The Royal Marines Gym X Training Event

Weds 31st October was Halloween and probably the scariest sight to the most feared fighting troop in the world was that of their annual Gym X Training Event set out in probably the most famous gym in the world.

Looking like a casual gym circuit to the untrained eye, what WGC knows and what the Royal Marines know, is that looks can be very deceiving to those that have not trained and do not understand the complexity of endurance and the human body.

On this day the Marines had come to test themselves and for those that know it was going to be pain, pain and more pain ....

High Intensity training has long been part of the Royal Marines training as it fits in well with the superb conditioning of their legendry fitness. It also fits in to their close association with Ultra Fit magazine (Assistant Editor Pat Dale is a former Bootneck) and it fits in very closely with the sport of Gym XTC™ (Gym X Training Competitions) as a means to measure your fitness.

WGC is very much if it doesn't need fixing then don't fix it. The design of the Kettlebell has not changed since its first use in the 1700's , the simplistic approach of using high repitions, and high intensity using large combined muscle groups in both cases give the maximum workout in the shortest possible time. This approach to training is very effective for those pushed for time - where the Royal Marines get the best of both worlds is that they train for long endurance fitness too - maximizing the body to perform optimally in efficient fitness.

WGC went along to find out just what it takes to be the Fittest Royal Marine and talk to the guys who push their body through the ultimate gym fitness challenge .... and publish the results ...

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RESULTS

I’ve been in the Marines four years. Today is the first time I have competed in the Royal Marines Ultra Fit Challenge, but I have also competed in a civilian Cross Training too. I really like them.  I found this course tough – they all are , but dig deep and you come out at the end achieving something.

What bit did you struggle on?

From the cleans to the step ups , for me that was the hardest – all legs and shoulders and a real tough part of the course. Im pretty good on the treadmill , so its good to get those bits over with and move on to something that Im pretty good at.

What speed were you running at on the treadmill?

I was keeping it at around 10.5 kph which was enough.

Cpl Chris Waddingham (24:59)

Been in the Marines 11 years and this is the second time I have done this event in the past few weeks – first time I did it was 27 minutes and today I managed 24:59. Not the best time in the world but well chuffed with my result  and knocking two minutes off .

What was your strong point in this event?

The upper body events are better for me. I was pleased with my bench (40 x 50 kg – 1:49), but like Steve said the transition between the farmers walk on to the treadmill, my arms just felt like dead weights and it took my a while to get my body tuned into the CV momentum.

How many events like this have you done?

This is the first official one I have done. We trained for it at Poole and its worth coming up here today at CTC to see what Ive improved by.

Corporal James Plowright (20:46)

Been in the Marines 14 years and love it. Came up here today feeling a bit weak from last week due to DNV (Diarrhoea, Nausea and Vomiting) and lost 4 kg of bodyweight which isn’t the best prep for an event like this, but Im OK today.

What did you struggle on today ?

I struggle on the presses, especially the shoulder press (40 x 30 kg – 59 seconds) but was quite pleased my performance on those today.

What about the Pull Ups?

On Beaverfit apparatus I can do 20 no problem. But on the wooden beams because it swings around a lot and you find yourself hanging on your fingertips, its pretty tricky.

What about the transitions

Yeah, its cheeky! You got the the row, sit ups, pull ups, bike step ups and it’s a massive drain on you and basically you only half done – got another five events after that ! Yeah tough course.

Have you tried CrossFit and what are the differences?

Yeah I have tried both and I see differences as mainly being there is a lot less technique involved in a gym challenge. Cross fit involves a lot of double unders, muscle ups and snatches etc and concentrates a lot on technique. Whereas here its all about the  kind of stuff you do in a gym anyway and about manning up and getting on with it.

Jon Worthey Winner (17:18) Winner

What do you think of todays event?

Fantastic event and well run day and a good turn out. A good competition which is down to the guys here being well prepared with  lot of hard work to making sure the day runs smoothly, which it did.

How do you feel now ?

Worn out, tired and pretty drained as these events make you feel , but also well chuffed to come away with the fastest time of the day. Ive put a lot of hard work in for training for this event over the last two to three months and at 45 it’s a good result for me.

What was the most difficult part for you today?

Difficult question really as each of the ten events brings with it a degree of difficulty when the intensity is high and each event attacks different muscle groups – so to be honest , basically all of it.

Do you see any differences between the civilian Gym Challenge scene and the Royals Marines event?

There are similarities between both and that comes from the perspective of competing in both civilian and military events. They both have around 8 to 12 disciplines, but as Marines we train both for endurance and high intensity because of the nature of our job. Gym Challenges are ideal for our type of training. In comparison to civilian training, we have the time and discipline to train for ten events and beyond and its very tough. Whereas in civilian culture the discipline to push yourself is a very niche market and when that filters  down in through a gym its quite a low percentage of people per gym that will train to that degree.

The Royal Marines have been doing Ultra Fit events since the 90’s. How do you see this event growing and what would you like to see happen?

This particular event has been running for six years, although our roots go back many years before that with this type of training. It brings the fittest guys from all around the Royal Marine units that are not obviously on active duty and it’s a great competitive event and plus at the end of the day there is the team event too – so it captures the individual performance and team performance for a day and is great to be part of.

What’s the future hold for Jon Worthey?

I‘ve got some time still to do with the Marines and will still take part in some more events throughout the UK. Ive competed against some really fit civilians and its good to get to them and turn up against the best . Ive got the Veteran level soon and I hope to be competing for a long time to come yet.

How do you see CrossFit and Gym Challenges  in the future?

CrossFit is filtering through. Id like to combine both the Gym Challenge scene and Crossfit with an Association to get the best of both worlds, to get more people interested in them. They are different in what they offer, but ultimately the result is the same as in you will be fitter by the end of either.

Captain Chappell

How long have been in the Royal Marines?

 I have been in the Royal Marines for four years.

Are you pleased with today’s event?

We have had a good turnout today but due to operational issues and exercises abroad we weren’t able to get as many people from other units as we’d like to have. This is always going to be a problem with operations taking place.

Would you like to see these events take place overseas to maybe compensate?

Absolutely. There are websites and technology out there that can cope for the set up of events and WO2 Worthy competes at a lot of external events, so something like this is a huge benefit to someone’s training and motivation. Be good to expand on it, definitely.

Did you try this event?

Not this particular course, but previously I’ve tried various Ultra Fit Challenges.

When designing this course what elements did you throw in to really push people?

We wanted to throw in as many exercises as possible which are particularly relevant to the Royal Marines promoting the sort of fitness that is expected and be challenging too. The Farmers Walk is relevant to us as we do a lot of weight carrying marches, plus obviously leg orientated exercises due to the distance we cover . All of this covered by high intensity training , which we then mix with endurance training too to get the best of both.

How do you see the differences between Crossfit and Gym X Training.

Well firstly Gym X Training is far more accessible, whereas Crossfit mixed with Olympic lifts etc is far more technical, more specific training is needed for CrossFit , the intensity levels of each events are very similar. To me Cross Training covers a variety of fitness components, like power, strength, endurance etc. , which is then combined into one – so definitely there are similarities between the two  but they are hugely different in the sports area.

This event is part of the syllabus for a PTI course is that right?

Yes, this event is part of the PT 2 Course which is a seventeen week course. When they complete that they join the staff down here at CTC (Commando Training Centre) and then after get posted to other units to be a Physical Training Instructor second class.

How is training maintained overseas when on operation?

Physical training is kept down overseas. The guys in the forward operating areas spend a lot of time carrying and marching with a lot of weight in very tough conditions, basically that’s their training. Essentially all the handwork has been done before they are deployed, so they are physically fit as possible and able to cope to the environment they have to operate in.