Hello im new to these forums but i just wanted to get some opinions from anyone that went throught combat controller school or any other special operations training. Im 17 with 3 months till i leave. let me tell you what i currently do to prepare.
mon. wed. fri., P90x 5 mile run, weight lifting.
tues. thurs. sat., p90x, cals, sprints, swim
What i want to know is their anthing i should add to my Workouts? Also how many sets of cals should i do if i do max on each set? Also what swim Workouts should i do? i currently do a 500 freestyle and a 500 breast stroke also i do 4x25m underwater swims.
Im dedicating my whole summer to training.
So please feel free to give me advice on what else i should add to my training.

Hey man... Keep the running pace fast, just keep knocking out 500m and 1000m swims and be a stud at cals. You gotta get through basic and still be able to do well enough on the PT test to continue training. I would add some strength training as well... 5x5 weighted pulls, deadlifts, press, bench, squat, etc... compound movements for overall strength will help you out.

Start aiming for the CCS pt graduation standards.

GW

Keep up with what your doing now and i agree just work towards the AFSOC PAST test. However your really going to have to work hard on your own time at BMT. Allot of people fail their first PAST test when they start Selection/Indoc. All I can say is take the Workouts you know and dont Forget them at BMT. You will loose fitness there. Just do your best to eat right stay away from all the sick people and try to stay in shape. good luck

Resubmitted from my 2010 post dealing with same issue(s):

It amazes me that guys are worrying about losing fitness at BMT...you have all the info to prepare in advance and while you may lose a bit of fitness, it isn't the end of the world...anyone that claims they got out of shape at BMT is simply not preparing properly or looking for excuses...even though lots of guys fail their initial PT test, other guys make it...what's the difference?

I went through indoc in 1984. I tried out for Pararescue while at BMT and then passed indoc and went on to be a PJ...PT for the Air Force was a joke compared to today...We tried out in week 4...our PAST was calisthenics, 1 mile swim, and 1.5 mile run.

Our graduation standards were:

water:

8 cross-overs, full harassment, pass/fail
Bobbing, pass/fail
Underwaters, 8 x 1:30
Underwater knot tying pass/fail
Weightbelt swim pass/fail
Ditch and don, pass/fail
Mask and snorkel recovery, 35M, pass/fail
4000M fin swim in 80 mins
Buddy breathing, full harassment, pass/fail

Run:

6 miles in 42 minutes

Cals:

Pull-ups (bar behind the neck) 19 in 2 mins
Chin-ups 20 in 2 mins
Push-ups 90 in 2 mins
Sit-ups 80 in 2 mins
Flutter-kicks 90 in 2 mins

That shows you the difference from today.

The point is not to impress, but to illustrate at least in part, the mental aspect as it relates to being prepared. If you train knowing you have 20 chin-ups to do, you'll strive for that and likely achieve that goal...if you train for 13 chin-ups, it's the same...it is difficult to push oneself above and beyond what one expects to have to achieve, and whatever number or time that is, gets in your head both consciously and subconsciously.

We literally did calisthenics, running and swimming among many other things 6 days a week, with Sunday off...for 8 weeks...goes against just about any training guidance that is out today...yet we met those standards and lots of guys went above and beyond them...but given the mindset I've seen in many today...most would quit and cry about over-training...some would certainly be overtrained...perhaps we were too, but we didn't "expect" or "think" we were overtraining so we "just did it"...

I believe there is a fundamentally different mindset today with younger generations than in my day (not to sound old and crusty)...I'm not bashing anyone, simply stating what I feel to be true...we had no internet, smart phones, or computers when I grew up...we had no one telling us that we're all winners and no one fails...and the government will take care of all your needs and you deserve everything that everyone else gets but don't have to work for it. I didn't need all the information and minutia I could possibly get before making a decision. Many on this board ask "well, if I can get all the info, why not ask?" Well, because it's only because all that info is available that you even have it in your head you need it in the first place!

Tons of people ask "well, what should I do?" or "what would you do?" It's like people are afraid to take responsibility for their own actions...it's like people are afraid to make a decision without every scrap of information available...paralysis by analysis. If you make it, I guarantee on your very first mission things will change that you have to deal with...you'll have to make decisions on incomplete information and take responsibility for those decisions...we don't want guys that need all the info, we want guys that can make the right decision based on limited information and get the job done.

Hundreds of guys have made it before you, most with less information by far than is available today. They didn't worry about getting out of shape at BMT, they worried about making it...don't sweat the small stuff...indoc and CCSC are tough physically, but more-so mentally...prepare, decide you'll deal with anything that comes your way, then deal with it.

Good luck!

I absolutely love this mental attitude! I hear this ALL THE TIME... it can be quite aggravating to listen to. I have some friends that are "educated" in the physical fitness field and I hear the infamous "you are overtraining, you need to have more rest days, stop working out 3 times a day, you can't run and lift and swim and do crossfit style Workouts all in the same day, it is not productive"... if this is the case, then why can I do it? Not only why can I do it, but how is that I can continue to do it for more than a week straight?

The point I want to place emphasis on is that with PROPER TRAINING (crawl, walk, run) you can prepare yourself for some very long lasting physical demands. A good day for me usually consists of a few miles of swimming, 2 crossfit wods, a strength session and a bike ride. A rough day, is the same but instead of long swims, its our "elite swimmer" class, and long distance runs.

Personally I don't believe in rest days, they don't do anything more than an active recovery day does in my opinion. I am much more attracted to deload weeks (where you would do nothing but light lifting, low low low cardio, jogs and walks, etc).

The question you have to ask yourself (again, in my opinion, TE, or other operators could confirm or disagree with this) is are you ready to run mile after mile, than get sprayed with a water hose, than roll on the ground and crawl through the mud, than bear crawl a half a mile, than do calisthenics, than swim underwater, than get tossed around in a pool, than get out and run some more? Just running one day and lifting on a another may not be the most promising way to prepare.

Simulation has been used for years in training, and in my opinion (I am really placing emphasis on my opinion here lol), it can be very useful in training your physical and mental state to be ready for selection.

Again, all this is from a hopeful civilian, and is all based on my personal opinion.

I agree with all that you say TE. I just recently graduated from BMT on May 11. I had no problem with fitness. Everything actually increased. It was the same for allot of others in my flight that were also coming into the Air Force for CCT. However what I saw while I was there and the only point I'm trying to make is that their were a few guys who got really lazy and content while at BMT and those were the ones who initially failed the PAST when we started selection together. In a nut shell my only advice is don't be "that guy". You have plenty of down time to bust out sets of cals. It does nothing but help you in the long run. I'm sure glad that's how I spent my time there.

No worries cjohnson but your statement "You will loose fitness there..." had no such clarification. In any case, more folks will now read this thread and be more motivated!

cjohnson, you would be a good person to ask since you just graduated BMT, is it true that you got a pool session once a week, I have heard mixed answers on this.

Glad to hear you gained from it! I honestly feel that I will gain and lose some in BMT, but I think with the sleep schedule, meals, and nervous system and fast twitch fibers training (butt ton of cals) I SHOULD gain numbers from BMT. I also intend to follow the nightly workout routine that I once found (buddy squats, bathroom stall pullups, etc.)

This is a highly motivational post!

TE, I'm stealing this for my sig block

Hopefully all of you guys going to basic with a CCT contract don't have an MTI like the one I had. We did actual PT only 4 times, the whole time I was in basic. We did flutter kicks and stuff if we did something wrong, but not many of them. I was going into a maintenance job, so it just made it easier for me, but it would suck for that to happen to one of you guys!

I should have put more thought into what i wrote TE. To answer your question boxinabag. Yes it is madatory for all trainees to go to a scheduled swim session on Saturday. Your MTI cannot restrict you from going. Some MTIs did that before i got there and they got in allot of trouble by the commander. Depending on which Cadre or coach was there we would swim between 1500-3500 meters. Sometimes the focus would be on technique other times it would be fast paced sprints. The only time you will not go is during the eigth week of training because of graduation. Also every tuesday they would send PJ/CCT/SOWT/TACP cadre to give a class to trainees going into their respective careerfield (for exemple every tuesday at 1600 me and all the other CCT BMT trainees would go to a class and a cadre from selection would come in and talk to us). During the classes they would tell us Workouts, explain the schools of the pipeline, tell how to stay motivated and the occasional war story...etc Further more we had to wear Blue armbands during morning PT so that the instructers could pick us out and make sure that we would do twice the amount of all the other trainees (which still wasnt allot). Then when i was in the fourth week of training they made it mandatory for all of us to do three sets of pull ups before breakfest, lunch, and dinner and we were required to do 3 sets of 1x3s of Push ups, sit ups, and flutter kicks. My MTI picked a friend of mine and he had to keep a log of all of our reps for every excercise which we had to sign at the end of each week and turn into our MTI. I guess the reason that all that was put into place is because there is a constant fight/ between those who run BMT and those over at Medina.

thanks for the info, it is nice to have someone who just went through BMT to fill me in on the situation. With this and doing "lights out WODs" there should not be very many excuses to not pass the PAST after BMT.

After reading what CJohnson had said, there should be almost no reason to blame failing the PAST, or PT test, on getting out of shape at BMT. Sure, it may not seem like it's easy, but it's definitely better than a normal run and cals here and there. I think it's awesome they've introduced swim at basic.

Thanks CJohnson for that info!

When did they add swimming to basic? I only went through basic two years ago, and I never even saw a pool, much less swim in it.

They did not add it to basic, they added it for basic trainees who are booked for certain battlefield Airman AFSCs such as PJ and CCT.