Physically Preparing for the BCT

jmk0601

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2012
Messages
73
Other than the basic workout info/schedule on the instructions handbook, I'd really appreciate any inputs on workouts to help me physically prepare for the BCT! Thank you in advance for you inputs :smile:
 
RE: Prep for BCT

I think that many people have already posted to run, run, and run some more.
However, you should also be doing pull-ups and push-ups daily as you will be doing lots and lots and lots of these during BCT. We decided to hire a coach/trainer to work with our DS before leaving for I-Day. We knew he was a tough coach, and would whip our son into the best shape in prep for all that occurs during BCT. My son found BCT hard but not impossible. He said the mental obstacles were more challenging than the physical and he was fairly well prepared for the mental challenges... My son (a C4C) loves the academy and is still thrilled that this is where he is going to school. He is extremely happy with his being accepted and his journey to becoming an officer...
 
thank you for your reply! I know that running is important aspect, and I have already included it in my schedule. I just wanted to know what other things might come up. I knew push-ups would, but I wasn't so sure about the pull ups. Time to work more on those! haha thank you so much :smile:
 
Although I am sure many people will say how its almost obvious what do to, I can agree that a thread like this will bring me some comfort, even if I already have a plan.

Right now I am following a combined workout from the AF Special Forces Workout book and the Appointee information kit. I go 6 days a week, with swimming for at least half an hour every day and running two miles. I rotate days with weights, calisthenics, and rest.

On days with weights I try to hit everything; On days with calisthenics I follow a circuit of pull-ups, burpees, push-ups, crunches, sit-ups. I take Mondays off completely, and I believe I read somewhere you should take every third week on break to avoid injury. For me, I normally tend to have a snotty nose once in a while, which serves as my break timing.

Hopefully you can draw comfort from that!
 
Although I am sure many people will say how its almost obvious what do to, I can agree that a thread like this will bring me some comfort, even if I already have a plan.

Right now I am following a combined workout from the AF Special Forces Workout book and the Appointee information kit. I go 6 days a week, with swimming for at least half an hour every day and running two miles. I rotate days with weights, calisthenics, and rest.

On days with weights I try to hit everything; On days with calisthenics I follow a circuit of pull-ups, burpees, push-ups, crunches, sit-ups. I take Mondays off completely, and I believe I read somewhere you should take every third week on break to avoid injury. For me, I normally tend to have a snotty nose once in a while, which serves as my break timing.

Hopefully you can draw comfort from that!

I believe the most overlooked item is to make sure you WAKE UP O Bright Thirty and acclimate your mind and body to those early morning shock of exercise and whatnot. :wow::rockon::hammer: Oh..and change your day off to Sunday...I would recommend doing what you do M-Sat...as a previous Wrestling coach...muscle tissue peaks after 6 weeks and then it will start "rebuilding" ie...keep training hard...you WILL get injured...on the other hand...you can never get too much Cardio conditioning...so in that aspect you can run and run and run...
 
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I believe the most overlooked item is to make sure you WAKE UP O Bright Thirty and acclimate your mind and body to those early morning shock of exercise and whatnot. :wow::rockon::hammer: Oh..and change your day off to Sunday...I would recommend doing what you do M-Sat...as a previous Wrestling coach...muscle tissue peaks after 6 weeks and then it will start "rebuilding" ie...keep training hard...you WILL get injured...on the other hand...you can never get too much Cardio conditioning...so in that aspect you can run and run and run...

Why Sunday? I moved it off of Sunday because on Sunday I have plenty of time to do a big work-out, but on Monday my schedule is stuffed with mostly sitting activities. I figure since I do almost nothing physical on Mondays (unless I cram a gym sesh in at 11PM and sacrifice sleep) and since I have the leisure of my schedule for now, I might as well rest then.

Also, what do you mean about injury?
 
I haven't gone through BCT yet so I'm not speaking with experience on this one but I have been doing crossfit and I really like it. If there's a crossfit gym near you I would definitely consider looking into it!
 
Why Sunday? I moved it off of Sunday because on Sunday I have plenty of time to do a big work-out, but on Monday my schedule is stuffed with mostly sitting activities. I figure since I do almost nothing physical on Mondays (unless I cram a gym sesh in at 11PM and sacrifice sleep) and since I have the leisure of my schedule for now, I might as well rest then.

Also, what do you mean about injury?

You can bet you won't be "resting" on Mondays during BCT...Sundays tends to be the "resting" period...and as for injuries...if you work out hard...ie lifting weights mainly...your muscles will eventually peak out and there will be a need to rest the muscle tissue...if you continue to work out heavy lifting especially...you will pull or tear your muscle tissue and that will take a long time to heal...again...if you really want to get ready for the physical aspects of BCT...get up EARLY and start your workouts...:thumb:
 
Well I know few things about weightlifting because my friend is a really good trainer, and he always trains me! :smile: I do workout alot on my muscles, so right now im integrating 4 cardio days on top of my gym days. Anywho, I agree with EagleDriver. Go light! In my opinion, the bct will be less of your muscular strength and more of your muscular endurance. Lighter weights with more reps, controlled movement workouts, and such. But waking up earlier than I do now is quite hard because of school! haha
 
Which do you think would work better for preparing a cadet? Weights means a full body workout.

Mon: Weights
Tues: Run and Swim
Wed: Weights
Thur: Run and Swim
Fri: Weights

or

First day: Short run, short swim, weights
Second day: Long run, long swim
Third day: short run, short swim, calisthenics
Fourth day: rest

My worry is which should I focus more on: bulk and strength, or stamina?
 
Which do you think would work better for preparing a cadet? Weights means a full body workout.

Mon: Weights
Tues: Run and Swim
Wed: Weights
Thur: Run and Swim
Fri: Weights

or

First day: Short run, short swim, weights
Second day: Long run, long swim
Third day: short run, short swim, calisthenics
Fourth day: rest

My worry is which should I focus more on: bulk and strength, or stamina?

Focus more on endurance. The excersizes you are going to be doing are body weight, so focus a lot on pushups/flutterkicks and pullups.
 
Just gonna add in that though it is an excellent idea to work out before basic, also know that when you get here, you will break and you will struggle because no matter how strong you are beforehand, the incessant physical exercise will knock you down. As such, remember to enjoy your time and don't spend every waking minute exercising. Enjoy the time with family and friends. If you perform with the mindset of giving it your all and not giving up, you might even do better than someone who is physically stronger than you however for that to happen you have to be in at least decent physical shape.

Things to note:
1)don't be the weakest- if you are struggling to run a couple miles or struggling with push ups, abs, or pull ups work on it until you can do them. Use the PFT/AFT standards for comparison. You should be able to max (or close to max) sit ups and push ups. Also don't just do sit ups- work on abs in general.
2) Spend time with family and friends. If you had to choose between going somewhere with your family or working out, choose family. No matter how much you exercise, it will never be enough but also don't settle for the bare minimum. You do NOT want to be the weakest but remember you don't have to be the strongest. If you're slightly above average with an excellent mindset, you will achieve.
 
Definitely stamina! June is still a long ways away...my son bulked up 10 lbs by April and then got lean by doing A LOT of stamina workouts...ie running, cross training...took boxing and even worked out with his Marine uncle on the combat pugil sticks from April until entering BCT. He still ended up losing a lot of weight and had to be put on the extra calories diet. So in other words, even if you THINK you're doing a great work out program, its not the same when you're in CS...the altitude there in itself is a huge challenge for us sea level folks...so unless you live in a comparable altitude, it will take a week to acclimate to the high altitude. My son thought BCT was a lot of fun and great intro to "getting into the military mode"! he never took verbal yelling personally and worked hard to contribute to his squad and fellow basics. He observed that there were a lot of gung ho know it all basics...his demeanor was more on the "observe and carry a big stick" :shake: One last thing...those of you thinking of getting a copy of Contrails...don't bother...learn it with the rest of the population...I can tell you that my son will look out for the "know it all" :wink: remember there's no "I" in TEAM:thumb: And again its all about attitude:shake:
 
Stamina over pure strength. That said, if you can't max the push-ups, etc, work on that!
Don't be rough on your legs every day. Shin splints aren't fun.
 
my initial solution was running 4 miles 4x a week. muscle 3x a week.. but.. I'm approaching a new plan! If anyone wants to try, try the P90X and Insanity Hybrid. I've received crazy results back in the day with P90X itself.. 8:30min mile to 6 min mile after 2 months. On top of that, increased number of pull ups and push ups.
 
my initial solution was running 4 miles 4x a week. muscle 3x a week.. but.. I'm approaching a new plan! If anyone wants to try, try the P90X and Insanity Hybrid. I've received crazy results back in the day with P90X itself.. 8:30min mile to 6 min mile after 2 months. On top of that, increased number of pull ups and push ups.

I have read that P90X and other extreme exercise programs can lead to injuries if you are not careful, so please be careful considering that injuries are very bad right now!
 
Personally, I think that Tony Horton (P90x) is beyond annoying. I do crossfit, which is another type of extreme workout. It's really awesome being able to do the extreme workout with other people at the crossfit gym instead of with Tony Horton on your TV screen. I love it but as Ambition said, you really do have to be careful about injuries because it is so intense.
 
Pre-BCT Workout Priorities (in order):
1) Just workout -- kind doesn't matter as much as just getting
your heartrate up and muscles working at least 5x per week
2) Work on your weaknesses -- If you are a slow runner, work on
cardio. If you can do squats forever but have a weak upper body,
work on that. If you are not a runner, use this time to build up your
leg endurance. As mentioned, you do not want to develop shin splints
in BCT.
3) Focus on body weight exercises -- common bct exercises
include various forms of pushups, flutterkicks, squats, pullups, jumping
jacks, body-builders, front-leaning rest, wall sits, sprints, etc. The
static stuff like front-leaning rest (for 5+ minutes at a time) can kill
you if you haven't practiced. Remember you will be working out while
wearing about 15 extra lbs. of uniform and water.

That said:
a) Preparation is very important. Some sweat now will save you from a
lot of extra attention later. However, don't let working out rule your
life. You have 3 months left with your family and friends. Don't waste
that time.
b) Don't get hurt. If you've only ever run 2 miles at a time, don't go out
on a Saturday and do 15. Slow, steady, injury free progress is the
goal. Additionally, don't go out with friends and do something stupid.
I'm not saying don't have fun with your last few months. I am saying
wear a helmet and be conservative. I'm a snowboarder and skydiver,
and understand that most activities are safe enough if you are
careful. If the little voice in the back of your head says that
jumping off the deck into the pool on a Friday night isn't really a good
idea, listen to it.
 
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