How the Tactical Athlete Benefits from Cardio Exercises After Leg Workouts

For most athletes, leg days and cardio challenge the body and mind, but for tactical athletes, topping off leg days with cardio events such as rucking and swimming with fins is part of the process. Running after a leg day is tough, but rucking and swimming with fins require another level of leg muscle stamina and cardio endurance that most people do not have. Adding lifts and high-rep calisthenics will make any activity after more complicated. We call workouts like this Spec Ops Leg Day.

Warm-up: Squat and Run Pyramid 1-10 with a 100-meter jog

• Jog 100 meters easy, one squat
• Jog 100 meters easy, two squats
• Jog 100 meters easy, three squats
• Keep going to Level 10 and then stop.
• Run one mile.

For your leg day warm-up, you will do 1,000 meters of jogging and 55 squats total, followed by a mile run. If needed, you can do this mile to continue your warm-up or push your time and effort and test yourself.

Lift section: Hinge with deadlift or kettlebell Romanian deadlifts

Repeat four times.

• Deadlifts 5 or kettlebell Romanian deadlifts 10
• Hanging knee-ups 20

You can use a barbell or hex barbell for the deadlift exercise. If you prefer to go lighter, opt for the kettlebell Romanian deadlift to benefit the legs, hips and lower back. Use the hanging knee-ups to stretch/decompress between sets of lifts.

Run-ruck-legs calisthenics (lunges)

• Run two miles + 200-meter walking lunges
• Ruck two miles + 200-meter lunges with ruck

This cardio section is a fast-paced run, followed by 200 meters of walking lunges. Then transition to a weight vest or ruck march for two miles. Try to do the 200-meter lunges with the added weight on your back. If you are new to doing this many lunges, cut the distance in half and avoid added weight. As with anything high volume, it takes time to progress up to being able to do 400-meter lunges in a workout. The benefits of leg muscle stamina and the overall durability of this combination of cardio and movements will help you in future training involving load-bearing activities.

Cooldown: Squat Reverse Pyramid 10-1 with dynamic stretches for 20-30 seconds between each drop set

• 10 squats, 20-30 seconds of stretches/dynamic stretches of choice (legs)
• Nine squats, 20-30 seconds of stretches/dynamic stretches of choice
• Keep going down to Level 1.

Optional swim/tread workout

If you are preparing for any swim or diving operations school, you should top off this leg day with some no-hand treading and swimming with fins (side stroke).

Tread with no hands for 10 minutes: This sounds difficult (it is), but moving the legs in water in this fashion is also quite therapeutic. Swimming, treading and cooling down in water after leg day is a game changer and will help with recovery, too.

Swim 2,000 meters with fins: Building up the leg stamina to swim with scuba fins for 30-40 minutes or longer is a must, depending on the training program you are preparing to attend.

Cool down with dynamic stretches in chest-deep water for 5-10 minutes to help the legs recover gently. This is a long workout but easier if broken into two separate sessions. When doing this workout as a group, we do the run, lift, and ruck in the morning, then later, during lunch or an afternoon session, we swim for a second session of the day.

Want to Learn More About Military Life?

Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for fitness and basic training tips, or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox.