recomended pft?

[takern]

I am a Freshman in college and am going to go through the PLC program, hopefully this summer. I know what the minimum requirements are for the pft to get accepted, but i was wondering what you would reccomend for scores. i can easily run an 18 min 3 mile, and i am at 92 situps. with those scores how many pull ups would i need to be considered by the OSO?

And as a side note if anyone has some helpful hints to success, i am always open

 

[theblakeness]

well the minimums for pullups is 8 but I definately would not reccomend only doing the minimums. For pullups, I personally wouldnt be comfortable with anything less than 15. Pullups are really easy to build and they are really easy points (each pullup is worth almost a minute of run time).

I have done several different workout programs to build pullups and I saw increase in all of them. the armstrong program is a good start for anyone, but I would definately reccomend buying a pullup bar for your house so its easy to practice.

I personally really like doing pyramid sets as well as 100 rep sets (doing 100 reps in as few sets as possible). I also found getting into the gym and doing lat pulls helped as well as a supplement. This helped me get over the plateau I had at 18 and pushed me to over 20.

Good luck.

 

[takern]

ok. thanks for the advice. at the college we dont have a pull up bar(dont ask me why) and i cannot find a tree with a good limb so when i go home in october i will be making a pull up bar to put in my room and piss off my roomate because he has to see me workout more. in the mean time i go to the gym and workout my back and arms 4 times a week and the rest on 2 other days with sunday off. i have also heard a lot about the armstrong program so i will give that a try. Thanks again

 

[m0tbaillie]

in the mean time i go to the gym and workout my back and arms 4 times a week and the rest on 2 other days with sunday off. i have also heard a lot about the armstrong program so i will give that a try. Thanks again

This is part of your problem. You should be working out each muscle group no more than twice a week IF that. Even twice as week is pushing it if you're talking about larger muscle groups like the bulk of your back unless your absolutely know what you're doing. This can do more harm than good in the long run and even set you back - you may be over-training.

 

[atrickpay]

I have been doing the 50lb maxout increase program found here:

http://www.geocities.com/~slopitch/mm2k/

It's working well so far, and it advises as m0tbaillie mentioned above, only benching twice a week. I'm about 10 workouts in and my final set is now 20lbs more than my original 1 rep max. Don't stress your muscles too much, spend the other days working on cardio or legs.

 

[takern]

ok. thanks for all the advice. one more quick question. i have ran cross . country/track for as long as i can remember and am used to running 6 days a week. i am not running in college but still run 5-6 days a week and try to do pushups and situps every day. is that over training?

 

[Lobster]

This is part of your problem. You should be working out each muscle group no more than twice a week IF that. Even twice as week is pushing it if you're talking about larger muscle groups like the bulk of your back unless your absolutely know what you're doing. This can do more harm than good in the long run and even set you back - you may be over-training.

Sounds to me like he KNOWS what he's doing from what he originally posted with his stats so far, if you're cranking out 6 minute miles he's probably alright.


Just be sure to watch yourself though and how your body reacts if you feel you need a day or a week off, take it, and make sure you're putting the right fuel in the tank.

 

[Lobster]

ok. thanks for all the advice. one more quick question. i have ran cross . country/track for as long as i can remember and am used to running 6 days a week. i am not running in college but still run 5-6 days a week and try to do pushups and situps every day. is that over training?

I know I'm double posting here but I just read this one, you're a runner so your body is used to it, but you have to remember how much abuse the body takes on a run, and like I said up top you're an athlete so you know your body pretty well if you feel like you need time off take it, also I usually will run and then take a day or two off from running then run again, between runs i'll hit the bike, or do some plyos and speed work.

 

[takern]

ok. sounds good. i just dont wanna f*** this chance up

 

[m0tbaillie]

Sounds to me like he KNOWS what he's doing from what he originally posted with his stats so far, if you're cranking out 6 minute miles he's probably alright.


Just be sure to watch yourself though and how your body reacts if you feel you need a day or a week off, take it, and make sure you're putting the right fuel in the tank.

What does running a 6-minute mile have to do with over-training (i.e. working out the same muscle group via isolation exercises four times a week)?

Over-training is over-training, using the speed at which the guy runs his mile to judge his competency to say that it's okay to work the same muscle group four times a week is ridiciulously bad gouge and just plain stupid.

 

[Lobster]

What does running a 6-minute mile have to do with over-training (i.e. working out the same muscle group via isolation exercises four times a week)?

Over-training is over-training, using the speed at which the guy runs his mile to judge his competency to say that it's okay to work the same muscle group four times a week is ridiciulously bad gouge and just plain stupid.

Ok, my point is that you don't just start running 6 minute miles there is a good amount of training and coaching that goes into it. So he's probably had a fair amount of training and coaching and knows how to train himself. He's going to know his body well, and as I said in the previous posts he's got to pay attention to how he's feeling, if more time off is needed take it. I am saying that it is possible to train for 6 days a week with one day of rest and not be over trained, I do it and the NCAA doesn't require more than one days rest a week for us, so it can be done without hurting yourself. I wasn't talking about his training regements or how he's working out, he's got to figure out what works the best for his body and the individual goals that he's set.

Also, I'm going to be polite and I'm not trying to get into a pissing contest with you here but please do not call my posts or advice on fitness "bad gouge" or "stupid". I'm a two sport varsity athlete in college and played 3 years of semi-pro ice hockey in Canada, there are certain subjects I'm not educated on but, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to fitness because I've had some excellent coaches and trainers along the way to show me how to do it.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

Just so both you BDCP types can recognize bad gouge, here it is:

"You have to train at least once, preferably twice, a day if you want to make it at OCS. You should start every day with a 5-10 mile run, averaging a 6-8 minute/mile pace. In the afternoon, you should be hitting the weights and doing sprints. If you don't show up at OCS laughing at a 300 PFT, you're wrong, and will probably attrite."

On the other end of the spectrum....

"Dude, don't even worry about it. PT counts for a fourth of your overall score, and even that is based on about 4 events. Focus more on learning the 5-paragraph order and memorizing your General Orders. When in doubt, just yell 'Hoorah!' at the top of your lungs, and you should be just fine."

 

[pearcem]

Well, since i just graduated about 3 weeks ago, i will give you my .02 cents. The PT at OCS has changed from a running based regime to a total body fitness regime, more along the lines of crossfit.

We never ran more than 3 miles except for the e-course (about 4 miles, ran it 3 times), the MOH run (moto, not very fast, ran it once), the extended fartlek (ran once, 4.2 miles), and I am pretty sure out Moto run was about 4, but again, not too fast.

All of our other runs except for PFT's and two squad runs (one in boots and Ute's), were in Boots and Ute's WITH gear, or what we called the MEC/Run Circuit or the fartlek.

The fartlek was 3 miles of gravel roads, rolling hills, with one or two bad hills. Both the junior and the senior course have a terrible hill, but everything else is pretty easy to train for. Every 200-400 meters, there is an exercise station, and as the weeks progress, you do more repetitions. I believe there are somewhere between 8-12 stations, including a sprint up about a 125 meter hill

The MEC/Run circuit is a lot like the fartlek, just with more exercises, and shorter runs in between. There is also a larger variety of exercises, and on the MEC portion of the course, the exercise stations are timed, not counted by reps.

There is also the upper body development course, where you go back and forth across the PT field and do similar exercises to the above courses. There is also some PT with your rifle, and a good bit of O-course work. We did functional fitness once, which is like a military crossfit, and it kicked our asses.

Everything else is either a graded event, prep for a graded event, or martial arts. All very fun stuff

One more thing, after all the runs, we did push-pull-abs. It went pullups, pushups, pullups, etc for a set like this 12-8-6 for pull, 30-25-20 for push. Then, we did crunches for like 1:30, 1:00, 45 sec. You alternated with a parter, so you got a little break, but not much. The reps go up as the weeks go by. PRACTICE THIS. it's a lot harder than it sounds, especially after a run.

PM me or ask questions in the thread, I am happy to help

 

[takern]

thanks for the knowledge. that all sounds kind of fun, even though im sure it will be hell when i get there. did u train with or without boots before hand?

 

[pearcem]

I ran with bates lites and cammies once a week for about six weeks before, and then took about a week and a half off completely. I started with a 1.5, then did 2 miles twice, then 3 miles a few times. I also did some humps with a back pack full of sand, and that helped with the humps a lot. Also, those boots runs were on trails only, no pavement. It is supposedly much more probable to get shin splints with boots, so keep the surfaces soft. This is also what you'll be running on when you actually get there, so it will prepare you better. Some dirt roads or XC trails will be perfect.

Also, i shipped with a 286, 23/100/20:13. my initial PFT was the exact same. At the end, my pullups went down a tiny bit, but that was because i was on a really tough pullup workout before that had me doing 600 or so a week, and you don't do nearly that many while you're there. I still hit 20 at the end without a problem, but i don't think that i could have done more. The run is the biggest thing. You want to be a strong runner, but still have room for improvement. A lot of the people that killed themselves to get 18:00's right off the bat got hurt, and i progressed rather nicely throughout the workout, and ended up #4 in my platoon in fitness. You want to have a good mileage base so that you don't get hurt, but also some tempo and speed work to prepare yourself for the intensity. I would recommend running good, quality runs 4 times a week, maybe 5, to prepare. You really don't need to do more than that if you are running hard. Either way, good luck. It is fun, and the biggest thing is your attitude. We had guys that sucked at PT, but NEVER gave up, and graduated. At the same time, our strongest physical candidate went home because he had an attitude problem. Keep in mind, even though it's hard as hell, you're crawling through the mud,climbing over crazy crap, and crawling through barb wire, and it really is a blast