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Real OCS Fitness

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USMC Philly

Registered User
For those that have gone through OCS:
I've read post after post and thread after thread about OCS fitness, all regarding to PFTs, Armstrong pull ups, sit ups, etc. I want to know how to prepare for all of the non-PFT vigors of OCS.

I saw and looked over the sample workout plan posted on the OCS website:OCS Workout Plan. The max mileage they have listed is 17 miles (I'm working out at a moderate level and I am breaking 20 miles per week) and a variety of body weight excercises.

Is this realistic to prepare for OCS or do you need to challenge yourself more/less/just this much in order to perform at OCS. Looking back, is there something you should have trained more on to make OCS easier? Any info would be helpful, b/c right now I feel like I am only training for PFTs and not for the 10 weeks of OCS. Thanks.
 
DocT

DocT

Dean of Students
pilot
The PT is rigorous, it's true. The longest humps will be about 13 miles. The longest runs will be around 5 or 6 miles. Train for running hills. The only flat surface runs you will do are for PFT's. The longer the distance you are running, the better off you'll be. Humps are difficult to train for if you've never humped before. The best advice, is to go down there physically ready, in as good of shape as you can be. Also, be mentally prepared. Don't quit. Your body will do stuff that will astound you if your mind is fit.
 
U

USMC Philly

Registered User
So loading up my hiking pack from my Boy Scout days and hiking (obviously at a leisurely pace :D ) some miles in the local park would be a good conditioning exercise for OCS humps?

Any other suggestions?
 
S

SMARTI

Registered User
Training for humps would be to work some into your workouts. I always hated humps because I was always the smallest guy, which menat I had to haul a** in order to keep up. The way I did that was to go on some mini-humps on my own for about 5 - 10 miles with a 50lb. pack once every week or two, and increasing the milage moderately. This would keep my "humping" muscles ready. I am training my wife and I this way for next year's OCS class. You can do it on a treadmill with the incline feature, or just hit the pavement outside. A good 4-6 mph is all you really need to get up to. Besides that it will toughen your feet too. Good luck.
 
tegtag

tegtag

New Member
My feeling is its really hard to train for non-PFT activity on your own. I recommend getting with other prospective candidates from your OSO's office and challenging each other.

The exercises I would do together are any sort of running where you drop to the ground and do an exercise (pushups, crunches, mountain climbers, etc) the pop back up and keep running without taking the time to catch your breath. Do this for several miles, then do it with short sprints. It's easy to keep going without catching your breath when someone is yelling at you, but very difficult if you by yourself.

In a nut shell: work on cardio.
 
U

USMC Philly

Registered User
I'm prolly gonna look like an idiot for asking this...but could someone please explain to me what a mountain climber entails?
 
Herc_Dude

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
Build some upper body strength in different areas, such as climbing ropes. Builds a little more strength than just pull-ups. Like everyone else is saying, work on preparing for humps. I've heard of guys doing a stairclimber in gyms with heavy packs on to help your quads and calfs build up endurance. Run, run, run ... this can always help you on humps, ind. runs, PFT... everything. Get yourself to a point where you know your body is 'in shape' ... only you know where that is. As long as you DONT QUIT, things will be fine for you. Good luck.
 
Herc_Dude

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
USMC Philly said:
I'm prolly gonna look like an idiot for asking this...but could someone please explain to me what a mountain climber entails?
Click to expand...

Get yourself into a 4-point stance on the ground with you a$$ in the air. Have your hands out in front of your head. Move your legs back and forth towards the center of your body almost like you are running in place but while in that 4-point stance. Each time you bring one leg up, the other goes back. They are counted each time you move your legs .. one, two, three ONE, one, two, three, TWO, etc.. Hope that makes sense and helps.

s/f
 
R

riley

Registered User
This falls under the "easy to be hard, hard to be smart" category.

Yes, some OCS runs can be up to 6 miles. Yes, SULE II has you humping/running up to 18 miles. Should you run more than 15-20 miles a week to prepare? My own opinion would be no - unless you ran those distances in college or are used to it. It will do more harm than good and wear your body down.

Devil Dog has some good advice on upper body strength with ropes, etc. You will do a lot of Fartlek runs between 2-4 miles (this is where you run for a distance, stop and do an exercise, then continue running). Fartlek runs are also good to train for. Do some push pull drills every once in awhile. Run hills, do a sprint workout, vary your distances - don't always run 5 or 7 miles each time, vary between 3 and 7. Give yourself time to rest and heal - the last thing you want to do is arrive at OCS broken down. You will be one of the first to be NPQ'd

OCS humps are not bad - I don't know why people are "training" for them. It just sounds like they are putting undue pressure on their bodies. OCS builds you up for the humps, you start of on short ones and work up to the longer 12 mile hump. If you train running hills, varying distances, and include fartleks and sprints you will be fine.
 
M

motiv8r

Registered User
With all this discussion about how to prepare, we should bear in mind that if they let you stay after the inventory PFT, and you have no nagging injuries (shin splints etc) or other medical problems, you have what it takes physically to complete OCS. I, and I would imagine about 90% of people who head down there for the first time, imagined it as this unbelievably hard physical challenge. I'm not saying the PT isn't hard, because it is. But what makes OCS hard is the mental aspect. Let me tell you a little story. We had a guy in our juniors platoon who was a stud athlete at an Ivy League school. He was our platoon's guy for the "Iron Man" competition and ended up scoring like 450 points on the "unlimited" PFT (where pullups over 20 etc. count). As luck would have it he was also in my Seniors platoon where, not only was he the ONLY guy with a flat 300 on the inventory PFT, he was also the ONLY guy to DOR during week 4. Case in point: OCS is hard because of the mental aspect....although the physical side certainly can contribute as well.

Keep training hard, don't overtrain yourself to the point of injury, and best of luck.

S/F
 
Herc_Dude

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
motiv8r said:
With all this discussion about how to prepare, we should bear in mind that if they let you stay after the inventory PFT, and you have no nagging injuries (shin splints etc) or other medical problems, you have what it takes physically to complete OCS. I, and I would imagine about 90% of people who head down there for the first time, imagined it as this unbelievably hard physical challenge. I'm not saying the PT isn't hard, because it is. But what makes OCS hard is the mental aspect. Let me tell you a little story. We had a guy in our juniors platoon who was a stud athlete at an Ivy League school. He was our platoon's guy for the "Iron Man" competition and ended up scoring like 450 points on the "unlimited" PFT (where pullups over 20 etc. count). As luck would have it he was also in my Seniors platoon where, not only was he the ONLY guy with a flat 300 on the inventory PFT, he was also the ONLY guy to DOR during week 4. Case in point: OCS is hard because of the mental aspect....although the physical side certainly can contribute as well.

Keep training hard, don't overtrain yourself to the point of injury, and best of luck.

S/F
Click to expand...

GREAT ADVICE - being physically prepared can give you just one less thing to stress about, but they will have you stressed to a point no matter what. You just have to make up your mind to not quit, no matter what. Damn, thats great advice Motiv8r.
 
michaels601

michaels601

Simba Barracuda.
not much more can be said here without repeating, but if i could throw in some advice-

as long as your training, you're not wasting your time. it's going to be tough, like everyone says, and there's always the mental factor. but i have a hard time believing there's anyone out there whos body is conditioned to the degree that OCS isn't going to make 'em a little sore.

watch where you're running and lift up your feet. manage your time so you can get as much sleep as possible. stay out of trouble. the odds of you croaking at OCS are almost nil, just be determined and try to have a good time... just don't let 'em see you smile.

that being said, i think i'm gonna go to the gym for a while...
 
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