For anyone who spends long hours on their feet, whose work or play means that your footwear doesn’t come off for many miles or many days, making sure you’re wearing great socks will help keep your feet healthy, and it will help you maintain morale. When your feet feel good, it makes you feel good even in challenging conditions. Whether you want to upgrade your standard-issue socks, or you’re shopping at the exchange on active duty or off, these are our top tips for buying socks, and an overview of our favorite socks for service members and civilians who demand the quality and performance of elite, active duty individuals.

Materials and fit

What your socks are made of

The materials your socks are made of determine how your socks perform, whether that’s merino, polypropylene, or something else.

In general, merino socks are our favorite socks. No other material maintains warmth when wet, and no other material has natural antimicrobial properties. Whether your feet are sweating and you need moisture management, or you’re deployed in arctic cold and you need warm socks to maintain a comfortable foot temperature, merino delivers. It’s a long-staple, natural fiber that comes from sheep. But it’s not itchy like shorter-staple wool. Merino is soft on the skin, long-wearing, and because it’s also antimicrobial, even if you wear the same pair for days, your merino socks won’t stink. Merino excels at thermoregulating. So merino socks keep you warm in the cold, and comfortable in the heat.

Most merino socks are a blend of merino, spandex, and a synthetic to help merino fibers wear longer and to help the socks wick moisture away from your feet. Merino fibers are naturally crimped or coiled, which makes those fibers springy and elastic. So merino socks typically return to their original shape instead of stretching or bagging out. Polypropylene, sometimes called Polypro, is another popular material for socks. It too is warm when wet. Polypro often dries faster than merino. It’s also cheaper than merino. In general, polypro socks cost significantly less than merino ones. Some polypro is made from recycled plastic bottles or recycled ocean plastic. Synthetic fibers like polyester don’t have the same antimicrobial properties as merino unless the yarn or the socks have been treated. They also don’t wear as long as merino socks.

The Army’s standard issue socks are cotton, another natural fiber, and one that’s generally hypoallergenic. Cotton socks are best for casual wear, not performance. Cotton wears out more quickly than synthetic polypro or natural merino, and when it gets wet, it stays wet.

Do I need thick socks?

The conventional wisdom is to pair thin socks with your athletic trainers, choose a medium-weight sock for everyday use, and opt for a thicker sock when you need insulation or warmth. Thin socks are best for use with heavily cushioned footwear like trainers/sneakers or with low-impact footwear like cycling shoes. A thinner sock will be cooler, while a thicker sock will be warmer.

Should I buy socks with cushion?

Some of the bulk of a sock comes from terry loop cushioning strategically woven into the sock in key areas. If your shoes or boots feel hard underfoot, a highly cushioned sock will add shock absorption. Socks with cushioning in the shin will also cut down on pressure from boot laces. If you’re wearing shoes with a lot of underfoot cushion, like sneakers, sock cushioning is less crucial. Cushioning adds air space to socks, which also speeds moisture wicking.

Fit

Socks that fit prevent blisters or hot spots. A well-fitting sock will be snug on your foot not baggy and not constrictive.

Sock height

Optimal sock height depends on what footwear you’re wearing, as well as the temperature and what kind of sock you’re wearing. Choose socks that are tall enough that the cuff stays above the mouth of your shoe or boot. That prevents chafing and assists with moisture wicking. Taller socks can provide more support for your calves. They can also add warmth in cold temps.

Caring for your socks

Most manufacturers recommend machine washing your socks after each wearing and line drying them or drying them on a low cycle. If you’re not able to launder socks between uses, hang them to dry inside out, and rub the cushion loops to bring them back to life before putting the socks on again.

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Best sock overall

Darn Tough T4021 boot midweight tactical sock with full cushion, $29

One of the most versatile socks you can buy, Darn Tough’s 11-inch tall boot midweight tactical sock with full cushion is tall enough to wear with a military combat boot, a tactical boot, or a dress boot, and versatile enough to keep you comfortable in moderate to cool climates whether you’re on a mission, or out for a hike with the family. Made from 62% merino wool 34% nylon 2% lycra spandex, the sock has dense terry loops that rebound quickly to keep the spring in your step. Terry loops under your foot, in the ankle, and in the lower leg to reduce pressure from boot laces. Darn Tough reinforces the heel and toe for durability without adding hot spot-causing seams. These socks won’t slip or bunch so you’ll be blister free, even if you wear these for days or weeks on end. They’re Berry Amendment compliant — knit with merino raised, sourced, and produced in the USA. They’re also US Air Force Safe to Fly certified, they meet flame resistant and “No Melt No Drip” requirements for next-to-skin use under approved flame-resistant combat and utility uniforms. Merino helps your feet temperature regulate, it’s breathable, and it reduces the chance of athlete’s foot and other bacterial and fungal foot infections. All Darn Tough socks are guaranteed durable. Wear a hole in one and Darn Tough will replace the pair free of charge, no questions asked. Whether you’re on-duty and need a uniform-compliant sock, or seeking socks for civilian life, these can’t be beat. For off-duty use, consider Darn Tough’s men’s hiker boot full cushion midweight hiking sock. Both tactical and civilian models are also available for women.

• Buy it at: darntough.com

Best boot sock for off-duty adventures

Minus 33 Mountain Heritage full cushion boot sock, $19.50

Made in New Hampshire from Australia-sourced merino, Minus 33′s full cushion boot socks are fully cushioned underfoot for maximum moisture wicking, with three-zone elastic on the arch, ankle, and welt to keep your sock from stretching and bunching as you walk. Venting on the upper part facilitates airflow to cool your feet and keep them fresh. And a seamless, reinforced top and heel enhance durability. In their Mountain Heritage full cushion boot sock, Minus 33 blends nylon with merino for durability and comfort. The socks are mid-calf height for full clearance wearing a standard 10-inch boot. They’re lower bulk than many other boot socks but still have terry insulation throughout.

• Buy it at: minus33.com

Best compression sock

CEP hiking max cushion tall compression socks, $60

The best graduated-compression sock you can buy, CEP’s hiking max cushion trail compression socks have more padding than almost any other compression sock. They deliver full support for your ankle and Achilles to mitigate the toll from long hikes and navigating technical terrain. With 20-30 mmHg compression, these socks boost your circulation to help move lactic acid out of your muscles so you feel fresh longer. Made with merino wool for moisture wicking, durability, and odor control, CEP weaves air channels into the foot and calf of the Hiking Max Cushion Tall Compression Socks to boost breathability and speed moisture transfer. The compression fit stabilizes muscles, reduces foot and leg fatigue, and reduces the chance of shin splints too. They’re 54% polyamide, 38% merino wool, and 8% Spandex to keep your feet and legs feeling as fresh and comfortable as they can be even in extreme environments.

• Buy it at: Cepcompression.com

Best training sock

Swiftwick Aspire One, $17

For strength training, gym workouts, running, cycling, and other physical training, a short sock is the best sock. Swiftwick’s ankle-high Aspire One is our favorite training sock that, worn with sneaker-style shoes, meets military requirements for no visible logo. The Aspire One is a thin and form-fitting sock compression sock that’s cut to just above ankle height. A Y-shaped reinforcement in the heel prevents the sock from bunching while also supporting your Achilles. Swiftwick weaves additional support into the sock’s arch to increase your stamina when you’re wearing these socks, so you can shoot more hoops, clock more miles, and record more reps. Made from hydrophobic polypropylene with minimal cushion, the sock has channels in the upper and cuff and a mesh footbed for breathability and moisture wicking, which keeps blisters out of the equation. A double-cuff adds ankle support for cycling and trail running.

• Buy it at: swiftwick.com

Best boot sock for hot climates

Fox River Mills 6074 military wick dry maximum medium weight mid-calf boot sock, $15

Hot, humid, tropical environments can be especially hard on feet. In those conditions, wearing a sock that keeps your feet dry and as cool as possible is critical for foot health and comfort. Fox River Mill’s military wick dry maximum medium weight mid-calf boot sock fits the bill. The brand’s best-selling combat boot sock is a mid-height polypropylene boot sock loaded with proprietary technology. Fox River treats the socks’ synthetic fibers to enhance their moisture-moving properties and reduce odor, and they weave in a fit system that prevents bunching and wrinkling to keep your feet blister-free. According to Fox River, the current Army-issued sock lasted 2,500 cycles in an abrasion test before holes emerged. Fox River’s 70% polypro, 28% nylon, and 2% spandex military wick dry maximum medium weight mid-calf boot sock lasted 42,000 cycles, or 16 times longer. Those stats confirm that when you wear these socks, you’ll feel good on your feet longer, which will give you peace of mind. And at $15, these socks won’t break the bank.

• Buy it at: foxsox.com

Best Off-Duty Boot Sock

Wigwam Ultra Cool Lite Stripe Ultra-Lightweight crew sock, $17

Knit in the U.S. from materials sources from U.S. yarn spinners, this polyester-nylon-spandex blend sock is our favorite sock for fast and light hikes and everyday wear. The socks, which come in three colors, use Ultimax Tech, Wigwam’s proprietary moisture management construction that channels sweat from underfoot out through the mouth of your boot or shoe. A hydrophobic, moisture-repelling fiber in the foot bottom pulls sweat away from the foot bottom and pushes it to the hydrophilic, moisture-loving fiber on top of the foot and in the leg. As moisture moves up and away from your shoe it evaporates faster, which helps prevent blisters whether you’re playing pickleball or a pickup game of hoops. A more open knit on top of the foot speeds moisture movement. The socks are treated with odor control to keep your feet fresher for longer. For warm weather and varied use, whether you’re wearing shoes or boots, this sock can’t be beat.

• Buy it at: Amazon.com

Published in the February issue of Military Medicine, the study evaluated 362 women by measuring height, body mass and body mass index in relation to physically demanding tasks, Stars and Stripes first reported.

The findings suggest the U.S. Army should consider reevaluating its physical standards for female soldiers, according to the authors’ analysis.

The trainees and soldiers were evaluated in the sandbag carry, moving under fire, casualty drag, casualty evacuation and road march, the study said, adding, “For testing, both the trainees and soldiers were fitted with a fighting load [63 to 90 pounds], which included personal protective equipment of varying weights.”

“In addition to task-specific training, performance of CSTs may be enhanced in tasks requiring strength and power by recruiting and retaining taller and heavier females with a [sic] higher BMIs,” the study said. “Allowances should be considered for soldiers and trainees who can successfully perform soldiering tasks with high physical demands despite less desirable [physical] measurements.”

Body mass index, BMI, is generally used as a measure of a person’s body fat ratio, calculated by dividing weight by height squared. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, whereas 30 and above is considered obese, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The measurement may not be completely accurate, however, for all people, such as particularly muscular athletes.

The total test population comprised 133 female trainees from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and 229 active-duty soldiers from Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Steward, Georgia; and Fort Riley, Kansas.

The researchers are affiliated with the U.S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Natick, Massachusetts, and the U.S. Army Public Health Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Stars and Stripes reported.

“The U.S. Army has relied heavily on the assessment of cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance as an indicator of overall physical fitness and mission readiness,” the study noted. “Yet, the most essential common soldiering tasks have greater strength and power demands…[which] were performed better by the trainees and soldiers in this study who were taller and heavier.”

The findings demonstrated that soldiers with BMIs “near or within the adult overweight BMI category” performed better than their more compact counterparts.

The Army, moreover, should reevaluate the role or degree to which BMI calculations factor into performance analysis or MOS decisions, the study suggested.

Since 2016, all infantry, armor and field artillery battalions assigned to active-duty brigade combat teams have included female soldiers with gender-integrated battalions seeing deployments and multiple women earning Army Ranger tabs, Army Times previously reported.

This month, a report claimed the Army’s first female Green Beret is set to graduate in the coming weeks.

The 62-year-old says he’s a 12-time world record holder. And, once again, he proved age isn’t a factor in being the world’s best.

The Marine veteran, who served as an officer with the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, set the world record for “longest time in an abdominal plank position (male)” with a time of 8 hours, 15 minutes, 15 seconds, Guinness World Records reported.

“I believe in the plank as a total body-conditioning exercise,” Hood told Marine Corps Times on Friday. “I have learned a lot from training in that pose. It’s the best exercise I have ever done.”

Hood first beat the record in 2011 with a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes and 25 seconds, according to the organization. His recent time beat that of Mao Weidong of Beijing, China, who had lasted 8 hours, 1 minute in the plank position in 2016 — outlasting Hood in that competition.

After Marine Corps service, Hood served as a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service before his retirement as a supervisory special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration. He then undertook a stint as a law enforcement professional adviser to U.S. military forces in Afghanistan in 2008.

“I got involved in this because I was training anyway with the Marines,” Hood said. “At the beginning, this is about me, training to do my best. It runs in my blood!”

Hood began professional competitions with jumping rope and stationary cycling before deciding on planking, which became a Guinness World Record event in 2010 and recently was added as an option in the Marine Corps’ Physical Fitness Test.

He has 16 official attempts with 13 world records, spanning from 1986 to his most recent achievement in February, according to his count. Each record has been verified by at least one international agency.

The fitness fanatic also holds the international world record for planking at a time of 10 hours, 10 minutes, 10 seconds, accomplished in June 2018 near his home in the Chicagoland area, his website states. He also earned the world record for “The Most Plank Time Accumulated in 24 Hours,” a new category and record, with a time of 18 hours, 10 minutes, 10 seconds.

Both feats were accomplished at a 24-hour fundraising event at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove, Illinois, where Hood was fitness director. Proceeds benefited the YMCA’s “Urban Warriors” program, which paired military veterans with violence-exposed youths for mentoring opportunities.

“I just need to inspire one,” Hood told the Aurora Beacon-News at the time. “One person, one reader, one club member. If I just inspire one to change their life without putting a hand on them, I’ve accomplished my goal.”

According to Guinness World Records, Hood completed 674,000 situps and 270,000 pushups and endured more than 2,100 hours of planking in preparation for the recent attempt.

Hood, the father of three sons — two of whom also served in the Marines — dedicated his recent, record-breaking performance to veterans’ mental health awareness. He completed the 8-hour session at 515 Fitness in Plainfield, Illinois, which boasts an “innovative, patented approach” to mental health counseling with physical fitness.

“I had the experience of going to Afghanistan, and it was the first time I had ever seen combat death, and I saw what these guys go through. That was a real eye-opener for me,” Hood told Marine Corps Times over the phone. “These guys come home, and they think, ‘We are Marines. We can handle it.’ But those experiences, the trauma that they go through is real.”

Through endurance competitions and setting world records, Hood said he aims to be an example for using exercise in healing.

“[Physical training] — that’s my anchor. That’s what grounds me. I’ll hold that [planking] pose for any Marine or civilian that walks through that gym door,” he said. “There are storms we go through everyday that we can weather. I want them to know there’s no stigma anymore.”

Robert Wilkins, a retired Air Force master sergeant, was appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this year to serve a two-year term on the White House Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Wilkins is also head of veterans outreach for Sightline Media and leads the media company’s nationwide outreach efforts with veterans’ groups. He also helps support the news organization’s expanded coverage of multi-generational veteran’s issues.

The council’s purpose is to “promote, encourage and motivate Americans of all ages to become physically active and participate in sports.” The PCSFN is made up of athletes, chefs, physicians, fitness professionals and educators who serve in an advisory capacity through the secretary of Health and Human Services.

“You do not realize the importance of your health until it’s gone,” Wilkins said when referring to how he wants to encourage motivation for fitness and nutrition in the country.

Military leaders in recent years have voiced growing concern about fitness among today’s youth because the vast majority are unfit for military service, primarily due to obesity.

According to Trump’s executive order on the council: “My Administration recognizes the benefits of youth sports participation, physical activity, and a nutritious diet in helping create habits that support a healthy lifestyle and improve the overall health of the American people. My Administration therefore aims to expand and encourage youth sports participation, and to promote the overall physical fitness, health, and nutrition of all Americans.”

The presidential council publishes guidelines and standards that allow the president’s office to issue awards for physical activity tests and challenges. The council members will meet twice a year under the oversight of first daughter Ivanka Trump.

Wilkins said he hopes the council will be able to help raise general awareness about fitness and encourage young people to take the first steps toward a healthy lifestyle.

“Taking it slow and tracking one’s progress is a great method for steady improvement,” Wilkins said when referencing what it takes to get started.

Notable members of the president’s council also include former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell.

Left to their own devices, they focus on the bench presses, squats and deadlifts they have been doing since high school. Maybe they throw in some single-joint exercises for good measure — after all, who doesn’t want to look great with their sleeves rolled up?

They live in a military culture that obsesses over fitness and nutrition. Despite having greater access to expert (and not-so-expert) advice on more health-related topics than ever before, the military is still struggling with high occurrences of exercise-related injuries. The Army alone spends $3.8 billion annually on musculoskeletal injuries.

What’s wrong with this picture? Plenty.

Forget about aesthetics or your 1RM deadlift. The focus should be on training as a tactical athlete for what matters most: performing the real-world tasks that could be a matter of life and death. Tactical athletes who only squat, deadlift, and bench — and then deploy into a three-dimensional environment — will be in trouble.

So the next time you’re at the base gym, keep these tips in mind:

Three-plane approach. Incorporate the full spectrum of strength, speed and power in all planes of motion. If all you do is squat, bench and deadlift, you’re training the sagittal plane but ignoring exercises that involve rotation (transverse plane) or lateral movements (frontal plane). Your body is lacking symmetry and is vulnerable and untrained in those areas.

A great rotational exercise for the torso is the half kneeling tube rotation: Anchor a tube to the wall so it’ll be at chest height when you’re on one knee. Face perpendicular to the anchor with your knee closest to the anchor on the ground, then grab the handle and move away from the anchor to create tension in the tube. With arms extended in front of your chest, rotate your torso over the outside leg without allowing your hips to move. Flex the abdominals and maintain tall spinal posture throughout.

Quality over quantity. For some service members, it is more appealing to lift 500 pounds poorly than 300 pounds properly. Placing an emphasis on quality sets you up for longevity. You’ll perform and feel better as you age.

A quick best-practices primer:

• Maintain a good base of support: Balanced symmetrical foot position that is typically between hip- and shoulder-width apart.
• Keep neutral hips and spinal posture. Imagine your hips as two bowls side-by-side filled with water. Neutral is any angle where no water spills.
  
• Create intra-abdominal pressure: Fill the belly up with air prior to movement, maintain pressure throughout, and exhale back at the start.
  

Stretch and recover. You have to be able to counter the stresses of your job and your exercise — that means you have to stretch and perform some soft-tissue work. Most exercise-induced musculoskeletal injuries are preventable. Decreasing your exercise volume every few months and incorporating recovery into your daily regime is key.

Every day, perform soft-tissue work and stretch the muscle groups worked in your training that day. If you performed lateral and medial hip work, for instance, use a foam roller to attack your gluteus medius (side of the pelvis), tensor fasciae latae (outside of your upper thigh) and adductor group (inside upper thigh). Follow that up with a figure four and frog stretch to lengthen the tissue. Check out this video for guidance.

You can still get strong. Building muscle isn’t the problem: In fact, being stronger reduces the amount of perceived stress and increases the body’s ability to absorb and produce force. It’s how and where you build that strength, and what other areas you might be neglecting as you begin another set of biceps curls, where problems come in.

Capt. Anthony Cruz is a former officer in charge of the Army Master Fitness Trainer Course and current Medical Services officer in the Army Reserves. He coaches full-time at Dynamic Fitness High Performance Kinesiology, where he works with recruits, active-duty military, fire and police, as well as veterans. He earned a master’s degree in exercise science. Get more workout tips from his cheat sheet, “7 Powerful Ways to Peak Performance,” here and follow him on social media (@dftacticalperformance).

And, “This is fun.”

The winds were blowing freezing rain, covering him and the bike. He had taken off his iced-over goggles, leaving his eyes exposed to the elements.

“I couldn’t even use my GPS because it was all ice, all the buttons were iced over,” said Sweeney, 52. “That’s what I expected the race to be like: miserable. It was just so cool.”

“Cool” may not be everyone’s first word choice to describe this experience, but for Sweeney, it was his favorite part of a three-day, 200-mile winter bike race that covered portions of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The longest of three races that make up the Jay P’s Fat Pursuit event, Sweeney was one of 25 entrants and 20 finishers, taking 13th place with a time of 51 hours, 15 minutes.

“I just love it,” he said of the harsh conditions. “It’s when I’m at my best.”

It was the first winter bike race for Sweeney, the Bioenvironmental Engineering Element Chief at Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado. He didn’t even own a winter bike, but he did bring extensive backpacking and biking experience.

In 2013, he biked 700 miles of the Tour Divide Race in six days. The 2,800-mile course stretches from the U.S.-Mexico border into southwestern Canada, but he had to stop when his bike failed him in New Mexico.

Sweeney, who plans on retiring in the fall of 2019 to race full time, also bikes to and from work, about 46 miles round trip, three or four days a week. The other days he takes it easy, only biking a total of 20 miles and riding the light rail part of the way.

“My goal is to only drive once a month [to work],” he said, including the winter months.

‘I WAS DEFINITELY NERVOUS’

Jay Petervary, an endurance biker who once held the record for fastest completion time of Alaska’s 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational, founded the Fat Pursuit event in 2014 and added the 200-mile race in 2016. Sweeney said he considered tackling the 200-miler about four or five months ago; he emailed Petervary, who approved of the winter travel experience he had backpacking.

“I told him, my goals of the race are: No. 1, to live. No. 2, to not have to get rescued, and No. 3, to finish,” Sweeney said, laughing.

He succeeded on all accounts. Only 34 racers have finished the 200-mile event in its history; only one finished in 2017.

Those statistics weighed on his mind heavily at the starting line Jan. 5.

“I was definitely nervous at the start,” Sweeney said. “There were some really top-list racers. I first thought, am I good enough to do this?”

But he had a plan: Ride as long as he could on the first day, rest for four hours, ride as long as he could on Day 2, rest for four hours, and so on. He started off slowly, to conserve energy and to stay out of the way of the faster racers.

His wife, Elizabeth, watched his progress on a location tracker at the race’s headquarters. Sweeney said he was motivated by her and “a lot of my friends … watching the tracker and rooting for me to finish. I absolutely believe the reason I can finish these races is their support.”

UPS AND DOWNS (AND ICE CREAM)

At times it was fun, like when the first rest stop had ice cream waiting.

Other times, it was downright scary. Sweeney said he miscalculated the time it would take to reach the first checkpoint, leaving him on the road longer than expected.

“I was energy deprived from not eating and I got a little bit scared at how cold I got,” he said. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to recover.”

He estimates he slept about 30 minutes on the first night, too high on adrenaline to fully rest. He said he got about two hours of rest the next night, but crossed the finish line on the third day feeling “really good.”

Even better was his post-race shower, and dinner with his wife at the race headquarters.

“I think I had pizza. It was so good,” he said, thinking back to the energy bars and freeze-dried meals he relied on for over two days.

After 200 wintery miles on the Fat Pursuit, Sweeney’s first thought post finish line was, “OK, I’m done. What’s next?”

One plan: Revisiting the Tour Divide and finishing the 2,100 miles he missed the first time.

Push, don’t pull: “It’s more leg-driven focus,” said Army Maj. Donald Bigham, chief of human performance at the Human Performance Integrative Office at Fort Benning, Georgia, whose in-competition deadlifts have topped 630 pounds. “They’ve got to treat it as a push, rather than a pull. … Learn how to push first, because your legs are the strongest.”

The push will help stabilize your back, Bigham said, setting your frame up so you can lock out the weight easier. He’s a big proponent of the lift in general, calling it “probably the best exercise you can do to focus on strength.”

Target weaknesses. “When you get to a maximal weight, where are you failing?” asked Staff Sgt. Brad Arbic, who recently managed an 805-pound deadlift in training and has topped 765 pounds in competition.

If you’ve got trouble getting the weight off the ground, Arbic suggests deficit deadlifts — stand on a plate to force yourself to pull farther than you normally would. Trouble locking out? Consider block pulls or pin pulls, where the bar begins farther up the lift and “you’re actually starting at the hardest part, or the part where you fail,” Arbic said.

Don’t just jump in. “I think it’s awesome that the Army has added [the lift] to some of their tests, but they shouldn’t rush putting a ton of weight on the bar,” said Marine Lance Cpl. Mckenzie Curtis, a former junior worlds powerlifter who’s now a military police officer stationed in Japan. “That can actually hurt you more than help you.”

Curtis champions an incremental strength-building approach (get the basics here). And while she’s not facing a deadlift as part of her Marine fitness testing, she did do seven pullups on her last Physical Fitness Test to max out her point total.

“I’m training to do 20 like the males,” she said.

Literally.

“What we see in the mirror is what we work on,” said Army Maj. Donald Bigham, an elite-level powerlifter and chief of human performance at the Human Performance Integrative Office at Fort Benning, Georgia. “We’re doing our chests, we’re doing our biceps, we’re doing our quads, we’re putting ourselves in a position that [ignores] our posterior chain, which is what allows for physical dominance.”

Military Times spoke with Bigham and other competitive powerlifters in uniform to get some tips on getting stronger — whether it’s part of a New Year’s fitness resolution or a plan of attack to take on an upcoming fitness test. Some of their best advice:

1. Posterior plan. So, how would Bigham — the Army’s 2016 male athlete of the year after winning four gold medals at that year’s International Powerlifting Federation Raw Powerlifting Championship — recommend shaking up your workout?

“If I could change one thing in the gym, it would be to cut out so much anterior work,” he said. “Cut out the bench press on Mondays, the ‘bis and tris’ on Tuesdays and the 100,000 abdominals on Wednesdays.”

Instead, Bigham suggested a 180-degree rotation. Functional strength will come from exercises targeting the glutes, hamstrings and the rest of the posterior chain, he said. Biceps curls will help with what troops see in the mirror, but won’t help during ruck marches.

Bigham weighs in around 180 pounds. His in-competition squat tops 600 pounds. The 45-year-old has been a competitive lifter since 1991, when he was introduced to the sport as an enlisted Marine serving in Okinawa, Japan.

2. Power trio. Not surprisingly, the trio of powerlifters we spoke with advocated for the three lifts — squat, deadlift and bench press — that make up powerlifting competitions.

But it’s not just out of loyalty or personal focus, said Army Staff Sgt. Brad Arbic, an intelligence analyst with 7th Special Forces Group whose 766-pound deadlift in a November event in Las Vegas set a record for his age and weight class.

The three core lifts “really encapsulate all of the musculature,” said Arbic, 35, who weighs in around 300 pounds but can pass the Army’s tape test thanks in part to a 22-inch neck. They also direct focus away from areas that might not need it.

“You’ll see guys putting a lot of attention on very small muscles,” Arbic said. “For example, biceps. Biceps are a very, very small muscle in comparison to the other muscles in your body, but they probably receive the preponderance of attention.”

3. Go slow. Before the Marine Corps sent her to Okinawa as a military policeman, 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Mckenzie Curtis already had international travel experience as a member of the U.S. junior worlds powerlifting team that competed in Prague in 2015. She took second in her weight class, and though she gave up the sport (and lost 30 pounds or so) when she joined the Marines, she’s recently picked it back up.

Her approach to adding muscle: Don’t take shortcuts, and don’t expect big leaps in performance.

“Going up gradually each week may not seem like much, but in the long run you will see results,” said Curtis, who competes in the 84-kilogram (181-pound) class but said she may drop to 158 pounds as her lifting career continues.

She builds power by adding five pounds per week to low-repetition, high-effort sessions on the core lifts: three sets, five reps each for squat and deadlift, five-by-five for bench. Too much to add? Go smaller if you must, but keep going.

“My coach actually made special plates that allowed me to go up 2.5 pounds a week,” Curtis said. “He’s a welder.”

4. Be flexible. Bigham isn’t big on single-joint exercises — they may help define a targeted muscle group, but they’re not reflective of the multi-muscle movements required of service members in the field.

“We don’t move on fixed objects,” said Bigham, whose gold-medal collection includes wins at events hosted by weightlifting icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lee Haney. “So if [service members] can learn to move weight in space — I don’t care if it’s a kettlebell, a dumbbell, a barbell — at the end of the day, they’re going to be a better tactical athlete. They’re going to be able to complete that last 100 yards with success.”

Already on the kettlebell bandwagon? Bigham suggests trying to keep the ball in space, rather than resting it on your wrist or forearm, for an additional stabilization workout.

5. Be versatile. The squat, deadlift and bench may provide a stellar core workout, but that doesn’t mean you can limit your fitness regimen to those exercises, or any other group of lifts.

Curtis recently completed her first half-marathon and mixes in multiple visits to the StairMaster with her lifting routine. Arbic clocked a 15:50 on his most recent two-mile run. Bigham said a typical 20- to 25-hour training week should include four to eight hours of active recovery work, which could involve anything from stretching to a brisk walk.

6. Don’t ignore stop signs. “You’ve got to understand your pain scale from zero to 10,” Bigham said. “Anything above a three in training, we don’t do … because now we’re deteriorating. We’re taking away from that movement pattern. We can stay under three and do those exercises, it can still be a benefit for us.”

Smart lifting can build strength and help address lingering injuries; Arbic said the pain from an early-career back injury sustained during an airborne operation has dropped drastically thanks in part to his workout routine.

And while he may not favor single-joint exercises for building overall strength, Bigham said they have great value for troops working through injuries. Targeting a weakened area gives the lifter a greater sense of what progress is being made, what parts of his form are being affected and, most importantly, a clear line on what’s causing any pain.

Beyond injury, there are other reasons to put on the brakes.

“The only thing worse than not training at all is overtraining,” Arbic said. “You put yourself in a position of being overtrained, you increase your potential for injury exponentially.”

7. Know your fuel. All three lifters stressed the importance of proteins when it comes to building muscle. Bigham recommended between 1.5 and 1.9 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight — that might mean 175 grams or more of protein a day, so don’t count on a daily steak (60 or so grams for a 9-ounce meal) to check the box.

Arbic leans toward tuna, while Curtis is a fan of protein bars. All three lifters stressed that dietary needs will vary widely based on the individual and the fitness goal; Arbic suggested learning as much as you can about your resting metabolic rate and other factors before you dive in on a new diet plan.

“You have to understand how much you’re burning” before you can start building strength, the 6-foot-2 staff sergeant said, “and then you have to take in excess.”

8. Stay still. Don’t be the lifter at the gym who is moving everything … except the bar.

“You see somebody benching, their feet are moving around, their body’s flopping around, there’s all this extra movement,” Arbic said. “That’s not helping them generate the force required to push the weight. … You’re essentially bleeding energy.”

Stop shuffling your feet and “plant yourself to the floor,” said Arbic, who restarted his competitive powerlifting career in 2015 after earning a world title in 2003 as a 21-year-old. “Set your position and hold it.”

9. Ask. Arbic’s build, and the number of plates he uses, can draw some questions from fellow lifters.

“They’ll always preface it with, ‘I don’t bench 500 pounds, but …’ ” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Dude, your max to you is the same as my max to me. It feels the same. The only thing that separates you and me is time.’ ”

He started a YouTube channel with videos that address some basic weightlifting techniques and concerns.

Curtis suggested YouTube as a good starting point for those seeking weight-room tips or interested in breaking bad habits.

“I see it a lot: People not squatting low enough, bouncing their reps on the bench off their chest, and deadlifting with complete back bending over,” she said. “Watch videos. Ask fellow lifters for advice. Don’t be discouraged.”