I believe it’s extremely important to do things that challenge you. That push you to your limits. Things that make you realise you are capable of way more than you could ever imagine!
Things are in full swing with our training for Kokoro! Drew and I have been doing a lot of research and listening to podcasts on people who have already gone through this event so we can prepare ourselves mentally and physically! For those of you who don’t know what KOKORO is, it’s a 56 hour training crucible that was originally made so people who were wanting to join the navy seals could do it to see if they had what it takes! It resembles Hell week, one of the final tests that seals undergo! Sealfit was then approached by civilians to do the training. I have been asked by many people WHY would you want to do something like that? That’s a great question. This is not something you just go and do without a damn good reason behind it! What’s my WHY? I want to know what my ultimate best is, physically, mentally and emotionally! When I find this, then I can do my job 110%....helping others find their best! Back to the training......Long runs between 5-10 kilometres 2-3 times a week, this still needs to build! Once a week we do a long ruck. We walk between 10-15 kilometres with our weight vest plus extra weight in our back pack. We will gradually build distance on this. We want to get up to around 25 kilometres on one ruck.
After listening and reading to others who have gone through it they all mention that your training should include HEAPS of running. Not just on the road either. In the bush and on the beach! In your boots! One thing we are becoming aware of is that we can’t just be strong, we can’t just be good at running or lifting heavy things! We need to have a good baseline of everything! Strength, endurance, and metabolic conditioning! We have been completing the workout Murph 2 times a week. Murph is a CrossFit workout consisting of a 1 mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, and 300 air squats, 1 mile run. Must be completed with a 10kg weight vest and all done in 75 min. Sounds easy? This is one of the PST we have to do to stay in Kokoro. If we fail, we are out! The catch.....we don’t actually know when we will have to do it! It could be as soon as we arrive while we are fresh! It could be 6-7 hours into it after some already extremely tough training. We have to be able to complete this with ease, under extreme fatigue; and we will most likely have to do it again at some stage too. Hooyah! We have been training this either using a run or a rower....(the rower is a god damn bitch. It does not discriminate against anyone!) moving through it in a circuit style. One day we will do 2 pull-ups, 5 pushups, 10 air squats, 50 rounds! It took us a few times of doing it this way to realise we were actually doing more than we were meant too! 500 air squats, 250 pushups, still 100 pull-ups! We figure if we keep doing it this way it will be super easy when have to actually do it! Here’s hoping! Another day we keep either the run or the rower, then do 5 pull-ups, 10 pushups, 15 air squats, 20 rounds! I actually find this harder then doing it the other way! On top of the long runs and x 2 Murphs a week we are doing x 3-4 metabolic conditioning workouts. This is HIIT. Hard work phases with short recovery periods. Body weight, barbells, kettlebells, beach sprints. Lots of fun stuff. Throw in some yoga/mindset sessions and you have yourself a full week of training! I’m so used to smashing out workouts in half an hour or less, I need to build up a resistance where I can push for 2-3 hours, short rest then go again. All with a smile on my face. Setting micro goals is going to be crucial for myself and our team if we are all going to make it through. By setting micro goals it helps you stay present, in the moment! As soon as you start to think about what’s coming next or the fact you have 30 hours left, that’s what will trip you up and cause you to quit! You can use this tip not just in training, but in everyday life. So far I am loving/ hating the training! It’s amazing how emotions can come up when you are pushing hard! I’ve had anger, frustration, anxiety, sadness all come up in some of the training sessions! I’ve had to completely flip the script I sometimes tell myself( and I know we all sometimes tell ourselves) that it’s too hard, it hurts, I cant do this! As soon as I become aware I’m doing this....and it can take some time, I change it up! I got this, I love this, we can do this! This is easy! Add a smile, and you are good to go! I’m excited, scared, and ready to meet myself for the first time.
