all posts post new thread

Old Forum BUD/s Train Up

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

twillenberg01

Level 1 Valued Member
I am 10 weeks out from leaving to basic training for the navy, then off to BUD/s! So I am starting my last block of training, and as I enjoy this communities philosophies and opinions, i wapnted to see what you guys thought:

Monday: AM-Beach or Trail Run&Swim PM-KB S&C (Day 1)

Tuesday: AM-Run/swim and general PT with SEAL mentor PM-Rock Climbing

Wednesday: AM-Beach or Trail Run&Swim PM-KB S&C (Day 2)

Thursday: AM-Run/swim and general PT with SEAL mentor PM-Rock Climbing

Friday: AM-Beach or Trail Run&Swim PM-Rock Climbing

Saturday: KB S&C (Day 3)

Sunday: FREE DAY

KB S&C= Day 1: Heavy Weight & Low Intensity 1) 20min max rep double Clean&Press w/32-36kg 2a) 5x5 Windmill 2b) Farmers Walk ^Max weight for this circuit

Day 2: Medium Weight & Medium Intensity 1) 10min single LCCJ w/32 2) 3x1 TGU

Day 3: Light Weight & High Intensity 1) Viking Warrior Conditioning at a 7/7 cadence with 24kg

 

I try and make sure i get 6 total miles of running per run day, so if i dont get it all in the morning session ill finish it up in the after noon with either a run or preferably a ruck. And i also GTG with pushups and pullups for a total of 300 and 100 respectively. For rock climbing, it is just something i have been doing for the past few months and love it so i try to work it into my weekly routine. I know this is a pretty high volume but as i am not working right now i have all day to rest/recover. Also i have been working up to this volume rather than just jumping into it, so im not really worried about over training at this point. Anyways, like i said i would like to hear any opinions or suggestions on what im doing both wrong and right, i would greatly appreciate it!
 
You are definitely fit, Trevor.  And good work taking your time to build up to this volume.

I am nowhere close to a special operator, but like others, I find their fitness and training somewhat fascinating.  Just yesterday I happened to read an interesting article by Andrew Read.  If you haven't seen it you might enjoy it:  http://www.readpt.com/2013/08/seal-fit/

The guy he interviewed has been doing it for a lot longer than you, so I don't think you should change too much up or try to emulate his traning.  But I do think you've got a couple things missing that Andrew highlighted as well.  Swings and Get ups.  Right now you are doing 3 get ups a week.  It might be good to add those in (even as part of warmups) most days of the week.

10 sets of 10, heavy, 1 handed swings S and S style at the beginning of workout 1 and 2 could also be good.  If that was too much you might need to lighten up the work that follows it.  Maybe just 15 minutes of C and J.  Or perhaps you do 2 sets of 10 minutes to allow for some more recovery.  Play it by ear.

Any additional mobility work (goblet squats, crawls, general flexibility, etc.) you could squeeze in might be good, too.

Anyways, those are just my first thoughts.  Curious to hear what others, with more experience, have to say.

Good luck with your training and selection.  It'd be cool to hear from you in a couple of months to see how you thought about your training after going through BUD/S.
 
I have not been to BUD/S, but from the training and selections I have done, I would say your plan seems to be on the right track.  10 weeks out is actually not much time to work with, so hopefully your GPP is at a great level already.  Based on the way it looks like you have been preparing, I would assume you are in good shape and its time to get as sport-specific ad possible.  Like I said, your plan looks great, but here are a couple more you can check out that have been used and well-reviewed by guys that have been in your shoes.

First is "8 Weeks to SealFit" by Mark Divine.  I highly reccomend this book, not just for the workouts, but largely for the mental toughness tips and visualization techniques to help you succeed.  Don't underestimate the value and importance of mental training.

Military Athlete's BUD/S prep is the other thing I'll mention.  They have a good reputation in the military and I have had great results with their programming.

http://strongswiftdurable.com/shop/buds-training-program/

Good luck.  Keep your head high and stay confident that your training has prepared you to crush this course.  Make the decision now that they would have to kill you to make you leave.
 
I developed a 12 week BUD/S - SEAL Screener PT program while on staff at the Naval Academy.  It is still being used by Midshipmen there.  Many have used it for the mini BUD/S at the academy called the SEAL Screener and some have used it for BUD/S as well.  It has been successful so far.  You can download it for free here.

http://prevost-training.blogspot.com/p/seal-screener-buds-training-program.html
 
I like your program.  It emphasizes strength.  Except the VWC stuff which I'd drop all together.  Personally, I'd also move the strength stuff to the first part of the day and then do the conditioning stuff later.

Some random thoughts:

- in order to hold your part of the boat or log over your head for minutes at a time, you must first be strong enough to hold it up there at all.   In order to pull that oar hard enough to propel you and your boat team past the breakers when you are highly fatigued, you must me strong enough in a non-fatigued state to exert that force in the first place.  You must be strong first. This simple fact gets overlooked more often than it should, and it's nicely addressed by your strength components.

- people like to assume that it takes a reeeeeally long time to get adequately conditioned for things like this.  What I believe gets forgotten is a couple more important facts:  strength is an enduring quality that takes a long time to build and subsequently takes a long time to detrain;  "conditioning" or "fitness" is an ephemeral quality that comes on relatively quickly and detrains even more quickly; if you over-concentrate on conditioning now, there's more than enough time between entry into basic and BUD/S to be terribly de-conditioned, but not enough time for strength to erode.

-every day that you don't quit BUD/S your conditioning is improving - the training itself is conditioning.

-you need to consider your days of warm showers to be completely over between now and then.  Cold water freaks people out, kills their spirits, and makes them quit.  You do not want your first exposure to cold water to be "in the show".

-speaking of "the show", there's a 72-hour Hell Week simulation put on by the guys at SealFit, called  Kokoro. Mr. Read, who often offers his opinion on how to be ready for such tests, participated in Kokoro last fall.  The result was not exactly a shining validation of his training methods.
 
Thank you all for your advice thus far

Mike I checked out your program and it looks soliid, I think I will stick with my programming for now as I think it gives me a bit more freedom to move things around throughout the day/weeks. But I do what to do that SEAL select test that you have programmed in there, I might do that on week 5 and then again on the very last week I'm here.

 

Bill the reason I have the VWC in there was because Pavel emphasized how important high rep snatches were when he was training his seal buddy, and that seemed to fit the bill. Also I have the cardio at the beginning of the day because that's how it works out with the people I train with, but I don't disagree with you

 

Brian I agree that TGU are crucial for overall shoulder health and strength, that's why for 4months as my strength program I was doing S&S, but now that I am moving on from that I'm honestly kind of sick of TGU, I put heavy ones in once per week as a way of maintaining strength but outside of that I just can't see me making them a bigger part of my programming.

 

Thanks to all for the kind words and hope to hear from more of you! Pavel if you see this it would be great to hear your perspective as well!
 
That's awesome you were using S and S as your build up prep, Trevor.  Out of curiosity, what weight were you working with.

That is good thinking with the snatches.  Are you referring to John Faas as the guy Pavel trained?  I've read a few things on the forums over the years about him.  I think Pavel was having him focus on power and strength with the snatches more than the VO2 like VWC.  I could be wrong.  But if you wanted to make a switch, maybe try snatches in sets of 10 going for lots of power.

Just a thought.  But honestly, you're working everything you need to work.  And you're in good shape now.  So if you want to make minor tweaks go for it. If not, just keep doing what's working.
 
Brian I finished the simple program with the 32kg, and was starting on the 36kg when I got the ship date. So I stopped that and switched over to the program I laid out.

From the posts I read Pavel said he had john doing a lot of high rep snatches up to 90lb Dumbbells. But I enjoy the VWC either way so I think that I will keep it. And it's really my only day that I go into that zone of training so I think it perhaps makes the program a bit more holistic... (Maybe).
 
Couple of considerations.  I have worked with a few SEALS, including BUD/S instructors.  Fitness is not the key to surviving BUD/S.  There is a huge mental aspect that involves motivation, mental toughness, stress inoculation etc...  You would be surprised at the size and shape of those who get through.

You can never have enough run durability.   Time spent running is never wasted.  It could be the most important fitness consideration.

Grip strength is often overlooked, but vitally important.

Bulletproof shoulders is a must.  The ability to hold a plank and do tons of pushups and flutter kicks is a real asset.

Proficiency at swimming with fins is also important.

Most important is preparing the mind and being really clear about your motivations.

Fitness for BUD/S is different than fitness for an active duty SEAL.
 
Mike,

I could not agree with you more on every single point that you made! I know that there will be both people stronger and weeker than myself and the only thing that truly seperates us is mental toughness.

But just looking from a purely physical stand point, i think my program addresses everything you have said, including: running 6+ miles per day, grip strength theough both rock climbing and kettlebell exercises, nd bullet proof shoulders (having just moved on from S&S and now doing overhead work 3 days a week, plus getting in 300+ pushups a day), and hitting the water (either pool or ocean) everyday with or without fins.

Do you not agree with this assessment of my programming?
 
Mike,

My swimming is ok. But for the last 10 weeks I am working with a personal swim coach/instructor. So I know I will be much more competent by the time I leave!

Im fine with fins but I haven't used them in a couple months, going to go back to tho this week.
 
Trevor,

Sounds like you will be going to bootcamp and then onto BUD/s much more prepared than I was.  I wish I knew as much about training / programming as you obviously do before 'shipping out.'  I followed a 'Warning Order' program that included:  running, swimming, pushups, sit-ups and pull-ups. That's about it.

All of that said, here are some things to remember:

1. You will most likely get 'out of shape' in boot camp.

2. You will now have a pre-BUD/s training period to help further prepare you.

3. It's better to be slightly out of shape (only slightly) than over trained.

4. Recovery is VERY important. Get enough sleep, eat right and take care of injuries.

5. It's better to be good at everything (running, swimming, calisthenics, log pt, carrying a boat, obstacle courses, etc) than GREAT at one thing yet struggling at others.

6. BUD/s is long. Pace yourself when you can.

Happy to give you more guidance.  These are all off the top of my head.  Good luck and thank you for your service!

V/r

Eric Frohardt, CEO
 
A couple of updates: My ship date got pushed back to September 29th and while that sucks atleast i can take that time and train up even more. Also I have started working with a swim instructor a few days a week to really tackle my weaknesses in the water. Lastly I made some minor changes to my strength:


Day 1: Heavy
1) 20min Double Clean&Press
2a) 5x5 Pause Squat
2b) 5x5 Windmill

Day 2: Medium
1) 10min LCCJ
2a) 5x5 HLR
2b) 5x20 2H-Swing

Day 3: Light
1) Viking Warrior Conditioning
2a) 5x5 Weighted Pullups
2b) 5x5 Weighted Dips
 
One other update, my Chief found out i was rock climbing and doesnt want me to do that anymore, so i had to take that out of the schedule as well. Which isnt too big of a deal mostly because of the financial burden of monthly memberships and the outrageous prices of chalk and tape!
 
Eric,

Thank you for the kind words! And any advice you can give me would be great to hear from someone who has already been there. One thing that concerns me is running volume. Currently i am aiming for 30mi/week, do you think that is sufficient Or will i need to step that up lest i invite stress fractures from under preperation? Thats currently the only question i can think of but anything you think is important to know or good information to have i would more than welcome your advice.

 

Trevor W
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom