Concussions and Brain Damage: What do the Military and NFL Have in Common?

One thing that the NFL and the military have, besides “love of the game” is the potential for brain trauma. This is certainly not the pretty side of military service, or of playing football, but it happens none-​​the-​​less.

The good news is that because of the budgets, resources, research, science, and investment in gear (and sharing of knowledge) by both industries, soldiers and players may get the tools and care they need to keep healthy long after they hang up their uniforms.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the issues from the standpoint of the NFL because what we are seeing in the sports arena is spilling onto the battlefield and vice-​​versa.

Can Strong Bones Lead to a Weak Heart?

Did you know that people who exclusively supplement with calcium or take an average multi-​​mineral supplement with calcium could be laying a foundation for poor cardiovascular health?

Your body is not an island. Everything works together, for better or worse. It’s very hard to address a single health concern with a single supplement or a single food. Yes, there are great super-​​foods and adaptogens out there, and every day we are discovering more about the functions of a single vitamin or mineral. However, we are also realizing just how much they all work together.

Your body is in a constant state of construction with millions of cells turning over every day. Cell regeneration is a group project. Just like your military unit, and just like the mission of the military as a whole.

5 Keys to Recovery Supplements for Military Training

Hard-​​core training needs a strategy, recovery supplements for military training…and some testicular fortitude.

Recovery is where you replace what you’ve used, but also where you build up and fortify the muscles so they remain healthy, strong and ready rather than fatigued, depleted and damaged. The latter will lead to injury which can put you out of commission.

ASVAB Test: Working Out Your Brain

Before military training comes the ASVAB test. The better prepared you are, the more opportunities you’re going to have. It’s that simple.
Some people naturally do well on tests. Others struggle. Not so much because they’re not capable of answering the questions, but because it may be hard to focus or they just get nervous at the thought of a written test.

Luckily, the same thing that help you prepare for physically for military training can help you prepare mentally for the ASVAB.

Competitive Sports Military Training: Can Cross Training Improve your Skills?

Competitive sports training whether it’s on a military sports team or for recreation requires ability and skill. Some argue that skills can be learned; but, ability is something more innate.

This may or may not be true. After all, there are plenty of zero to hero stories out there that tell how someone with little skill or ability was able to overcome the odds and win an event as a results of their desire and passion.

There is no doubt that cross training can build muscle and endurance. But does that transfer to making you better at your sport? In fact, some studies suggest that training programs like the use of weighted objects (such as wearing a weighted vest when you run to make you run faster once the vest is removed) actually do little more than provide the perception that you’re running faster once you’re lighter.

The Top 2 Fitness Concerns: Keeping it Simple

Every person has health concerns.

What concerns you most is going to depend on your current level of fitness, your personal goals, your family history, and all those vanity and virility issues that we obsess over.

So what did our readers say when we asked them: What are your top fitness concerns?

Being Too Big: Avoiding a Bodybuilder Heart Attack

Can you ever be too much?

Too fast, too big, too intense, too focused? The being too big bodybuilder heart attack debate is always brewing in the gym and in the lab. Some people wonder if it’s healthy, others wonder how they can get the same results.
However, when a bodybuilder or fitness enthusiast dies a few months after suffering from a massive heart attack…people start to wonder if all the muscle building is worth it.

Techno-​​training for Military: Virtual Worlds and Computer Games

Military training is the key component for military readiness. It includes physical preparedness and being mentally fit, which you have complete control over through your workouts and nutritional choices.

The part of military training that you don’t control is that training provided by your military unit.

These are the training exercises you do – both “old school” and now with simulations using the latest technology. This advanced training using the most modern technology is something that many at the top of the food chain fight for when budgets are being decided.

But this is not a political blog, so we’re not going to go into what’s right or wrong with that whole system. While support for our front line soldiers is a priority for most, the ongoing investment in the military training of soldiers of the future is always under pressure.

Finally! Proof that Soldier ARE Athletes

Before Columbus, the world was flat. But that crazy Italian just didn’t buy it. He went against “common” knowledge of his day and sailed unchartered waters…literally!

Well, just like any solid idea it sometimes takes a little bit of time for “common” knowledge to be overturned and then for it to rock established guidelines. It seems like the value of sports training being embraced by our military. In a recent news article it was reported that Joint Base Lewis-​​McChord and Madigan Healthcare System have begun setting up a clinic that will enhance the care of soldiers.

Swimming Intervals and Open Water Training

Running and swimming are great for cardiovascular improvement when training for the Navy Seals. We’ve talked in previous articles about the benefits of running so in this article we’re going to cover swim training with intervals.

Since you’re goal is to be prepared for duties as a Navy Seal then you want to create a fitness training program that uses the principle of “specificity of training.” This is just a fancy way to say workout and practice doing what you will actually be doing on the job. And when you’re training for the Navy Seals, you’ve got to swim.

Overtraining? Pissed Off? Military and Personal Sports Training Gone Wrong

Are you getting ready for military bootcamp? Navy Seal Buds Training? Or an endurance event like the Marine Marathon or Ironman event? Or are you simply trying to stay in shape so when you strap on that Kevlar vest you know you’re ready for anything that comes your way?

In any case, guys that try too hard, too fast with their personal sports training programs can end up tired, fatigued, burnt out, and actually have trouble concentrating when it matters the most.

These are just some of the signs that you might be overtraining.

Run, Swim, Urban Combat: Training to be a Navy Seal

Training to be a Navy Seal means more than just passing the physical test. It’s more than making it through Navy Hell Week. Sure, these things are important but the rubber hits the road the minute your boots hit the ground on an actual mission.

You have to train so that you’re building muscles and endurance that have a direct impact on your job. You have to practice to that each maneuver becomes second nature…as natural and effortless as breathing. You need the kind of training that will actually help you in your job.

What do I mean by that? Well, cycling gives you a great cardio workout and helps improve the heart, true. But it’s not going to give you a huge advantage when you’re humping an 80 pound pack over uneven terrain to get to your target.

Last time I checked, soldiers don’t ride bicycles into combat!

Speed Training Programs for a Better Personal Best

Sports training  involves various conditioning methods like a speed training program, endurance training, or strength training. Each
has a purpose based on the desired outcome.

You might have an upcoming sports event or want to stay fit for military, special ops, or Seal training. Or, you might be training for an event such as the Marine Marathon and you want to learn how to run faster.

This Aint no 9–5 Gig: Sleep Deprivation and Shift Work

Being a soldier is not a 9–5 job. Especially in combat. You don’t clock in after your morning cup of joe, or clock out when the factory whistle blows. Being a soldier has its perks, and you can have a deep sense of satisfaction and personal enjoyment for what you do.

It’s just that soldiers don’t work normal shifts…and the effects of sleep deprivation on your body can negatively affect your work unless you strengthen your system with the right fitness and best dietary supplement routine.

You need the nutrients that will help handle sleep deprivation and extreme conditions and still have peak performance in everything you do. For some, odd shifts may be temporary as in military training; other times it will continue for an extended period. Know how to keep your rhythm in check and keep healthy.

When a Marine Becomes a Marine: Marines Hell Week

At what point do you make the transformation from civilian to Marine?

For some men it’s going through the Marines Hell Week (its unofficial name). It’s that moment when you climb “the Reaper.”

As one recent graduate commented, “When you get to the top, you’re basically a Marine…”

And getting to the top, instead of having to ring out is the main challenge during the Marines Hell week. After all, many go into the Military service with the hope that their lives will mean something…they will make a difference.

And some join the Marines out of spite. As one veteran said, “My father, a U.S. Army vet, told me to join any branch of the armed forces except the Marines. Thus I joined the Marines.”

Others out of pride when their dad says, “Remember, you are representing the family.”

And still others, such as DeContee Socree who grew up in the war-​​torn country of Liberia, join because of what they saw, “Because of the help the Marines gave to my people, I decided to join the Marine Corps.”

Those who survive the Marines Hell Week become part of a family that is larger than yourself. A family that leaves no man behind.

The Crucible is the test. The Eagle Globe and Anchor is the emblem that is earned, not given, by the men and women who take on the mental and physical challenges of military training.

Marathon Training: What About Tempo Runs and Lactate-​​Thresholds?

There are several marathon training programs to help prepare you for race day. And, those workout plans will vary depending on your own personal goals. However, you will see some similarities. The kind of running that you will do may include: Tempo runs, Interval training, and Marathon Pace running.

No matter the pace, duration, or miles covered during each training day, every run should include a warm-​​up, a cool-​​down, and a good, healthy stretch to avoid muscle strains, tendinitis, joint pain or shin splints.

Easy Weight Loss with the Right Cardio Training

If you’ve put on a few pounds since bootcamp and want an easy way to lose weight, then this is perfect for you. If you’ve got something coming up, a sports event, a fitness test, a class reunion, or beach vacation where that gut you’ve been sucking in will be unleashed (or unbuckled), then this is for you too.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a losing battle. And as they say, starting is the hardest part. Sure, some people say sticking with it is harder, but when you see results and you feel those results, then sticking with the workout plan becomes very easy…and we’re going to talk about how to easily burn those calories, lose the fat, and get in better shape in just weeks.

Fact: Better Soldiers Have Less Body Fat

According to scientists at the Neuromuscular Research Laboratory of the Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition of the University of Pittsburgh less body fat improves physical and physiological performance in army soldiers.

According to results of this study soldiers meeting the Department of Defense (DoD) body fat standard and those exceeding the standard were subjected to a Wingate cycle protocol to test anaerobic power and capacity, an incremental treadmill maximal oxygen uptake test for aerobic capacity, isokinetic tests for knee flexion/​extension and shoulder internal/​external rotation strength, and the Army Physical Fitness Test.

Results showed that group 1 performed significantly better on 7 of the 10 fitness tests. In Soldiers with similar amounts of FFM, Soldiers with less body fat had improved aerobic and anaerobic capacity and increased muscular strength.

Military Sport Training: Is Extreme Conditioning Training Just a Fast Track to Injury?

FACT: If You Want to Excel Physically, You’ve Gotta Train

You can’t get around this one. If you’re just beginning to workout, getting involved in a military sport, or getting ready for an event you need to condition your body to do things it’s not be used to doing.

For example, if you’ve been running for a long time and want to get faster, you might add sprints into your weekly routine.

If you’re trying to lose weight and start lifting weights to help increase your resting metabolizing, your muscles will tear (microscopic) and repair (just like they should) while you build muscle.
As you do this, you’re bound to feel a little sore. You’re bound to get tired. And…you’re certain to get results if you stay consistent.However, in our world of instant gratification, staying with a consistent and “safe” program, taking measured steps can just seem, well, a little less than “instant.” And that can cause even the best athlete to become impatient and believe that better physical training is about more, more, and well, more.

Military Training for the Real World: Stress, Combat, PTSD

Every soldier, every war, has its own name for this.

“There’s a condition in combat, most people know about it. It’s when a fighting person’s nervous system has been stressed to its absolute peak and maximum, can’t take any more input, the nervous system has either snapped or is about to snap. In the First World War that condition was called Shell Shock. Simple, honest direct language…In the Second World War the same condition was called Battle Fatigue…Fatigue is a nicer word than shock…then in Korea it was called Operational Exhaustion…then Vietnam War the very same condition was called Post-​​Traumatic Stress Disorder… ” ~George Carlin

This is how the comedian George Carlin explained the evolution of language to describe a very real condition experienced by war-​​time soldiers. And…it’s becoming clear that PTSD can be triggered in even non-​​civilians who are overly stressed.

Some love George Carlin, some hate him, but when he says that the “pain is buried under the jargon” it does make you remember that real men and women are afflicted with this “disorder”.