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I used one of Stew Smith's books for a military competition, and it worked very well for me. It was time consuming, but since it was directly related to my goals it worked well. I think using TB as your foundation then running a Smith program specifically to prepare for a school/selection would be ideal, especially if you had time to alternate.

I keep reading that you shouldn't train for the training(Stew Smith), but you should train to crush the PST(Ranger 90 day), and then mental toughness will get you through training.

Would it be too much to run the operator template with one of Stew Smiths programs using your training max or would it be better to use the fighter template with a program with the amount of conditioning that he prescribes?

Joesph155 wrote:I keep reading that you shouldn't train for the training(Stew Smith), but you should train to crush the PST(Ranger 90 day), and then mental toughness will get you through training.

Mental toughness will have to get you through regardless, but the fitter you are the less mental toughness you'll need, to an extent.

You're not getting any contradictory advice here. Take a year or two to build up your general physical fitness using TB, then 3-4 months leading up to selection run the Smith program.

Clukeless wrote:Would it be too much to run the operator template with one of Stew Smiths programs using your training max or would it be better to use the fighter template with a program with the amount of conditioning that he prescribes?

Running Green protocol and Fighter Bangkok would be pretty close. As others have said though, it's best to use TB as preparation and cycle in Stew's programs to better prepare for the goal.

I probably got 0 clue on the matter but what i would do. I was in the Norwegian military. Nothing special at all. But we had some visitors from Spec ops ( Green beret, Norway versjon )
Im listing up some of the requirements for Norwegian sof and i will also list how they recommend training.

Pull ups: 8 ( minimum )
Push ups: Shoulder with, chest must touch ground 45 ( Minimum )
Situps: Hands behind head, fingers gotto touch each other, legs 90 degrees 50 ( minimum )
Back Extension: 25 ( Minimum ), 5 sec roll UP ( Not down but up )
Step test: 70 Each leg, 25 kg on Back ( 55 lbs )
Swimming: 400 meters ( max 11 min ) ( 437 yards )
25 Meter underwater swimming: Not allowed to touch the surface, must be fully underwater, no glasses ( 27 yards )
xx Water thingy ( Not specified ), Just says 4 meter

Run exercise: 32 Rounds, 10 min: A track made up as a Square. 15 meter ( 16 yards ) on the long side, 7 Meters short ( 7,65 yards )
Must be on Back the long side, and Chest on the short side, aka. While you run jump down on a math, back must be at ground, then when you get on the short side chest must be in the ground.

Then 30 KM field march with 22kg on back ( 48.50 Lbs ) and weapon 3-4 kg ( 4-8 pounds )


All this are minimum..

They recommend training shit load of ruck, some circuit training, and max strength training. Walk in hills and for 1-2-3h a time at a decent pace.

Im not sure how the ranger selection is, but if you master the Ruck, got a decent max strength, got good endurance , and can master some callisthenics, its only mental


After reading all the books.
Hic: Running Focused, Apex hills and those nasty stuff, 600 meter , tempo run, fun runs etc. 2 Times a week
Endurance: Once a week, 60-120 or longer Ruck runs, maybe switch up and do some LSS running also.
I would try it in this order the first year: 8 week basebuilding, couple of days rest. Do a Max test, then 12 weeks of operator.
Max test, another 12 week of operator. Maybe get a recovery week ish. Do another Basebuilding block, another 12 weeks of operator then first year is probably over.

Start looking at green protocol, do base building, get your callisthenics up , maybe a 12 week operator , more green protocol.

Stay injury free
Focus on Proper warm up, stretches maybe after workout. Right nutrition til some degree, eat a lot.

Thats something i would do, i dont think army rangers is so much differ from Norwegian spec ops. Endurance, max strength, calisthenics. I think Tactical barbell would get you ready. Then its just the mind left.

Joesph155 wrote:...

2 years is plenty of time to prepare. I don't want to repeat what others said, just some notes to add:

-Rucking should be your priority for army ranger school (I went through something similar).
IMO don't stress to much about pushup/situp/pullup numbers, you need to build them but not in expense of rucking , strength and aerobic conditioning overall. Build up to around 70 pushup/80 situp/~15 pullups and you are more than fine. (And with proper strength training you should be easily able to dance around that numbers without much specific work for them)

-Implement heavy/fast interval rucking on HIC days. (Start with +30%BW 3x10min intervals with 2min rest between).
-Long rucks should start around +20%BW for 60mins.
-Best combination is 1 interval/heavy and 1 long ruck weekly, but ocasionally you can skip HIC one.

-For running, E runs should be staple for you.

Dovx wrote:

Joesph155 wrote:...

2 years is plenty of time to prepare. I don't want to repeat what others said, just some notes to add:

-Rucking should be your priority for army ranger school (I went through something similar).
IMO don't stress to much about pushup/situp/pullup numbers, you need to build them but not in expense of rucking , strength and aerobic conditioning overall. Build up to around 70 pushup/80 situp/~15 pullups and you are more than fine. (And with proper strength training you should be easily able to dance around that numbers without much specific work for them)

-Implement heavy/fast interval rucking on HIC days. (Start with +30%BW 3x10min intervals with 2min rest between).
-Long rucks should start around +20%BW for 60mins.
-Best combination is 1 interval/heavy and 1 long ruck weekly, but ocasionally you can skip HIC one.

-For running, E runs should be staple for you.

Solid advice. This heavy/fast interval rucking for HIC intrigues me. Would you be shuffling/jogging during the intervals or are we talking just regular rucking at greater speeds?

Pure rucking at fastest pace sustainable, no shuffling/running. No need for running/jogging with your ruck ever in training session. You will survive it if it's needed on selection or somewhere if you are well conditioned on rucking and running, but using it on regular basis while training is injury waiting to happen for little/no benefit. (You can however throw in some occasional shuffling just to improve technique if needed...)

Yes, heavy and fast interval rucking is pure gold. Improves your pace at E ruck and also gets you used to carry heavy weight.
If someone is interested I can dig up what progression I followed for ruck training.

Dovx wrote:Pure rucking at fastest pace sustainable, no shuffling/running. No need for running/jogging with your ruck ever in training session. You will survive it if it's needed on selection or somewhere if you are well conditioned on rucking and running, but using it on regular basis while training is injury waiting to happen for little/no benefit. (You can however throw in some occasional shuffling just to improve technique if needed...)

Yes, heavy and fast interval rucking is pure gold. Improves your pace at E ruck and also gets you used to carry heavy weight.
If someone is interested I can dig up what progression I followed for ruck training.

Copy that, and yeah I'm definitely interested.