Military people and anyone else. What's the best prep

HollyAus

So my husband is going into the Army with 18xray. So he will do basic then AIT then go to airborne and then like a training course for the green beret selection course. I'm not sure exactly what that's called or how long it is sorry. Then obviously to the selection course and if he makes it on to green beret training. He will be leaving this summer (June-ish) for basic. Because he is going to try for SF he has to take the Pft befor he goes to basic.
My question is: what's the best way to prepare for that kind of training? He is very athletic and in decent shape now. He could pass the PFT now but barely. His goal is to be in the best possible shape before basic so that he can worry mostly about the mental stuff. Yes he knows it's going to suck physically too.



Ps. Not trying to explaining everything because I think you don't know any of it. Just telling what I know and I don't know if all branches are the same or whatever. Also I am open to civilian answers as well. So no one get offended or something.

Thanks for any advice

MrsPong

My husband is the Marine Corps. He runs and weight lifts EVERY SINGLE DAY... Army and Marines are a little different in standards for fitness I believe. But My husband has to run 3 miles, 20 pull ups and like 50 situps or something...and thats just the little PFT.

My husband says most people cant run the 3 miles straight into bootcamp, and they will start you off slowly and you'll b able to do it when the time comes... keeping it up after bootcamp n schools is the hard part.

Endurance in bootcamp is key.... because that will be tested all the time.

VelociMama

My husband did this before doing basic also.

Any 5k or 10k speed training program would be great for the running component. I know he did a lot of body-weight strength training work (tons of pushups, pullups, body weight squats, etc.) and jogged with a 50 lb pack on his back as well twice per week to get through the hikes they put him through during basic.

scottb81

Work on pushups, situps, and pullups. Be able to max the pushups and situps and do a minimum of 6 pullups. Also be able to run 5 miles in less than 40 minutes. Walk a lot, with a backpack if he has one up to around 12 miles in under 3 hrs. If he can do that he won't have any problems physically.

U.S. Army (Retired) Infantry-Airborne-Ranger

BL_Coleman

Run, run, and run...Also strength training and cardio. Learn to love working out if he is serious about the Green Beret program, I believe its a few years overall and very intense training, just physically. Buy a treadmill or learn to love running in all conditions. Only advice I have.

Julettashane

my husband is also army....he was airborne ranger LRS(active) now hes combat engineer(reserves) iknow when hes getting ready for PT tests he runs about 1-2miles 3-4 times a week and on those days he also does sit ups and push ups and he does leg workouts as well.....as long as he just keeps working out and stays in shape he will be fine....i hope this helped

Npats69

Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate !! Constant water intake helps speed the metabolism, and his body will be using much more from the physical activity. Cut out Fatty and excessively salty foods, and run run run... Hills worked best for me.

momof3and3

I have 3 children in the military...

The best way to prepare, is run, run more, and run more...have him increase his distance runs by no more than 10% each week to help prevent injury. Also filling a back pack with heavy objects and rucking with them...walk and/or run...

push ups, sit ups, pullups, swimming, all help with basic. He will need endurance and for the runs, speed, but the runs are shorter distance 2-3 miles in a specified amount of time

Have him workout not just in shorts and t-shirts but also fully clothed to get used to wearing clothes...

Basic will get him into the shape he needs to be in but if he can go into Basic with some confidence of being able to pass the PT test, that really helps

MyTime1207

Being a USMC or in the Army are different but both have a strenuous course when it comes to Special Forces. I am a combat vet and went to Ranger School. He will develop the basics in boot camp but being disciplined and having plenty of endurance will be crucial if he wants to proceed in the Special Forces. I wish him the best and tell him thanks for protecting us.

swordsmith

http://www.military.com/military-fitness/army-special-operations/army-green-beret-training

You can also google "special forces PFT training" or "green beret pft training"

There is also I believe a you tube video of a former History Channel program that followed people through SF selection, Q course and so on. I would highly recommend watching it.

I have a buddy who is former SOF (he is now a lead designer and spokesman for World of Tanks and lives int he Ukraine). He echoed the above- never, ever do the minimum and always try to do more. Instructors will notice the barely passing drag *kitten* and when it comes time for final selection those who constantly tried to excel (notice the word TRY - they would rather have you try and fail then do the minimum by and large) and the never give up attitude may be the decider.

He said one of the harder parts is the land navigation course. If you hubby doesnt know how to read a map, sight a compass, etc he may be in real trouble. Dont ever- EVER- go to sleep or try to hide duringt he land nav course. You will be found and put on the truck back.

He said never, ever quit unless you are unconcious. And if you do something stupid fess up too it- because if an instructor asks you a question he probably already knows the answer.

Good luck and god bless.

Thank him for his service and thank you for supporting him.

Mike B
former 11-B
A Co 1/187 INF (Rakkasans), 101st Airborne (Air Assault)

fleur_de_lis19

Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate !! Constant water intake helps speed the metabolism, and his body will be using much more from the physical activity. Cut out Fatty and excessively salty foods, and run run run... Hills worked best for me.

This! basically what my husband does. He runs a lot, lifts and workout EVERY SINGLE DAY. (well takes a rest day here and there) also cut out all the nasty, un-needed foods, candy, sugars, carbs, and up the protein level. GL!

slittle80

I found this a couple years ago when helping a friend prepare for basic training. This is meant for Navy Seal training so I imagine the requirements are similar with the exception of the swimming guidelines.

http://www.navysealteams.com/warning.htm

The actual training regimen is about halfway down the page...

Francesca3162

As an Army mom and a Marine mom.
Thank him for his choice in protecting my freedom....

Work hard, and when he can't do one more, try to do one more!!!
It is physical and mental!!!

sirthickness

Physical toughness, strength and endurance (cardio) are all important. Even more important though, in my humble opinion, is mental toughness. Some of the biggest, badest, most fit guys drop out of boot camp and SF training because they don't have the mental toughness to hang. I have seen it myself (in boot camp, FF academy and the LE academy) and heard about it from a few friends and colleagues who were SF. Tell him to prepare for the fact that it is going to SUCK sometimes, but to tough it out, knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for your support of him and thank him for serving. It is an honor to serve and something he will never forget!

HollyAus

The army PFT is a 2 mile run and sit ups and push ups. He has to get a certain score BEFORE he goes to basic because of going into SF so basic won't prep him for it lol. He has a back pack and we were thinking of doing a good 10 mile ruck on Saturdays. and it's two whole years of training if you make it all the way through before you will be deployed.

We have watched a documentary called two weeks in hell. And it had all the stuff you said. He grew up hunting and tracking and stuff like that so he thinks he'll be ok at the land navigation stuff. That's why he is wanting to be in the best physical shape possible before he goes so he can focus on stuff like that easier.

And thanks so much for the advice and more so for the service and sacrifice !

HollyAus

Physical toughness, strength and endurance (cardio) are all important. Even more important though, in my humble opinion, is mental toughness. Some of the biggest, badest, most fit guys drop out of boot camp and SF training because they don't have the mental toughness to hang. I have seen it myself (in boot camp, FF academy and the LE academy) and heard about it from a few friends and colleagues who were SF. Tell him to prepare for the fact that it is going to SUCK sometimes, but to tough it out, knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for your support of him and thank him for serving. It is an honor to serve and something he will never forget!

He is full expecting for it to suck ALL the time lol. And I completely agree that mentall toughness is more important

ahamm002

Work on pushups, situps, and pullups. Be able to max the pushups and situps and do a minimum of 6 pullups. Also be able to run 5 miles in less than 40 minutes. Walk a lot, with a backpack if he has one up to around 12 miles in under 3 hrs. If he can do that he won't have any problems physically.

U.S. Army (Retired) Infantry-Airborne-Ranger

Very good advice here!

I would also add that the Army has a strong bias toward running. So make those two mile run times a priority. Just passing ain't going to cut it!

Jkmumma

Running, push-ups, sit-ups, eating fast, not laughing when someone is yelling in your face, learning to wake up quickly and get ready in record time. AND if he's a tall guy or a short guy (more than an inch or two outside of average) he'll want practice either lengthening or shortening his stride for marching, depending. Having to work that out in boots is hell on the knees.

scottb81

One other thing I forgot. He needs to be able to swim. He will have to pass a combat survival swim test at some point. If he is a good swimmer it will be easy; essentially you have to jump in deep water fully clothed with weapon and equipment. Then you have to take off all the equipment and swim about 25 yds to the other end of the pool. You also have to jump off the high dive with equipment and swim to the side of the pool. If you panic and have to be rescued or you drown then you fail the test.

Sometimes the test is in bad conditions like February in an outdoor pool.

1holegrouper

Advice so far is good. My cousin is an Airborne Ranger. PT varies but expect to run 6 miles at a 6:30 pace 5-6 days a week. You, especially when new will be "smoked" that is 'initiated'. Be able to do 50+ pushups and 6+ pullups (strict form- be able to do 10) and 50+ situps (with someone holding your feet down) and this is just the minimum. They will also have you do ruck marches in fatigues and boots with 30-60 pound packs- and during Summer heat. Then they will throw in a lot of other variables like sandbag work, etc. Know how to do this hungry, tired, sleepy and with bugs eating you. So, preparation will be for this type of PT work. Realize also that this is just PT work. There's a ton of other physically, mentally, emotionally demanding stuff that begins after PT. (like jumps where they calculate your load weight to be just short of breaking your legs- you will be sore- but that is fun) Be prepared to do the work when you are injured, bruised hungry, thirsty and/or sick- no excuses. People around you will be puking, fainting, washing out, etc but YOU will not, etc. etc.... You will also see guys that can do more than you ever thought possible and they are usually your Sarge.

PS; not everything he needs will be provided. Expect to buy things, like good boots, running shoes, etc. to help make hell more livable.

HollyAus

One other thing I forgot. He needs to be able to swim. He will have to pass a combat survival swim test at some point. If he is a good swimmer it will be easy; essentially you have to jump in deep water fully clothed with weapon and equipment. Then you have to take off all the equipment and swim about 25 yds to the other end of the pool. You also have to jump off the high dive with equipment and swim to the side of the pool. If you panic and have to be rescued or you drown then you fail the test.

Sometimes the test is in bad conditions like February in an outdoor pool.

I would hope they wouldn't let him drown

He took a scuba class and they had to do like 50 million laps and he has jumped off 60 foot cliffs so I think that part will be a little easier. But as with anything else, he has never done this in a high stress environment so hopefully he gets it done

swordsmith

We have watched a documentary called two weeks in hell. And it had all the stuff you said. He grew up hunting and tracking and stuff like that so he thinks he'll be ok at the land navigation stuff. That's why he is wanting to be in the best physical shape possible before he goes so he can focus on stuff like that easier.

My understanding is the land nav tends to be the killer.

He may have hunted and tracked but did he do it carrying a pack, after weeks of grueling physical activity, and over a 24 hour period? The killer of the land nav is you dont know when the cut off time is and you have to hit your target points. A LOT of potential SFers do things like take off their refelective vest, sit down to sleep and try to hide from the instructors. The nav course is typically swarmed with instructors using thermal and NVGs. If they catch you then your gone.

I know when I went through my land nav course down in Panama forgetting to add or delete the magnetic declination can put you kilometers off course. And trying to take a dead reckoning reading at night in a storm at a barely visible hill top 6 km away, losing it in the trees and praying your compass is correct is the suck (espcially when you misread a map and find out that not a hill in the way but a ravine! LOL).

You can probably find info on the net re: the land nav portion!

HollyAus

We have watched a documentary called two weeks in hell. And it had all the stuff you said. He grew up hunting and tracking and stuff like that so he thinks he'll be ok at the land navigation stuff. That's why he is wanting to be in the best physical shape possible before he goes so he can focus on stuff like that easier.

My understanding is the land nav tends to be the killer.

He may have hunted and tracked but did he do it carrying a pack, after weeks of grueling physical activity, and over a 24 hour period? The killer of the land nav is you dont know when the cut off time is and you have to hit your target points. A LOT of potential SFers do things like take off their refelective vest, sit down to sleep and try to hide from the instructors. The nav course is typically swarmed with instructors using thermal and NVGs. If they catch you then your gone.

I know when I went through my land nav course down in Panama forgetting to add or delete the magnetic declination can put you kilometers off course. And trying to take a dead reckoning reading at night in a storm at a barely visible hill top 6 km away, losing it in the trees and praying your compass is correct is the suck (espcially when you misread a map and find out that not a hill in the way but a ravine! LOL).

You can probably find info on the net re: the land nav portion!

That's what it seemed like on the documentary we watched. You learn what definitly NOT to do watching it. There was one guy who took off his vest and hid it so he could sleep.And walking on the road.. One of the instrustors asked the guy to look at his feet and said "Do you see how it's smooth and flat?" That was pretty funny..

Seriously tho... I know that all his prior experience goes out the window with the pressure and all the different physical demands (sleep deprived, hunger, PAIN) Yeah we get that.

Honestly is there any way to "prepare" for all that mentally? or is it one of those things either you've got or you don't

scottb81

Seriously tho... I know that all his prior experience goes out the window with the pressure and all the different physical demands (sleep deprived, hunger, PAIN) Yeah we get that.

Honestly is there any way to "prepare" for all that mentally? or is it one of those things either you've got or you don't

I don't think it is something you can prepare for. It will be worse than anything you could possibly do beforehand. You just have to know inside that you aren't going to quit no matter how bad it gets.

When I was in Ranger School I was so tired one night that I kept passing out as we were walking in the darkness. I'd pass out, fall down, and then wake up when my head hit the ground. Then I'd get up and continue walking until I passed out the next time. That went on, along with various hallucinations, until the sun came up the next morning. You have to be physically tough to get in but mentally tough to stay in.

wanda9501

Tell him to remember is not all physical but mental also. Whatever he is doing now, he needs to push him self harder. When he does push ups, don't just do 50 and stop, push until his arms are shaking and he falls to the floor because he can't do another one. Do sit up until he can't left him self. I would say try to go for muscle failer which is a term he will hear alot in basic and beyond. Endurance endurance endurance. The Army breaks you down to build you up. If he breaks himself down now it want be so hard later. If he really wants to test himself, stay up for 24 hours and then go for a 2 mile run and do push-up and sit ups because he very well may have to do it in training.

There was a time when I was in AIT and I woke up at 3:30am Friday morning for fire guard duty, had PT and class and had to pull duty again Friday night, so I didn't see a bed until 10:00 Saturday morning. Talk about painful and that is a cake walk compared to what they will do to him in SF training.

Tell him good luck and HOOAH!!!

swordsmith

Seriously tho... I know that all his prior experience goes out the window with the pressure and all the different physical demands (sleep deprived, hunger, PAIN) Yeah we get that.

Honestly is there any way to "prepare" for all that mentally? or is it one of those things either you've got or you don't

I have never been SOF - I was just a regular ground pounder who rappelled out of helicopters.

My understanding from talking to friends who are or were SOF is you either have it and want it mentally or you dont. My buddy out there in the ukraine said a lot of people quit who physically could have kept going but mentally quit.

Can you train for it? Maybe. I know since I started this weight loss journey one of the things I did was to take krav maga and they drill into you to never give up. That your mind can keep you going when your body says "enough".

While its not SOF training I did a three hour test that included full contact fighting (fractured a rib there), and just grueling non-stop drills. At the end I had to fight 5 people for 1 minute each and I thought the test was over so my mind sort of collapsed- surprise... the final part of the test was to get people to believe that and instead I was attacked by three people at once and had to fight for 90 seconds against them - in krav you do not quit. If you can think and move you can fight, so long as you can fight the assailant can't go through with their plans. I was wrung out but tried every trick I knew - pressure points, locks, holds, reversals, ground fighting techniques once I was forced to ground. I ended up on the ground, one person on my chest hitting me in the face, one holding my legs and one kicking me in the head and I was still throwing elbows/punches and trying my best to fight- feebly. But I wasnt giving up until I was knocked out.

I know its a lot but just tell him when he thinks he cant- he can. The mind is the body killer.

he will do most excellent I am sure!

ilovedeadlifts

interval training.
distance running.
lactic acid tolerance training.


lots of conditioning work basically.

scottb81

What is hard in that training once you get in really isn't the physical aspect but rather continuing on with extended food and sleep deprivation. Added to that is the pressure of having to pass various tests and instructors that are continually giving you a hard time. You have to just have a "never quit" attitude, keep a good sense of humor, and not take things personally.

If he has it in his mind that no matter what he is either going to graduate or he is going to be carried out in a coffin then that is the right mental attitude.

It's kind of like the Spartans from ancient Greece. Come back with your shield . . . or on it

MFPBrandy

What is hard in that training once you get in really isn't the physical aspect but rather continuing on with extended food and sleep deprivation. Added to that is the pressure of having to pass various tests and instructors that are continually giving you a hard time. You have to just have a "never quit" attitude, keep a good sense of humor, and not take things personally.

If he has it in his mind that no matter what he is either going to graduate or he is going to be carried out in a coffin then that is the right mental attitude.

It's kind of like the Spartans from ancient Greece. Come back with your shield . . . or on it

^^This.
Having worked with a lot of these guys (and going through some of the less-physical training myself), it all comes down to the mental game. Don't get me wrong, physical preparation is key -- but for every six-foot-tall-barrel-chested-freedom-fighter I met, there were many more guys who just looked...normal. It's not about having the most muscles, being able to do the most pull-ups, or run the fastest mile. It's about an overall, well-rounded fitness and SERIOUS endurance, both of the body and mind.
For the body, I would suggest a wide variety of exercises -- the big-picture goal is a body that can carry what he needs to carry (be it gear or a wounded buddy) and get him where he needs to go, not being able to do a set number of pushups in a set time. Obviously he's got to hit the PT test metrics, but those aren't the end goal.
For the mind, a good part of it is "you either have it or you don't." There are things he can do now to start preparing, though -- mainly, giving himself a very close, honest look, and then coming up with potential ways to handle stress in advance. How does he deal with stress? If his first reaction is to fight or withdraw, then he needs to figure out how to stay calm under pressure and get the job done. How does he handle sleep deprivation? Does he get cranky when he's hungry? What's his first reaction going to be to someone screaming in his face and calling him names and insulting everything about him? How can he stay calm in that situation? What's his reaction when he fails at something? Why does he want to be there?

*ETA: The above mental stuff is just ideas to think about -- I don't advocate trying to duplicate the training; why bleed to prove you can bleed? But it's important for him to know himself, and the more he knows before he starts training, the better. Any way you slice it, though, he's going to learn completely new (good and bad) things about himself in training, and will be a better person for it.

HollyAus

This is all awesome (and a little frightening for me to be honest NO WAY could I take all of that)

But I know he can do it. I think he knows that too but questions it sometimes. Thanks again!!!

Feel free to add me as well. You all seem super supportive and I could always use more of that lol

shelsab

hello!
I know you have probably got tons of great responses, but I will give my imput. Hope it helps. I just prepared by running and building my endurace (I ran a half marathon the month before bootcamp). And I just did pushups and situps everyday, lifted weights. Boot camp was easy for me, so I am glad I prepared physically.