When I was looking for someone to write an article about the importance of preparedness and being battle ready, Kyler Barracks was the first person to come to mind. I was trained by him personally and had the privilege of getting to know him and being exposed to the knowledge he holds. His dedication, discipline and knowledge on fitness and being combat ready exceeds beyond what is expected from him by the USMC and I couldn't think of a better person to write an article on this topic. If you're looking for more information or want to be trained directly by him, visit his instagram @warhogbarbelltraining.
Preparedness and Its Importance
By: Kyler Barracks
War Hog Barbell Training Team
Instagram: @warhogbarbelltraining
I am Kyler Barracks. Staff Sergeant in the USMC. I currently serve as the Scout Sniper Platoon Sergeant. I have been enlisted for over 12 years and have served 10 of them as a Scout Sniper. I have done a total of 6 deployments overseas with two of them being to Afghanistan. I also currently run and head coach for my business War Hog Barbell. This business specializes in the fitness training that is directly taught at Westside Barbell.
I have had several chances to both learn and push my body to the limit and every time I told myself one thing: I wish I had prepped more. Preparedness is the ultimate equalizer for any survival or fight situation. You never know when you’ll need to be ready. You need to do it the right way.
Preparedness is a word that you might have heard before. To be prepared and ready for the upcoming events. The ability to act from work you have put in earlier. There are several ways to prepare for something, however, we are going to talk about preparing for worst case scenario: combat. Military members have the job of being ready for the nation at a moment’s notice. But what about you sitting at home, out of the military, forgetting that your way of life could be at risk? Being prepared for an instant situation is a high priority for all in America.
Many take different approaches to combat. Many will train on weapons. Others will train their minds in tactics and maneuver. Most will train in martial arts to be able to defend yourself in situations. All the above are important in their own way and should be taken seriously in acting prepared for combat. However, the most important quality that is often the most neglected is physical preparedness.
Tactics and maneuver are useless if your body is unable to carry them out. Weapons training will be useless when the physical toll of moving to employ that weapon becomes too much. The ability to fight in the form of an art will be stopped by someone who can just out last you. Your techniques will slow, your aim will become sloppy, and your tactics will be out done by a more physically ready enemy.
This isn’t just for those in the military either. You need to understand that your life could become at risk at a moment’s notice. Therefore, fitness will always be needed in your life. There are a few people I can think of that put this in perspective. Josh Bryant of Jailhouse Strong is one, who coined the phrase Gas Station Ready. Meaning it’s 1 am, you’re at a dark gas station, and there’s a suspicious looking individual near the pumps and a tweaker outside the building screaming. You’ve already started filling up and your family is inside the car. Are you ready for the possible outcomes?
There are several different ways to train. Training is more than just slaying yourself into oblivion then moving on with your day. Training is just as much science as anything else. Without getting into too much detail, it would be in your best interest to find a trainer that studies these things to help you. One that knows what it means to build preparedness. One of the greatest training systems in the world is the conjugate method discovered and refined by Louie Simmons at Westside Barbell. This system is unique in its attempt to raise multiple different fitness levels at once. Many systems focus on one attribute at a time. Such as strength, speed, power. With the conjugate method, all these attributes are attacked at once.
The training is truly the best choice for those choosing to be ready at a moment’s notice. Following a 3-week method, Louie Simmons discovered adaptations get the most out of the training at 3 weeks. No more, no less. This means at any given time you are just off a peak or just starting one. Leaving your body in prime fighting shape.
You never know what is going to happen in this world. Your physical conditioning is going to make or break you being prepared for the chaos. As with the conjugate method, you can’t afford to work on one thing at a time. Master your craft and elevate your skills in all areas while keeping your physical conditioning at an all-time high. Stay Sharp, Stay Fit, and Stay Alive!