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

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  • swordsmith
    swordsmith Posts: 599 Member
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    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
    HollyAus Posts: 251 Member
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    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
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    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
    wanda9501 Posts: 114
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    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
    swordsmith Posts: 599 Member
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    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
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    interval training.
    distance running.
    lactic acid tolerance training.


    lots of conditioning work basically.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    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
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    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
    HollyAus Posts: 251 Member
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    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
    shelsab Posts: 138 Member
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    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.

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