Training

             Deciding to go the Special Forces career path can seem sort of daunting to others. Odds are it doesn't seem so hard to those with the dream to go on and become Air Force PJ's, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, etc. Those willing to become candidates think that they have what it physically takes to succeed. Most do. However, many train only on the body, leaving the mind weak. That weakness can and will lead to your failure unless you do something about it, unless you mentally prepare yourself. The following consists of a few different training regimes I do that have helped me prepare for my future as a Pararescue candidate.

            The following workout regime was given to me by my recruiter and was composed by a USAF Combat Controller. Combat Controller's are a Special Forces group that tactically deploy friendly aircraft and call in air strikes in hostile enemy territories. They used to train side by side with PJ's on Lackland AFB, but now have their own training class. The workout is as follows:

Monday-Friday: Complete 10 sets of 50 push-ups (500), complete 5 sets of 10 pull-ups (50), complete 6 sets of 50 sit-ups (300), complete 6 sets of 50 (4-count) flutter kicks (300).

Monday: Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

Tuesday: Swim 1000 yards and complete 500 yards using a kick board. For kick board exercises complete 100-yard flutter kick, 100-yard frog kick, 100-yard dolphin kick, 200-yard flutter kick.

Wednesday: Intervals! Using a 1/4 mile track complete the following (without stopping!):

1-mile warm-up,

Sprint 1/4 of track--jog 3/4 of track

Sprint 1/2 of track--jog 1/2 of track

Sprint 3/4 of track--jog 3/4 of track

Sprint 1 lap--jog 1 lap

(((Pyramid back up; starting with the 1 lap sprint until you finish with the 1/4 lap sprint and 3/4 jog.)))

Thursday: 500-yard swim. Intervals! Complete 10 sets of sprinting 25 yards followed by 25 cool down (500 yards). Keep the rests to a minimum. Finish with 200-yard flutter kick with kick board.

Friday: 10 mile run! Hooyah!

Saturday: Cross-train, do something fun and different that you enjoy but gives you some sort of physical benefit i.e.: kayaking, yoga, etc.

Sunday: Take a day off. Rest, hydrate, and get your head right.

As you can see the workout regime itself is pretty demanding and intense; however, I find it lacking personally. I know what my weaknesses are going into this training and that is swimming. Because of this I have modified and revised the regime taking away certain aspects and incorporating some of my own. I do this because I do not have access to a quarter mile track so set interval training is hard to do and because swimming is my weakness so I do much more of it. You will notice that I run and swim everyday as opposed to every other day in the previous regime. I’ve always been of the mindset that running 3 miles a day keeps the calories at bay. Once I started this regimen I was close to my ship date so it was time to buckle down anyways.

Monday-Friday: Complete 10 sets of 50 push-ups (500), complete 5 sets of 10 pull-ups (50), complete 6 sets of 50 sit-ups (300), complete 6 sets of 50 (4-count) flutter kicks (300).

Monday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

(I kept this workout because it is really easy to get in your car and mark out a 1-mile track for yourself, which is exactly what I did. Because of this you can still work toward your goal of crushing runs with this pace training).

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Tuesday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

Swim 1000 yards and complete 500 yards using a kick board. For kick board exercises complete 100-yard flutter kick, 100-yard frog kick, 100-yard dolphin kick, 200-yard flutter kick.

Wednesday:

Run 5 miles, with intervals!!! No track? No problem! Set you 1 mile run course for yourself and tell yourself that for a set distance on a certain corner that you will sprint ~100yds. Do this multiple times per mile and SPRINT! By the end you should feel as if your sprint is slower than your jog because you’re so exhausted. Push yourself, No pain = No gain.

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Thursday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

500-yard swim. Intervals! Complete 10 sets of sprinting 25 yards followed by 25 cool down (500 yards). Keep the rests to a minimum. Finish with 200-yard flutter kick with kick board.

Friday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

(I took out the 10-mile run because to me it didn’t seem practical. Yes running longer distances at a moderate pace can be good for training and you may enjoy it, however I couldn’t deal with the blisters I accumulated afterwards which just made it harder on my runs the following weeks as they only got worse. There are products you can buy to help prevent blisters to get over that hurdle. This workout just elevates your conditioning but if you continue to push yourself with your intervals and pace runs conditioning will be no problem I promise you. I still do the 10-mile run on a whim or every other week but not weekly.)

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Saturday: Cross-train, do something fun and different that you enjoy but give you some sort of physical benefit i.e.: kayaking, yoga, etc.

Sunday: Take a day off. Rest, hydrate, and get your head right.

            There are a handful of other exercises or ways of cross training I participated in that I have not mentioned yet. In South Florida triathlons are a popular sport many people do just for fun and to get into shape while pushing themselves. Because of this I was able to get in with a group of people who twice a week would all go for a 2 mile run, followed by a 15 minute swim, followed by another 2 mile run. This was a great way to train! It was different, broke up the monotonous grind of routines I had become accustomed to, and best of all I was doing it with a group of people. I highly recommend finding like-minded individuals to train with, whether it is for the military or just a bunch of fitness freaks that meet up at On Your Mark Bike Shop twice a week. It helps!

            Secondly, I started cycling. Luckily for me my father is a cyclist and had an extra bike for me to use, as I will, which helps when dealing with this sport. Riding a bike for 30+ miles definitely worked my legs in a different way and like I mentioned before riding with a group of people made it a fun way of training. This was the one day of training I looked forward to the most! I love it!

            Lastly, I started practicing yoga. My mother is a yoga instructor and loved doing it. I must say I was hesitant to begin doing this but it does help. What changed my mind about it was the consistent factor I heard about in Pararescue training: injuries. A lot of guys are dropped from the program or recycled back to start anew due to injuries they suffered while trying to perform under the highly stressful and demanding rigors the instructors impose on them. So, I decided to start training in the art of yoga to help improve my fitness in yet another way but primarily to increase my flexibility so that I could possibly prevent future injuries. I will say I didn’t stick with yoga very long, but I wish I had.

Now this may seem like a lot of exercising every week and it is, the average American doesn’t even run once a week. But it is necessary if you wish to survive the training that you know you will endure if you’ve embarked on this path. However, on top of all of this you should weight lift. Now I don’t mean go to the gym and become some meathead that is built like a tank and completely cut and jacked up.

Fun fact #1: Muscle sinks.

Fun fact #2: If you want to become a PJ or SEAL you will be swimming, a lot.

Fun fact #3: Not only will you be swimming but you will be put through drown proofing exercises that require you to float and remain buoyant.

I’m no personal trainer I just know what I like and how it works for me. It took me a while to come up with what regime I liked and what exercises and routines to go through at the gym but I do know when you lift don’t go for heavy weight. Go with lightweight and high repetitions. You won’t get jacked, but you will get toned and cut, but most importantly you get your muscles used to functioning and performing under stress. It helps, I recommend it.