veteran recon marine, George Briones, working out on the beach
Fitness

Are You Tough Enough for Our Veterans Workout Challenge?

We tapped a former Marine to assemble a 45 minute program to push your body and mind to the limit.

Veterans are heroes. Ask a veteran, though, and most respond they were just doing their job—the humility makes it all the more admirable.

Our courageous vets tackle staggering feats: achieving peak physical fitness, surviving combat, dealing with the mental aftermath, and overcoming physical setbacks from injuries.

Only to return home to face more challenges.

Common experiences among active duty service members include chronic stress, lack of sleep, PTSD, brain trauma, and testicular injury—all of which can contribute to low testosterone. Symptoms of low T can crop up while they’re serving or years after they retire—zapping energy, squashing mood, and waning libido.

Many veterans are misdiagnosed with PTSD or depression before getting the correct diagnosis of low T, a frustrating process that takes many veterans two years or more. At Hone Health, we’re committed to helping these struggling vets get the treatment they need to live fuller, longer lives.

To raise awareness about veterans with low T, we’ve joined forces with fitness trainer and veteran Recon Marine George Briones to create a workout challenge befitting of a special forces soldier.

This fitness challenge, designed by Briones—who serves as director of programming at Soflete—represents a sliver of the grit, strength, and spirit our service members put forth every single day. Their determination is motivating and if you’re inspired to move with us, try out the workout below.

The Recon Marine Workout

The workout involves a blend of methods designed to improve cognitive function, as well as psychological and physical well-being, which Briones deems key to operating effectively in combat.

“As a tactical professional, your ability to work and stay focused for long periods of time is vital and needed to remain an asset to the individuals to the left and right of you,” says Briones.

The workout is designed to “take a toll on the mind and body,” through challenges aimed at flexing both. “During the workout, you’re second-guessing why you started in the first place,” says Briones. “Once complete, the rush of success hits the mind and gives you this urge of confidence to do something hard again.”

All you need is a kettlebell. Briones recommends 53 pounds for men, and 35 pounds for women, but use whatever you have access to.

The Warmup

Briones chose warmup movements that will directly prepare your body for the challenging work ahead. Repeat 3 rounds before starting the workout.

  • 10 Lunge and reach
  • 10 Prisoner Squats
  • 10 Inchworms to Cobra

Lunge and Reach

How To Do It

  • Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Step forward with your right leg, putting the weight into your heel.
  • Bend your right knee, lowering it until it’s parallel to the floor. Your upper and lower legs should form a 90-degree angle, on both your right and left leg.
  • Extend your arms overhead, reaching for the sky.
  • Push through your right heel to come back up, extending your right leg, and flexing your glute to finish.
  • Step forward with your left leg, repeating the movement on the left side.
  • Repeat this movement, walking forward as you lunge.

 

Form Check 

Stack your shoulders, hip, and knee, and activate your core to stay stable as you reach overhead.

lunge and reach

Prisoner Squats

How To Do It

  • Start with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly out, chest up, and hands behind your head.
  • Hinge at your hips to bring your torso down to hip level.
  • Now sit back with your hips as if sitting in a chair. Lower yourself until your hips are parallel to the ground.
  • Drive through your glutes to return to your hinge position.
  • Drive through your heels to return to standing, flexing your quads and glutes to finish.

 

Form Check 

Keep your chest up as you hinge and squat.

Inchworms to Cobra

How To Do It

  • Start standing, and fold at your hips to reach for the ground.
  • Walk your hands out into a high plank, with wrists stacked below shoulders (or just slightly wider), feet together, and back straight.
  • Keep your core tight and lower your body with control until your chest hovers an inch or two above the ground, pause for one second here.
  • As you push back up bring your chest through your arms, and extend your back to stretch your lower back.
  • Push your hips back into a downward dog position.
  • Walk your feet up towards your hands, and repeat.

 

Form Check 

Keep your lats and core activated as you shift through each position.

Inchworms to Cobra

Mental Challenge

Lay out 10 random objects. Take two minutes to memorize as many details as possible about the items. For example: the logo, color, shapes, and words.

KIMS game
No need to scramble for random objects. Use this photo of 10 items straight from Briones’ gym.

Strength Circuit 1

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Complete 3 reps of each exercise, then 6, then 9, working your way up a 3-rep ladder.

  • 25-meter Bear crawl
  • Iron mikes

Bear Crawl

How To Do It

  • Start in a quadruped position with hands stacked below your shoulders, and knees below your hips.
  • Come up onto your hands and toes.
  • Reach forward with the opposite hand and knee.
  • Once firmly planted, reach forward with the other hand and knee.
  • Repeat to continue crawling like a bear.

 

Form Check 

Maintain a slight bend at the knees and keep your hips just above your shoulders.

Iron Mikes

How To Do It

  • Stand with your chest up and place your hands behind your head.
  • Lunge forward until your rear knee is hovering a few inches off the ground.
  • Jump up as high as you can and switch legs so you land with the opposite leg in front of your lunge.
  • Land soft with your knee tracking straight forward before jumping up and switching again.

 

Form Check 

Keep your shoulders in line with your hips and knees.

man doing Iron Mikes on beach

Cardio Round 1

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Complete 50 burpees for time. The faster you finish, the more rest you have before your next set of strength work.

Burpees

How To Do It

  • Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
  • From the bottom of the squat, place your hands on the floor and kick your legs out behind you into a high plank position.
  • Complete a pushup then jump your legs back up towards your hands, landing back in the bottom of your squat.
  • Drive upwards through your heels, and explode upward, jumping as high as you can.

 

Form Check 

Your chest and thighs must touch the ground to count as one rep. Fully extend your body at the top of the jump.

Burpees

Strength Circuit 2

Set your timer for 10 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible. Complete both carries on one side before repeating on the other side.

  • 50 ft Single Arm Kettlebell Farmers Carry
  • 50 ft Single Arm Kettlebell Front Rack Carry

Single Arm Kettlebell Farmers Carry

How To Do It

  • Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding your kettlebell with one hand, arm extended naturally at your side.
  • Maintain a strong neutral stance as you walk forward, remaining strong and stable to hold the kettlebell in place. 

 

Form Check

Fight to stay square, and keep your core active at all times.

Single Arm Kettlebell Front Rack Carry

How To Do It

  • Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and holding your kettlebell with one hand, do a single arm clean to rack the kettlebell at your shoulder.
  • Maintain a strong neutral stance as you walk forward, holding the kettlebell.

 

Form Check

Keep your shoulders square and straight, in line with your hips.

Cardio Round 2

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Complete 50 burpees for time. Try to complete them faster than the first time.

Strength Circuit 3

Set your timer for 10 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible.

  • 10 Walking lunges
  • 10 Kettlebell swings

Walking Lunges

How To Do It

  • Stand up straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Step forward with your right leg, putting the weight into your heel.
  • Bend your right knee, lowering it until it’s parallel to the floor.
  • Your upper and lower legs should form a 90-degree angle, on both your right and left leg.
  • Push through your right heel to come back up, extending your right leg, and flexing your glute to finish.
  • Step forward with your left leg, repeating the movement on the left side.
  • Repeat this movement, walking forward as you lunge.

 

Form Check

Maximize your range of motion by grazing your knee just above the floor. Keep your shoulders in line with your hips.

Kettlebell Swings

How To Do It

  • Stand up straight with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, and the kettlebell in front of you so your feet and the kettlebell form a triangle.
  • Squat down to reach for the kettlebell handle, and swing the kettlebell behind you, in between your legs. Keep your lats activated and chest up.
  • When the kettlebell reaches the end of its backward swing, in one forceful movement drive your hips forward, squeezing your glutes and contracting your abs as if coming up from a deadlift.
  • Your momentum will snap the kettlebell forward to right about shoulder height.
  • Allow the kettlebell to naturally swing back behind you and repeat.

 

Form Check

Squeeze your glutes at full extension. Keep your arms long and stop the kettlebell at eye level.

man doing Kettlebell Swings on the beach

Cardio Round 3

Set a timer for 5 minutes. Complete 50 burpees for time. Make this round your fastest.

Mental Challenge

Set a timer for two minutes and recite as many details as possible about the items you memorized at the beginning of the workout.

The physical and psychological stresses of combat can lower testosterone levels.

TRT can help get them back to normal. 

Test your T with Hone’s at-home assessment. If you have low T, our physicians can help you feel better.

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