Becoming a soldier requires a minimum of sports preparation. You must combine many physical and moral qualities that no other profession requires.

Resistance, both moral and physical. You must be enduring to withstand the length of the missions and the commitment you will have to show. But also strength, explosiveness, and even hardiness!

All these qualities will be worked on during your regimental course, but you can work on them upstream with different sports. This physical conditioning is important, not only before you qualify for the tests, but also during your training.

Our team has selected, for you, the 3 best disciplines to become a soldier.

To discover our training programs: click here .

Swimming

Swimming and more broadly the aquatic environment is feared by many. These people are “afraid” of it, because they lack ease. However, the water can quickly become a dangerous area if you are not comfortable enough.

For example, in some regiments you will have pool events, wearing your fatigues. Imagine the panic for someone who has trouble swimming: doing it with wet clothes would be a nightmare for them.

Following a swimming program has many benefits as well.

• Improved cardio respiratory capacity
• Absence of shock and vibration in the muscles
• Possible practice whatever your condition and your physical condition

For these different reasons, we recommend that you regularly swim in the pool, and even in open water for the more adventurous!

Here is an example of accessible and flexible training according to your level:

Warming up

200 front crawl / backstroke per 50 meters

4 x 25m legs

1 front crawl

1 back

1 breaststroke

1 front crawl

Session

8 x 50m

25m slow

25m fast

4 x 100m

25m in legs

25m sweater

25 m educational touch armpit

25m full swim

400m full swim - fast turn

Recovery

100m front crawl / backstroke per 25m

50m backstroke two arms

Here is an example of a session that is simple and quick to set up, flexible according to your level. Each of his exercises should be familiar to swimmers. For those who don't know certain movements, do not hesitate to search for demos on YouTube for example.

Running

Loved by some, but also hated by many! This sport is still too neglected by many recruits. If you are only able to run for 5 minutes with sneakers, imagine the result if you had to run 8 kilometers in combat fatigues and a backpack!

This is precisely what awaits the future recruits of certain regiments. The French Army is renowned for welcoming runners. Unlike the American Army, for example, which is rather known for its soldiers with big arms.

It's time to vary your physical preparation by integrating running sessions!

To do this, we advise you to combine different types of exercises so as not to get bored: split training, long outings, split training on hills, and sessions on the treadmill.

Be careful, however, to practice running safely. This activity can present many dangers if certain basics are not respected:

• Pain in the knees, descent of organs due to shocks (important to have the right shoes)
• The heart is very solicited: distrust for those who have a cardiac history
• Kidney problems in case of poor hydration during prolonged effort in particular.

Despite this, running remains an essential discipline for becoming a soldier. Here is an example of training to set up:

Warming up

10' minutes - calm pace, easy breathing, warm-up on flat ground ideally

Session

25' minutes - with 2 x 10' minutes at 80% of your MAS (maximal aerobic speed), 5' minutes of calm pace running between the two sets

Recovery

5' minutes back to calm

body weight training

Our team is definitely not into pure bodybuilding. This type of physical preparation is not recommended for becoming a soldier.

Many operatives will tell you that large, well-defined muscles will not help you better carry your bag and your weapon, in sometimes extreme conditions/situations.

We recommend that members of our training program focus on bodyweight exercises that work on your resistance in particular.

The advantage of a sports program without equipment is to be able to train at home, without spending money. You can also perform a wide variety of workouts using the natural elements that surround you.

This type of preparation and physical conditioning is closer to what recruits will find in a regiment, or during their class.

Here is an example of a session that you can do at home, without additional equipment.

Warming up

For 10' minutes, complete the turn;

2 ATR against a wall

4 Jumps in place

6 Half burpees

8 Jumping jacks

Session

10 rounds of;

6 pumps

12 abs sit-ups

24 mountain climber

40' sec of jumping jack

Recovery

Practice stretching, or a few minutes of active walks for example.

Complete physical preparation

Through these different sports disciplines, you see that following a complete preparation requires a lot of work. Becoming a soldier requires work, you cannot qualify for the tests by passing 1 pump, and running 5 minutes at full speed.

However, it is never easy to develop a complete and serious program when you start. Our team develops targeted training programs for you. You can also join our training platform which gives you access to more than 120 complete sessions ideal for preparing for Defense jobs.

To join the platform, click here.