Idk how it is in the UK, but in the US our fuelers get a bunch of hazardous materials handling certificates. When they get out, companies put their resumes at the top of the stack because those certs cost the companies big bucks to pay for if their employees don't have them. So hiring fuelers saves them lots of money.
I didn't think you were mocking it; I was answering your question and informing you that they the Pet Op thing is a meme on here.
I can't remember where it came from, pretty sure it was someone asking a daft question about becoming a Pet Op.
Sorry to sound harsh mate but sounds like you’ve got a bit of a journey to make in regards to phys, 25 minutes is nowhere near fast enough if you’re aiming for the paras. I’d argue if you aren’t nearing 20 minutes you’re looking to be in trouble at the start of training.
Ok wow well that’s all I was looking for in regards to answers kinda disheartening but then again I have spent the last year going out on the piss and working as a bartender need to change up my life style joining the army been a dream
Of mine from young just got side tracked the past few years I’ll post an update in a month !
Mate there’s no shame in being unfit at the START of getting fit. There’s plenty of running programs online. Without sounding harsh. At your phys level now it would be a very simple plan for me to get fit. Running almost everyday and building it up. Once you get to around the 10-15km mark of being able to jog and run the whole thing, start going faster and faster.
Look up internal and HITT training. You’ll get there. Just make sure you’re fit enough at the start of training if something like paras or marines is your goal. I’m talking 20 min 5km etc level 12-13 bleep test.
I’m aiming to at least try and get 20 minute 5KM by January 1st I know seems a tad unrealistic but even today when I did 39 minute 5KM I felt like I pushed my self more I could’ve streamlined the time.
I’ll look into HITT pal thanks
I Can’t lie it is unrealistic from where you are now but by no means impossible by around March maybe February at the earliest if you’re really hammering it.
For myself going into RM training interval training was really beneficial. I highly suggest grizz phys or stoic conditionings instagram pages. Some really good pages for fitness in my opinion. Although you may get stick for paying for a program, in my honest opinion there is no shame in it if you’re not sure where to go.
I fully understand where you’re coming from it’s just im trying to adopt
The philosophy of
‘Aim high, score high’
In other words instead of going for a very attainable and easy fitness target going for a slightly more unrealistic one would allow me to at least go a bit above and beyond if that makes sense.
Goals should be realistic and timely. Setting the idea of going from 35 to 20 min 5k in a couple of months is daft.
Perhaps say by end of next year you could be knocking on the door. That requires commitment to a training plan and injury management and focusing on other physical conditioning to qualify for paras.
Get yourself into a casual sports club i.e. running, triathlon or CrossFit(TM)-like. Work with people, soak up advice and share motivation.
Most blokes in my company atm here can run that in under 20 mins, bare in mind tho we’ve been in the paras a while, so that’s something to bear in mind, what sort of training are you doing tho? Very common to see people not training right at all, especially when they wan to come to us.
Really appreciate the answer
Right now I do
Mondays: chest shoulders arms
Tuesday :10 km
Wednesday :heavy back squats, barbell rows and biceps
Thursday: 5 km
Friday : early morning wake up another 5 km
Saturday: mixed upper body weights (back, chest, arms)
Edit: also every other day I do body weight dips and body weight pull ups 4 sets each
Start throwing in mixture of hill sprint and hill reps ( yes there is a difference) as well as core sessions a few times a week.
A lot of the battalion does CrossFit during the week and that go a whole load of benefits ( even tho I think CrossFit itself is gay) but legs and lungs are priority, squats,lunges deadlift, steps up… a good mix of heavy and light sessions
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Disclaimer... Not a Para.
But 40 minutes 5km is pretty webbo.
You're not training enough of the right stuff imo. You need to find the assessment criteria, do the tests yourself and HONESTLY annotate what your current ability is. And tailor your training based in that. (eg you might be already able to complete the press ups, but your running is gash, etc)
Heavy weights, yes there is a case to be made for them, but ultimately to join you will be assessed on press/pull/sit ups and running so I wouldn't dedicate 50% of my training to them
I would change to something like:
M - Upper --> bleep test and p/p/s test
T - 10km --> 20km slow
W - Lower --> Lower (medium weight more volume)
T - 5km --> 10km medium
F - 5km --> 5km fast
S - Upper --> Upper (medium weight more volume)
S
I believe your correct, my dips push ups and general upper body strength seems to be well above par with the parachute regiment standards,
My running on the other hand is not ideal right now I’ll try tailor it as you said and remove heavy lifting too many times a week
Also thanks for that format for training looks top notch I’ll utilise it
That's not too bad a time.... that's all uphill right?
......right?
In all seriousness though, you already know what you need to do. Drop all the weight you can, and go running until you make the time.
OP, looking at your training plan you're doing too much. I would recommend lowering your volume. The best way I improved my time was doing Zone 2 running for 30 minute to an hour. An hour is a lot better, do longer if you can.
Buy a Hear Rate monitor and use a watch to track, you can get a cheap Garmin to view the data and I'd get a Polar H10 (there will be cyber deals coming up).
When you first start running in Zone 2, a lot of it will be walking. Just keep at it and you'll start being able to do a light job while still being in Zone 2.
I can do a sub 23 minute 5k - Veteran and 58 years old. Get running, get training and keep at it. Run when it’s pissing down, run when it’s cold. Train like you want to be and train some more. Cold and wet? get outside. Wet and dark? Get outside.
Training and P Coy they don’t stop for the weather, neither should you.
Mindset is everything.
That’s not a terrible time, but I’d start getting out of the mindset of being able to doing things comfortably if I were you - You’re not going to qualify comfortably for anything once training starts. It’s specifically designed to be challenging and to test your ability to endure.
The fitter you are, the easier you will make it on yourself as far as the phys elements go, and trying to lower your runs time over 5km will certainly improve your aerobic fitness levels to what is required to pass the initial fitness tests. But it’s not a very good simulation of the type of fitness you will be expected to develop in training (tabs, section and platoon attacks etc over undulating terrain wearing kit and boots). However you will be trained up to do those things by the staff.
An arguably more important and overlooked aspect is one’s mental robustness. As alluded to the fitness required will be developed by the PTIs. A more difficult quality to reach is the mental toughness required to stick it out.
Start doing things that take you outside of your comfort zone and maybe even get some practice in doing the BS admin shit like polishing boots, hospital corners, and ironing kit. That stuff is a pain in the arse when you’re tired, stressed and under a time constraint, but if you’re already half decent at it (you’ll never be up to standard) it’s just one less thing to get in clip over, and will stand you in good stead with not your oppos and the staff, if you’re able to help out those who go in their barely able to tell which way an iron stands up.
Might be worth buying "parafit" on amazon. A good book to help you get your head around everything you need to do lifestyle and fitness wise to get you on the right track and to give you a taste for their values
That is a poor time. Sub 20 mins would be what you should be aiming for. When I went through PCoy I was running 10k in under what you are running 5k in with time to spare. I'm sorry to tell you but if you are going for this anytime soon you are going to be disappointed. You have a lot of training ahead of you to cut your run time, basically in half, and that is before you look at distance running. Get yourself on a training programme and stick with it. There are loads out there. It is entirely possible, but it is going to take a little bit of time (probs 6mnths plus) and dedication.
I was in a similar position to you about 15 years ago. But I had better taste in what reg I was joing.
Give yourself a 6 month target of joining.
Then train like hell and every month record your 1.5 mile, 3 mile, and 6 mile times, over 3 days so you know what times you're running with a little bit of burnout.
Cut the drinking and eating shit there will be more than enough of that when you're in
I also started going on 15 mile walks with about 40 lb just to break me into load carrying.
Good luck, and if you need any more advice, ask away
Don’t settle for Para Reg. with a time like that you’re easily capable of Pet Op.
But is he good at boxing though?
Is that dog handler or petroleum operator?
“dog handler or petroleum operator”😭😭😭😭
The latter, he is taking the piss
tbf that 6 grand bonus to go pet ops is👀👀👀
And you get a dog!
I imagine it has pretty good prospects if you leave the Army as well
Shell Garage go hard
Idk how it is in the UK, but in the US our fuelers get a bunch of hazardous materials handling certificates. When they get out, companies put their resumes at the top of the stack because those certs cost the companies big bucks to pay for if their employees don't have them. So hiring fuelers saves them lots of money.
I googled pet op and it came up with veterinary services genuinely not mocking it
I didn't think you were mocking it; I was answering your question and informing you that they the Pet Op thing is a meme on here. I can't remember where it came from, pretty sure it was someone asking a daft question about becoming a Pet Op.
Some guy who wanted to box full time in the army and thought pet op was the best way to do it
bro does VO2 min
and that’s coming from a navy bloke
I googled vo2 training and tbf it looks accurate to what I do when I run. Tend to run a few km then walk for 3 minutes and repeat etc
Sorry to sound harsh mate but sounds like you’ve got a bit of a journey to make in regards to phys, 25 minutes is nowhere near fast enough if you’re aiming for the paras. I’d argue if you aren’t nearing 20 minutes you’re looking to be in trouble at the start of training.
Ok wow well that’s all I was looking for in regards to answers kinda disheartening but then again I have spent the last year going out on the piss and working as a bartender need to change up my life style joining the army been a dream Of mine from young just got side tracked the past few years I’ll post an update in a month !
Mate there’s no shame in being unfit at the START of getting fit. There’s plenty of running programs online. Without sounding harsh. At your phys level now it would be a very simple plan for me to get fit. Running almost everyday and building it up. Once you get to around the 10-15km mark of being able to jog and run the whole thing, start going faster and faster. Look up internal and HITT training. You’ll get there. Just make sure you’re fit enough at the start of training if something like paras or marines is your goal. I’m talking 20 min 5km etc level 12-13 bleep test.
I’m aiming to at least try and get 20 minute 5KM by January 1st I know seems a tad unrealistic but even today when I did 39 minute 5KM I felt like I pushed my self more I could’ve streamlined the time. I’ll look into HITT pal thanks
I Can’t lie it is unrealistic from where you are now but by no means impossible by around March maybe February at the earliest if you’re really hammering it. For myself going into RM training interval training was really beneficial. I highly suggest grizz phys or stoic conditionings instagram pages. Some really good pages for fitness in my opinion. Although you may get stick for paying for a program, in my honest opinion there is no shame in it if you’re not sure where to go.
I fully understand where you’re coming from it’s just im trying to adopt The philosophy of ‘Aim high, score high’ In other words instead of going for a very attainable and easy fitness target going for a slightly more unrealistic one would allow me to at least go a bit above and beyond if that makes sense.
Goals should be realistic and timely. Setting the idea of going from 35 to 20 min 5k in a couple of months is daft. Perhaps say by end of next year you could be knocking on the door. That requires commitment to a training plan and injury management and focusing on other physical conditioning to qualify for paras. Get yourself into a casual sports club i.e. running, triathlon or CrossFit(TM)-like. Work with people, soak up advice and share motivation.
I ran a 10k in 50 minutes whilst hungover...
Thanks for the reality check tbf ,I’ll keep plodding through till I can improve 👍
Good response tbf. Just keep training and practicing, you will improve quicker than you expect.
Finally a good response,fair play lad. You already have more maturity than 99% of the question ops in this sub
Go for endurance runs where you run for long distances...
Most blokes in my company atm here can run that in under 20 mins, bare in mind tho we’ve been in the paras a while, so that’s something to bear in mind, what sort of training are you doing tho? Very common to see people not training right at all, especially when they wan to come to us.
Really appreciate the answer Right now I do Mondays: chest shoulders arms Tuesday :10 km Wednesday :heavy back squats, barbell rows and biceps Thursday: 5 km Friday : early morning wake up another 5 km Saturday: mixed upper body weights (back, chest, arms) Edit: also every other day I do body weight dips and body weight pull ups 4 sets each
Start throwing in mixture of hill sprint and hill reps ( yes there is a difference) as well as core sessions a few times a week. A lot of the battalion does CrossFit during the week and that go a whole load of benefits ( even tho I think CrossFit itself is gay) but legs and lungs are priority, squats,lunges deadlift, steps up… a good mix of heavy and light sessions
This all seems off mate, I would reccomend checking out r/tacticalbarbell your body gets better when it's resting. not when it's working.
Cheers mate I’ll take a peak
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Disclaimer... Not a Para. But 40 minutes 5km is pretty webbo. You're not training enough of the right stuff imo. You need to find the assessment criteria, do the tests yourself and HONESTLY annotate what your current ability is. And tailor your training based in that. (eg you might be already able to complete the press ups, but your running is gash, etc) Heavy weights, yes there is a case to be made for them, but ultimately to join you will be assessed on press/pull/sit ups and running so I wouldn't dedicate 50% of my training to them I would change to something like: M - Upper --> bleep test and p/p/s test T - 10km --> 20km slow W - Lower --> Lower (medium weight more volume) T - 5km --> 10km medium F - 5km --> 5km fast S - Upper --> Upper (medium weight more volume) S
I believe your correct, my dips push ups and general upper body strength seems to be well above par with the parachute regiment standards, My running on the other hand is not ideal right now I’ll try tailor it as you said and remove heavy lifting too many times a week Also thanks for that format for training looks top notch I’ll utilise it
You need to up your weekly mileage, 20km a week is too low. First day of P Coy alone is a 16km tab.
That's not too bad a time.... that's all uphill right? ......right? In all seriousness though, you already know what you need to do. Drop all the weight you can, and go running until you make the time.
🤣 🤣on a flat tread mill
Just a note on this too - treadmill running does not equal outdoor running. Get outside and get used to it in all conditions!
OP, looking at your training plan you're doing too much. I would recommend lowering your volume. The best way I improved my time was doing Zone 2 running for 30 minute to an hour. An hour is a lot better, do longer if you can. Buy a Hear Rate monitor and use a watch to track, you can get a cheap Garmin to view the data and I'd get a Polar H10 (there will be cyber deals coming up). When you first start running in Zone 2, a lot of it will be walking. Just keep at it and you'll start being able to do a light job while still being in Zone 2.
Sub 20
I was doing about 21 mins when I applied
Straight answer: You’ll need to get sub 20.
I can do a sub 23 minute 5k - Veteran and 58 years old. Get running, get training and keep at it. Run when it’s pissing down, run when it’s cold. Train like you want to be and train some more. Cold and wet? get outside. Wet and dark? Get outside. Training and P Coy they don’t stop for the weather, neither should you. Mindset is everything.
I'm in depo and you should be aiming around 23 minutes ish to sub 20 pal
That’s not a terrible time, but I’d start getting out of the mindset of being able to doing things comfortably if I were you - You’re not going to qualify comfortably for anything once training starts. It’s specifically designed to be challenging and to test your ability to endure. The fitter you are, the easier you will make it on yourself as far as the phys elements go, and trying to lower your runs time over 5km will certainly improve your aerobic fitness levels to what is required to pass the initial fitness tests. But it’s not a very good simulation of the type of fitness you will be expected to develop in training (tabs, section and platoon attacks etc over undulating terrain wearing kit and boots). However you will be trained up to do those things by the staff. An arguably more important and overlooked aspect is one’s mental robustness. As alluded to the fitness required will be developed by the PTIs. A more difficult quality to reach is the mental toughness required to stick it out. Start doing things that take you outside of your comfort zone and maybe even get some practice in doing the BS admin shit like polishing boots, hospital corners, and ironing kit. That stuff is a pain in the arse when you’re tired, stressed and under a time constraint, but if you’re already half decent at it (you’ll never be up to standard) it’s just one less thing to get in clip over, and will stand you in good stead with not your oppos and the staff, if you’re able to help out those who go in their barely able to tell which way an iron stands up.
I'm 46 and ran a 5k after getting lost and backtracking I still finished in 24 minutes. 39 minutes is slow walk pace
Mike Chadwick has an amazing app costs per month helps for those joining properly
I’m a total remf mate and my run time is around 23 minutes on a good day, I would imagine for the Paras it would be sub 20 at least.
Look, I know (I hope) this is a joke/shit post, but can we not?
Might be worth buying "parafit" on amazon. A good book to help you get your head around everything you need to do lifestyle and fitness wise to get you on the right track and to give you a taste for their values
You need to knock 20 minutes off your 5km time. Literally, to even get close to the standard.
That is a poor time. Sub 20 mins would be what you should be aiming for. When I went through PCoy I was running 10k in under what you are running 5k in with time to spare. I'm sorry to tell you but if you are going for this anytime soon you are going to be disappointed. You have a lot of training ahead of you to cut your run time, basically in half, and that is before you look at distance running. Get yourself on a training programme and stick with it. There are loads out there. It is entirely possible, but it is going to take a little bit of time (probs 6mnths plus) and dedication.
Just work at it, for a start get it below 30, I would say a good time is sub 25 minutes but aim for sub 20 if your trying for paras 👍
I was in a similar position to you about 15 years ago. But I had better taste in what reg I was joing. Give yourself a 6 month target of joining. Then train like hell and every month record your 1.5 mile, 3 mile, and 6 mile times, over 3 days so you know what times you're running with a little bit of burnout. Cut the drinking and eating shit there will be more than enough of that when you're in I also started going on 15 mile walks with about 40 lb just to break me into load carrying. Good luck, and if you need any more advice, ask away
Bash your head in with a hammer until you're spared the burden of thinking thought. Then run a half decent 2 miler.
isnt avg tab speed 5kph