Training days, team drills, and range time get most of the attention around here — and they should. But none of it holds up if the person underneath the gear can’t move, breathe, and keep working past the first few minutes of stress. Physical fitness isn’t a hobby that sits off to the side of what we do; it’s the base everything else is built on. And of everything that base is made of, cardio should be first in line.
Why Cardio Comes First
The American Heart Association and CDC recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week (or 75 minutes of vigorous activity), plus strength work at least twice a week. That’s the floor, not the goal — more is better, up to a point of diminishing returns.
This isn’t just a general-health talking point. Cardiorespiratory fitness (commonly measured as VO2 max) is one of the strongest independent predictors of long-term survival that exists in the research. A 46-year follow-up from the Copenhagen Male Study found that each unit increase in VO2 max was tied to about 45 additional days of life. Separately, UK Biobank data on nearly 80,000 people found all-cause mortality dropped roughly 8% for every one-MET improvement in fitness. Fitness level predicted outcomes independent of body weight.
If your heart rate spikes and stays there under a light load, nothing else you’ve trained matters yet.
That’s the practical reason this matters to us specifically: rucking, movement under load, and recovering your breath between strings of fire all sit downstream of your cardiovascular base. Skills training doesn’t fix a weak engine.
Build the Aerobic Base First (Zone 2)
Most of your cardio volume should sit in what’s called Zone 2 — roughly 60–70% of max heart rate, an effort you could sustain for a long time while still holding a conversation. It feels almost too easy, which is exactly why people skip it in favor of always going hard. That’s a mistake.
Training at this pace builds mitochondrial density, improves your body’s ability to burn fat for fuel, and lowers your resting heart rate over time — all of which mean more work capacity with less fatigue. It’s also low-impact enough to do often without digging a recovery hole. Save the harder intervals for one or two sessions a week and let Zone 2 make up the bulk of your training.
Local 5Ks and 10Ks Are the Easiest Gauge
You don’t need a competition to test your cardio — a local 5K or 10K is a low-pressure, low-cost way to see where you actually stand. There are several within a short drive that already show up on our calendar as part of our tune-up race list: the Jackass Half Marathon & 5K in Kellogg, the Socktober Monster Dash in Spokane, the Wild Moose Chase in Spokane, and Huffin’ for the Stuffin’ in Spokane all offer shorter 5K/10K-friendly distances. Pick one, put it on the calendar, and see what your training has actually produced.
Spartan Races and Obstacle Courses: The Real Test
A 5K tells you about your engine. A Spartan Race or obstacle course race (OCR) tells you something closer to the truth: can you carry, climb, crawl, and drag under fatigue when your grip and legs are already cooked? OCR strips away the ability to fake fitness. It combines cardio, grip strength, and total-body strength endurance in a way that a treadmill session never will, and it’s genuinely humbling the first time you try it.
Our tentative 2027 Spartan Race plan — Sprint, Super, Beast, and Ultra/Trifecta distances — is already posted on the calendar page, along with the shorter tune-up races leading up to it.
Tactical Games: Another Option, Closer to What We Train For
If OCR is the general test, the Tactical Games is the specific one. It pairs functional fitness events — sled drags, sandbag carries, rope climbs, shuttle runs, movement in full kit — directly with shooting under fatigue. That combination of physical stress and marksmanship is about as close as a competition gets to testing the actual skill set we train toward. It’s demanding, but it’s an option worth training for if you want a test with more direct carryover.
The tentative 2027 Tactical Games regional schedule (Bland Regional, Rupert Regional, and Missoula Regional) is also posted on the calendar page, with the caveat that official dates haven’t been released yet.
Remember: It’s a Test, Not a Trophy
None of these events exist so we can win a medal. They exist to check our work. Signing up for a 5K, a Spartan Race, or the Tactical Games is a way to confirm — under real conditions, on a schedule you can’t talk your way out of — that your training is actually holding up and that you’re still meeting basic fitness standards. If an event exposes a weak spot, that’s the entire point. Better to find it there than somewhere it actually costs you.
Diet Matters Just as Much
You can’t out-train a bad diet. Current research on protein needs for endurance and strength training puts the useful range around 1.6–2.0 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day, higher than the old general-population guidance most people grew up hearing. Beyond protein, the fundamentals still do most of the work: enough total calories to support your training load, real food over processed food, consistent hydration, and enough sleep to actually recover. Cardio and strength work are the stimulus — diet and sleep are where the adaptation actually happens.
Find the Runs and Events on Our Calendar
Our weekly Ruck/Hike, Sunday-Gunday range days, the local tune-up races, the Spartan Race plan, and the tentative Tactical Games schedule are all listed on our calendar page. If you’re a member looking to get started, or a prospective member curious about what training with us actually looks like, that’s the place to start — and if you’re interested in joining in, message us.
- This post is for general information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a physician before starting or changing an exercise or nutrition program, especially if you have an existing health condition.
- Individual results and needs vary — the ranges and guidelines above are starting points, not prescriptions.
- Mentions of specific races or events are informational only; we are not affiliated with or sponsored by their organizers.
