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In The Five Rules of Training, rule one covers the idea that you need to train general physical ability to give you a base level of fitness to springboard off of. Here I will go into some details about what this means and how to train for preparedness.
What Preparedness Covers
It's worth noting that terms like âGeneral Physical Preparednessâ have shared definitions (âŚgeneral conditioning to improve strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, structure and skill), but they're without nuance and detail. Trainers need to add their own opinions and personality to the definition for it to be workable, so here's how I see it.
Preparedness is your body's basic ability to move - fast, slow, forcefully, up, down, side to side, under load - and to move well, for a long time. In practical terms, it is your ability to run, jump, throw, crawl, carry, and climb. The sorts of activities kids do for fun on playgrounds.
Training Preparedness
There are plenty of âGPPâ or âmetconâ workouts in the wild that can cover all of the above. You can also get by simply regularly playing most sports. Honestly, preparedness is best trained by doing a variety of physical activies that you enjoy - hiking, cycling, rock climbing, volleyball, whatever. But thatâs not really me - and if that's not you either, I have a method for prepardedness training that I enjoy:
Each session, choose 5-7 exercises from the list below. Don't choose anything that too hard or too easy - you'll want to be able to do each one continuously 10-20 times or for 10-30 seconds. Itâs okay to get this wrong, just make changes next time.
Order the exercises so that similar activities are not back to back - don't put two jumping exercises together, or two twisting motions, etc. Sometimes you won't be able to separate everything, so itâs best to stick the overlap as close to the front of the order as you can.
Go through your chosen exercises one by one and do each one until youâre near exhaustion. Don't allow yourself to fail, just work until it gets hard, when youâre breathing heavy, when your arms and legs want to quit and you can see failure coming for you. Then rest around 30-60 seconds and move on to the next exercise. Don't count reps or time or anything, just put in work.
Once through the list is a "roundâ. Rest for 2-3 minutes and then do another round. Complete 5-7 rounds like this, and then you're done.
The idea here is that youâre working a variety of exercises that cover the breadth of preparedness, and simply putting in work. Thereâs no real progression here, but itâs also not âbusy workâ. You do this with purpose: to improve your preparedness for other skills, practice, and training.
The Exercises
This is a non-exhaustive list of exercises that can be used for this style of training. Include your own, if you want, but stay away from any sort of movements that are overly complex, require excessive skill, or safety gear. Stick to basic, simple movements that mimic running, jumping, throwing, crawling, carrying, and climbing.
Basics
These movements involve higher intensity running, to fit the 10-30s requirement. Theyâre not light jogs, but also not all out killer sprints.
Explosiveness
These exercises work your ability to express lower body power quickly.
Rotations and Twists
Rotations and twists train the body in an X across the torso, which covers a number of athletic endeavors like throwing or punching.
Actually Throwing Things (sandbags, more sandbags, medicine balls, tires, etc)
Crawling
Crawling works overall stability as well as the pushing muscles of the upper body.
Heavy Stuff
Donât neglect the ability to move heavy objects around in all of this.
Climbing
These exercises work pulling musculature and grip strength.
Inverted Rows (bar, rings, or anything else)
Again, these lists are not exhaustive. I chose three broad exercise groups for each category, and provided some variety where I could. Chose whatever you want to do from session to session - you canât do it wrong. Just get in there and put in the work.
Wrap Up
If youâre new to exercise, or generally have lower levels of athleticism or fitness, despite working out, you usually need to work on your preparedness. Try the routine above 1-3 times per week for a few weeks and see how you feel.
Even if you already train a certain way, it generally canât hurt to including this training along side, perhaps 1-2 days a week.
Build your base and breadth of preparedness, and you will see improvement in many of your physical pursuits.