Hard Routine

The hard routine is a term used by military forces throughout the world to describe the hardness, seriousness and focus whilst on a mission. When the soldiers cross the line and land in a war zone ready for action they say that they go on the hard routine. It’s at this point where rules become strict. There is no tolerance for error, no room for selfishness, indulgence or lack of focus.

This principle is necessary in military missions. It is needed to ensure the job gets done. Circumstances are extremely harsh and the soldier or special operations commando requires toughness, focus, determination and discipline to ensure his own survival and the survival of his follow soldier.

There is something here to be learned, not just for the soldier or commando about to risk life and limb in battle, but to the everyday individual and athlete living a comfortable civilian lifestyle. In our modern world we have been conditioned to be soft. Getting out of bed early is a chore. God help you if you have to meet a deadline. Oh, and what if your work is difficult? What then? Mental breakdown and a complete meltdown of your psychological well-being.

It is because of conditioning and an extremely soft routine that people have become lazy and stressed. It is vital for the future of our society to understand the psychology behind the hard routine. In any endeavour, ones that are worthwhile anyway, the determining factor behind success is always the mindset of the individual.

The hard routine is difficult, that’s why it’s called a hard routine. When resistance is overcome the dividends are amazing. The willing participant is allowed access to a world otherwise unlikely. The concept, when applied, grants entry into a whole new life, one free from the need for indulgence and unnecessary comforts, one free from distractions and bad habits. It is here, on the other side of the hard routine, that a person has unlimited personal resources at his or her disposal. Only through total immersion and through suffering and extreme effort can someone actually produce a worthy experience of life.

In my experience sports, martial arts, fitness and just about everything else are decided by mental toughness and fortitude. One must employ superior firepower and arm himself with the hardest tools available if he is to be virtually indestructible and immune to the deficiencies and common ailments of the new, soft world. Developing the spirit and “heart” to win is difficult in a world where comfort is more highly regarded than raw capacity. That’s why the onus is on the individual to develop a hard routine. No one will do it for you. Too many people wait around for others to do shit for them and make their life work. Then when they find themselves out of shape, getting hammered on the football field or losing out on a major financial deal, most people look for an excuse. They generally look for the parties responsible for not ensuring they get it done.

Genuine fitness and true, unexaggerated capacity are a reality for less than 5% of the population. Take a visit to a normal gym and you will see what I mean. I mean really look around, look at what people are doing. Don’t just do it at the gym, observe in other areas of life also. Observe the common actions and reactions of the masses. Take a look at what happens during a period of difficulty or suffering. The soft routine has caused most people to pull the pin long before they are forced to. A hard routine means seeing it through. It means tolerating and suffering and getting shit done in order to later reap the rewards and share them with others who deserve it.

Modern values are governed by appearance and image more than actual horsepower. I should use the example of a bodybuilder. The bodybuilder is some piece of work. I once heard a champion of the “sport” say that he doesn’t care how strong he is. He doesn’t care if he can actually exert a lot of strength and power, he just wants to appear as though he can. This is the story for most of the world now. It is a rare individual now days that exerts extreme effort and suffers in order to gain a functional result.

Any environment contaminated by the attitude of a soft routine, governed by and highly valuing comfort and indulgence is poison. The person immersed on a regular basis in the soft routine and surrounded by lack of will is a person that almost inevitably never achieves greatness or anything worthwhile. But hey, it’s really not all that bad now is it? I mean at least you get to be “comfortable”.

For those living in an environment surrounded by the hard routine and suffering for a purpose, all the dividends, all the rewards, all the glory is gained. It is environment that truly shapes a person’s mind. The input the brain receives is the governing factor of all that a person ultimately has or lacks. Immersed in a hard environment of like-minded individuals is the way to a hard routine that means something, one that leads to the pot of gold at the end of the storm cloud.

Personal Evolution is isolated from the modern ideals of fitness and conditioning. We believe the attitude of the vast majority to be poisonous. Softness and mediocrity are a plague, they are insidious and leak slowly into your brain, cut off your balls and destroy any last remnant of free will, but only whilst you indulge in them and are surrounded by them. We are separated from the general public and as a result we possess our own sets of rules and values that govern the work that we do. Nothing of true value can be gained through trickery. You cannot create value by going through the motions and hoping that it will suffice. True fitness and real capacity is earned, it can’t be faked.

We train with the commitment necessary to win in any endeavour. This is the hard routine. If you are not willing to go the whole way and lay it all on the line then don’t bother even starting. You can only truly understand once you have committed all your resources to the task at hand and gotten the full dose. It may all sound very extreme but it is necessary. Any lapse in discipline results in backwards steps. One exception turns into another and another and so on and soon you’re back into the soft routine simply because everyone else around you is too.

Return to our home page from Hard Routine