Today, I’m very pleased to bring you an interview with Caleb (name and rank removed), who has been a friend of my family since childhood. Caleb has had a dream of becoming a Navy SEAL since he was in middle school, and has been seriously preparing for this daunting career for over a decade. Having just graduated from the United States Naval Academy with orders to arrive for the first phase of SEAL training later this year, I wanted to get together with him to discuss his preparation before he leaves.
John and Caleb atop Mt. Lafayette (June 2011).
For those who aren’t familiar with Naval Special Forces, SEAL training is the most physically demanding profession in our nation’s military (and arguably, among every military force in the world). Long, cold swims, beach runs in combat boots and BDU pants, and hours upon hours of physical training daily are just a small part of Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL school (BUD/S). Many fit, young men sign up for a chance at SEAL training and are quickly humbled, dropping out in the first several weeks. There is a very high attrition rate, no doubt, because of the extremely difficult physical conditions, among other things. Classes of over 200 may dwindle down to less than 50 in the first several weeks of training – and even fewer graduate.
Navy SEAL’s are our nation’s top special operators. These are the men who take on the work that nobody else wants to do – the work that most soldiers would consider impossible. It should go without saying that only the most committed men become Navy SEAL’s – the men who want it badly enough. This goes well beyond physical conditioning, as you will learn from Caleb in this interview.
In a speech given to the graduates of BUD/S class 224, the SOCOM Chief said:
Very few ever get to where you are today. You only graduate from BUD/S training once. It marks the completion of the toughest military training in the world. In a society where mediocrity is too often the standard, and too often rewarded, there is intense fascination with men who detest mediocrity, who refuse to define themselves in conventional terms, and who seek to transcend traditionally recognized human capabilities. This is exactly the type of person BUD/S is meant to find. The man who will find a way to complete each and every task to the best of his ability. The man who will adapt and overcome any and all obstacles. -From the Class 224 Graduation Speech Given by the SOCOM Chief
Caleb embodies this description, and has done so with humility for many years. Some would say that he was born this way, but I know the truth. Caleb has worked extremely hard to get to where he is today. This opportunity was not handed to him on a silver platter. He had to earn it, and it has taken years of hard work and many sacrifices to get to this point. In my mind, it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a Navy SEAL.
Interview with Caleb (name and rank removed) – future Navy SEAL
Caleb is a man whom we could all learn a lot from, and he shares some invaluable lessons in this candid and informative interview. Some topics covered in this interview include:
How to train like a Navy SEAL
What it really takes to have a good chance for graduating BUD/S (way beyond the minimum requirements)
The difference between conditioning and caring
Why desire is infinitely more powerful than any quantifiable fitness standard
The secret to overcoming almost any physical trial
Pickup truck fitness VS sports car fitness (or the difference between specialized and generalized training)
Insider tips for those with an interest in a career in Naval special forces
Up until a few minutes ago, I had NO IDEA it was National Running Day T-O-D-A-Y! Actually, I didn’t even know we had holidays for running until now. They even have an official website. Spiffy – and very exciting too! I wasn’t planning on going for a run today, but I will be now that I know I’ll be sharing the roads with countless others. We’ll see if Ronin is up for it on a hot, sunny day like today (Ronin is my “sorta-kinda-really-doesn’t-feel-like-running-THAT-far-today” dog) This event sparked a reminder for a little story about a recent road race I “competed” in with a couple of my brothers.
Three goofy-looking people eager to lose a road race.
I still remember my cross country running days like they were yesterday. The anticipation before a big race and the stomach butterflies that came along with the little mind gremlins. I remember the dry mouth, achy knees, and sweat tickling me as it dripped off the tip of my nose. I remember the determination I had to run as hard and fast as I possibly could every step – straight through the finish line. I remember the dizziness, wheezing and coughing afterward, and that I would lace up my shoes again the next day for more. I ran thousands of miles and dozens of cross country races before my body broke down and doctors told me I would never run again. That was about eight years ago.
But last month on a beautiful Saturday morning, I wasn’t experiencing any of that. I wasn’t nervous or tired. I wasn’t in pain or at all uncomfortable. I wasn’t even in a rush. I was relaxed and even comfortable as I bounded along the back roads of Bedford, NH – the town where I grew up. But before we get to that, let’s back up to the beginning of the race. Continue reading How to Lose a 5k Road Race
This one is for my first serious training partner, Ethan. Good times, buddy.
This is where Barney the dinosaur used to live until he got kicked out for singing too loudly.
I used to have a gym membership. That is, until the day one particular “fitness” club kicked me out for… get this – working TOO HARD?!
That’s right. I was working out too hard for the management’s comfort zone, and they gave me the boot. But there’s a little more to the story.
This was your typical 24-hour health club. I signed up because they were running a special offer at a ridiculously low rate with a no-penalty “cancel anytime” policy. Their business strategy appeared to be “get as many signups as we can, and hope most of them don’t actually come and clog up the gym floor.” This particular gym was my go-to spot for over a year. I made some great gains there, and by anyone’s standards, I was milking my membership for all it was worth.
Now, when I say this was a typical health club, I’m sortof, kindof, maybe stretching the truth just a bit. This place was FAR from typical, and FAR from anything I’d ever want to encounter again – both as a customer and personal trainer. Let me paint a word picture for you… Continue reading That Glorious Day When My Gym Kicked Me Out For Working Too Hard
Lately, I’ve seen articles, headlines, and advertising that all have one theme in common…
The one thing you need to do to lose weight
The one secret that nobody is telling you for how to build massive muscles
The one trick to jump-start your metabolism
The one supplement everybody needs, but nobody knows about
The one strategy celebrities use to build movie-muscles in just weeks
You’ve probably seen titles like this, too. Each one is boasting not just a solution to a modern problem, but THE solution. It’s like they’re saying, if you know this one thing, it’ll change your life for the better. Maybe true, but I think there’s a little more to this than meets the eye…
Now, let me get one thing straight before we begin. I am NOT against offering tips and solutions that provide tangible benefits to people who need help. You’ll find that I do this all the time on Physical Living. Good information is not the problem – it’s the misrepresentation or misapplication of good information.
Let me show you an example of how this “one thing” marketing technique can be abused…
The one thing you need to do to lose weight… is start the new ABC exercise program.
This may not be untrue, but it can be incredibly misleading. You see, this statement implies that if you only do one thing, you’ll lose weight. It sounds too good to be true, and often it is. What that statement does NOT indicate is that weight loss is a little more complicated than that. It’s not very complicated – in fact, it’s very simple – but not so simple that one minor change will produce the desired results every time. That statement doesn’t explain that almost everyone who starts a new exercise program also increases their daily calorie intake somewhat subconsciously. It’s the body’s natural way of finding homeostasis. If you start burning more energy, your appetite will increase to compensate for the immediate loss of energy in the form of calories burned. Unless you actively prevent an increase in daily calorie consumption in addition to your new exercise program, you have a very poor chance of losing weight. I bet you didn’t discern that from the ad, though.
The truth is that there are quite many things missing from one simple promise like that. Problems, and especially health and fitness problems, are very rarely solved by making just one change to our lifestyle, but from a combination of things. Continue reading The ONE Thing You Need to Know About Your Fitness
I just returned from a 3-day adventure in Camden Hills State Park in Maine (not far from Acadia National Park). Yes, it’s mid February, and yes I just got back from a backpacking/camping trip in the middle of winter. I spent the better part of the last three days with an aluminum frame pack on my back, hanging out with 8 other companions (9, including our dog), including the Tougas family, whom I introduced to you last year here. We spent the days lugging around our packs through the snowy hills and mountain in Camden – stuffed full of sleeping bags, extra layers of clothing, and most importantly FOOOOOOOOOD. I think I probably carried more weight in food than anything else. Some would argue that we ate better while camping than at home! Our weekend trip was a delightful adventure and it ended far too soon.
Note: This is part 2 of The Problem With Research series. Part 1 is here.
The truth is more important than the facts. Frank Lloyd Wright
FACTS.
They’re everywhere. You can find facts in a book, in a magazine, or on the World Wide Web. You can find people talking about facts on the news, in a political convention, or at a health professional conference. You can find facts almost everywhere you go because our culture bombards us with facts supporting this and facts supporting that. Facts are literally being fired off in every direction just like free throws in one of Shaq’s basketball games.
Here’s a brain-crasher: facts aren’t always true. In fact, some facts are false… deceptive… even lies. Other times facts are an illusion of the truth, but have been skewed into half-truths (this means that they’re not true!). There are a great many things that differentiate the truth from the facts.
Facts can be interpreted many different ways. Truth is known.
Facts can be used as evidence to support an opinion. Truth supersedes opinions.
Facts can be used out of context to create the illusion of truth. Truth is absolute.
The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is. Winston Churchill
The one thing you need to do to lose weight
