Top 10 Most Extreme Military Exercises

Republic of Korea Armed Forces
What else is there to do on a bright sunny day than to go crack your hands, feet and why not even your skull on some cement blocks? This exercise will definitely make you stop to think and clear your head! But for these South-Korean soldiers, it’s just another way of showing their strength and endurance. Military officers admitted that this exercise doesn’t have much integrity and they were thinking of reducing time spent teaching this discipline. But for now, let’s try to enjoy watching this extreme exercise which is both fascinating and unbearable to watch…

Armed Forces of the Philippines
We’ve all heard the saying: a healthy mind, a healthy body. Well, the Marine Corps of the
Philippines brought this saying to a whole other level by assuming that your mind can also be completely altered. Welcome to Hell Blast, an exercise in which these recruits must perform a series of exercises while being completely blasted. Aside from being ridiculed, recruits who spent the whole day boozing, will have to show their true colors, which will surely entertain the officials.

People’s Liberation Army
If you enroll in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, be ready to suffer. During your training, which ultimately aims at mimicking the stress felt in a real combat zone, you’ll go through a series of obstacles that are completely insane. You’ll have to go through rings of fire, break bricks with your skull, and break wooden blocks with your bare hands. If all these crazy tasks still haven’t convinced you to leave, then maybe you’ll become an elite soldier for the Chinese army!

United States Navy SEALs
Let’s move onto the United States and look at the Navy Seals, the American navy task force. If there’s one military force that puts absolutely everything into play to train elite soldiers, it’s the Navy SEALs. For example, let’s look at their intensive training week called Hell Week. Only one out of two recruits will make it to the end. The week will consist of forced marches on practically vertical dunes while transporting tree trunks and repetitive swimming in iced cold waters. All this of course, with only 4 hours of sleep. Four hours a night? No, no. Four hours for the entire week.

Miscellaneous Armed Forces
Since standard military training doesn’t seem to be enough, we present you the Cobra Gold, an international annual military exercise held in Thailand. This event of course gathers army troops from Thailand, but also those from Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and the United States. Participants must capture cobras that they’ll then kill and drink their blood. The highlight of this ritual is when soldiers capture a live chicken that they must then decapitate using their teeth. Why? Because there’s nothing better to remove the taste of snake blood.

British Army Special Air Service
When a military force prides itself for being popular among the American army, we know it’s a powerful one. This army is none other than the British Special Air Service or SAS. SAS soldiers must undergo intense 5 month long boot camps, in which only 10% of them will come out victorious and unharmed. Because yes, you guessed it: some recruits will end up dead. The exercises include extremely long walks of 64km that they must complete without stopping, all while carrying a 60-pound bag on their shoulders. We’re in pain just thinking about it.

Russian Armed Forces
According to Russian Special Forces, a soldier’s biggest enemy is stress, as it can cause a deadly lack of concentration. Sure, you experience stress all the time too, with work, school, family… But we know for a fact that Russian soldiers may be way ahead of you. In one of the exercises, Russian soldiers get shot in the chest and must then complete a series of specific actions without losing their focus. Among other things, they must complete mathematical equations in their heads and then complete a series of precise shooting exercises. Man, that requires a lot of concentr-oh did I just get a text?

Korean People’s Army
What if we told you we knew a method that can give you an iron fist? The only kicker is that you have to undergo training with North Korean soldiers who are members of Storm Corp. During these training sessions, they’ll teach you how to throw 5,000 punches into a tree trunk. You’ll then have to punch the sharp edges of a tin can. Once your hand is completely beat up, you’ll have to throw some extra punches on a pile of salt. Yes, you’ll probably cry, but it’s a small price to pay to have fists that are hard like a rock.

Russian Armed Forces
This Russian Armed Forces exercise will make you nauseous. In one exercise, soldiers must get over their fear of blood by taking a night stroll in a dark building where the floors are covered in blood and scattered with different organs. But here’s the fun part: you’ll also have a mad dog chasing you. Soldiers must escape the dog in a labyrinth of hallways without slipping on the blood. If this Russian military nightmare doesn’t make you want to become a vegetarian, then nothing will.


Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:


Rappelling Down a Skyscraper
Armed Forces of Israel

Crawling Over Sharp Corals
Republic of China Armed Forces

People’s Liberation Arm
Are you in for a little game of deadly hot potato? Well, the People’s Liberation Army of China is already one step ahead of you by adding its personal touch: replacing the potato with a grenade. What better way to whip these troops into shape than to pass around a grenade that’s just waiting to detonate in your face. Are you shocked? Just know that these cheerful suicide squads wanted nothing less than to honor their country by joining the Chinese Armed Forces.