# Preparation for Selection



## Airforcemark (Jul 6, 2013)

Hey, anybody that has gone through the Ten day orientation at Lackland please let me know if I should be doing anything more. I know no matter how much you prepare they are still going to push you to your very limit, but I also want the hard stuff to be easier so I can focus more on the mental and learning aspect instead of worry about weather I am going to make my run time tomorrow or whatever the case may be.

I am currently doing the Four Horsemen workout plan, got turned onto it by a a friend of my brothers that went through TACP. Its a great program in my opinion pushes me and it focuses a lot on core, deadlifting(all the time!!), and pull ups. With various calisthenics thrown into the mix with some heavy lifting. Very good workout. That lasts 4 months, but I have been doing it for about 9 months now. Just keep recycling it. So if anyone is interested in it I have a copy I purchased PDF. Its worth a look if your not familiar with it.

Recently I started rucking, not really to familiar with that though, and I dont want to over due it and injure myself before I even get picked up in a slot. But my most recent time (yesterday) I rucked with 45lbs dumbbell, for 4 miles in 44:52. I am not sure what requirements are on that for cross trainees, but I have read if I understand it correctly that people that cross train have to complete a 3 mile ruck at 50lb load in 45:00 minutes. 

Other than working out and staying fit and swimming. I am planning on hiring a swim coach to teach me swimming techniques when I get back in October. So other than what I have said, do you guys see anything I could be doing or should be doing more or less of. I also run every other morning 3 miles. I dont want to hurt myself though before I even go, I scheduled my Class III Flight Physical for November, so everything is in order. 

The USAF is a pretty big place, is there a way to stand out more or less by doing way better than your maximum and minimums on the PAST test, all 5s on your EPRs or anything maybe college that would separate you better between people getting selected to even get a start date. I am a First Term Airman by the way, so from what I hear I cant really be denied if I meet all requirements to do the training. But I am not putting all my chips on that, I'd rather want someone to pick me up than to just be like, oh fta mise well, lol.

Sorry its so long and if its in the wrong section, if it is just delete it or shoot me a message and ill move it. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, dont give me any spoilers of selection or the pipeline though ;)!


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## amlove21 (Jul 6, 2013)

Hey man. Here are a couple rules/tips/guidelines for this sort of thing. 

G2 of any type is "frowned upon". There are a ton of resources both here and on the internet that directly asking the board here for help isn't necessary. Putting "don't give me any spoilers lol :)" at the end doesn't count. 

On that note- use the search bar. Check out the SOF Mentor Forums. I know there isn't a specific CCT section, but the Pararescue section would be helpful. Sites like Rescue Athlete, Military Athlete, SOF Wods, etc deal directly with this sort of thing. Google "preparing for combat control selection". Or just click those blue letters. 

Here's the bottom line- posts like yours look like you're saying "Hey, I have done no research on my own, but here is a bunch of stuff I need from the community, so what's up? Where my replies at?!"

You should not do that.


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## Airforcemark (Jul 7, 2013)

amlove21, I didn't ask about really anything other than what your professional opinions were on my workout program. Whether or not I am doing to much or little. As far as googling, I have done that, I have been to mountain athlete, seal fit, and SOF WOD websites. So, if I asking what you guys think about my current work out routine, or how how to stand out better so I can even get a slot, is showing I havent done my research or im just trying to get the community to do my leg work, than sorry, definitely not my intent. But thanks for your tips/rules/guidelines.

Zach M, thanks that is a pretty good site, read on it a lot. I can never tell if it gets updated or not though.


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## ZmanTX (Jul 7, 2013)

Airforcemark said:


> amlove21, I didn't ask about really anything other than what your professional opinions were on my workout program. Whether or not I am doing to much or little. As far as googling, I have done that, I have been to mountain athlete, SEAL fit, and SOF WOD websites. So, if I asking what you guys think about my current work out routine, or how how to stand out better so I can even get a slot, is showing I havent done my research or im just trying to get the community to do my leg work, than sorry, definitely not my intent. But thanks for your tips/rules/guidelines.
> 
> Zach M, thanks that is a pretty good site, read on it a lot. I can never tell if it gets updated or not though.



If you know the standards KILL the numbers dude and you should be fine.. No workout will be set up perfectly to mimic a selection course, figure out your own personal flaws and attack them like a mother fucker.


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## pardus (Jul 7, 2013)

Airforcemark said:


> amlove21, I didn't ask about really anything other than what your professional opinions were on my workout program. Whether or not I am doing to much or little. As far as googling, I have done that, I have been to mountain athlete, SEAL fit, and SOF WOD websites. So, if I asking what you guys think about my current work out routine, or how how to stand out better so I can even get a slot, is showing I havent done my research or im just trying to get the community to do my leg work, than sorry, definitely not my intent. But thanks for your tips/rules/guidelines.
> 
> Zach M, thanks that is a pretty good site, read on it a lot. I can never tell if it gets updated or not though.



I'll give you a lesson right now, work on your Humbleness, Obedience and Situational Awareness.
When your senior talks to you, STFU. No one wants to hear your excuse or your opinion. Got it!?

I'm referring specifically to your first sentence.


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## Airforcemark (Jul 7, 2013)

Got it.


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## AWP (Jul 7, 2013)

This thread is interesting. Why? We have one, and possibly two, Indoc cadre on this board. I won't out them or even message them for commentary, but I'm sure one of them will find this thread after a long day poolside watching candidates perform crossovers.

For what it is worth, Airforcemark, here's where you went wrong:



Airforcemark said:


> The USAF is a pretty big place, is there a way to stand out more or less by doing way better than your maximum and minimums on the PAST test, all 5s on your EPRs or anything maybe college that would separate you better between people getting selected to even get a start date. I am a First Term Airman by the way, so from what I hear I cant really be denied if I meet all requirements to do the training. But I am not putting all my chips on that, I'd rather want someone to pick me up than to just be like, oh fta mise well, lol.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, dont give me any spoilers of selection or the pipeline though ;)!


 
Knowingly or not, that's where you attempted to G2 the course.

As for your PT, are you crushing the PAST standards or just squeaking by?


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## Airforcemark (Jul 7, 2013)

Ok, thats my fault. I just dont understand how the system works. But I am crushing all of it except the swim portions, since I was only practicing a little bit before I had left, and where I am at now doesnt have a pool.

My last I suppose just a Physical Test because I am not swimming and I am sure that is going to affect the numbers too, but I did a 3 mile ruck in the morning for 36 minutes a 26 seconds at 45#. Than later on I did a mile and a half run, push ups, sit ups, pull ups. my numbers for that were

1.5m-9:46
Push Up-64(down all they way/lock out)
Sit Up-54(hands behind head/feet held)
Pull Up-13 (down all the way/chin above bar) 

Im sure doing the swimming before all of this will definitely slow me down a bit, but I dont see it affecting to much. I know the ruck can be done on a different day, I am just doing it on the same day to compensate for the swimming portion I am missing.

Again, sorry for offending anyone, I didnt understand the whole G2 I attempted my fault and it wont happen again!


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## SkrewzLoose (Jul 7, 2013)

Based on what I saw while I was in DEP and then when I got to the pipeline that I washed out of, your numbers are FAR from crushing anything.  Your run time is the only decent score above.  All the guys who I saw make it through were:

500 yd swim: < 9:00
Push: > 70
Sit: > 70
Pull: > 15
1.5 mile run: < 10:00 (with one exception, but he still made it through)

Take that as you will, again, I washed out of my pipeline.  
Passing your initial entry test to any pipeline should be like spelling your name correctly on the SAT.


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## Airforcemark (Jul 7, 2013)

Good shit SkrewzLoose, its definitely a work in progress I have about half a year left before I can apply. So at the rate im going I should have a lot better numbers.


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## x SF med (Jul 7, 2013)

I thought long and hard about coming down on you like the Hammer of Thor for being a smart-assed, pompous, I-am-entitled, know nothing, with possibly slightly above average PT scores... I didn't really have to... you showed the world.

I will watch your progress through the pipeline...  you need to have very good situational awareness as Freefalling stated... you probably already have the cadre looking for you...  especially after arguing with a well respected PJ who tried to tighten up your friggin harness.

My advice for you - right now - step back, re-read everything in this thread, twice (at least), think about the statements from "those that have theirs" no matter which branch...  and adjust your attitude and your demeanor -  I'll bet you are an A1C, and have no clue who you are communicating with here, or the length of the commo net that stretches across the branches from this site...   I'm generally not this nice, and won't be again if you fail to heed the advice.  Remember - right now you are nobody - fresh out of initial schooling, no experience, no nothing...  you need to learn, not argue.

Oh, and don't be surprised if your CO gets a nice letter about your demeanor from somewhere....  that'll look good in your file, won't it?

Finally, another learning point for you.... the internets has made the world a very small place.


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## SpongeBob*24 (Jul 7, 2013)

AF Mark...good luck bro.....these studs already told you the truth!

I will tell you what I was told long ago...work hard..play hard...drink alittle tea!!!!!
You are entering a world of perfection....and if you do make it, you HAVE to prove yourself daily....:blkeye:

Some BS pt score that may make you look like a super hero at the 333rd air national guard means poop to these warriors.
You have to go all in!!!!!

Yer ruck time aint good in my opinion...anything 6 miles or less you should average 10 min miles...
But I could be way off, the years have been rough on my memory.....:wall:


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## txpj007 (Jul 8, 2013)

The PAST is a joke.  Your numbers are AVERAGE.  I had to go back and reread your initial post to even realize that you were a cross trainee and not a DEP'r.  You dont need to waste your money on a swim coach unless you physically cant swim.  If you want to stand out take advice from one of my early PJ mentors....Do good, dont suck and have balls.


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## Tropicana98 (Jul 8, 2013)

You should be at 70+ push ups and sit ups on no warning or prep time. And I mean walking into work and being told you have a PT test in 10 minutes go grab a score sheet.


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## amlove21 (Jul 8, 2013)

Doing Horseman (or Wendler or TM or SS Linear progression or Crossfit or Military Athlete or whatever) is all well and good- but if youre training for the selection course, then your cals/runs should be the majority of your programming. More like 70% of it. I think the linear strength programs are awesome for GPP, but not for specific events like this. You already know what you'll be tested on in the pipeline, because the standards are out there. I would train to those standards, and give them the majority of your attention. 

And I would give more attention to the rucking. Someone already hit on it, but a 12 minute mile with 45 lbs in the pack is very, very slow.


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## digrar (Jul 8, 2013)

Airforcemark said:


> But I am crushing all of it



You would have had 15-20 diggers in front of you if you were on my Infantry Initial Employment Training course, in the not crushing it, not quite struggling group. Keep working.


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## Kunoichii (Jul 10, 2013)

Beside getting your numbers up, the best advice I got before selection was work on injury prevention. Educate yourself on how to recover from a long day getting beat down. Get a foam roller, it helps a lot. The website with the most information for selection I have found is specialtactics.com. Rescue Athlete and SOFWODs workouts are on point, so if you do those types of workouts, you will get to where you need to be. Like these others have said, your numbers need to be better, but it's not all about numbers. Be very motivated and ready to lead the guys out of basic. They (non-priors) look up to priors and expect them to be better and more prepared. Good luck.


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## TLDR20 (Aug 8, 2013)

Charlie1219 said:


> Swim & ruck like your life depends on it. If you can't exceed and pass all the PAST you probably should reconsider your options.



Charlie,

As per the site rules you must post an introduction prior to posting in the forums. Your next post needs to be in the intro section.


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## Polar Bear (Aug 8, 2013)

Chuckles,
Post an intro within 24 hours from now or be deleted. 

Living the Dream
PB


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## Jbird8198 (May 3, 2014)

I've been a looker here for quite some time. Figured I would get more active and share as much good info as I can. I found this 2 phase work out program geared for guys going into USAF Special Operations. 

http://www.airforce.com/special-operations/docs/SORL_DEP_Workout_Phase_1_and_2.pdf

*This program is from the USAF Special Operations home page.


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## AWP (May 3, 2014)

Moved to the appropriate location.


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## SkrewzLoose (May 4, 2014)

SOFWODs and TFB, even MA have this stuff beat, hands down.  But that's just my semi-uneducated opinion.


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## Jbird8198 (Aug 7, 2014)

SOFWODS and MA are also great programs! The USAF Special Operations program has been very good but I have also added some Olympic weightlifting to my daily workout(s).


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## Jael (Aug 11, 2014)

This program has alot of familiarities. The speed work comes from failure to train (interval worksheet), that website has been online but not posting since DEC13, it was ran by a CCT (website still has a ton of great workouts if you scroll through the archive). The cal and swim work looks alot like what got passed around by a MSgt that came to DEP locations to give a workout, but it seems like it was toned down alot.

Skrewz has it right with the websites he's listed. The program suits someone without access to much equipment, but if you have access there are programs out there that can give you a much more indepth training routine and hit alot of area's this one misses.


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## Yosemite (Sep 17, 2016)

Bringing back an old post

I did this workout for about 8 weeks and saw dramatic improvements in my run and swim times. The run program is set up perfectly IMHO for increasing my short distance run times. And the swimming portion includes enough distance and finning work to increase my swim times. The cal portion is admittedly weak, but I supplemented it with a solid lifting program (4 days a week) and it was perfect for achieving my goals.

I have no experience with the other programs mentioned.


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## Sendero (Sep 17, 2016)

Is there a current link for the run plan, the original link is a 404. I'm not training for any type of selection but do run intervals as a part of my weekly fitness. I did a Google search and could not find it.  Thanks.


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## Yosemite (Sep 17, 2016)

Sendero said:


> Is there a current link for the run plan, the original link is a 404. I'm not training for any type of selection but do run intervals as a part of my weekly fitness. I did a Google search and could not find it.  Thanks.



I had some trouble finding it online as well. Good thing I saved it awhile back!


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## Sendero (Sep 17, 2016)

Fliehr13 said:


> I had some trouble finding it online as well. Good thing I saved it awhile back!



Thank you.


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## Jae (Oct 8, 2016)

Fliehr13 said:


> I had some trouble finding it online as well. Good thing I saved it awhile back!



Anyone else having a problem opening these files? I have Adobe Reader and MS Word but it just gives me an error.
"(program A and B) could not open (file) because it is not a supported file type or has been damaged"
Googled it and it only came up that it may have been uploaded wrong.


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## SpongeBob*24 (Oct 8, 2016)

Those 2 files are working using Word Oh 16...


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## Yosemite (Oct 8, 2016)

Here's a PDF version if you can't open the others.


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## Jae (Oct 11, 2016)

Thank you Fliehr that one worked.


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## IV44 (Mar 7, 2017)

This was extremely helpful to me. I've been working on getting in the best possible shape for the PAST. This gave me a good view of the work I got cut out for me. Thank you to everyone who contributed.


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## suaveflooder (Mar 8, 2017)

Thanks for the post!  I printed it out and have been following it this week.  Now my question is on the generator.

Does anyone know if you are supposed to be using the numbers for desired time or your current times?  My track friends are saying use your desired time because the distances are so short, but this is also not a track program.

For example, in workout one it's 2x4x400m.  Do I go with my current time of 7min, or do I go off my desired time of 6min?  The longest before performing a retest is 3/4 of a mile. 

I searched and this is all that I came up with
Interval generator

Any help would be great


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## amlove21 (Mar 8, 2017)

IV44 said:


> This was extremely helpful to me. I've been working on getting in the best possible shape for the PAST. This gave me a good view of the work I got cut out for me. Thank you to everyone who contributed.


It has been 1,306 days in between the last post, and this one.

Glad the info helped...


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## nitrohuck (Mar 9, 2017)

For the sake of not starting a new thread (please let me know if I should do so and I will), when people are saying that the swim times need to be < 9:00 to have a chance in the CCT pipeline are they saying this because there will be a lot of freestyle surface swimming for time during the pipeline? 

Am I incorrect in thinking that the only timed 500m swim without fins is the initial PAST at the start of CCSC? I was under the impression that all timed distance swims thereafter would be done with fins.

My 500m freestyle surface swim is nothing impressive at all, as a matter of fact when I take the PAST I usually stick around a 10:15 time.  Water-con and fin swimming has consisted of the majority of my pool training as I was thinking those were the two things I would be utilizing the most in the pipeline. If I am wrong I'd very much appreciate any info, I am leaving in a few weeks for BMT


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## Kheenbish (Mar 9, 2017)

You're correct, it's all finning after the initial PAST. Just be confident in the water, rucking, running, and cals.


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## Fl_Ag (Mar 9, 2017)

suaveflooder said:


> Thanks for the post!  I printed it out and have been following it this week.  Now my question is on the generator.
> 
> Does anyone know if you are supposed to be using the numbers for desired time or your current times?  My track friends are saying use your desired time because the distances are so short, but this is also not a track program.
> 
> ...



I was chipping away at this workout plan my last couple months overseas. I used my desired/goal pace and it seems to be paying off. I was able to get my 3-mile down sub-19 and my 1-mile was just over 5:30. I immediately got vision correction surgery when I got back to my home station so I'm waiting just a bit longer before I jump back into it. For what it's worth I hope this helps, but I'm not verified SOF so maybe I'm completely off the mark here.


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## suaveflooder (Mar 9, 2017)

Fl_Ag said:


> I was chipping away at this workout plan my last couple months overseas. I used my desired/goal pace and it seems to be paying off. I was able to get my 3-mile down sub-19 and my 1-mile was just over 5:30. I immediately got vision correction surgery when I got back to my home station so I'm waiting just a bit longer before I jump back into it. For what it's worth I hope this helps, but I'm not verified SOF so maybe I'm completely off the mark here.



Thank you!  I did the first workout last night and made the decision to do the same and run at my desired time.  I appreciate the response!


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## amlove21 (Mar 10, 2017)

Thread moved to a more appropriate sub since it's being used again.


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## amlove21 (Mar 10, 2017)

Annnnnnnd threads merged.


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