The trainees, who had been full of confidence earlier, now truly understood the horror of this movement.
They thought it was a contest of leg strength.
But they quickly found that when they tried to use only their thighs, their knees and ankles bore immense pressure, and their movements immediately distorted.
What Zhou Chenguang referred to as 'core strength driven' was still an extremely unfamiliar concept to them.
Throughout the training ground, there were heavy gasps and the dull thud of barbell plates hitting the ground, one after another.
Not a single person could perform the entire process as smoothly as Zhou Chenguang.
Most of them jumped fewer than ten times before their movements were completely out of form, let alone maintaining speed and rhythm.
Their muscles trembled wildly at the fatigue threshold, and sweat soaked their training uniforms.
But the hardest part was the feeling of powerlessness, knowing the standard movement but having their bodies completely unresponsive.
This required a high degree of unity between strength foundation, cardiopulmonary function, and neural response.
And they, clearly, were still far from it.
Zhou Chenguang blew his whistle, calling a halt to the training.
The trainees, as if granted a great pardon, threw their barbell plates to the ground and gasped for air, clutching their knees.
“See that? That’s the gap.”
Zhou Chenguang’s voice was as cold as ice.
“My demonstration just now wasn’t for you to imitate, but for you to understand.”
He pointed at a trainee who was exhausted and collapsed on the ground.
“You, tell me, what did you feel when you exerted force just now?”
The trainee struggled to stand up, answering shamefully:
“Reporting, Instructor, I felt… my legs were about to break, and all the weight was pressing on my knees.”
“Because you don’t have core strength,” Zhou Chenguang said, hitting the nail on the head.
“Without a strong enough core muscle group to transmit power, your body is just a pile of loose parts, and power simply cannot be transferred from your waist and abdomen to your lower limbs.
What you’re doing now isn’t weighted frog jumps; it’s weighted knee injury.”
Lu Mingyu, who was in the stands, also walked down at this moment.
He walked to the barbell plates, took a look, and then said to Zhou Chenguang beside him.
“Chenguang, your explosive power is indeed top-notch.”
He turned to all the trainees, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable authority.
“I can frankly tell you that if I were to perform that set of movements perfectly after a high-intensity mission, in an extremely fatigued state, it would be very difficult for me too.”
The trainees were shocked again upon hearing this.
Even the Company Commander said so, how terrifying was Zhou Instructor’s strength?
Lu Mingyu continued, “As for the subsequent obstacle climbing, that’s even less of a problem that can be solved with brute force.”
“It tests your instantaneous reaction ability to make the optimal judgment within a few tenths of a second.”
He patted Zhou Chenguang’s shoulder.
“Zhou Instructor once single-handedly pushed forward during an overseas mission.”
“Ahead was a complex area covered by the enemy with booby traps.”
“He relied on the reaction speed and body coordination honed from climbing net training to move at high speed through the minefield.”
“He didn’t trigger a single booby trap and successfully completed the assassination mission.”
This brief story struck the trainees’ hearts like a bullet.
Only then did they understand that those seemingly extreme physical training exercises—each movement behind them—could be linked to a matter of life and death.
Training was for the purpose of not dying on the battlefield.
The brutal training passed in torment, and the arrival of night did not bring the trainees a chance to breathe.
At nine o’clock in the evening, the training ground was brightly lit.
“Everyone, 50-meter shuttle runs! After each line touch, complete ten sandbag slams! No time limit! Until I call a halt!”
Li Xiaoniu stood at the front of the line, announcing the new training content with a poker face.
On one side of the training ground, hundreds of thirty-kilogram sandbags were piled up.
The trainees’ hearts sank.
Shuttle runs were already exhausting enough, coupled with sandbag slams, this was simply training them to death.
“Begin!”
With an order, the trainees rushed out.
The high-intensity shuttle runs quickly drained their already limited stamina.
Every turn, every acceleration, felt like tearing at their muscles.
When they ran to the sandbags and picked up the heavy bags, their arms trembled uncontrollably.
Lifting the sandbag over their heads, then slamming it hard onto the ground.
Repeating this action ten times seemed to drain their last bit of strength.
Sweat blurred their vision, their lungs burned with pain like fire, and many could barely stand steady.
“Why… why train like this?”
A trainee, after another sandbag slam, almost collapsed to his knees, utterly exhausted.
He looked at the lights, his eyes filled with pain.
“What does this have to do with physical training? Isn’t this just pure extreme torture?”
Beside him, Wang Yanbing walked over and looked at him coldly.
“Do you think physical training is just running and doing push-ups?”
Wang Yanbing’s voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for the surrounding trainees to hear.
“This is training your muscles’ anti-fatigue ability and your nervous system’s reaction speed under extreme conditions!”
He kicked the sandbag next to that trainee, and the sandbag didn’t budge.
“When your body is fatigued to its limit, your brain will send a signal to give up.”
“What we need to do is to create a conditioned reflex through this repetitive, high-intensity torture!”
“Make your muscles remember that even when you’re most exhausted, you must obey commands!”
Wang Yanbing’s gaze swept over all the trainees who were struggling to hold on.
“This kind of muscle memory and neural reflex takes ordinary soldiers years and tens of thousands of repetitions to initially form.”
“But we don’t have that much time.”
“Only the ‘Soldier Kings’ from various units and special forces like us can break through their limits in a short period using this method!”
These words silenced all the questioning trainees.
They gritted their teeth, picked up the sandbags again, and the fire of defiance burned in their eyes.
On the other side of the training ground, Zhou Chenguang, Wu Tianlong, and Li Xiaoniu stood together, looking at the scene with satisfaction.
“These recruits aren’t bad; their willpower is quite strong,” Wu Tianlong said.
“This is just the beginning,” Zhou Chenguang’s expression remained serious.
“To truly form their own muscle memory, each person must complete at least thousands of such extreme movement combinations.”
“Until the body’s reactions are faster than the brain’s thoughts.”
Li Xiaoniu nodded, adding:
“If the intensity goes up, logistics must keep up.”
“High-protein nutritional supplements need to be provided quickly, otherwise their bodies won’t be able to handle it.”
“I agree,” Zhou Chenguang said.
“Prepare; once this training is over, take them for a night wilderness drill.”
An hour later, the shuttle runs and sandbag slams finally ended.
All the trainees were sprawled on the ground like mud, not wanting to move a single finger.
Zhou Chenguang walked to the center of the team, his voice booming.
“All assemble!”
The trainees used their willpower to support their aching bodies, staggering to their feet and barely forming a queue.
“I know you’re very tired, so I’ve specially prepared some relaxing entertainment for you.”
Zhou Chenguang revealed a rare smile.
“A unique wilderness survival drill! Depart now!”