BRIAN NICHOLSON: FIT FOR THE NAVY

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Before the emergence of popular exercise disciplines like bootcamp, CrossFit and circuit training, there was the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. Fitness, strength and agility were achieved simply by joining one of these regiments, and allowing determination, will and resolution to take hold.

If we take a long hard look into the history of good health and fitness, it is soon obvious that military basics remain the foundation of many modern day exercise schemes. The armed forces, it seems, is responsible for introducing extreme exercise to the public, moulding and shaping the structure of our most popular high intensity programmes and endurance systems.

The precision and discipline of an army routine may not be to everyone’s taste. However, there is no denying, that military training is exercise in its rawest form. It has the power to transform the body, resolve the mind, and redefine strength and power as we know it, building character and honing self discipline.

For people like former American SEAL, Brain Nicholson, the Navy is where his fitness

fanaticism all began. Brian walked away from an eight year stint in the Navy SEALs with a lease on life most of us wouldn’t even be able to imagine. 

“The SEALs taught me how to tap into my mental fortitude, which I’m truly grateful for. The experiences I received during my time there were priceless. To work alongside such a

high calibre of men was awesome. I definitely miss the camaraderie and the action,” he says.

From a young age, Brian knew he was not destined to walk down the path of mediocrity, but academic pursuits failed to stir his soul, and his passion for the physical was still undefined. Interestingly, it was a rental movie that awakened his interest in a Navy career.

“I was 15 years old and school wasn’t my thing. I’ve always been more physical. One night my parents brought home the VHS tape Navy SEALs with Charlie Sheen. I watched it and that was it, I was hooked. From that night on I knew what I wanted to do after high school.”

The decision to join the SEALs immediately altered his outlook on life. Instinctively, he began preparing for the gruelling sessions and tough love mental development long before his first day of training. What he discovered upon joining the ranks of America’s finest, however, was far more than the stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of Navy life. Instead, he stumbled across camaraderie unparallel to anything he’d ever experienced.

According to Brian, much of their physical challenges in their initial 24 week BUD/S training were completed in teams. “We did a lot of swimming, running, calisthenics and running the obstacle course. We swam anywhere from 1000 meters to five miles a few times per week. We ran anywhere from four miles to 15 miles a few times a week. We ran the obstacle course a few times per week as well.”

The presence of his fellow teammate made the pain of these punishing sessions easier to bear, says Brian. “Overcoming gruelling challenges was easy because I was with my teammates. It’s easy to overcome adversity when everyone is suffering together.”

Despite the overwhelming presence of solidarity throughout his BUD/S training, nothing could have prepared Brain or his colleagues for the bodily torture of the Navy’s infamous ‘hell week’.

“Hell week began in my 6th week of training. It started on Sunday afternoon and finished on Friday afternoon,” Brian explains “It’s designed to get rid of the weaker guys and to give the guys who made it a sense of accomplishment. It also aims to teach the guys who made it that when your body shuts down, the brain will take over and allow you to continue. My class started hell week with 130 people and finished with 30.”

For Brian, instinct and psychological determination were the driving forces behind his ability to withstand those seven days of physical torment. “This is where your mental fortitude comes into play. It sorts the guys out from those that will stay and those that will not make it. I fortunately have the mental fortitude that will not allow me to quit. In a sense, the harder it is for me, the more enjoyment I get out of it, especially when I complete the task. I believe I am lucky to enjoy it rather than fear it,” he says.

“Being fit definitely helps but it wasn’t my fitness level that got me through hell week, it was my mental fortitude. The instructors take you to your physical breaking point and see if you can tap into your mental strength and persevere.”

This mental resolve, built up over a matter of weeks during his BUD/S training, stayed with Brian throughout his Navy career. “When the training got really difficult I would just give myself pep talks. The most painful and gruelling parts of training can only last for so long, so I would just tell myself this and eventually the pain from whatever I was doing would end.”

And luckily so. As a fully fledged SEAL, Brian’s training definitely didn’t get any easier. “In the SEAL Team my workouts consisted of team and individual workouts. As a team we would go on long runs together, around eight to 12 miles. When the weather was warm we would go on swims around two miles in length. We also ran the obstacle course three to five times consecutively once a week. On my own I lifted a lot of weights to increase my strength and power,” he explains.

Since leaving the Navy, Brian has not lost his fervour for pushing his body and mind to the limit. Thanks to his own stubborn resilience and physical stamina, he has successfully completed adventure endeavours most people would never even dream of, including a trek through the Alps, and a Kilimanjaro ascent.

He is currently in training for a solo climb of Argentina’s Aconcagua, the southern hemisphere’s

tallest mountain. Harsh weather and geographical turbulence characterise this particular peak, so Brian is leaving nothing to chance. “I’m doing a lot of running and hiking along with a bit of rowing on the concept 2 indoor rower and kettle bell workouts to strengthen my upper body and core,” he says.

If Brian’s will to succeed, mental resolution and physical superiority are anything to go by, the

Aconcagua, may have just met its match.

Want to get into shape like Brian? Check out these military and navy workout programmes:

Cardio

Morning and Night

Calisthenics

Swimming

Running

Basic Training and Conditioning

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