Berget Forum

Hey guys, first post

At the moment im doing a weight loss program to lose 10 stone, (64kgs) , Im down 6 stone already, but want to know what the general fitness levels are for the event. Im booked for B10 and dont wanna let my team down in any way.

all advice welcome.

I am starting a fitness regime soon so will be able to hike once again as i used to (being an ex scout) - bikeriding as soon I can start.

Regards

Wentex / Adam

well, the fitnesslevel divers from unit to unit. you have different physical requirements in the different units. rangers or mountaineers have a higher demand of fitness than for example HQ duty.

You applied for a NAF infantry unit... The Harnösand terrain is rugged, rocky, swampy, expect to walk up and downhill at least 20-30km total if you are not sitting in base - and if your commanders not refusing missions which require a bit of walking.

Our milsim units easily walked over 30-40km at B9 (which is not as much as it sounds over the course of a few days).

The hard terrain demands quality hiking boots with good ankle protection which is even more important if you are overweight.

At B10 you will meet both athletes and people that remind you of Barbapapa. It sounds like you´re on your way to better health, so I wouldn´t worry about B10 if I were you. But keep it up and focus on cardio-vascular exercise.

I would recommend doing a good deal of walking with a backpack - equivalent weight to your fighting load, preferably a it heavier. If you have hilly terrain nearby all the better.

The most important thing is that you can carry your gear on you for hour a time. Make sure your legs and hips hold.

I would suggest to get one of theese:



An easy way of simulating you carrying your gear, and remeber not to walk on tarmac or asfalt, its all in the woods.

Theese particular weightvests are quite expencive but I can finde one for 30€ in my local supermarket here.

I hope this could help you some what.

If you dont have any hilly terrain like me, i found it very efficient to climb stairs to simulate the hills. If you want to torture yourself a bit, run with your boots on sand.
When you use a wheigtvest, or something similar ( a cheap combat vest with weights in the magpouches, or simply a backpack with things in it) make sure that it fits nice and snug. you dont want any major movement, because this will surely become very uncomfortable very soon.
I for myself can recommend to wear your whole gear at least once before the game and make some exercises with it. if you think it looks very strange, simply go to a deserted place, where nobody will think WW III is breaking out

cheers for the tips guys

I hope she comes with the weight vest, however she looks like she weighs about what i aim at losing

Ill give it a go anyhow.

Walking with your equipment is the best training for Berget. Many players are fit enought to walk 20-30km/day but they get blisters in their combat boots and they mess up their back from their rig and backpack.

Check in the veteran section for advice regarding what to bring and what to leave at home. Keep the weight down and try to keep your training as close to what you expect to experience during Berget.

The way to not f*ck up your knees and back is to graduatly build op the amount of weight in your pack and start easy with the distance.

Walk with your backpack once a week and start with 5 kg if you are not used to walking distances. Build op to the weight of your berget gear or more. Ad a view km's every week and take time to recover.

Also do some body core training two or three times per week, it helps to carry the weight and also burns fat.

What others said about feet. Hilly areas will indicate very soon if you have badly fitting shoes as your feet slide around, and guys with overall good fitness can still wreck their feet as there is not too much downtime for blisters to heal properly. I imagine that this is even more pronounced if you have extra weight to carry and if you are not accustomed to walking. You can always rest if you tire out but bad blisters will put you out of the game.

Good dry socks, pre-emptive taping or using skin-protecting anti-friction cremes etc.. and having shoes that you have earlier test-hiked in for ~15 kms or more without having rubbing or blisters.

It also partly depends how hard you are willing to push yourself. I am far from the fittest person and I'll be the first to admit that, but I am willing to push myself. I managed Berget 9 walking everywhere, my legs & shoulders ached and my feet hurt but I was not willing to let my team or myself down so I just did my best to keep going and make the most of it and I had a great experience.

I think it really just comes down to how much effort you are willing to put in, no matter what if you keep pushing yourself (not so hard you die of heatstroke or something though) then you will get by. Good fitness certainly helps and makes it easier (and more enjoyable) but if you are willing to put the effort in then I wouldn't worry too much.

Just make sure your gear is comfortable, practical and well worn in. I really cannot stress how important that is.

Hi Dudes. Another small tip; not just keep your feet dry, but wear only socks that havn't been wasched with too much washing powder and/or fresheners, because the tensides in these products also soften the skin by diluting/erradicating the skins physiological fat layer. hope my spelling wasn't too bad^^

First and foremost. Great Job dude Kudos, jeep up the good work.
Three tips to prepare for the challenges of Berget (or any other continous outdoor activity where you walk):
Don't use fabric softener. The silicon in it clogs the small holes in the fabric, taking away its ability to breath and transport moisture, causing especially your feet to become moisture and developing blisters and other unplesentries.
Keep fresh. Change the bottom layer of your clothes every day, otherwise you'll develop aches and other unplesentries.
And last, bring a skin creme against inner thigh rashes. The commonly appear amongst people who are not used to walking a lot and your army trousers won't help exactly, they don't breath. Trust me, I fought with those rashes a lot during my first month in the armed forces.
Taking these things into account, will surely help you, but keep up with the exercise and listen to the experienced guys above and your teammates will soon have problems keeping up with.

nice job dude


as said before be prepared to move on foot for at least 10 cliks per day (played civilian on b9 and still managed to move 10km/day on foot). the movement will include walking, running, crouching and proning so u need to be ready and build stamina for these things

footwear is also key. personally i stopped using army boots of anykind and started using lighter (and softer) quality hiking boots.

and change underwear more often (like at least twice a day) to prevent rashes.

when on R&R change to smthg like flipflops to rest ur feet.