The Special Ops Workout: The Elite Exercise Program Inspired by the United States Special Operations Command

by Mike Mejia, Stewart Smith, Peter Field Peck (Photographs)

The best of the best—Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Operations—inspire the most challenging, results-oriented fitness program ever to see the light of day!

The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) was activated April 16, 1987 and has approximately 42,000 active, reserve and national guard forces.

USSOCOM's main mission is to prepare assigned forces to plan and conduct special operations and psychological warfare. That said, one can only imagine the immense physical requirements of the men assigned to USSOCOM missions: a combination of endurance and strength that was unattainable to most people...until now.

From the author who wrote the books on military fitness, including The Official U.S. Navy SEAL Workout and The Official U.S. Airforce Elite Workout, comes The Special Ops Workout. No stranger to the grueling training regimens and demanding physical requirements of America's special forces, Andrew Flach takes his work to the next level as he presents a master plan for achieving a level of fitness that most can only dream of.

The Special Ops Workout includes:

• Endurance Training

• Strength Training

• Swimming

• Running and Marching

• Obstacle Navigation

• Nutrition

• Sleep Deprivation

• Mental Attitude

And more! 100 b/w photos.

Author Biography: Andrew Flach, ACE is a well-known fitness expert whose books have included Combat Fat! He is certified by the American Council on Exercise. He currently resides in New York City.

Genres: Military Fiction, Fitness, Nonfiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2003

Reviews

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is worth the teasing I'll receive from some on my Goodreads friends list for reading this book (looking at you, SRM), but I'm getting down to the end of the year and am desperate to hit my goal of 30 books. This is a book and I read it, so there.

As for an actual review, here goes -- this was a good book! I was looking for some help finding functional, useful exercises that also didn't require a gym membership or stupid props like stupid crossfit. The stretching and exercises listed in the book are challenging but I can do then all in my garage. The information on nutrition was practical and helpful. So, this book delivered on what I wanted. It would get more stars, buuuuuuuut the section on mental toughness points to Lance Armstrong, which is just laughable, given the train wreck he turned out to be. I'm clearly not the target audience for this book, but, nonetheless, I enjoyed it and got some useful points from it.

[Timon Karnezos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishingly effective. There's a 12 week prep course to get you into good enough shape to even consider the other workouts, which is hugely helpful. Then, for each branch of the special forces, there's another 12 week workout. Not sure if they're the real deal, as far as the workouts that are used by the military, but they're punishing, effective, and generally don't need much equipment at all. Started using it in college and still use it every other day, when I work out. Strong binding is a plus, hasn't broken despite poor treatment.