The In-PFA typically has a 10% failure rate, that is why they asked the recruiters to raise the bar on the PRT they give for applicants. The director of OCS had a meeting with a bunch from NRC while I was a candi-O at OCS. If you go down to OCS having only done the bare minimum or a little over it for your recruiter you will have problems, here is why:
1) You will get significantly less rest than you are used to the 2 days prior to your In-PFA. A couple of reasons for this, you will be sleeping in open-bay barracks with a lot of other people. You will be getting up several times a night to go to the bathroom, because you will be drinking more water than you ever thought was possible, and you will stand all day long.
2) You will be experiencing a level of stress that you can't possibly anticipate. This is mostly self induced. You will be nervous, anxious, and scared. Trust me, I had 10 years in the Navy before I got there, and my first several days were nerve racking. And the candi-O's will be jerks to you because they believe it is their right since it happened to them.
3) If you are not used to the temperature and humidity it will be a huge factor, especially in the summer months.
4) The recruiter is not going to be as strict on the form required as they are going to be when you perform your In-PFA at OCS. This gets a lot of people who are told to stop before they are burnt out, because they take their hands off their chest during situps or raise their butts during pushups. Get a copy from your recruiter of the Instruction for the PFA and make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. You have to get your upper arm parallel with the ground when you go down and lock your elbows out when you go up. They will tell your counter not to count a rep if they see you didn't do it correctly.
- There is no pull-up in the Navy PFA, that is a marine thing.
And when you do start PT with the rest of the regiment, it is advisable to stretch on your own in your room before you go down and form up for PT. Stress Fractures are very common in OCS.
Pat