18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pick up your swim fins and run with me!, July 13, 2004
I got this book as a companion piece to Flach's book on Marine Corps fitness. The author Andrew Flach is a fitness expert, joined by a well-known freelance photographer, Peter Field Peck. This book is part of the Five Star Fitness Series that looks at the kinds of workouts of all the branches of the military. My father was in the military, as are many close friends, and I have always admired their fitness achievements - thus it makes sense I might opt for a military-inspired fitness programme.
This book is not simply a workout book. It is an introduction to the Navy SEALs. There is more to SEAL fitness than just doing push-ups and beach/swimming workouts. When you are in BUD/S training, the mind is shaped as much as the body. To help with this history and mindset, the authors consulted (according to the credits) officers from the Pentagon and the Navy Special Warfare Centre in California.
In addition to the workouts listed here, there are pictures and essay snapshots of what potential SEALs actually endure in training. This book also gives some basic history of the SEALs, and what it takes to be one. The very first page asks the reader - can you swim 500 yards in 12.5 minutes, do 42 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, eight pull-ups, and then run 1.5 miles in 11.5 minutes? If so, you've just passed the bare minimum entrance requirements for the SEALs. This is tough stuff!
The heart of the book discusses the various exercises that are used in the SEAL training. Many of these are common to other workout programmes, but some are unique. This includes stretches, upper-body, pull-ups and dips (as a separate item), running and swimming, lower body, and abdominal training. Pull-ups are listed as a separate section for good reason - while the push-up is considered the 'classic' military exercise, in fact the pull-up is more strenuous, and more determinative of one's ability to really pull one's own weight. This includes many variations of the pull-up, including the 'cliffhangers', a special side-oriented pull-up strongly identified with SEAL training.
There is a section on the 'O' course, the obstacle course. It is unlikely that any particular reader will have access to an obstacle course like those at SEAL training, but looking at this, one gets the sense of the toughness of the training, and there are various parts of the course that can be somewhat duplicated in 'the real world'.
The book has a section on nutrition (as every fitness book seems incomplete without at least a gloss of this topic), and is rather more full than other nutrition sections I've seen in earlier books in this series. Do be careful not to follow this guide for caloric intake if not doing the workouts - adding thousands of calories to the intake without spending them on exercise will not help fitness at all
There are listing for prep workout programmes for those getting ready for SEAL traning, and then a five level listing of full-body workouts under the 'official' SEAL section. These are in fact developed by the authors and their consultants - SEAL training, like much of military training, is constantly evolving, and some of it is classified, and some requires equipment civilians and/or individuals are not likely to have. So, allowances must be made for this.
The photographs are utilitarian and useful - black and white, not glossy and colourful; the point here is the exercise, not the subject exercising. This is a tough programme, but one that will yield results, given dedication and discipline.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is terrific !!, December 9, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Official United States Navy Seal Workout (Military Fitness) (Paperback)
As an avid exerciser and fitness enthusiast, this book is highly recommended! With this book I can challenge and test my peak performance levels which really helps. The pictures are motivating, the workout schedules are great and the overall content is super. My nephew has never been in to fitness, but after seeing this, he's ready to go! In addition, as a former active duty navy Sailor, I'm very familiar with the SEALs and their program so it's great to see the "real deal" and not some bogus writing by someone who 'claims' to be a SEAL...... I recommend this to anyone who wants to start a program, keep up with one or just use it for the heck of it. Highly recommended for anyone young or old, male or female. Keep up the good work!!!!
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid primer on Navy Seal Conditioning, February 18, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Official United States Navy Seal Workout (Military Fitness) (Paperback)
This book is an excellent primer on Navy SEAL conditioning. Seems to be pimarily for people interested in setting the stage for the kind of intense training that being a SEAL entails without demanding that they subordinate their entire lives to a Navy SEAL's fitness priorities. Basically, I'm this type of person. I have no chance of matching the physical prowess of a Navy SEAL, and thank heavens this book doesn't require me to. What it does is open the door to using the kinds of exercises that will keep me in great shape and even enable me to raise my workout intensity a notch or two without severely altering my lifestyle. The workouts are all straightforward and well-presented, and I felt comfortable mixing them into my regimen. Pretty cool. I recommend it.
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