Getting Ripped on the Road

Lots of questions come in regarding how to get in shape while traveling. I never thought much about it in SEAL Team, because our workouts were so engrained in us that it was like brushing our teeth – it didn’t matter where we were we always did workout. Whether hanging out on the tarmac in the Azores while waiting for our C-5 ride or in mission prep mode in Sarajevo – we did a workout daily – period.


So before you go down the natural excuse list of “I don’t have workout clothes” or the “gym at this hotel sucks” or “it’s raining outside" (never a good excuse) or whatever the little demon inside your head conjures up to convince you to hit the couch instead of Firing Up your weapon’s platform (SEAL speak for your body) – understand this: you ARE in control of your body – you just need to flick the switch in your brain and get your gut Fired UP. Once you’ve decided that you’re ready to be the master and commander of your ship – then try these simple but very effective workouts (I used these to get ready for the Hornet filming since I was traveling with family up until the day prior to the shoot).

Pushup Day: 400 pushups in one day – that’s it. I used the Perfect Pushup Mobile but you don’t have to – just drop and give yourself honest pushups sets throughout the day – in my case I paced it at 20 sets of 20 reps – and alternated between regular, close, and wide positions. Once you get comfortable with 400/day – try to ramp to 1000/day – that’s what Herschel Walker was doing in his Heisman Trophy winning days (he claims to have used no weights in his earlier training days – just bodyweight exercises). If 400 sounds too much – then start at 100. Here’s a rule of thumb that I use – do your max number of pushups – in my case it was 40 that morning – then multiply by 10 and that’s the total I did for the day. As you progress, keep re-multiplying and challenging yourself with bigger pushup numbers.

Check back in – let me know about your success – and stay tuned for a whole new set of workouts (and videos!) coming soon. In the meantime, check out our new Mobile Unit TV commercial on the site.

Stay Fired UP!

CHARLIE MIKE - ALDEN

Dropping Down on the USS Hornet

Here’s some breaking news Teammates – we just completed our latest filming sequence on a piece of floating history – the USS Hornet. Located in Alameda, California, the most recent USS Hornet (CV-12) was commissioned in 1943. The Hornet fought gallantly during WW II, destroying 1,410 Japanese Zeroes. Fast forward to 1969: the Hornet recovered the capsules containing the Apollo 11 and 12 astronauts. The ship’s creed is “A Heritage of Excellence” – if you’re visiting the Bay area, explore the ship and climb up to the flight deck.

I’ll leave the film details as a surprise – but the concept is to educate folks on the fact that you can take control of your body anywhere and anytime using the power of the pushup. So get yourself Fired UP and drop on down!

BREAK

We're running on all cylinders these days so I really appreciate guest blogger Tom Rancich Charlie Miking for me last week. I met Tom during BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL) training. I was class leader of BUD/S Class 181 but was pulled out for medical reasons and rolled into Class 182. Tom was the class leader of BUD/S Class 182 – when I came in halfway through as the assistant class leader. Tom was pulled for medical reasons but I was secured. And the story Tom tells is that he was the one to get my guys into shape, thus making my job ever so much easier! And here we are, years later, and Tom's still making my job easier -- thanks brother!!

Look for some other former SEALs to step up and share some great fitness and motivational advice: like my Swim Buddy Stew Smith (check him out on my blog roll).


CHARLIE MIKE

ALDEN