Suggested Student Preparation

The following workouts are designed for two categories of people: Category I are those future PJ students that have never or have not recently been on a routine PT program, and Category II is designed for high school and college athletes that have had a routine PT program. Usually, athletes that require a high level of cardiovascular activity are in Category II. Swimming, running and wrestling are good examples of such sports.

RUNNING: The majority of the physical activities you will be required to perform during your 10 weeks of training at Indoctrination will involve running. The intense amount of running can lead to over stress injuries of the lower extremities in trainees who arrive not physically prepared to handle the activities. Swimming, bicycling, and lifting weights will prepare you for some of the activities, but ONLY running can prepare your lower extremities for the majority of the activities.

The goal of the Category I student is to work up to 16 miles per week of running. After you have achieved that goal, then and only then should you continue on to the Category II goal of 30 miles per week. Remember, Category I is a nine week buildup program. Follow the workout as best you can and you will be amazed at the progress you will make.

Note: For best results, alternate exercises. Do a set of pushups, then a set of situps, followed by a set of pullups, immediately, with no rest.

Note: If you do not have access to a pool, ride a bicycle for twice as long as you would swim. If you do have access to a pool, swim every day that it's available. Four to five days a week and 200 meters in one session is your initial work-up goal. Also, you want to develop your sidestroke on both the left and the right side. Try to swim 50 meters in one minute or less.

Category II is a more intense workout designed for those who have been involved with a routine PT schedule or those who have completed the requirements of Category I. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WORKOUT SCHEDULE UNLESS YOU CAN COMPLETE THE WEEK #9 LEVEL OF CATEGORY I WORKOUTS.

Note: For weeks #8-9 and beyond, it is not necessary to increase the distance of the runs; work on the speed of your 6 mile runs and try to get them down to 7:30 per mile or lower. If you wish to increase the distance of your runs, do it gradually: no more than one mile per day increase for every week beyond week #9.

These workouts are designed for long-distance muscle endurance. Muscle fatigue will gradually take a longer and longer time to develop doing high repetition workouts. For best results, alternate exercises each set, in order to rest that muscle group for a short time. The below listed workouts are provided for varying your workouts once you have met the Category I and II standards.

You can do this with any exercise. The object is to slowly build up to a goal, then build back down to the beginning of the workout. For instance, pullups, situps, pushups, and dips can be alternated as in the above workouts, but this time choose a number to be your goal and build up to that number. Each number counts as a set. Work your way up and down the pyramid.

For example, say your goal is "5."

Note: At first, to reduce initial stress on your foot muscles when starting with fins, alternate swimming 1000 meters with fins and 1000 meters without them. Your goal should be to swim 50 meters in 45 seconds or less.

Since Mon/Wed/Fri are devoted to PT, it is wise to devote at least 20 minutes on Tue/Thu/Sat to stretching. You should always stretch for at least 15 minutes before any workout; however, just stretching the previously worked muscles will make you more flexible and less likely to get injured. A good way to start stretching is to start at the top and go to the bottom. Stretch to tightness, not to pain; hold for 10-15 seconds. DO NOT BOUNCE. Stretch every muscle in your body from the neck to the calves, concentrating on your thighs, hamstrings, chest, back, and shoulders.

Proper nutrition is extremely important now and especially when you arrive at Indoc. You must make sure you receive the necessary nutrients to obtain maximum performance output during exercise and to promote muscle/tissue growth and repair. The proper diet provides all the nutrients for the body's needs and supplies energy for exercise. It also promotes growth and repair of tissue and regulates the body processes. The best source of complex carbohydrates are potatoes, pasta, rice, fruits, vegetables. These types of foods are your best sources of energy.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are the three energy nutrients. All three can provide energy, but carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for physical activity. It takes at least 20 hours after exhaustive exercise to completely restore muscle energy, provided 600 grams of carbohydrates are consumed per day. During successive days of heavy training, like those you will experience at Indoc, energy stores prior to each training session become progressively lower. This is a situation in which a high carbohydrate diet can help maintain your energy.

The majority of carbohydrates should come from complex carbohydrate foods that include bread, crackers, cereal, beans, peas, starchy vegetables, and other whole grain or enriched grain products. Fruits are also loaded with carbohydrates. During training, more than four servings of these food groups should be consumed daily.

Water intake is vital; stay hydrated. You should be consuming up to four quarts of water daily. Drink water before you get thirsty! Substances such as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco increase your body's need for water. Too much of these substances will definitely harm your body and hinder your performance. Supplemental intake of vitamins, as well, has not been proven to be beneficial. If you are eating a well-balanced diet, there is no need to take vitamins.

Yes! Circuit training is probably your best bet...fast paced, high repetition training.

You will probably lose some fitness, but you can take important steps to keep what you have worked so hard to get. The easiest is to do calisthenics on you off time. A good cal workout will keep you fit. Also, for aerobic fitness, you can jump rope. This I find especially helps me stay in running shape when I can't run.

You can do lots of things...calisthenics and jump roping are the two that come to mind. Cals are good to maintain you strength and muscle endurance, and jump-roping is an excellent substitute for running. Both will allow you to maintain pretty good fitness during the 6 weeks of basic.

Calisthenics such as flutter kicks, pull-ups, and abdominal work are the best to maintain swimming fitness when you can't swim.

NUTRITION

Proper nutrition is extremely important now and especially when you arrive at the OL-H. You must make sure you receive the necessary nutrients to obtain maximum performance output during exercise and to promote muscle/tissue growth and repair. The proper diet provides all the nutrients for the body's needs and supplies energy for exercise. It also promote growth and repair of tissue and regulates the body processes. The best source of energy is carbohydrates. The best source of complex carbohydrates are potatoes, pasta, rice, fruits, and vegetables. These types of foods are your best sources of energy.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are the three energy nutrients. All three can provide energy, but carbohydrate is the preferred source of energy for physical activity. It takes at least 20 hours after exhaustive exercise to completely restore muscle energy, provided 600 grams of carbohydrates are consumed per day. During successive days of heavy training, like you will experience at the OL-H, energy stores prior to each training session become progressively lower. This is a situation in which a high carbohydrate diet can help maintain your energy.

The majority of carbohydrates should come from complex carbohydrate foods that include bread, crackers, cereal, beans, peas, starchy vegetables, and other whole grain or enriched grain products. Fruits are also loaded with carbohydrates. During training, more than four servings of these food groups should be consumed daily.

Water is the most important nutrient you can put in your body. You should be consuming up to four quarts of water daily. It is very easy to become dehydrated at the OL-H, so it is extremely important to hydrate yourself. Drink water before you get thirsty!!! Substances such as alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco increase your body's need for water, so, if you are going to drink, do so in moderation! Too much of these substances will definitely harm your body and hinder your performance. Supplemental intake of vitamins, as well, has not been proven to be beneficial. If you are eating a well balanced diet, there is no need to take vitamins.

TRAINING TABLE CONCEPT

Carbohydrates - 50-70% of calories

Protein - 10-15% of calories

Fats - 20-30% of calories

You want to reduce cholesterol intake, found in animal fats and even fish. You need at least 3500-4000 calories per day.

4-5 meals a day are ideal to keep the metabolism up and the muscles continuously fueled. During basic, this may not be possible...just keep in mind the basic dietary guidelines and eat accordingly. You must balance you intake with your workouts in basic so as not to get fat. You won't have that problem at the OL-H!

This, of course, varies from day to day. It can include a normal day of PT in the morning, paperwork during the day, with a normal end of the duty day at about 4:30pm. It may be a show time of 4:00pm for a night, oxygen, HALO jump at the nearest DZ. It could include a RAMZ buildup, tactics class and practicals, rope and litter work, or you could be packing for the next TDY to Thailand, Indonesia, or Australia. It could include staff meetings, clean-up, duty dog (answering the phones and taking messages), scheduling meetings, etc. etc. Or, you get be on alert and get notification of a mission and have to respond immediately, to who knows what. You get the idea...

Our advanced qualifications include HALO and Static-Line Jumpmaster, cast master (jumping out of helicopters into the water...with or without a boat and/or litter), rope master, rappel master, dive supervisor, dive medical technician, RAMZ, CRRC, boat master, SERE instructor, and HAHO qual including team leader and navigator.

You name it, we could get it (maybe...). Other schools include Ranger, SERE, EMT Tactical, EMT Wilderness, Arctic survival, advanced survival, Rope schools, winter rescue schools, winter warfare schools, etc. It all depends on the unit and, of course, money...

Extra pay includes dive pay ($150.00 a month), parachute pay (90-150 a month depending on qual), and special duty pay (110-165 a month depending on time in service). Other pays (depending on numerous things) include flight pay, imminent danger pay, family separation pay, and foreign duty pay.

We have a few choices including England, Okinawa, Florida, Iceland, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and various locations in the Guard and Reserves.