-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Anybody else feel like they got weaker at OCS?
- Thread starter Citizen
- Start date
- Status
Taxman2A
War were declared.
We each respond differently to physical stress like you are put through at OCS. When I went last summer for 10 weeks, I showed up in the best shape I have ever been in, and during the initial PFT I got a score in the higher part of the middle third of our platoon. At the 5 week mark for our second PFT I was in the lower middle, and I was in the bottom third of the platoon for our last PFT. It seemed to me that most of the candidates around me (but certainly not all) got physically stronger during the 10 weeks on the OCS daily PT system. It just wasn't the case for me. Personally I am my best when I run 3-4 times a week, not 6-7. You're probably the same as me.
I remember some sorry candidates showing up to OCS running 24 minutes. Some of those same candidates had caught up to and passed me, running close to an 18 minute PFT by the end. My run time at OCS went from around a 21, to about a 2030, to finally about a 2145.
At the end of OCS they asked us what our favorite part of a typical OCS day was. Most of the candidates responded that PT was their favorite. I'm going to guess that those are the same candidates who improved with the strenuous PT. I wasn't one of them.
I remember some sorry candidates showing up to OCS running 24 minutes. Some of those same candidates had caught up to and passed me, running close to an 18 minute PFT by the end. My run time at OCS went from around a 21, to about a 2030, to finally about a 2145.
At the end of OCS they asked us what our favorite part of a typical OCS day was. Most of the candidates responded that PT was their favorite. I'm going to guess that those are the same candidates who improved with the strenuous PT. I wasn't one of them.
I think we're about in the same boat. I've never been a good runner, and went to OCS with a mid/high 21 min time. After running the worst PFT of my life, I actually got a lot faster (probably because I dropped 12 lbs)
I actually started doing push-ups and dips after taps when I noticed that my pull-ups were diving - while everyone elses' were going way up. frustrating as hell!
I actually started doing push-ups and dips after taps when I noticed that my pull-ups were diving - while everyone elses' were going way up. frustrating as hell!
when i went through i found that i was my strongest in the middle, but then got weak at the end. my run time improved by 1 minute 30 seconds but at the end, i couldnt max out my pullups like i had done easily at the first two PFTs. my upper body strength definitely got weaker but my legs got stronger. my favorite part of OCS was PT because then we all knew that our racks and foot lockers wouldnt be tornadoed at that time. most people i know who went through remained consistent with their PFTs, but like Taxman said it just depends on the type of person you are and how you handle physical stress.
I hear a lot about the running, but what are the calisthenics like? When I do group PT with the local recruiters they do their best to kick our ass and it works. All the guys that come back from recruit training say the PT was way easier than what we do at the RSS. We do flutter kicks, leg lifts, and hello dollies like they're going out of style, lots of crunches, lots of pushups (sometimes 200+, but in a short period of time), dips, lots of crunches, and various things like steamrollers. I guess I'm want to know how this all relates to 'speed and intensity'
thanks
thanks
Taxman2A
War were declared.
It's just run run run at OCS. Sure, you'll do some calisthenics, but they are the welcome relief portion of PT. You'll do dips sometimes, pushups sometimes, but they don't really count for much. What I'm trying to say here is that if you can do 500 pushups but you run 3 miles in 25 minutes, you won't survive OCS, but if you can run 3 miles in 18 minutes but can only do 15 pushups at best, you'll probably do just fine. At worst you would run the risk of getting made fun of at daily PT.
Plan on doing some light calisthenics interspersed with running on most days at OCS. Except for the CRT, when you are asked to do 50, you will never be asked to do more than 25 or 30 pushups in a single set at OCS. You will go on runs like the fartlek, where you sprint from one station to another, and do a random calisthenic that you are probably already familiar with (mountain climbers, pushups, crunches, whatever), and then start running again.
Plan on doing some light calisthenics interspersed with running on most days at OCS. Except for the CRT, when you are asked to do 50, you will never be asked to do more than 25 or 30 pushups in a single set at OCS. You will go on runs like the fartlek, where you sprint from one station to another, and do a random calisthenic that you are probably already familiar with (mountain climbers, pushups, crunches, whatever), and then start running again.
Taxman2A
War were declared.
DBLang- no problem
Citizen- which fartlek? I remember the "Junior" Fartlek was a challenge. There was nothing friggin junior about it. I remember the regular fartleks as being "easier" as an OCS run goes... not too easy though, of course.
The Calisthenics were farther apart on the junior fartlek (less time to catch your breath), and of course, the JF has Da Nang.
Citizen- which fartlek? I remember the "Junior" Fartlek was a challenge. There was nothing friggin junior about it. I remember the regular fartleks as being "easier" as an OCS run goes... not too easy though, of course.
The Calisthenics were farther apart on the junior fartlek (less time to catch your breath), and of course, the JF has Da Nang.
Did the guys that developed stress fractures suck it up and make it through, or did most of them NPQ? I ask because I know sooner or later I will get them at OCS. I've taken great care of my legs and eased myself into it but nothing seems to work. I am fine now running 4 days a week but 6-7 will kill me. I have learned to kind of ignore it but that really is the only thing that bothers me about OCS. I think I am as prepared as anyone can be but you can only do so much for injuries.
Kevin
Kevin
Taxman2A
War were declared.
Well- here is my advice, rest your legs before you go (don't quit running altogether, just run in a way that won't hurt your legs), and then when you get to OCS, do your best to not think about the pain. In my platoon, all the candidates with stress fractures were sent home. However, those candidates developed stress fractures suspiciously early, and seemed like they were just looking for a way to get out of OCS.
Basically, no candidate in my platoon seemed to get stress fractures past week 1, (one kid was even sent home because he "was in high possibility of developing shin splints", aka, he just really wanted to go home and cried to the doc to send him home). We also had one candidate- an enlisted corporal no less, fake multiple heat casualties to get sent home.
On the other end of the spectrum, my final rackmate (and Farkle's cousin) had one of the worst cases of shin splints I had ever seen, and put up with them all throughout SULE II. While he wasn't all that slow of a runner, he finished dead last in the platoon for the final PFT because the pain, but he still completed the run. He also never reported to sick call for them. It's just one of the many gut checks you will have at OCS. You want to stay as healthy as possible before you go to OCS- but when you do go to OCS, it's game time. You should keep running until your leg literally cracks in half.
If the pain is too much to bear, you can always go to the corpsman, and say that you are hurting (but don't say you think you have a broken bone), and he will give you motrin for the pain.
Basically, no candidate in my platoon seemed to get stress fractures past week 1, (one kid was even sent home because he "was in high possibility of developing shin splints", aka, he just really wanted to go home and cried to the doc to send him home). We also had one candidate- an enlisted corporal no less, fake multiple heat casualties to get sent home.
On the other end of the spectrum, my final rackmate (and Farkle's cousin) had one of the worst cases of shin splints I had ever seen, and put up with them all throughout SULE II. While he wasn't all that slow of a runner, he finished dead last in the platoon for the final PFT because the pain, but he still completed the run. He also never reported to sick call for them. It's just one of the many gut checks you will have at OCS. You want to stay as healthy as possible before you go to OCS- but when you do go to OCS, it's game time. You should keep running until your leg literally cracks in half.
If the pain is too much to bear, you can always go to the corpsman, and say that you are hurting (but don't say you think you have a broken bone), and he will give you motrin for the pain.
FrogFly
Knibb High Football Rules!
Everyone seems to suck on upper body workouts toward the end of OCS. This summer we hit the UBD's hard the first week or so, and never did them again afterwards. All I know is that my 20th pull up during the final PFT was much harder than it was during the initial PFT. Run times usually seem to decrease, but how much depends on the individual. There's no science to it, really. Expect to be broken down at least somewhat. That's the design of the program. If it was meant to build you up, you'd be getting a lot more sleep than what you actually get at OCS. Good luck.
- Status