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Navy SEAL Mental Toughness

stew smith

Preparing for any Special Operations training program can be challenging and can often lead to questioning yourself if you are tough enough to endure. Who knows at the moment when you become physically exhausted will you be able to suck it up and not quit? This week’s email question has more to do with mental toughness than physical preparation concerning a statistic about the BUD/S Physical Screening Test (PST) minimum standards.

Stew – I read that if you just reach the minimum standards at BUD/S on the entrance PST you have a 6% chance of graduating SEAL training. As you know these minimums are:


Older Scores in black / updated minimum standards in RED as of 2012:

-- Swim 500 yards. Maximum time allowed is 12 minutes, 30 seconds -- utilizing only the side or breast stroke. The Combat Swimmer Stroke is a nick name for the side stroke with only a slight arm pull modification. (12:30)

-- Max push-ups. Minimum number is 42 in 2 minutes (50)

-- Max sit-ups. Minimum number is 50 in 2 minutes (50)

-- Max pull-ups. Minimum is six with no time limit, but you cannot touch the ground or let go of the bar. (10)

-- 1.5-mile run. Wearing boots and pants, the maximum time allowed for this one is 11 minutes, 30 seconds, in shoes you have 11 minutes. (10:30 in shoes)

How can anyone finish BUDS going into it with only 6 pull-ups and these slow run and swim times?

Great question – however, now with the Naval Special Warfare Mentor program, no mentor will sign off on you attending boot camp with these minimum standards. Now, the BUD/S requirements are a bit elevated and will actually test the students on their max effort though push scores in this range before they go to boot camp:

Swim 500 yards – 9-10 minutes
Max Pushups – 80-100 reps
Max Situps – 80-100 reps
Max pull-ups – 15-20 reps
1.5 mile run – 9-10 minutes

But this does not answer your question. The answer is to basically learn how to play with pain and discomfort. The skill you must practice and learn how to do is to disassociate. Since I was introduced to this concept, I interviewed several SEALs, physiologists, and psychologists as well as thought about my own experiences. It was confirmed by all parties – Spec Ops students and scientists alike – the ability to disassociate is a highly useful skill that can be used in athletics, daily life, as well as SEAL training. In laymen's terms - disassociate means to disengage from your body and focus on something else besides the pain / boredom / discomfort of life.

The ability to disassociate should not be confused with the disassociation disorder often caused by traumatic events, but rather realized as a method to endure long, painful, uncomfortable, and tiring events like Hell Week or cold water exposure. Everyone I spoke with had a unique story how they were able to disassociate. Here are several examples:



1 – Pain - A dental visit using no pain killer when getting a cavity filled. Many have endured this with a focus on a “happy place” or gazing at a tiny spot on the ceiling. I tried this ONCE – I made it but realized my disassociation skills were not as strong as I thought.

2 – Competitive / Long Distance Running – Many marathon runners spend the first few miles getting their pace down and then spend the next 20 or so miles focusing on something else like building a house brick by brick to help with the monotony of running 26.2 miles. Then they come back and finish strong with that final kick that requires more focus to accomplish.

3 – Swimming – Many swimmers call what they do for hours at a time going into a “swim coma”. Looking at the black line for 6000m+ requires the mind to wander, but also to be physically in the event itself. Many collegiate swimmers talk about writing term papers while swimming.

4 – High Rep PT – When you do workouts preparing for BUD/S, the total reps in a pyramid workout or super set can take you into the several hundreds of pushups, sit-ups, dips, and even pull-ups. Many former SEALs talk about zoning out within 5-6 sets when doing these monotonous high repetition calisthenics workouts.

5 – Cold Water – Thinking warm thoughts and repeatedly flexing your muscles at regular intervals will help you fight the cold from getting into your brain telling you to quit. I always thought while sitting in the freezing water about the end of the day in the warm shower, putting on dry clothes, and crawling into bed under some big blankets.





6 – Team Player – Many people just keep going so they do not let down their team. I remember taping up sprained ankles and still playing in football games because I did not want to let down my team or miss out on a chance to compete. A few of the SEALs I talked to actually broke a bone during Hell Week and did not quit with a broken foot or leg even. They said they did not want to let down their boat crew and their swim buddy. To them, quitting was not an option and they found the focus to not think about the pain by helping out others in the team.



How do you get this ability to disassociate? Practice! Physiologically speaking, your body can produce hormones that can speed you up (adrenalin / cortisol) as well as opiate like hormones to relieve pain (endorphins) simply by thinking. If you do not believe me, think about someone busting through your front door with a gun and taking your family hostage or think about sex - see if you have a physiological response. I truly think that this is why many of my workouts help people successfully prepare for Spec Ops training programs as there are many high-volume workouts that allow for this disassociation process to occur whether it is because of monotony or endurance pain.

Now the key to this skill working during your special ops career is being able to still think tactically and logically while disassociating from the pain / discomfort of whatever training gives you. Being able to disassociate may get you through BUD/S and other challenging Spec Ops courses, but being a good Special Operator requires you to not get into a zombie mode when tactical decisions are required. Once again this too takes practice of performing long tiring events with a full mission profile in your training with your teams. Breathing deep helps you naturally engage the thinking part of your brain when needed for tactical thinking drills even when physically tired.

Like I always say – No 30-45 minute gym workout will truly prepare you for a day in Special Ops Training. You have to put in the time.


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