I am joining the army soon and want to start backpacking so I

>>33942199
I would highly suggest starting and continuing an exercise routine which includes a lot of leg work. 5x5 is a good basis, add to it other exercises as you go long.

When you practice rucking, wear the ruck high and tight on the shoulder straps, use the waist strap, and use the chest strap if you've got it. Your goal should be able to eventually achieve a 15 mile or below mile pace WITHOUT breaking into a running stride. Running with a ruck is high impact on parts of the body where you will eventually have irreversible damage. Occasional running with a ruck won't mess you up, but if you make it part of a routine you will be cursing yourself down the line.

When you ruck, do not give into the temptation to put your hands until the shoulder straps to release the weight. This temptation is a sign that your shoulders need more work in the gym. It also shouldn't be done because on a military ruck you'll have a weapon in your hands and doing this won't be an option.

Wear good boots and good socks. Wear a good belt and make sure the ruck waistpad does not interfere with any pouches on your belt.

In the military, wearing upgraded helmet straps will greatly easy your rucking experience as it will stop the helmet from being floppy on your head.

Pack enough water. Pack emergency changes of socks. Pack a safety pin and swabs in case you need to expediently pop a blister. Pack some kind of liquid or powder to dump into water that contains a lot of salt and sugar.

>>>/out/

>>33942253
Thanks so much,actually helpful stuff.
>>33942275
I did not even know this was a board lol
Thanks for showing me!

>>33942253
I was thinking about getting a old ALICE pack for cheap, good idea or no?

>>33942199
hills, hills, hills

get to the point where you look forward to them, both up AND down.

guaranteed, you master hills, you will crush PT, even if you're a slowpoke on the flats.

>>33942339
I don't particularly like ALICE packs. They are outdated in a lot of ways and their suspension is not really up to what a modern pack can give. The people who claim to love them more than any other pack are wearing nostalgia goggles.

That said, they are cheap and durable. The metal frame can also be repurposed as a cargo shelf for things other than the pack which is kind of nice. If you're looking for a beginner pack and find ALICE for cheap, I'd say go for it. I spent early years rucking using an ALICE frame with gym weights strapped to it, so I can tell you that frame holds up.

If you want to start seriously hiking more and more and start finding the ALICE less ideal, get something with an internal frame. "Buy once, cry once" thinking leads me to recommend Mystery Ranch packs.

>>33942374
Those mystery ranch packs look great, not to great for my bank account tho lol. Is there something you recommend around $100

>>33942388
I still have to buy a good pair of boots otherwise I would

>>33942388
Rig up an alice pack, there are a bunch of form posts and youtube videos on how to rig them up good.

>>33942388

On your budget and level of experience, I'd recommend getting the ALICE, since it is liable to be the cheapest non-garbage you'll get your hands on. There isn't much point to buying a half measure pack. Either go for a used $25 ALICE pack or go balls to the wall for a great pack. Buying in between in wasting money.

Google apd, army publishing, download and read fm 21-18.. it is ancient and the weights are low and the paces are agonizingly slow. but it is designed to minimize injuries. it is very easy to be injured during a march especially if you do not backpack regularly. learning the Fm is also benificial because being able to read and understand publications will help you further your career

>>33942826
>ow and the paces are agonizingly slow. but it is designed to minimize injuries. it is very easy to be injured during a march especially if you do not backpack regularly. learning the Fm is also benificial because being able to read and understand publications will help you further your career


Thanks will do!

Why the hell does the mil itary give everyone in it back & knee problems doing this shit?

>>33942930
Because weapons and military equipment is heavy.

>>33942930
Because helicopters crash, vehicles break down, tyres pop, and the only guaranteed method of transport for you and your battle rattle is a MK.1 Leather Personnel Carrier from A to B.

>>33942199
Wouldn't be a bad idea to buy a new pair of boots, and ruck em hard. Might better prepare for the shitty issued boots, and how it can be relatively rough before you work them in.

Take effort to balance the contents of your pack as best possible, this makes a bigger difference than you would think.

Furthermore, get in the habit of packing toward immediacy. What will you need easiest/quickest access to at top, every other day crap at bottom. You'll get better advice one you arrive at your duty station, just an old drunk vet.

Good luck OP.

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>>33942930
because shit needs doing.
disgusting yellowback!

>>33942930

honestly? because it isnt hooah to march at 4kph

>>33942199

Enjoy needing knee replacement down the road.

>>33943069
Follow-up, buy your own unit approved boots (and recommended by your guys) once arriving at your duty station, wish I had done it sooner.

>>33942199
Do not intentionally run while rucking. That's a good way to fuck your hips/femoral necks, so be sure to save that for while you're in the service and can get points towards your disability for it, instead of them writing it off as pre-existing. Brisk walking pace, try to not exceed something like 40-50 pounds. You'll have to haul more than that eventually, but it's not good for your health and if you're just starting out you should try to not overwhelm yourself. Maybe start from 10-20 and add 10lbs every two weeks or so until you're at 40-50. Go for both distance and length. Keep the weight very close to your body, either high and close to your shoulders (better for men, especially more muscular men) or high and close to your hips (better for women, usually).

Use the waist strap. Cinch all your shit tight to you. I'd suggest putting a Camelbak in there too, and f you place it so that it's pressing against your body then you even get some cooling from having 3L of water on you.

Are you doing innawoods shit, or just going around a track? Maybe start with the track to get started off on easy mode, nice smooth level. Take it to the great outdoors when you know you're otherwise good to go.

>>33942199

>joining army soon

RUN
RUN YOU DUMB SHIT

RUCKING DOESNT EVEN FUCKING MATTER EVERYBODY BLOWS COCK AT IT IN BASIC

JUST RUN FUCKER

DONT EVEN BOTHER LIFTING WEIGHTS EITHER

If you're overweight or carry too much you can possibly injure yourself. My advice is get it good physical shape, don't risk rucking wrong and get injured.

The Army will teach you how to hump weight, the hard way. You don't have to learn beforehand.

>>33942199
Was rucking in selection this dude black out face to the ground
Msgt team lead went back sternum rubbed him until he blood while instructors screamed saying he was faking it
Lol he wasnt, we all got a break for a second
We moved on one instructor stayed we continued
Later found out he almost died according to paramedics that showed up
He was tired and took a 5hr energy just before ruck
Idiot almost killed himself to get through selection
Also in other rucks tons of puking and occasionally pissing myself

>>33943732
SFAS?

>>33943906
Indoc af

>>33943570
THIIIISSSSSS

Thanks everyone for the tips, I am joining soon. My real goal to become a Green Beret, but it will be a long road and a long time from now.

>>33943135
I was gonna go innawoods, but i live in Delaware. No real good trails around here unless I drive a few hours. So i will probs start with a track for now.

>>33947025
Best of luck mate. Make sure you take care of your feet, wear good socks, and dont do your boots up too tight or do them up the whole way. Avoid running at all costs, if need be do the old Brecon shuffle, short steps landing midfoot/toes if possible. Remember though the heavier your pack is the less youll be running, therefore its good practice to be able to tab at 15 minute miles with heavy weight and over hills and undulating terrain.

>>33947025
Also, be aware that no matter how physically fit you are, its all a mind game. Its a common thing for the huge built blokes to drop out, while the small wiry guys just deal with it and crack on. Being in great shape does help, because when they tell you youre doing a 6 mile run you wont stress, but its much more about the mental toll of getting beasted and thrashed every day on very little sleep.

If or when you get there, just tell yourself; theres nothing today I cant do. And when it gets hard, just focus on getting past this day, this hour or even just this session or getting up the hill one more time. Keep the end in sight but just crunch through one day at a time. They will do a lot of stuff to fuck with you mentally and physically; the best thing you can do is not stand out, be in the middle of the pack, it sounds cheesy but be the grey man. If youre the star of the class, they expect more and therefore try and break you harder. If youre flagging and always at the back theyll beast you until you catch up or quit.

>>33943570
OP YOU RETARDED FUCK, READ THIS!!!!! Run like a motherfucker every second of every day before basic. Fuck everything else just run.

>>33943639
>The Army will teach you how to hump weight, the hard way. You don't have to learn beforehand.

The Army has an obsession with doing things "the hard way". That usually translates into a logic that "if it's painful, it must be good exercise". There is a reason most combat arms guys over 30 are doped up on painkillers 24/7.

The best thing I ever did in the military was get and continue to have a high enough PT score to skip out on mass PT and then do research on how to properly condition my body. And then I would without shame be a shitbag who walked the whole time during retarded "motivational" runs where everybody wore full armor. That's why I am still able to run and ruck in my 30s without pain while most ultra-moto guys I know hobble around like crippled old men now.

>>33943570
>>33945314
>>33947107
Chill out guys, i also run. I wake up a 6 and go for a mile run just to start my day. Today it was fucking raining and i still went. I also run later in my day. Usually a longer distance.

>>33947102
>33947102
Yea, i am not a big dude. Pretty lanky. Im 6'1 and 165-170ish pounds. I feel pretty confident mentally. I have been through a lot in my life that most 21 years olds haven't gone through and its made me a tough person mentally. I just simply wont quit, if i make it through selection and i dont pass Ill be disappointed, but ill be fine with it. But i sure as hell wont quit,

Does anyone actually know any good books on the Green Berets? More modern day stuff preferred.

>>33947811
Good stuff mate, however military techniques of breaking you are pretty brutal, it tests everyone to the limit. Just be in as good a physical shape as you can endurance wise. Remember that weaker men than you have passed and stronger men than you have failed.

>>33947790
You might want to cut down to 3 or 4 runs a week but make them longer, i.e at least 4 miles, try and include a few hills if you can. The tougher you make it for yourself now the less of a shock itll be in training.

>>33943570
I'm going into the reserves in my country, ran 7km or 4.3 miles in 36:46, run every 2 days and always 3 miles or longer. Should I increase running?

>>33947907
Whats your 1.5 mile time at best effort? Your endurance is good, if you work some hill sprints and HIIT or Fartlek into your running routine youll see your mile pace drop significantly.
Also depends what unit youre joining, if its not infantry then youll probably be one of the fittest, if it is infantry youll probably be about average and youll want to get that mile pace down to at least 7:30/8 per mile. I do 5.2 miles in 42 minutes and thats with 3 big hills as well and I consider myself one of the lesser fit people in the unit.

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Just do SS+GOMAD and you'll be fine.

>>33947811
Not a Green Beret here, so I won't front like I know about them, but I've been through a few selective military courses, competitions, and o' course deployments, so this is my input:

Learn to function without a caffeine stimulants. You get plenty of caffeine (SO MUCH) in real deployment, but in training environments you are usually not allowed. Most average people have over 100mg of caffeine a day, so dropping to 0 can cause headaches for a while. Best you get used to that beforehand, as well as exercising without that caffeine kick to help you.

Acclimatization to the environment is very important. The majority of military training happens in the US south, so it will be hot and humid as fuck. You lose a lot of efficiency if you go to that environment from somewhere else, so be prepared to run a lot slower compared to your jogs in a dry and temperate environment. When you're in the south, make sure to regularly exercise as much as possible outside to stay acclimated.

When you exercise before joining, make sure to keep a log of your performance benchmarks. This gives you an objective record of your performance. If you start to plateau on a muscle group, it becomes obvious in the notes and you know what to focus on more.

Know the difference between "pushing through discomfort" and "being a stupid meathead". If in your heart of hearts you know that an exercise injured you, take a little time off that muscle group. It's better to be set back a week or two in a routine than to create a chronic injury you have to deal with for months (or forever).

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>>33947948
Do rope climbs (or indoor climbing walls if your feeling fancy). In addition to arm strength this will ensure you don't have a fear of heights. If you want to be MotoMan, get a gasmask and do a few runs in it- the goal being to make sure you aren't claustrophobic (you don't need to wear it often in full Banemode for running, just a couple of times). You need to ensure you don't have any hidden phobias before you go to military training.

>>33947938
Never really tried 1.5, average ~12 minutes to reach it during my endurance runs, could probably get it down to 10:30 at least.
Looking to be a vehicle tech or other POG for certs, might move to infantry once I have them.
I'm also probably before my prime, so I have room for improvement. Just been running for 4 months and was essentially just on the couch before then.

>>33947853
True, i am hype for SERE. I have always wanted to be waterboarded as strange as that sounds. I read that they do that to you in that training.

>>33947863
Well the mile run is just to wake me up honestly. I cant start my day otherwise.

>>33947948
Im not much of a coffee drinker so thats good. I drink green iced tea wichi i dont think has a lot of caffeine. No soda. One bad habbit i have is cigs. I smoke maybe 3-4 a week.

>>33947987
Try and do a 1.5 miler at absolute best pace to the point where youre about to blow chunks when you cross the line, i dont know what kind of entrance tests your country has for reserves but most include a timed run.
Over here anything under 10 minutes is considered pretty decent, anything over 11:30/12 is cause for concern. That said, if youre going in as vehicle mech your required time wont be tough at all, over here any non combat arms just need to do it in 14 minutes which you can practically speedwalk.

>>33948017
Fair enough mate, just saying the more distance you get on your legs the better off youll be. In terms of smoking, 3-4 fags a week is negligible, i smoke 10 a day and do 1.5 miles in 10:06, 5.3 mile hill runs in 42 minutes and 5 mile hikes with 20kg in 54 minutes.
Not saying im in great shape cus im not, just saying smoking that little is negligible, just crack on with cardio, hill sprints and HIIT and its no issue at all.

>>33948019
I'll do that next time I run, been wanting to do that but always slipped my mind and just started running.
I'm in Canada and I've been told you can't fail based on physical ability (probably recruiters sugar-coating for the fatties) and the tests before entering consist of timed sandbag carries/lifts and shuttle runs, which are REALLY lax if you're not combat arms. Anyone can pass them essentially.

Still want to be regfor quality though

>>33942930
Shit's heavy, volume is too high and usually people dont have enough time to restore between training sessions.

>>33948084
> you cant fail based on physical ability
Im saddened to hear that my commonwealth bretheren...in that case you should be fine, if you stand out as being fit youll get treated as being more competent and all round a better bloke. If you only have shuttle runs then probably better to practice that, do you know if its a bleep test type of deal or just a determined number of runs in a certain time?

>>33948058
Those are pretty good numbers! Thanks for the advice.

>>33948112
Shuttle + prones, 20m with prone every 10, not sure how many reps. That's their "make sure he can move his limbs" test, I don't know if they put you through another before basic starts.

According to the forces website they have other PT tests for Regfor and Primary Reserve which include a beep test, handgrip, pushups and situps. Might be for when you're actually enlisted, or just prior to beginning basic.
Never been below 7 on a beep test (even at my worst) and they want a 6, never tried handgrip, do 70 pushups a day and have made 80 situps in a minute.
Been practicing all of that, probably won't be an issue.
>I'm more worried about my aptitude test but according to the online ones I take I score pretty well (mid 80s+) but I'm still caring until it's done

>>33942253
this guy get it trust him, also tape up loose straps so they are neat and squared away, the boots they issue in basic suck just deal, have one pair for in garssion and one for out in the field. heavy stuff on top lightest stuff on bottom

>>33942199
Trees are your friend. All you gotta do is lay back on one and you don't have to get up and down if you ever stop.

>>33947825
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCYITsISgcY

>>33947636
I might know a thing about that. I was Marine infantry. I'm telling him not to break himself before he joins.

Not OP, but also looking at enlisting. Difference is I've been backpacking some. Am I in good shape if I can run about a mile with 30 pounds?

>>33948660
>Am I in good shape if I can run about a mile with 30 pounds?
>Running with weight

It's like you skipped the whole thread.

>>33948660
You're just some pog. Don't be fat, you pass.

>>33947907
US army requires a 16 minute 2-mile, so you should be good.

>>33948550
My jist being that it is a good idea to learn to ruck on your own time beforehand. Waiting for the military to teach you how to ruck will result in a lot of unnecessary wear and tear on the body because a lot of the people doing the training learned through rote and they don't understand or care about the long term breakdown on peoples' bodies.

>>33948672
I did actually post before reading the thread so you got me there. What exactly is so bad about it?

>>33948136
Cheers mate, just went and smashed out a 5 mile tab just now, talking about it got me in the mood. As long as you put in the effort and keep plodding on youll be absolutely fine, getting out there and doing it is half the battle.

>>33948173
Fair play lad, you sound like youre in pretty good shape, the sit ups push ups and pull ups sound good, if you want to make it harder do the pull ups and push ups with a weighted vest, it helps a lot and chances are youll get a few punishment sets of push ups with body armour or kit on.
Sounds like youre on top of it, just keep cracking on, keep the mileage up with the running, practice those sprint-down-up-sprint reps and youll ace it mate. Best of luck

>>33948749
Full on running on a hard surface with any serious weight is a great way to need knee surgery before your 35th birthday. If you have to go faster than walking, shuffle, making sure your foot lands right under you and on midfoot/toes if possible.

>>33942199
I backpack and I ruck; the two really aren't all too similar, if only because you can backpack with fairly low weight.

For instance, when I backpack, my pack is barely 15-25 lbs; most of the actual workout I get when I'm innawoods comes after the walk when I'm setting up camp -- shit like cutting firewood, digging a fire pit, or when I'm playing bushcraft master 9000, building natural shelters.
Basically, setting up camp is harder than the actual hike.

On the other hand, I ruck with 45lbs of artificial weight (i.e. when I ruck, I'm not carrying tents, gear and bags, I'm carrying sandbags, dumb bells, steel padlocks, etc), and hopefully, I aim to git gud and cap around 75lbs (and that's only because I only have 75lbs of dead weight availible to carry).

One's about stressing my body for a workout, the other's about getting what I need into the woods safe and effectively.

My philosophy is kinda reverse to yours too -- I ruck so that I can backpack more effortlessly, not the other way around.

>I have never backpacked before, anyone got any tips/websites to help?

Basically, do you know how to camp? Backpacking is just the art of camping, but you carry all the stuff you need with you.

Get a good 50 or so liter pack and load it up with what you'd need to camp with. Tent, bag, pad, axe, saw, cooking gear, land nav shit, first aid (incl. insect repellent), food, water. Specifics on gear choices for all this is where the nuance is, just like any hobby -- see /out/ on that note.

>>33942339
Personally, I'd avoid most milsurp altogether. in general: dollar for dollar, modern civillian gear is far superior to milsurp, if only because it's engineered for more performance, especially over and against outdated milsurp like alice.

>>33948891
Thanks for all the info bud, very much appreciated

>>33949352
No worries mate, best of luck, who knows I might see you on Ex in Canada in a few years time.