CHARLIE MIKE SITREP: May 2009

Teammates – Check out our SITREP (Situation Report) for May - highlighting the depth and breadth of the CM SEAL Team bloggers. Click on their names to read more.


CM SEAL Team blogger: Mike Ryan
Title: Secret Weapon #1
"Cowards never got started and the weak died along the way. Truer words were never spoken. The first time I read this quote I was standing at parade-rest waiting to begin my first day of SEAL training. The words were carved into a wooden bench that stood just inside the doors of the Naval Special Warfare Center. At my feet, just in front of the bench, stood a perfect line of about 30 helmets - the last remnants of students who had reached their mental and physical limits and quit training. Predictably, my initial reaction was a mix of skepticism and sarcasm. “Yea” I thought, “that’s a little bit over-the-top.” About twenty minutes later I realized my worst nightmare had just begun.



CM SEAL Team blogger: Tom Rancich
Title: A Debt of Memory to Brothers and Sisters, Gratefully Paid
Memorial Day has always had an identity crisis. Even in the very beginning, it was only for Union soldiers, not merging all "Decoration Day" activities until after World War One. In 1971, Memorial Day became the last Monday in May instead of May 30. This move, designed to create a three-day weekend, irritated many by adding to the day an air of celebration instead of reflection: picnics, parades, ballgames, sales -- the start of the summer party. That doesn't bother me: somewhere in the 1.5 million soldiers remembered every Memorial Day there is certainly someone who would have really enjoyed another picnic, parade, ball game or day shopping. Some of those sacrificed would have liked one more party or one more prayer. It's all good.

CM SEAL Team blogger: Marcus Colburn
Title: MMA Fighters: Modern Day Gladiators
They entered the ring to the sound of rap, rock, old-school hip-hop, reggae, and even country-and-western, but the one thing every fighter at Saturday’s UFC (mixed martial arts fighting) event had in common was a powerful athletic physique built from metabolic resistance training. These modern-day warriors know better than to do bodybuilding, because those workouts just take too long and leave you puffed up, slow, and inflexible. That’s not how modern man should be – or look.



CM SEAL Team blogger: Stew Smith
Title: Stew Smith's Bodyweight Exercise Plan: Part I
Calisthenics, or bodyweight exercises, originated thousands of years ago in ancient Greece and have been a major component of fitness in athletics, military, law enforcement, and daily fitness for home workouts without equipment. Here is a request from a Perfect Pushup user in our YouTube group seeking to do more exercises without having to go to a gym.

"I need help in making a full body bodyweight routine. Any advice/sample that you can offer? I am seventeen and have been using the Perfect Pushup on and off for a year now."
CM SEAL Team blogger: Tim Grizzell
Title: Completing a Marathon: IV (a): The TAPER
Hello Charlie Mike teammates – I was initially going to cover just the day of the race in the final post of my marathon series. After reviewing a previous answer to CM teammate, Joe G., regarding tapering, it was suggested that I should cover this topic and break up the blog up into two parts: tapering and the day of the race. It was a great idea!

Tapering is very important if you want to post a good marathon time. It gives your body the opportunity to recover from all of the hard training you put in leading up to the race. You can replenish energy, rejuvenate muscles and possibly kick any nagging injuries you might have up to this point.

Teammates -- Mike, Tom, Marcus, Stew, Tim, Sav -- all of them get the meaning of CHARLIE MIKE -- that it's "An Attitude of Action" and they're preaching what they practice. Drop on Down and Get Fired UP for pushing out and pulling up after you read what my Teammates have to say.

CHARLIE MIKE – ALDEN