“Which ever boat makes it to the other side of the pond first with all of its equipment and personnel in tact gets to eat chow first!”

Those were the only directives given by the Special Forces sergeant as two Zodiac boats full of soldiers were prepared to paddle their asses off to get to the other side of the pond as fast as possible.  I was in the swamps of Louisiana with a select group of soldiers from my Infantry company and we were assigned to a two-week training rotation with a team from the 10th Special Forces Group.  The Green Berets we were training with were a scuba team, and water borne missions were their specialty.

Myself and the guys in my boat started paddling furiously – as did the soldiers in the rival boat.  We were neck-and-neck in our race to the other side as we approached the middle of the pond when my paddle was yanked from my hands.

What I Learned From A Special Forces Scuba Team…

What the hell happened?  I still wasn’t sure. . .

A moment later I saw the team leader from my boat get snatched into the water by a specter clad in scuba gear.  At that point, we all knew it was on.

The Special Forces team had placed four of its members in the water in scuba gear before the race started with the specific intent of reeking havoc on our mission.  They were dragging unsuspecting soldiers into the water and stealing our equipment for military workouts.  Mass chaos ensued – we were jumping into each others boats trying to grab equipment that had been stolen by the scuba team and one of our brave young privates jumped in the water to “rescue” our team leader.  And of course the scuba gear-clad SF guys eventually capsized both of the boats before we made it to the other side of the pond.  All in all, it was a hell of a lot of fun.

But it was also a hell of a workout.  Forget that wimpy-ass Bosu ball – try wrestling a paddle from the hands of a Green Beret while you’re standing in an inflatable boat for some killer core training.  Simulating this kind of real-world exertion can be tough to do in the gym, but I’m pleased to say that I’ve found a methodology that brings the best of combat driven reality to the realm of health and fitness.  I’m talking about Scott Sonnon’s Tacfit Commando.

Scott has worked with first responders and elite combat units the world over.  He is an expert martial artist and understands the difference between being fit to fight and just looking good.  In the free videos available at tacfitcommando.com , I learned bodyweight movements that I had never seen before in all of my years of training.  Scott is the real deal, and so is Tacfit.  To get your free Tacfit Commando instructional videos and training manual click here.

Have you had an experience where the “real world” tested your fitness level?  Let me know in the comments below.