Marcus Capone was a member of the US Navy’s most elite force for 13 years, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
He underwent more than two years of rigorous physical training, sometimes spending a full 24-hour day completing exercises.
During the six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training camp, recruits are expected to run on just five hours of sleep in a week and carry a 40lb log or boat over 35 miles.
In another exercise, they are dropped into a deep swimming pool with their hands tied behind their backs and told to use their teeth to retrieve a mask from the bottom.
Vice President JD Vance, who took part in a 90-minute training program in December, said it left him feeling ‘like I got hit by a freight train’.
Capone, now 49, retired from active service in 2013, but stayed on for three years to help train new recruits. While Hollywood suggests that the recruits are all bedecked with highly sculpted, six-pack-style physiques, Capone said this isn’t a hard and fast truth.
Instead, the force, which runs covert counterterrorism missions, focuses on building a strong and solid body – and mind – that does not break.
While he is no longer doing extreme workouts, Capone has continued a toned-down version to stay in top physical shape. He discouraged people from trying the extreme training exercises on their own, he has shared with Daily Mail three at-home challenges anyone can do to build strength like a Navy SEAL.
Marcus Capone, pictured above with his wife Amber, has revealed three at-home challenges for people to experience an exercise similar to that of a Navy SEAL
Go rucking
In Navy SEAL training, there may be no activity that is more important than rucking.
The exercise, which typically involves walking over long distances carrying a 10 to 20lb backpack, has surged in popularity in recent years as a way to build muscles and burn calories.
But in the military, it has another function — to prepare someone to be able to carry 50 to 80lbs of body armor, kit and weapons over long distances.
Marcus Capone is pictured above. He was a Navy SEAL for 13 years
During training, Navy SEAL recruits may be required to carry this much weight over 10 miles or more, often mostly uphill and after an already grueling day of training.
Capone steered people away from trying this at home, warning that carrying this much weight for a long period could harm their back or lead to an injury.
For those looking to experience Navy SEAL training, however, or want to train for rucking events, he recommended trying the sport once a week.
He said people should move at a brisk pace and carry a weight they feel ‘comfortable’ with, starting with about 10 to 25lbs.
They should then walk over a flat surface for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they have covered two to three miles. Each week, he said they should then increase the distance by half-a-mile or the weight they are carrying by 5lbs.
Capone told Daily Mail: ‘Walk up hills, walk on a treadmill, just get used to the heavy weight on you. Get used to your knees and hips, your back and shoulders, bearing that weight.’
He added: ‘[Rucking] sucks, it never gets easy. It’s not fun to do it 10 times or 100 times. You might get really good at it, but it will always be difficult.’
JD Vance is pictured above training with US Navy SEALs. He said the 90-minute exercise left him feeling ‘like I got hit by a freight train’
Cold plunge for five minutes
Wellness gurus are always espousing the alleged health benefits of a cold plunge, claiming it can ‘reset the vagus nerve’ or enhance recovery.
Some studies have suggested it may help with recovery.
And some say it can boost mental health, potentially improving cognitive function and mood because it triggers the release of cortisol and adrenaline — hormones that help someone to feel more alert.
However, experts have also warned over the risks – saying humans are ‘tropical animals’ and warning that it may trigger hypothermia, which can be fatal within an hour.
During Navy SEALs training, to get recruits used to cold conditions, Capone said that in one exercise they are submerged in water at 50F (10C) for 35 minutes.
Their temperature is monitored throughout and, if they get too cold, they are removed and warmed up, before being placed back in until they complete the exercise. Often, they need to be pulled out every 10 to 15 minutes.
He strongly warned against trying to stay in an ice bath for this long at home, especially if someone is not supervised.
But, in a challenge, he said people could try to submerge themselves up to their necks in 50F water for three to five minutes while under observation.
Follow the ‘1-mile rule’
Capone is shown above with his wife Amber. He retired from the military in 2013 after 13 years of active service
Capone learned early that the limit on what he could do wasn’t his muscles, it was his mind.
To get through long, grueling exercises, recruits are taught a simple mental technique: Focus on the moment.
Capone said: ‘The main thing we always talk about is just to get through this evolution. That’s the only thing that matters.
‘For example, if I think about a 100-mile race, and if I think about mile 97 at the start of the race, that’s a long way off, right? I want to think about mile one, then mile two, and so on.
‘It’s the same with training, you just want to think about the evolution that you are doing in that moment. Because, guess what, if you don’t pass this one, you’re not going to get to the next one. That’s the trick.’
For the public, Capone challenged them to try a slightly longer workout than normal, but use this mental trick to get through it, and find out whether they were able to exercise for longer.
For example, on a 4-mile jog, he said that rather than immediately thinking about getting to the end, people should focus on the first mile only, then the second, then the third, until they get to the end.
How to take supplements like a Navy SEAL
Almost all of us now have at least one bottle of a supplement at home, which we hope may boost health, longevity, sleep, mood or even sex drive.
But amid dubious evidence to back many and the difficulty of remembering to take them daily, many of us push them to one side.
Not so for Navy SEALs. Capone said that, after training, there are five supplements that SEALs swear by.
These are Omega 3, to boost brain health and performance, vitamin D, to reduce the risk of infections and make up for lost sunlight hours while working at night, magnesium, to help speed recovery, and, in some cases, multivitamins for overall health.
Alongside this, he said they would also take electrolytes, protein powder and creatine.
Electrolytes can help to replace essential nutrients and salts lost during sweating, helping the body to function at peak performance. Creatine provides ready-to-use energy, also boosting the body, while protein supports muscle growth and recovery.
Capone said these supplements would regularly be taken to the field and on missions to keep soldiers in tip-top health.
