Five Details That Save Seconds on the POMEM Course

When we work with candidates eliminated at the POMEM physical fitness stage, the first thing we do is find out where the previous attempt was lost. Most arrive convinced their conditioning was inadequate. Measurement usually tells a different story: the conditioning was fine, and the time went in the station transitions.

The five details below cost nothing in conditioning and are entirely technical. Worked on individually, they add up to a substantial difference.

1. The start position

The first two seconds of the course is the section most candidates never train. There is a clear difference between standing upright and starting on the command, and starting from a position with the weight already forward and the first step loaded.

What to train is simple: weight on the front foot, trunk leaning slightly forward, arms ready. The first three steps should be short and frequent — starting with long strides delays acceleration.

2. Braking distance into a turn

This is where most of the time goes. Most candidates arrive at the turning point at full speed, brake over two or three steps, then turn. Those three steps are roughly half a second at every turn; on a course with five turns, two and a half seconds.

The correct approach is to lower the centre of mass before the turn and place the last step in the direction of the turn. This is a habit built in training; it cannot be produced by thinking about it on the day.

3. Unnecessary height over obstacles

Clearing an obstacle higher than required costs both time and energy. Every extra centimetre spent in the air is paid for on landing.

Our method is to raise the obstacle gradually towards its real height while asking the candidate for the lowest possible clearance. After a few contacts with the bar the candidate finds the right height themselves — it is hard to teach by explanation and settles quickly through repetition.

4. Grip on the carry section

At stations involving a carried load, most candidates hold the weight at chest height with the arms squeezed in. That fatigues the upper body quickly and means arriving at the next station already tired.

Keeping the load close to the trunk, fixing the elbows and not holding the breath — those three together complete the same distance with markedly less fatigue.

5. Breathing in the final section

By the last section, breathing becomes irregular and stride frequency drops. The way to compensate is not to run more but to manage the breath from the start.

In simulations we ask candidates to consciously hold their breathing rhythm through the first half. It feels "slow" at first, and it almost always lowers the total time. The course is not a sprint; it is a controlled intensity test.

How are these trained?

What they have in common is that none of them can be learned by running the full course. On a full lap you try to fix five things at once and fix none of them.

Our method is to separate the stations: one session works only on turns, another only on obstacle clearance. The full course is run once or twice a week, for measurement. Because the course stays built at our own camp, we can do this as often as we want.

Frequently asked questions

How close am I to the cut-off, and how do I find out?

By measuring. In the free athlete assessment we run a full course attempt and record the time, so the distance to your target is a number in seconds rather than a guess.

My conditioning is good but I cannot make the time. Why?

The loss is probably in the technical transitions. In well-conditioned candidates it very commonly concentrates in the station transitions — which is good news, because technique improves faster than conditioning.

I am 30. Am I too late?

No, but your start should look different. For this profile we spend the first four to six weeks on movement quality and joint readiness; course work comes afterwards.

Do I only get one attempt?

The course is run in a single attempt, which is why our simulations are also single-attempt and run after a wait. What has to feel familiar on the day is not just the course but the tension of the moment.

Do I need to lose weight?

Course time is directly affected by body composition, so excess weight is the fastest available gain for most candidates. But the target is performance, not a number — body fat should come down while muscle is preserved.