<p>Just out of curiousity what is everybody doing to get ready for Beast? My squad leader said to me "It's pretty universal. Everyone wishes they had done three things before they had left: Did more push-ups, ran more, and just enjoyed the time at home while you had it" I know its a really open-ended question but just curious for you input. I know some people go crazy and begin to learn knowledge before hand (I'm against that just trying to think of examples) Workout regimes, whatever you wanna say, just happy to hear it.</p>
<p>Megbee and I are following the routine you described:</p>
<p>Feel special? lol</p>
<p>well, one thing that caught me off guard in the army was rucking. i thought i was hooah, but rucking is kinda hard. maybe do a hour of rucking twice a week and build up to around 35 pounds. then start shuffling instead of marching.</p>
<p>Haha thats awesome, I'd be curious to hear how the routine is working for ya.</p>
<p>On rucking: Whats it like? I've done a fair amount of backpacking, I spent the last two summers doing NOLS and Outward Bound courses, but beyond that nothing that would compare. We carried what I considered very heavy loads, about 75/80 lbs, depending on the person, but that was just a pain in the @$$ to carry for more than an hour or so. We'd go 8-10 miles a day, sometimes seemingly straight uphill and it just beat up your body.</p>
<p>I'm happy to practice if people think that it will actually help, but I would think just doing as much cardio as you could maybe carrying a full camelback would be just as, if not more, effective preparation.</p>
<p>Actually, for me, the break here has screwed up the routine lol. I haven't been running but 2 times. I have been scarce on the other parts as well. But, i can say I can do 5 sets of 25 push-ups lol. I will pick back up on week 4 this week and next week so I can move on.</p>
<p>My son, now a plebe at USMA, put 50 pounds of weights in his backpack, and spent several hours, every few days, hiking around a local park that has a fair bit of altitude. He also ran on a regular basis. He didn't bother at all with learning the knowledge stuff. And he enjoyed himself. Although he only had three days between high school graduation (June 24th) and R-Day (June 27)</p>
<p>Run on hills! If there are no hills near you, use the incline feature on a treadmill. My daughter was extremely well prepared, but didn't take the hills into account. She ended up with very severe shin splints and a medical profile. And I know nobody wants that to happen next summer. Therefore I will say again, run on hills.</p>
<p>mumford, what NOLS course did you do? I completed Alaska Mountaineering this summer, it was pretty intense.</p>
<p>I'm curious, when does everyone graduate from high school, for a lot it sounds like your summer is non-existent. My last "day" is May 24th, but since I'm exempting all seven of my exams, my last day going to school will be May 22nd. Graduation ceremonies are on the 27th. Then my b-day on the 29th and fun for another month.</p>
<p>I too will graduate on May 27th, my last day will probably be the 23rd with check out and grad. practice on the 24th and 25th. Maybe getting out in May is a Texas thing.</p>
<p>Rucking... is not fun. You aren't wearing a nice mountaineering pack and comfortable hiking boots. I dunno weither WP still uses the alice pack or molle gear (does anyone know?) both of them suck. The gortex boots that are now issued out weight about 4.5 lbs a pair. It's all about getting your feet prepared and keeping them inshape during the summer. My platoon rucks about once every week or two for 6-12 miles 15 minute pace (EIB standard) and thats enough to keep in shape rucking wise.</p>
<p>also practicing silent relaxation techniques (finding your happy place) always helped me when we were getting smoked, on a long run, or whenever i got ****ed off</p>
<p>michaelburt: I did Salmon Backpacking/Rafting in Idaho this summer.</p>
<p>When does school get out for us? Well I graduate on the 19th of June, it sucks to say the least. I new I wasnt going to have a summer, but going to Beast a few days after we'r having graduation parties is just rough.</p>
<p>I graduate on June 21. I'm jealous of everyone that has more than a week of summer break.</p>
<p>Amen to that..</p>
<p>I was talking to my Dad today and he was saying I should ease into running in combat boots and BDU's because it was a he LL of a lot harder than running in sneakers. Do you do alot of running in boots or is it mostly all in sneakers?</p>
<p>in bct and ra we rarely run in boots... usually only do that in field environments.</p>
<p>I graduate on May 19th. What a lucky person I am---more time to spend rucking, running, and being a calensthetics (sp?) nazi!</p>
<p>So...what if we don't have these boots or cool ruck sacks? Would it be fine to just take a regular backpacking backpack (metal frame and all, a bit oversized for me), fill it with books and bricks, put on a heavy pair of sweats, and go do stadiums (no hills around here)? How fast are these ruck marches? Are they more like ruck runs?</p>
<p>Wow. That just made me sound like some kinda worried fanatic. Nah, I'm cool about it all. Just wondering about new cool ways to exercise. The best [most thrilling] way to exercise for me is to go running for 10+ miles, come home almost dehydrated and dizzy, and then ending the last mile with stray dogs at my feet...good times. Tomorrow we're finally starting on our cross-country trail! This will be the first real trail my school will have. Time to get out those machetes and break through the woods!</p>
<p>any kind of load bearing exercise will be great. Just be prepared for suck. It will probably hurt... read up on foot care. Blisters, and athletes foot in particular. Your feet and your weapon are your2 most important things you will have. If you can take care of your feet then you wont miss training getting them looked at by someone else. Dont worry so much about hills with rucking, just get your feet used to feeling like ground beef. also bring a camel back with you so you can stay hydrated! </p>
<p>good luck on your xcountry trail, sounds like itll be pretty fun to blaze.</p>
<p>I spent probably a good 9 total months in the Army injured with stress fractures. About half of that time was probably my fault, from overtraining. </p>
<p>Running : Running hills, you can get hurt very easily doing this. Running downhill is especially bad for you. More importantly, first find a specialty running store like Fleet Feet and get properly fitting for some running shoes. If there's sort of a mom and pop running store, where you walk in and there's some skinny guy that looks like he can run marathons, that's even better. There's stores like these scattered across the country. A good shoe will probably be fairly inexpensive and will save you a lot of trouble as far as injuries. After that, run often, but not more than every other day. If you're just not a natural runner, consider reading a book or two about running (Galloway's Book on Running or the like.) You might find something in there that helps you a lot. Of course you mainly need to just run. Just like any exercise, be sure you warm up and cool down correctly.</p>
<p>Rucking : The biggest thing you can do for yourself is conditioning(toughening) your feet. Practicing with anything over 50-55lbs is unnecessary and unsafe. There's some technique in ruckmarching. When going downhill keep your knees slightly bent to absorb the extra shock. Uphill fully extend your back leg so it's straight (this gives the muscles a rest.)</p>
<p>Stay motivated, find a buddy if possible, but just remember that it's all for nothing if you hurt yourself. Any rucking or running they'll do at West Point isn't going to be that hard, but it can be a shock to someone that's totally unprepared. My advice is to not worry so much about the rucking, but getting into good overall shape.</p>
<p>Dictatoranna--</p>
<p>Once you mail in your papers to WP they will send you a paper to take to a military base permitting you to buy combat boots and low quarters. my sis - class of 07 got her papers around april and was able to break them in.</p>