There has been a lot of talk about how to improve yourself, not only physically but also mentally. During our ruck yesterday, while talking about selection, it was said that “you could train for selection but how do you prepare mentally for it?” This excited me because one of the duties in my job is to help develop this in Rangers preparing for Ranger school and there are plenty of ways to build mental resilience and sharpen your mind through physical activity. One way to do this is to have an exercise that is very simple but taxing where you must mental grind through the whole workout. You decide how much effort you want to put out and where is the line. Unlike selection there was no tapping from the workout but if you were not careful you will quit on yourself and cheat reps which should bother you more than throwing in the towel and leaving an event/workout early.
PAX: Salmonella, Tofu and UGA V
Warm-up: Chinooks ICx15- reverse, Imperial walkers ICx15, Flat jacks ICx15
The Thing: 0542
Moseyed over to the Veterans memorial- they would be our overwatch and judges of effort.
300 meter shuttle run
Merkins ICx10
Freedom Flutters ICx20
Repeat, Repeat, Repeat- after the 4th all pax got an extended recovery where we talked about the significance of today and what we are doing. Today is OCT 4th, 24 years +1 day the battle of Mogadishu began, however, on 4 OCT is when the 3/75 Rangers began their movement out of the city at 0542 with the main convey not reaching the Pakistani stadium till 0630.
The reason for the 300m shuttles is when you are in contact and bounding as a team, you move 300m and then get accountability before moving again. The challenge was given to bound this last time with all effort and to keep in mind those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
300m shuttle run- time =1 min 25 sec slowest time
Merkins ICx10
Freedom Flutters ICx20
After this last round all pax were instructed to get back on the line and prepare for another round. This time we would have a time limit on the shuttle of no more that 1 min 20 sec and that we would run the shuttles till this was achieved.
300m shuttle run- time=1 min 18 sec (goal met)
Merkins ICx10
Freedom Flutters ICx25
Total Freedom Flutters 375 for all pax combined in honor of the 3rd BN 75th Ranger Regiment and the Rangers they lost 24 years ago.
Moseyed over to the flag for cool down of kneeling hip flexor stretches 30 sec x2 on each leg and OYOx10 cobras to help prevent back pain and tightness in hip flexors after so many flutters. While stretching we talked about what we had learned and things to reflect on throughout the day. What was your effort level like during the workout? Did you quit on yourself a step early on the runs or reps early on merkins or flutters? If so why? How did you feel when you thought we had finished but we had 1 more round? What if we had 1 more round after that? How did you react when we did 25 instead of 20 flutter kicks at the end? Just like in life you might not be able to control the workout or all the different things that happen to you but you CAN and MUST control your attitude and how you react to problems you face. That is what mental toughening is all about, realizing it could always be worse and that you are going to give your best effort no matter what, because that is what you can control and we have a higher prize that we are striving for.
Pledge and Prayer.
Impactful.
Y’all get ready.