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Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:53 pm
by bluejay44993
Hello everyone,
I am a new user here on the TB forums, I have both TB 1+2, and I have just finished Base Building to results I am happy with. Strength did not go entirely down, and cardio has most definitely improved. Note: I am currently cutting weight so strength loss was expected. I have lost 10 lbs in the 8 weeks of base and then subsequent deload and test week.
Maxes prior to cut and base vs after (all raw, no belt):
SQ: 345/345
BP: 265/245
WP: 260/270
DL: 365/315

For continuation I am trying to plan for future aspirations of going to USMC OCS. And along with preparation specifically for that, I would like to max out my USMC PFT to a 300 perfect score. I read a sticky thread in regards to PFT runs saying to do more HIC and Speed work than E, and in that case to run Black Pro with Fighter Bangkok. However, I am not sure if this will also help me in my goals for OCS as most people on the forum and the book itself say to use Green for military contract goals.
For Black Pro I was thinking:
Monday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Tuesday: Speed HIC
Wednesday: LSS E
Thursday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Friday: FAST 5 HIC
Saturday: SE - Pullup ladder followed by Alpha Circuits + Dumbbell Farmers Walks (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Sunday: off
And then cycle in 2 base blocks a year and over time throwing in another E in rucking on Saturday after SE, as recommended in Black with more E in TB1.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this and any possible advice you may have, whether to go with green or black pro like I have above, and if green how I should set it up for OCS and 300 PFT goals. Thank you very much, any replies are much appreciated.

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 7:54 pm
by bluejay44993
Sorry in advance for the book of a first post on this forum haha

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:33 am
by Green2Blue
How far out out is OCS?

What are your current PFT scores?

Sometimes it's not as simple as Black or Green. Those are generalizations and you're looking to do something specific.

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:51 am
by bluejay44993
Nothing official yet, still have to get contracted but want to start training now. OCS will most likely be next summer for juniors if I get a spot there for next summer, and if not, then the next summer for a 10 week. Currently my pullups are at 15, 3 mile run was 24 minutes my last test before I ran base, and situps are currently 65. This puts my score at a not too great 205.. Thank you for the reply
Green2Blue wrote:How far out out is OCS?

What are your current PFT scores?

Sometimes it's not as simple as Black or Green. Those are generalizations and you're looking to do something specific.

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:21 pm
by DocOctagon
bluejay44993 wrote:Hello everyone,
I am a new user here on the TB forums, I have both TB 1+2, and I have just finished Base Building to results I am happy with. Strength did not go entirely down, and cardio has most definitely improved. Note: I am currently cutting weight so strength loss was expected. I have lost 10 lbs in the 8 weeks of base and then subsequent deload and test week.
Maxes prior to cut and base vs after (all raw, no belt):
SQ: 345/345
BP: 265/245
WP: 260/270
DL: 365/315

For continuation I am trying to plan for future aspirations of going to USMC OCS. And along with preparation specifically for that, I would like to max out my USMC PFT to a 300 perfect score. I read a sticky thread in regards to PFT runs saying to do more HIC and Speed work than E, and in that case to run Black Pro with Fighter Bangkok. However, I am not sure if this will also help me in my goals for OCS as most people on the forum and the book itself say to use Green for military contract goals.
For Black Pro I was thinking:
Monday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Tuesday: Speed HIC
Wednesday: LSS E
Thursday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Friday: FAST 5 HIC
Saturday: SE - Pullup ladder followed by Alpha Circuits + Dumbbell Farmers Walks (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Sunday: off
And then cycle in 2 base blocks a year and over time throwing in another E in rucking on Saturday after SE, as recommended in Black with more E in TB1.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this and any possible advice you may have, whether to go with green or black pro like I have above, and if green how I should set it up for OCS and 300 PFT goals. Thank you very much, any replies are much appreciated.

This log might help, I believe it was originally OCS prep training and I think Tym87 got a pretty high score if I remember correctly!

http://tacticalbarbell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 5:24 pm
by bluejay44993
Thank you for the reply! There's definitely some good information in that link. One more question, just for anyone, everyone on the forum says that for continuation there is no heart rate restriction for the runs, however, in TB2 there's no mention of that and a lot of runs in the book do have heart rate zones to follow... What should I do?
DocOctagon wrote:
bluejay44993 wrote:Hello everyone,
I am a new user here on the TB forums, I have both TB 1+2, and I have just finished Base Building to results I am happy with. Strength did not go entirely down, and cardio has most definitely improved. Note: I am currently cutting weight so strength loss was expected. I have lost 10 lbs in the 8 weeks of base and then subsequent deload and test week.
Maxes prior to cut and base vs after (all raw, no belt):
SQ: 345/345
BP: 265/245
WP: 260/270
DL: 365/315

For continuation I am trying to plan for future aspirations of going to USMC OCS. And along with preparation specifically for that, I would like to max out my USMC PFT to a 300 perfect score. I read a sticky thread in regards to PFT runs saying to do more HIC and Speed work than E, and in that case to run Black Pro with Fighter Bangkok. However, I am not sure if this will also help me in my goals for OCS as most people on the forum and the book itself say to use Green for military contract goals.
For Black Pro I was thinking:
Monday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Tuesday: Speed HIC
Wednesday: LSS E
Thursday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Friday: FAST 5 HIC
Saturday: SE - Pullup ladder followed by Alpha Circuits + Dumbbell Farmers Walks (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Sunday: off
And then cycle in 2 base blocks a year and over time throwing in another E in rucking on Saturday after SE, as recommended in Black with more E in TB1.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this and any possible advice you may have, whether to go with green or black pro like I have above, and if green how I should set it up for OCS and 300 PFT goals. Thank you very much, any replies are much appreciated.

This log might help, I believe it was originally OCS prep training and I think Tym87 got a pretty high score if I remember correctly!

http://tacticalbarbell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 7:42 pm
by spemma

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:41 pm
by Aelian
bluejay44993 wrote:Thank you for the reply! There's definitely some good information in that link. One more question, just for anyone, everyone on the forum says that for continuation there is no heart rate restriction for the runs, however, in TB2 there's no mention of that and a lot of runs in the book do have heart rate zones to follow... What should I do?
DocOctagon wrote:
bluejay44993 wrote:Hello everyone,
I am a new user here on the TB forums, I have both TB 1+2, and I have just finished Base Building to results I am happy with. Strength did not go entirely down, and cardio has most definitely improved. Note: I am currently cutting weight so strength loss was expected. I have lost 10 lbs in the 8 weeks of base and then subsequent deload and test week.
Maxes prior to cut and base vs after (all raw, no belt):
SQ: 345/345
BP: 265/245
WP: 260/270
DL: 365/315

For continuation I am trying to plan for future aspirations of going to USMC OCS. And along with preparation specifically for that, I would like to max out my USMC PFT to a 300 perfect score. I read a sticky thread in regards to PFT runs saying to do more HIC and Speed work than E, and in that case to run Black Pro with Fighter Bangkok. However, I am not sure if this will also help me in my goals for OCS as most people on the forum and the book itself say to use Green for military contract goals.
For Black Pro I was thinking:
Monday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Tuesday: Speed HIC
Wednesday: LSS E
Thursday: MS (SQ/BP/WPU/DL 1set) + Plank and shank (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Friday: FAST 5 HIC
Saturday: SE - Pullup ladder followed by Alpha Circuits + Dumbbell Farmers Walks (Ageless Athlete 1 max set)
Sunday: off
And then cycle in 2 base blocks a year and over time throwing in another E in rucking on Saturday after SE, as recommended in Black with more E in TB1.

I want to know everyone's thoughts on this and any possible advice you may have, whether to go with green or black pro like I have above, and if green how I should set it up for OCS and 300 PFT goals. Thank you very much, any replies are much appreciated.

This log might help, I believe it was originally OCS prep training and I think Tym87 got a pretty high score if I remember correctly!

http://tacticalbarbell.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11
This gets overthought and beat to death. People with little or no operational/tactical experience are reading articles designed for distance runners and trying to apply the principles to multi-dimensional operational fitness. Mix it up. Do some HR restricted LISS, and do some longer faster runs at a near race pace.

Green doesn't have heart rate restrictions because you occasionally do want to go for a long fast run to develop lactate tolerance and other things that get you better at moving quickly for long periods of time. If TB slapped an HR restriction on all the E work in Green you wouldn't be able to develop speed-endurance.

For example, Funruns. Interval runs. Most can't stay in the 130-150 HR for funruns. Fun-Runs are (or should be) a staple for tactical athletes and should make up a large percentage of your Green sessions. Another example is the fartlek or interval run done over long distances. IMMENSE benefits for endurance/military athletes. If you slapped a heartrate restriction on it, you wouldn't be able to include it in your training.

Look at it this way, HR controlled runs are for developing capacity. Long/faster runs are for developing the ability to move faster within that capacity.

You need them both.

If you just train capacity you'll be able to go forever, but at a very slow pace. If you just train speed, you'll be able to go fast, but for shorter distances. Do both.

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 9:24 pm
by spemma
Aelian - what Es and HICs do you think are must do's for those who are prepping for a PFT?

I see you mention Fartleks, which would be outside of the official training vault. Do you think they are a must do?

Re: Marine Corps OCS Prep and Base Results

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 11:06 pm
by Aelian
spemma wrote:Aelian - what Es and HICs do you think are must do's for those who are prepping for a PFT?

I see you mention Fartleks, which would be outside of the official training vault. Do you think they are a must do?
It depends. What kind of PFT? What's the candidate good at? What's he bad at? In general I tend to favor Oxygen Debt, BOO, Buffalo Laps, and hill sprints for speed work, LISS, Fartlek, Fast5, and Funruns (with PFT exercises) for E.
You're not limited to the training vault.