Watch Army Veterans Try the Norwegian Special Forces Fitness Test

In a new video on the Shift Fire channel, former Army Ranger Cameron Fath and former Green Beret Israel Wright take on a famously grueling field training exercise: the entry test for the Norwegian Armed Forces’ Long Range Reconnaissance Squadron (LRRS).

First up is the chest supported row. In order to pass, participants must be able to lift the equivalent of their own bodyweight. Both Fath and Wright succeed in pulling 180 and 195 pounds respectively, and then carry on adding weight to the bar until they each reach their single rep max. Wright hits failure at 225 pounds, while Fath shows off his “short man strength” with 245.

The second event is the weighted pullup. Fath and Wright must each perform a single with 55 pounds strapped to their waists in order to pass, while a weight of 85 pounds would be required for a maximum score. Fath manages to get all the way up to 100 pounds, while Wright maxes out at 67.5 pounds.

Next up is the standing medicine ball throw, which tests soldiers’ explosive power, with a distance of 5 meters needed for a minimum passing score. As they only have access to a 20-pound ball rather than the standard 22, Wright and Fath increase the minimum distance to 5.18 meters. Both pass this round: Fath achieves a distance of 5.61, while Wright manages 5.27.

The final round is the ruck walk, carried out on a treadmill set to 4 miles per hour, with the incline increasing by 3 degrees every 5 minutes, while carrying a 55-pound rucksack on their backs and an 8-pound weapon in their hands (a sledgehammer is used here to simulate the weight of a rifle).

“It’s like almost running, but not quite walking,” says Wright at the start. “I’m going to try and hold off and keep that good pace for as long as I can without running. My calves are already feeling it.” He is on track to hit the minimum requirement of 25 minutes, but trips at 22 minutes 30 seconds and ends up coming off the treadmill. “It creeps up on you,” he says.

Fath keeps a good pace on his attempt at first, but he starts to cramp up and only makes it to 16 minutes 23 seconds. “A humbling experience,” he says. “That’s definitely no joke of a test, for sure.”

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