Ask Stew: Am I Ready for Group Training?

Group training can be a fun way to meet challenging physical goals, and its competitive nature will push you harder than you may push yourself. However, there are a few disadvantages as well. You may not be ready for the level of intensity of the group, or a particular group may be too easy for you.

Here is an email from a young man who wants to serve and is looking for a group of like-minded people:

Hey Stew, I am in my first year of college and I have a running injury that has made my training schedule very inconsistent. I haven’t been focusing on running and have been more focused on building size in the gym (gained 15 lbs). I was rarely running over 3-5 miles weekly during the fall semester. I am now in the process of trying out for a training program at my university designed to help people who want to do special ops. They require running in boots (which I have never done) and far greater mileage than I’ve ever done (probably around 20-30 miles a week). I’m just a few days in and the shin splints are bad. What would you do in this situation? Thank you, Roger

Roger – those groups are great, and I have been running one locally here for over 20 years now, but you cannot jump right into high miles without preparing and building up to it. There are also many factors at play here that are affecting your performance and subjecting you to injuries again. Here is a long list of reasons why you may not be ready to join such a group this semester:

1. New to running again

The last thing you want to do is to jump from 3-5 miles per week of running to more than four times that distance in one week. Building up to 20 miles a week will take 8-10 weeks on a progressive 10%-15% increase each week to your current mileage if you do not experience shin pain or other overuse injuries when adding volume. See Beginner Running Plan for ideas of progressions.

2. Running in boots

You should not add boots to your feet until you have been able to build up your total miles per week to at least 10-12. Make sure you break in the boots first, wear two pairs of socks and walk in them long before you start running in them. Some boots these days are more like black high-top running shoes, compared to the combat boots of the last century, so you may not need to spend much time breaking them in, nor worry too much about starting a running plan with them.

Once you build up to 10-12 miles per week, make one of your runs in boots each week. Do that for a month before you add a second run in boots per week until you build up over time to about 50% of your runs in boots. Consider the Nike Combat Gen 2 Boot. since these actually are issued at SEAL training now.

3. Weight gain

The fact that you can gain weight so fast is a product of you lifting weights, eating more and that you’re still growing at 18 years old. The increased weight will make running more difficult, but it is not impossible to run when heavier. That weight can take a toll on you if you are not used to running and being 15 pounds heavier. Give your progression time and maybe consider running every other day. Use non-impact cardio options, such as biking, rowing, the elliptical machine or swimming, to build your neglected aerobic base as you start again. But you’re doing a good job putting on mass, as you also need to be strong.

4. Group training

Most group training programs like the one that you are thinking about joining do not have a coach. They’re usually led by upperclassmen who are creating pre-spec ops-level programming for themselves as they are about to graduate and start various selection programs.

If there is no way to scale the workouts for beginner underclassmen, or someone to assist with personalizing these workouts, you will want to wait to prepare yourself for the level of fitness the group requires.

I coach such a group at the Naval Academy, and it is the job of the juniors and seniors to mentor the underclassmen on how to personalize the workouts for their level and avoid the many types of overuse and poor technique injuries that can occur to new members on the team. In turn, the underclass members see the level of fitness they need to achieve to be successful on the team and beyond through selection.

5. Programming

Now you need to start a logical progression of calisthenics and cardio training through this semester, with goals to work on aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. There likely will be fitness tests you have to take, so make sure you are addressing all the events on which you know you will be tested in this group and in the military after you finish college.

During this semester and a productive summer of training, you can be at the level of fitness required to handle the workout group’s daily volume of calisthenics, weights, running and rucking. Right now, though, you need more time to prepare.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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