THE BARRACKS GYM
  • Home
  • Training
    • Fitness Programs
    • Online Coaching
    • Swim Programs
  • Support
    • TBG Method
    • Resources
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Login

BLOGS

Get REGULAR Updates from THE BARRACKS GYM TEAM
Get Email Updates
Listen to Podcast

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR UPPER BODY STRENGTH FOR THE ADF

7/3/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
When we think of an upper body exercise that’s relevant to the military, I bet the first thing that comes to mind is Push ups!
​Push ups are probably the number one foundational exercise in the ADF. Not only is it in your fitness assessment but it’s also a great exercise to do when you have no equipment available. BUT… aside from them being a great exercise, doing push ups alone will not guarantee you’ll have enough upper body strength to endure the rigours of military life.
​

​Why Are Push Ups Such A Great Exercise?
Push ups can be done anywhere! In the gym, at home, at the beach, in the park...you couldn’t even do them in bed. You can progress them by raising your feet off the ground, you could do them one handed or you could change the position of hands to make them more difficult, you can even do hand-stand push ups if you are feeling hardcore. You can make them explosive and do clap push ups or you can turn them into an endurance activity and do hundreds of them. The list goes on.

Why Are Push Ups Alone Not Enough To Build Upper Body Strength?
‘Push’ is only one movement. Let’s think about what movements you’ll do in the military that aren’t ‘pushing’ movements. Rope climbing and scaling obstacles, carrying stores such as water jerry’s and stretchers, lifting equipment into the back of trucks, dragging your wounded buddy out of a danger area, wearing body armour and carry a heavy pack. As you can see, there are many activities and movements that require you to have upper body strength, that can’t be developed by just doing push ups.

What Other Exercises Will Help Develop My Upper Body Strength?
Rope Climbing and Scaling Obstacles 
  • Pull ups and chin ups including flexed arm hangs where you hang off a bar with your arms bent at 90degrees 
Carrying Stores
  • Deadlifts using barbells, trap bars, kettlebells and sandbags
  • Farmers carry with trap bars, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags and other objects with different handles such as water jerrys
  • Variations of rows such as bent over rows, torso rows, seated rows and single arm dumbbell rows
Lifting equipment into the back of trucks
  • Deadlifts and variations of the olympic ‘clean’ movement using barbells, sandbags or objects such as boxes and crates
  • Variations of rows such as bent over rows, torso rows, seated rows and single arm dumbbell rows
  • Overhead pressing with barbells, dumbbells and sandbags
Dragging your wounded buddy out of a danger area
  • Variations of deadlifts
  • Variations of rows such as bent over rows, torso rows, seated rows and single arm dumbbell rows
  • Rear sled drags with varying handles such as straps and ropes
  • Fireman carries with sandbags, dummies and training partners
Wearing body armour and carrying packs
  • Core development with a focus on planks, both sides and front. Anti rotational exercises such as Pallof press, deadbugs and single arm carries.
  • Slow introduction to load carriage which means walking for a certain distance or time while carrying a light pack or weight vest and slowly adding small amounts of weight each month to condition your body. 

How Do I Add All Of This Into My Training Program?
There is a lot to consider but as with anything to do with fitness, start light or just use your bodyweight and focus on efficient movement then start to add small amounts of weight each week. 

You don’t need to try and fit everything into one week. Think of breaking this down over a month and focus on a couple of exercises each week. Two upper body sessions a week is enough to get and keep you on track. You can also add core training onto the end of each of your training sessions. 

DROP THE EGO!!! 

It’s so easy to think you’re a seasoned weightlifter but that will only lead to injury. Small amounts often is the key. Especially with pack marching, you may feel fine after throwing 30kg in your pack after your first ever pack march but in fact you are doing extreme damage to your body that will come out over the next 6 to 12 months which will see you sidelined. One pack march every 2 weeks is enough to begin to condition your body. Starting with 5kg in your pack is also fine. At least you won’t have potential career ending injuries in the next 12 months.


Don’t hesitate to get yourself a coach for the more advanced movements such as deadlifts and bent over rows. The education will go a long way.
​
For any further information on building upper body strength for the ADF then please don’t hesitate to get in touch and speak to one of our expert coaches in helping you out.
1 Comment
James_342 link
4/12/2022 06:56:52 am

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this is a very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Most Popular


    • How to Improve Your Beep Test in One Week
    • ​A Simple Method to Improve Your 2.4km ADF Fitness Test Run Time
    • How to Improve Your Beep Test Results​

    Trusted Partner


    We work with the best service provider for Defence and First Responders.
    Picture
    ​

    Get Social


    Categories


    All
    Beep Test
    Case Studies
    Fitness At Officer Training
    Kapooka
    Mindset
    Nutrition
    OTS
    PFA
    RMC

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2024
    July 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

Services

ADF & Police Training 
Podcast

Guidance

​Blog 
TBG Method
​Resources

Support

Contact
Website Disclaimer
​
Client Agreement
Australian Defence Force Disclaimer

© COPYRIGHT 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Training
    • Fitness Programs
    • Online Coaching
    • Swim Programs
  • Support
    • TBG Method
    • Resources
    • Blog
  • Contact
  • Login