I Did It!!!

[MaxAvidy]

Lot harder than it looks

So I'm new here, I've managed a 6-minute mile (I have a large stride seeing that I’m 6'3"), but after that I'm pretty much useless after that. I can eke out 10 or so pull-ups and 30 or so sit-ups. I was wondering should I run everyday as hard as possible in the middle of the day to build up tolerance? Also I heard on a previous forum to do 100 crunches a day and if you can't nail them all at once, take a breather and continue. As for the pull-ups I have no idea what works best for that, which holding position works best/easiest to build on? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy (why I'm joining the marines) So tell me the best way to get to 300 ASAP and I'll do it.

Thanks

 

[T-man]

So I'm new here, I've managed a 6-minute mile (I have a large stride seeing that I’m 6'3"), but after that I'm pretty much useless after that. I can eke out 10 or so pull-ups and 30 or so sit-ups. I was wondering should I run everyday as hard as possible in the middle of the day to build up tolerance? Also I heard on a previous forum to do 100 crunches a day and if you can't nail them all at once, take a breather and continue. As for the pull-ups I have no idea what works best for that, which holding position works best/easiest to build on? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy (why I'm joining the marines) So tell me the best way to get to 300 ASAP and I'll do it.

Thanks

A couple of sources to find the info - search this site (search function at the top of the page), search google, and pester (ask) your OSO for recommendations on workout.
pullups: armstrong program works well for a lot of people.
running: do lots of it. If you want, target your running for the specific climate that you'll take the PFT in when you get to OCS.

 

[Stonewall82]

Pull-ups, Sit-ups, Run

Pull-ups / The technique is whichever one you can do the most pull-ups with. I use the palms facing away tech. The Armstrong workout works if you do it 4-5 times a week like they say. You can find it by searching on this site for "Armstrong." The link by Future Prodigy has the whole workout.

Sit-ups / The way you do these makes a big difference. My OSO (ask your OSO what he requires) had me do them arms crossed with hands tucked under the upper arm. One sit-up was starting with shoulders touching the grass, go up till your forearms touched somewhere on your thigh, and then back down to shoulders touching the grass. There is also a sit-up workout on the Armstrong link above which worked for me. If you do them fast enough, you can take a breather because you have 2:00 which is a pretty good bit of time.

Run / I don't feel like I can offer too much advice because I didn't go faster than 18:00. I really wanted 300 too but I was out a month because of shin splints, I want to be there by the time OCS starts. I would say, train for the environment you're taking your PFT in and possibly run the course first to see what it is like. Endurance is built slowly and you have to be careful not to add up the distance/speed too fast because of shin splints. Alot people never get shin splints so whatever works for you.

Get 'er Done and good luck

 

[Slammer2]

So I'm new here, I've managed a 6-minute mile (I have a large stride seeing that I’m 6'3"), but after that I'm pretty much useless after that. I can eke out 10 or so pull-ups and 30 or so sit-ups. I was wondering should I run everyday as hard as possible in the middle of the day to build up tolerance? Also I heard on a previous forum to do 100 crunches a day and if you can't nail them all at once, take a breather and continue. As for the pull-ups I have no idea what works best for that, which holding position works best/easiest to build on? I'm an all or nothing kind of guy (why I'm joining the marines) So tell me the best way to get to 300 ASAP and I'll do it.

Thanks

Good crunch or sit-up routine (can't remember if i posted this before or not) is to do as many as you can for 2 minutes, rest for 2 minutes, do as many for 1 minute, rest for 1, and then hit them again for 30 seconds. Do this every day at least once. If you can, try to remember or mark down your numbers and watch as they go up over a short period of time. Just think of it as the initial 2 minute set as being part of your PFT and then 4.5 minutes more of a workout (with most of that being resting). You will start to see you hit a higher number each time before you need to stop to breathe. Also, if you're going to stop, either because you're pooped out or just want to briefly rest not to lose all energy, make sure its only for a few breaths. Any longer than that you'll get tired and cramp up.

 

[Slammer2]

...I've managed a 6-minute mile...but after that I'm pretty much useless...

I took that to mean that you can hit one mile in 6 minutes, but the other two miles don't happen so fast. If thats the case, try slowing that first mile down to a point where you don't bleed off so much energy and then try to increase your distance before you start to fatigue. Think of it like an engine with lower speed but higher torque. Don't go so fast that you have no endurance left.

This is the same problem that I had when I started training my running hard core. I had the speed, but I couldnt pace myself the whole way through worth a damn. Make sure you put some rest periods in there like Stonewall said so that you dont get hurt.

 

[Carno]

Just remember: pullups don't mean crap at OCS unless you go down ALL the way. An OSO pullup is not an OCS pullup. You don't know frustration until you hear: 1...1...1...1...1...2...2...2

 

[tegtag]

If you want to prepare for the initial PFT at OCS do this:

Lug a full sea bag around for several hours.
Sit in a sauna periodically between lugging sessions (Larson).
Have a buddy punch you in the arms several times (shots at medical).
Stay up late cleaning your room.
Get up early, don't stretch and don't eat anything.

You may want to practice asking someone fake permission to mount and dismount the bar. Candidate in my platoon didn't ask to dismount after doing 20 pullups, SSgt. said "19 pullups," Candidate got a 295 PFT.


As for running, 3 miles will be the shortest distance you run (save the run circuit which we did once and sprints if Colors wants you to). So practice distance with hills in there. As for when to run, every run we had was completed before 8AM so it was pretty cool, you just sweat to no end because of the humidity/dew in the morning.

 

[phrogpilot73]

Not that I'm a PT stud, but my pre-PFT prep consists of:

1. Cup of coffee ($hit, it's early!)
2. 2 x your favorite pain killer (I prefer Alleve)
3. Water (so I don't get the silver bullet)
4. Smokes (motivates me for the post-PFT smoke)
5. $hit (never underestimate the loss of weight to make you lighter, hence faster)