Welcome to the Enter the Spetsnaz Workouts — a program forged from the brutal conditioning of Russia’s most feared warriors. These sessions fuse kettlebell power, combat drills, endurance runs, and mental fortitude training to build a fighter’s strength and a soldier’s mindset.
As the Spetsnaz say — “Умереть, но сделать.”
Die, but do.
Click below to skip the introduction and get straight to the workouts!!
Table of Contents
🇷🇺 Special Purpose Operatives
Оперативники специального назначения
The Spetsnaz — Spetsialnogo naznacheniya, meaning “special purpose” — were born in secrecy during the Soviet Union’s darkest years. Conceived for missions too dangerous or deniable for conventional forces, they became the sharp edge of Soviet power — experts in sabotage, infiltration, and psychological warfare.
Their existence was once whispered, never confirmed. But when the Iron Curtain fell, the truth emerged: men trained to endure agony, thrive in chaos, and execute with surgical brutality.
From Afghanistan’s mountains to Chechnya’s ruins, the Spetsnaz earned their reputation not through myth, but through action — a fusion of endurance, deception, and cold efficiency that redefined modern unconventional warfare.
Their creed is simple: “Any mission. Any time. Any place.”
And their lesson is universal — strength is nothing without resilience, and skill is worthless without control.
🩸 Selection Begins
Отбор начинается.
True Spetsnaz training is a descent into controlled brutality — a process designed to strip away weakness and reveal what’s left when the pain stops mattering. Candidates are pushed past exhaustion through forced marches, endless drills, combat sparring, and sleep deprivation. They learn to fight in forests, swamps, and cities; to use anything as a weapon; to endure hunger, cold, and chaos without hesitation.
The Spetsnaz. Russia’s finest.
There’s no comfort. No applause. No mercy — only discipline, suffering, and silence.
Our Enter the Spetsnaz Trials condenses that philosophy into two brutal circuits built for civilians who want to experience the mindset without the madness. Across four key components — Girevoy Strength, Rukopashni Boi, Field Endurance, and Pain Management — you’ll train like the Red Shadows: explosive, efficient, unrelenting.
This isn’t a workout. It’s a test of will — to keep going when your body quits, to master control when everything burns.
Because in the end, pain is temporary — but discipline is forever.
'Any mission, any time, any place'
– Spetsnaz Motto
🪖 Spetsnaz Military Training
Спецназ Военная подготовка
💪 Physical Training
Физическая подготовка
Spetsnaz rigorous physical training regimes place great emphasis on speed, power, endurance, strength and flexibility. This includes running for speed and distance, endurance swimming, strength and fitness drills, negotiating obstacle courses, and throwing knives and entrenching tools (a shovel that doubles as a tomahawk!).
Speed, power, endurance, strength and flexibility training.
Many of the Spetsnaz training techniques incorporate cultural and historical military and training methods. These range from Cossack (warriors of Ukraine and Southern Russia known for their fierce and powerful battle methods) fighting arts to Girevoy Sport (kettlebell lifting). There is even an element of training that embraces eastern meditation and control of the emotions.
🤸 Bodyweight Drills
физподготовка
Like most elite units, Spetsnaz rely heavily on functional bodyweight conditioning — but with greater intensity and fewer limits.
Workouts are designed to push soldiers to exhaustion, often in harsh environmental conditions.
Typical movements include:
- Push-Ups.
- Pull-Ups.
- Sit-Ups.
- Bodyweight Squats.
- Core Stability Work.
All performed to failure, developing pain tolerance, explosive endurance, and mental resilience.
Pushups, core training and pain tolerance. Spetsnaz style!!
🏋️ Kettlebell Training
Обучение Гири
Kettlebells (or Giri) are a cornerstone of Russian military conditioning.
Used in Girevoy Sport, they enhance strength, endurance, coordination, and mobility.
Kettlebell circuits are performed with controlled speed and high volume, building both raw power and combat-ready stamina.
A Girevnik (kettlebell lifter) in the Russian armed forces is trained to lift, swing, and press under fatigue — mimicking real combat strain.
A ‘Girevnik’ (Kettlebell lifter) in the Russian military.
🥋 Martial Arts
боевые искусства
Rukopashny Boi (рукопашный бой) is the hand-to-hand combat system used by Spetsnaz.
It combines explosive power, speed, and technical precision to dominate an opponent in seconds.
This system integrates:
- Systema and Combat Sambo (modern Russian close-combat systems).
- Cossack fighting techniques rooted in folk warfare.
- Western Boxing and Eastern martial arts influences such as Karate and Judo.
Russian martial arts integrate systems of fighting from Russian fighting systems such as Sambo, Systema and Cossack fighting techniques with more traditional martial arts such as Karate and Boxing.
Training emphasises real-world application, teaching operators to strike, break, and finish quickly — all while remaining calm and adaptable under stress.
📋 Training Objectives
цели
The Spetsnaz Trials are divided into two core workouts — brutal full-body circuits combining ruck runs, kettlebells, callisthenics, and hand-to-hand conditioning.
There’s no set time limit — only completion. Each circuit escalates in intensity, testing your power, endurance, and psychological control.
Be warned — this isn’t fitness for show.
It’s functional combat conditioning — survival training for those willing to step into the fire.
🧱 (Circuit One)
Tренировка. Номер один
Equipment Required:
- Rucksack (10–15 kg). Kettlebells. Heavy bag & gloves.
Set and Reps:
- Complete all stations — including the Endurance Test and Strength Test — as quickly as possible.
🧩 Stations of the Workout
- Rucksack and/or weighted vest run (3 miles).
- Pull-ups (overhand grip) x 12 reps x 3 rounds before progressing.
- Core exercise superset – a) Weighted sit-ups x 20 reps. b) KB Windmills x 10 reps each side. c) Kettlebell drag through’s x 10 reps each side. Complete x 4 rounds of each before progressing.
- Kettlebell circuit – a) Turkish Get Ups (4 each side). b) 30 x reps Kettlebell swings. c) 12 x reps Cleans (each side). Complete x 4 rounds of each before progressing.
- Kettlebell Cossack squat – x 10 reps on each side.
- Rucksack and/or weighted vest run – (2 miles).
- Hand-to-hand combat – 3 minutes all-out rounds on the heavy bag. x 3 rounds before progressing.
- Endurance test (see below).
- Strength test (see below).
🕒 Endurance Test
Испытание на долговечность
This complex consists of four general physical preparedness exercises. x 12 reps at maximum speed x 5 rounds.
- Pushups.
- Burpees.
- Mountain climbers.
- Jumping Lunges.
NB: The above complex is undertaken by special forces in full combat gear (naturally you don’t have to!!).
💪 Strength Test
Испытание на прочность
Do as many reps as possible of every exercise. Maintain perfect form. On failure move onto the next exercise.
- Pull-ups with an overhand grip.
- Squat jumps, the same as in the first test.
- Pushups. The chest must touch the ground, the body must stay straight.
The three above exercises are done back to back without rest. 2 minutes of rest before continuing.
- Situps. Touch your left knee with your right elbow, on the next rep touch your right knee with your left elbow. Keep alternating. Do as many reps as possible in 2 minutes.
- Burpees (maximum reps in 2 minutes).
'умереть но сделать'
(Die, but do!!) – Russian saying.
Enjoying our Spetsnaz Workouts? Check out some of our Warrior Workouts, workouts for the Elite only!!
🧱 (Circuit Two)
Тренировка. Номер два
Equipment Required:
- Rucksack (10–15 kg). Kettlebells. Heavy bag & gloves.
Set and Reps:
- Complete all stations — including the Endurance Test and Strength Test — as quickly as possible.
🧩 Stations of the Workout
- Rucksack and/or weighted vest run (3 miles).
- Chin-ups (underhand grip) – x 12 repetitions x 3 rounds.
- Core session – a) KB Half get-ups (x 10 reps each side). b) KB planks with alternating shoulder taps (x 1 minute). c) Russian twists with KB. 20 x reps (10 each side) x 4 rounds.
- Kettlebell circuit – KB Thrusters x 15 reps. x 25 reps one-armed kettlebell swings. 24 Snatches (12 each side) x 3 rounds.
- 8 x 45 seconds sprints– (Outdoors or treadmill).
- Hand-to-hand combat – 3 minutes all-out rounds on the heavy bag. x 3 rounds.
- Kettlebell walks – a. (Use heavier KB’s). Walk 25 yds and back with KB’s in the ‘racked’ position. b. (Use lighter KB’s) Overhead KB walks. Have one KB pressed overhead and carry one KB by side. Walk 25 yds. Change sides and return. x3 rounds.
- Endurance test (see below).
- Strength test (see below).
🕒 Endurance Test
Испытание на долговечность
This complex consists of four general physical preparedness exercises. Complete at maximum speed X5 rounds.
- ‘Spiderman’ Pushups – x 20 reps (10 each side).
- Burpees – x 15 reps.
- Bear Crawls – (25 yds and back).
- Box Jumps – x 12 reps.
💪 Strength Test
Испытание на прочность
Do as many reps as possible of every exercise. Maintain perfect form. On failure move onto the next exercise.
- Pull-ups – with an overhand grip.
- Squat jumps – the same as in the first test.
- Pushups – The chest must touch the ground, the body must stay straight.
The three above exercises are done back to back without rest. 2 minutes of rest before continuing.
- Sit Ups – Touch your left knee with your right elbow, on the next rep touch your right knee with your left elbow. Keep alternating. Do as many reps as possible in 2 minutes.
- Burpees – (maximum reps in 2 minutes).
Whichever circuit you undertake Remember to cool down and drink water!
Training Complete!!
Тренировка завершена!!
🇷🇺 Appendix – The Shadow Soldiers of the Soviet Union
Приложение – Теневые солдаты Советского Союза
If the SAS were born from the deserts of North Africa, the Spetsnaz were forged in the frozen paranoia of the Cold War.
Their name — “Voyska spetsialnogo naznacheniya” — means “Troops of Special Purpose.”
They were the Soviet Union’s covert elite, operating where politics ended and chaos began — specialists in sabotage, assassination, and intelligence-gathering.
In a system obsessed with secrecy, they were the ghosts no one admitted existed.
Click on the links below to read more about the Spetsnaz and their training.
🩸 Origins of the Spetsnaz
The origins of the Spetsnaz stretch back to the Soviet partisans of World War II, who carried out guerrilla warfare deep behind German lines — blowing up railways, sabotaging supply routes, and assassinating officers.
After the war, Soviet command saw the value in these unconventional tactics. By the 1950s, the GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) formalised this idea into a permanent special operations force: the Spetsnaz GRU.
Their early role was clear — cripple NATO before the war even began.
That meant infiltrating Europe, destroying key targets, and eliminating command structures long before open conflict.
🧭 The Cold War Years
During the long shadow of the Cold War, Spetsnaz were the sharpest edge of Soviet military strategy.
Operating under deep cover, they trained for covert demolitions, assassinations, and high-risk reconnaissance.
They studied Western uniforms, languages, and radio codes — designed to blend in before striking.
They earned global notoriety for their brutal efficiency during covert actions and proxy wars.
While Western nations showcased their elite troops, the Soviets denied the existence of theirs.
For decades, the Spetsnaz were a rumour whispered by Western intelligence, a ghost unit that left no trace but bodies and sabotage.
🪖 From Afghanistan to Chechnya
Their first major open conflict came in Afghanistan (1979–1989), where Spetsnaz units executed lightning raids against Mujahideen forces — ambushing convoys, seizing mountain passes, and striking at night with surgical precision.
In the Chechen Wars of the 1990s and 2000s, their reputation evolved again.
Urban warfare replaced mountains and deserts; operations became closer, bloodier, more psychological.
They engaged in hostage rescues, counter-terrorism raids, and guerrilla suppression.
Modern-day Spetsnaz units remain active across multiple theatres — from Crimea to Syria — wherever deniability and precision are required.
🕵️ Branches of the Spetsnaz
Unlike Western special forces, Spetsnaz are not one unit but a network of specialised formations serving different agencies:
- GRU Spetsnaz: Military intelligence operations, deep reconnaissance, sabotage.
- FSB Alpha & Vympel: Counter-terrorism and hostage rescue (successors of the KGB).
- MVD Internal Troops: Urban combat and riot control.
SVR Spetsnaz: Foreign intelligence missions outside Russian borders.
Each branch has its own training doctrine and psychological conditioning, but they share a single code — absolute discipline and fearless execution.
⚔️ Inside the Training – Otbor
The Spetsnaz selection process, known as Otbor (“Selection”), is one of the harshest in the world.
There are no speeches, no motivation — only the expectation that you’ll either finish or break.
Physical Trials include:
- Forced marches up to 60 km with full packs.
- Endless callisthenics in freezing rivers, mud, and snow.
- Hand-to-hand combat sparring until one fighter quits or bleeds.
Candidates endure sleep deprivation, starvation, and constant psychological stress.
Failure is public and merciless.
Those who survive move on to advanced training:
- Demolitions and sabotage.
- Close-quarters combat.
- Weapons mastery and stealth infiltration.
- Survival in extreme climates.
🧠 The Spetsnaz Mindset
The training is not designed to make men stronger — it’s designed to strip away weakness entirely.
Every exercise is a test of willpower, adaptability, and pain tolerance.
Live ammunition is used in drills.
Instructors strike recruits mid-exercise to test composure under real stress.
Recruits are pushed until they operate beyond exhaustion, moving purely on discipline and instinct.
Their guiding principle is simple:
If you fear pain, you cannot control fear. If you cannot control fear, you cannot control chaos.
When they finally earn the Red Beret, it’s not a symbol of pride — it’s proof they’ve learned to endure the impossible.
🩶 Legacy and Modern Influence
Today, Spetsnaz training philosophy has influenced elite units worldwide — from Eastern European police forces to Western private military contractors.
Their focus on pain tolerance, adaptability, and extreme mental conditioning remains unmatched.
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