Answers from a female cadet

[npk13]

Hey guys! I am currently a cadet at West Point and thought I would answer any questions you have about West Point in general or what its like to be a female cadet. Please keep in mind that the answers I give are not official and are based on personal experience or observations. I wished someone had answered questions for me before I started, so I'm just trying to help!

 

[FØB Zero]

This one’s a random question but I am curious— I have seen the videos and pictures of WP Beast and the back packs look humongous! How would you recommend to prepare for that and the pushups? Thanks for making this thread!

 

[GoCubbies]

This one’s a random question but I am curious— I have seen the videos and pictures of WP Beast and the back packs look humongous! How would you recommend to prepare for that and the pushups? Thanks for making this thread!

My DD is going through Beast now. I took her out on a couple ruckmarches before R-day. She wore her boots during the ruckmarches to break them in a little more before R-day.

My DD was a good athlete in HS. At the end of track season (about 6 weeks before R-day), I told her to do 25 good push-ups when she left her room to go on a run, another 25 when she got back from her run (on our driveway), and then another 25 before she stepped back in her room. The best way to get good with push-ups? Just do a lot of push-ups.

Also, I recommend working on pull-ups too, not necessarily to help with push-ups (it does a little), but because having good upper body strength is an advantage during Beast.

 

[FØB Zero]

This one’s a random question but I am curious— I have seen the videos and pictures of WP Beast and the back packs look humongous! How would you recommend to prepare for that and the pushups? Thanks for making this thread!

My DD is going through Beast now. I took her out on a couple ruckmarches before R-day. She wore her boots during the ruckmarches to break them in a little more before R-day.

My DD was a good athlete in HS. At the end of track season (about 6 weeks before R-day), I told her to do 25 good push-ups when she left her room to go on a run, another 25 when she got back from her run (on our driveway), and then another 25 before she stepped back in her room. The best way to get good with push-ups? Just do a lot of push-ups.

Also, I recommend working on pull-ups too, not necessarily to help with push-ups (it does a little), but because having good upper body strength is an advantage during Beast.

Ooo nice I love a good work out set! (Anybody else with effective killer sets in mind, please drop them below !!!)

 

[Km04]

This one’s a random question but I am curious— I have seen the videos and pictures of WP Beast and the back packs look humongous! How would you recommend to prepare for that and the pushups? Thanks for making this thread!

My DD is going through Beast now. I took her out on a couple ruckmarches before R-day. She wore her boots during the ruckmarches to break them in a little more before R-day.

My DD was a good athlete in HS. At the end of track season (about 6 weeks before R-day), I told her to do 25 good push-ups when she left her room to go on a run, another 25 when she got back from her run (on our driveway), and then another 25 before she stepped back in her room. The best way to get good with push-ups? Just do a lot of push-ups.

How many push ups did she do for her CFA. I’m not sure what I should aim for

 

[npk13]

This one’s a random question but I am curious— I have seen the videos and pictures of WP Beast and the back packs look humongous! How would you recommend to prepare for that and the pushups? Thanks for making this thread!

That's a great question and the advice given above is awesome! I didn't prepare for the rucks or really for the pushups because nobody told me how intense they would be so I'm glad you're asking.

For the rucks, if you already have boots wear them when you ruck, but if not then tennis shoes are perfectly all right. You may not own an actual ruck but even putting some weights/bricks/heavy things into a back pack and walking on a treadmill at an incline will prepare you more than doing nothing. Maybe do a hill interval workout, and if you're like me and live in a place with no hills, the treadmill will be very helpful. For example start with no weight and walk at an incline of 3 for .2 miles, then increase to 5 for .2 more and go all the way up to an incline of 10 and then come back down every .2 miles. You can make this workout more challenging by starting at higher inclines or walking for longer distances or carrying more weight, but please start slow and build up because you don't want any injuries. Make sure you have water too because even though you're just walking, it takes a lot out of you!

For pushups, work on tricep pushups. If you can't do tricep pushups, find a workout buddy who can help you. Do the negative (so start at the extended position and go down slowly) and have your buddy pull your hips up to the starting position. Once you feel like you can do even two on your own, build up over time. For the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) the minimum is 18 pushups I think, but the max is 42 in two minutes. When I first took the APFT on the second day of Beast, I could only do 19 pushups, but my roommate helped me every night to practice pushups and at the end I did 28. A year later, I maxed my first APFT pushups, so it is possible - it just takes time and doing pushups is the only way to improve pushups, unfortunately.

For pull-ups, as a girl if you can do even 1 full pull-up, that is considered above average. I recommend getting a pull-up bar that you can install above your bedroom door, and every time you enter you bedroom do as many pull-ups as you can. Keep in mind that a pull-up according to West Point is a pronated grip (palms away from your body) and a full extension at the bottom (so no bend in your elbow). If you can't do one pull-up yet, that's ok! Grab a chair and do the negatives or have your workout buddy spot your knee/thigh and help you get up so that you can do the negative and slowly come down. I couldn't do one pull-up before I started prepping for the CFA, tested 3 on the CFA, and can now do 6, but once you can do one, it's amazing how quickly you can add reps. Hope this helps!

 

[npk13]

@Km04 Aim for 20-25 good pushups on your CFA. They are a little more lenient with their grading standards as opposed to the APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test), but they still want good form. You can do it!

 

[FØB Zero]

@Km04

Wow, thank you SO much! I will definitely do this. How heavy would you say the rucks are (so I can work up to that weight)? And for the video recording application, do we need to record during the CFA processs or separate? Thank you.

 

[npk13]

@Km04

Wow, thank you SO much! I will definitely do this. How heavy would you say the rucks are (so I can work up to that weight)? And for the video recording application, do we need to record during the CFA processs or separate? Thank you.

The rucks are usually 40 lbs, but they can go up to 50 depending on the workout or program, or just because you have a lot of stuff on the packing list.

When I took the CFA, I didn't have to do the video recordings, but here's a thread that might help: https://www.serviceacademyforums.co...a-video-recording-requirement-feedback.51013/

 

[UHBlackhawk]

I would add to the above core weight lifting. My DD did “Women’s Core” as her PE in high school as it was given as an elective for varsity athletes. She also played a semester of D1 athletics prior to enlisting. She never had an issue with rucking at basic, AIT, enlisted or at West Point and she says the weight lifting is a key reason.
In addition, core weight lifting will help prevent injuries or, if you get an injury help with recovery. I can not emphasize this enough.

 

[Ironclad22]

Properly adjusting the ruck is critical, too.