Members of the Navy SWCC or the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen may not enjoy as much of a spotlight as the members of the Navy SEALs, but their job is just as complex and their training is just as tough. Besides, given that their primary function is to operate and maintain the war boats that Navy SEALs use for their amphibious missions, who is there to say that the job of the Navy SWCC is not as important?

If you are more interested in joining the Navy SWCC instead of the Navy SEALs, you should know that the preparation required is the same as that for the SEALs. You would need to undergo an extensive fitness training period that covers multiple areas of the body for a period of at least 26 weeks before you enlist for the Navy.

Components of the Navy SWCC Fitness Training

The fitness training required from Navy SWCC candidates is designed to be a well-rounded training course that is meant to improve the body’s health, strength, endurance and flexibility. Although this fitness training seems very strenuous, it is nonetheless progressive.

What a progressive fitness training means is that you always begin your training with an intensity that is suited to your body’s current state of fitness, and then increase this intensity gradually every week. It also means that the intensity of your workouts vary throughout the week to prevent injuries and burnouts.

What components does your fitness training program need to have to prepare you for your enlistment to the Navy SWCC? These are the main areas of focus that your training program should have:

1. Running. The physical exam that you need to pass to be able to enlist with the SWCC includes running. You need to be able to run 1.5 miles in 9.44 minutes or less.

2. Swimming. It is imperative that you are a strong swimmer if you want to qualify for the SWCC. For the SWCC, a strong swimmer is someone who can swim 500 yards under 9.17 minutes.

3. Weightlifting. Muscular strength is another quality that you need to possess to be part of the SWCC. You will be able to build up muscular strength through lifting weights.

4. Endurance. It is an understatement to say that an SWCC personnel’s job is strenuous. As thus, your body should be able to withstand the strain of the work that you need to do. You can address this by doing endurance exercises such as sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups.

5. Core exercises. To improve your overall strength, you would need to develop the strength of the core muscles of your body, namely your abdominal muscles and the muscles around your spine. Core exercises will address this need.

6. Flexibility workouts. So that you can prevent your body from sustaining injuries despite the strain of the required work, you would need to improve the flexibility of your body. Flexibility workouts would include stretching and calisthenics.

Workout Schedule and Intensity

When you prepare yourself for enlistment with the Navy SWCC, you need to devote a good part of your daily schedule for your fitness training. For both running and swimming, you need to do one long slow distance (LSD) session, one continuous high intensity (CHI) session, and one interval (INT) session per week.

An LSD workout is something done at a slow and steady pace, while a CHI workout is something done with speed and intensity and without stopping. An INT workout, on the other hand, is done with regular rest breaks.

As for the other areas of focus for your Navy SWCC fitness training, you need to do them around four to six times a week. To keep up your progress and see visible improvements on your body, you would need to increase the intensity of your workouts by no more than 10% per week.

This Article is written by James Kara Murat