts. If you’re FOS in one context, it’s hard to take you seriously in others.

Of course, if you really have the physique and stats you claim to have, then assuming you have mental toughness, you’ll have everything you need to succeed. Best of luck.[/quote]

Yea, I know that Ken got his ass kicked, but I really dont like Tito so I was hoping for a miracle. Thanks for the encouragement

[quote]Angrypenguin wrote:
The problem I see is your run time and thats what they may be alluding too. You are kicking ass and maxing in all your stregnth moves, but I believe max points for 1.5 mile is 9:30 or 9:00. And you will find most spec ops and even divers are going to be sub-9:00.

Also remember that more muscles means you need more O2. They are going to be trying to drown your ass on a regular basis and the extra muscle could hurt you there.

[/quote]

yea your right, my running is lacking a little bit. I have been working on it with sprints and 7 mile runs.

[quote]W8 LOGIC wrote:
Angrypenguin wrote:
The problem I see is your run time and thats what they may be alluding too. You are kicking ass and maxing in all your stregnth moves, but I believe max points for 1.5 mile is 9:30 or 9:00. And you will find most spec ops and even divers are going to be sub-9:00.

Also remember that more muscles means you need more O2. They are going to be trying to drown your ass on a regular basis and the extra muscle could hurt you there.

yea your right, my running is lacking a little bit. I have been working on it with sprints and 7 mile runs.
[/quote]

First, Good luck on your military aspirations.

2nd…If you are trying to increase overall cardiovascular endurance keep running your 7 miles and run some more. BUT, if your trying to run a faster 1.5 mile time, running further won’t help you very much. IMHO you’d be better suited to run no more than 2 miles while trying to better your e.t.

[quote]W8 LOGIC wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
You’re so full of shit. I have many friends in SpecOps and most of them were at least your size or larger. All of them were trying to get bigger and stronger.

If your stats were truthful (a dubious assumption), then you would have the perfect build for combat. I just don’t believe you.

Man, u are such a negative person. I guess all those days working the beat as a cop make u angry. I am not talking about after training dumbass, im talking about during training. Yea i know some SEALs out here who started lifting after BUDs to get bigger. But that is after they finished SQT. I wouldnt be asking members about by size if I was already an EOD tech. Start reading…it helps a little. My stats I represented are quite accurate. I just finshed a PST yesterday and I made measurements last week. I am not making extreme ridiculous statements here. Your negative connotations are an example of your ignorance. All of your posts revolve around bullying people who have questions. Get a life man.[/quote]

No offense and I’m sure that CaliforniaLaw can speak for himself, but some people, yourself included, need a serious dose of reality.

First off, you’re 5’10" 172#. You’re no bodybuilder. I and half my HS football team graduated bigger and more muscular than you (I can understand CaliforniaLaw’s dubiousness). I’m not going to say that no one can be Spec Ops and a bodybuilder at the same time, but it looks like, for you, the two might be mutually exclusive.

Second, you’re at 172#, perpetually at 4-7% bodyfat, doing whatever PT EOD entails, and lifting weights? And you’re 100% certain that lifting weights got you this physique? It sounds like your metabolism is already running in the highest gear and that the problem with your ‘size’ isn’t with the amount of exercise you are or aren’t getting. You’re definitely not going to be bulking up under the current conditions, why would piss off your instructors, consume time that could be used in more skill oriented work, and fail to get hyooge? I might see getting bigger/stronger to pass, but it sounds like you’re not having trouble with physical challenges.

[quote]doiron wrote:

(…and FWIW, I have never seen 115 GOOD push-ups in 2 minutes. Most testers will bust your chops and count half or less just to make you sweat.)[/quote]

Last PRT I did before separation: 127 push-ups. I did that many out of simple pride even though the max was 67 for my age.

They were fast, but I went fully up and fully down to elbows at 90*. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the quality because they’re so fast.

I found that it was a trick to just learn a pace and do them at high speed. Any slower and I could not have done as many for sure, but they were full ROM.

The most reps I do now of anything is 5. I find that much better.

To the OP: it’s standard military indoctrination harassment. Play your own game and focus on the end goal.

No offense and I’m sure that CaliforniaLaw can speak for himself, but some people, yourself included, need a serious dose of reality.

First off, you’re 5’10" 172#. You’re no bodybuilder. I and half my HS football team graduated bigger and more muscular than you (I can understand CaliforniaLaw’s dubiousness). I’m not going to say that no one can be Spec Ops and a bodybuilder at the same time, but it looks like, for you, the two might be mutually exclusive.

Second, you’re at 172#, perpetually at 4-7% bodyfat, doing whatever PT EOD entails, and lifting weights? And you’re 100% certain that lifting weights got you this physique? It sounds like your metabolism is already running in the highest gear and that the problem with your ‘size’ isn’t with the amount of exercise you are or aren’t getting. You’re definitely not going to be bulking up under the current conditions, why would piss off your instructors, consume time that could be used in more skill oriented work, and fail to get hyooge? I might see getting bigger/stronger to pass, but it sounds like you’re not having trouble with physical challenges.[/quote]

Why do all bodybuilders have to be big? I have done BB contests in the past. Weight is just a number. Like I said, most people who see me think i am at least 190 pounds. Hell my large military utility top barely fits my shoulders and arms. I have a small bone structure which combined with lots of muscle makes me look bigger. My friend who is 6’1" and 202pounds has a smaller upper body than me. He just has a large frame. look at GSP he looks a lot bigger than he weighs.

At 5’10 and 172 you’re not too muscular for a figure skater, much less a SF guy.

After reading some of the responses, I have to say that I agree with BradTGIF and others who are saying that you’re being fucking ridiculous. C’mon now.

You ain’t a bodybuilder at that size any more than I am at my size. Stop being delusional.

Like one of the guys said, don’t piss off any instructors at a Special Forces thing.

I can just imagine them telling you to do two hundred pushups, and you saying, “But I’m a bodybuilder, can’t I go to the weightroom?”

Can anyone here say, ‘Gomer Pyle’?

This thread actually really depresses me because I am in the process of training for BUD/S. I knew I would have to lose weight because I was 230(14% bf give or take a few percent.)

I gave myself 10 months to train before leaving, figuring I would not diet down an extreme amount but rather allow body comp to follow my training regime. Basically I do 3 full body workouts a week as a supplement to running and swimming. After two months I’m sitting at 5’10" and 215, but if 172 is too heavy, I’ve got some serious dieting to do because I had been planning to go in at 190. Which I’m still actually planning to do.