# 100 press up routine?



## montage (25 Mar 2009)

ok ok....not that cycling related but this place is a 10/10 for advice.

Recently had a 2 day visit to Commando Training Centre Royal Marines - lympstone where I did a mock selection for the potential officers course - Passed in everything with good marks, apart from press ups and pull ups.

http://www.hundredpushups.com/test.html

this worth a go - or is it a lode of commercialised hype?

Cheers


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## montage (25 Mar 2009)

Talked to him - cracking guy.

The days I spent with the RM showed us EXACTLY what was in the selection, just less intense (hard work though).
I know I need to work on press ups and pull ups for the selection, no weight carrying is done (bar some log carrying stuff). I also need to try and up my lactate threshold - but this is easy enough to train for.


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## montage (25 Mar 2009)

User3143 said:


> Surely you must do some marches/jogs/runs in full kit carrying a bergen during selection?



No kit carrying during selection such as with bergens - possibly webbing, will double check.

For endurance course + bottom field you are in boots, rugby tops, t shirts + jacket - gets very heavy on the endurance course when covered head to toe with lovely thick clay/mud.

Plenty of weight carrying during training no doubt


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## montage (25 Mar 2009)

User3143 said:


> Surely you must do some marches/*jogs*/runs in full kit carrying a bergen during selection?



no such thing as jogging during selection lol


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## stoatsngroats (25 Mar 2009)

My nephew is there, very close to completion - he's had an excellent time there, and is looking forward to the future - go for it!


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## Chrisz (25 Mar 2009)

montage said:


> For endurance course + bottom field you are in boots, rugby tops, t shirts + jacket - gets very heavy on the endurance course when covered head to toe with lovely thick clay/mud.
> 
> Plenty of weight carrying during training no doubt



Ha ha !! You met the bottom field then?? 

Wait till you pass selection and get to perform a 'mud run' - at low tide the Exe is little more than a trickle and training teams love getting 'nods' (that's you) out in the slime and ooze doing all sorts of exercises - usually as a punishment.

Because our troop had so many 'bad boys' in it, we did several (made it all the way over to Star Cross twice ). Ten into the regain tank and finish off with a hose down to get the mud off  

I hope you enjoyed yourself mate. Stick with it and remember the mental fortitude ("You can't crack me - I'm a rubber duck!")


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## Joe24 (25 Mar 2009)

An instructor i know in the gym i go to was in the marines. He said before he started to train properly for the marines he could only do a few pull ups. 
So what he did was while he was in the gym, after every excersice he did with the weights he would do some pull ups. Even if he only managed two.
So after he did dumb bell pressing, he would do some, then he would do bench pressing and do some more pull ups.
He said when it came around to him doing them just on their own, he could do 17 in a go.
I can do alot of press ups, but ive been weight training in the gym so i can just wack a load of press ups out.
Pull ups im not as good with mind.


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## montage (25 Mar 2009)

Bottom field was a shock to the system!
Managed 3.55 round the course - but got a pretty long bollocking for not landing double footed, then told to repeat the obstacle - a lesson well learned!

Nice idea joe - Think I shall try that one 

Not sure what our time was with the log though....and I'd rather not think about mud runs as of yet


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## Chrisz (25 Mar 2009)

*Montage,*

Your best bet is to do plenty of circuit training as well as gym and road work. Try to get a set of boots to run in - one of the big problems these days with recruits at CTC is that their feet aren't tough enough after a (short) lifetime permanently in trainers.

You can buy a variety of CDs/DVDs aimed at getting you through the entry tests - might be worth a try. My main advice would be to get plenty of variety in and enjoy it!

Also, try to find out if you have a local RMR unit and then see if you can join them for some training.


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## ShinSplint (26 Mar 2009)

I tried this pushup program last year. I stuck by all the rules, no cheating. Basically got to week 4/6 and things got tough. There's a massive jump in the strength required between week 3 and 4. Just about completed week 4 (after many attempts), but kind of lost interest after that, and since then just done my own routine.

Glad I tried it though. Before I started I maxed out at about 15 pathetic pushups. After just a few weeks could complete 50 consecutive 'ups, and there's a quick noticeable improvement in terms of overall strength, as well as a bigger more defined upper body, particularly chest and triceps.

It also gave me the incentive to carry on with the pushups, and also get into a full workout routine (just at home with dumbells etc). Feels good afterwards.

Now i've started cycling again, im considering it more necessary to stick with the workout, otherwise i'll just burn off the muscle i've gained in no time.


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## ChrisKH (26 Mar 2009)

There's no secret to press-ups and pull-ups it's all about repetition. RAF Regiment pride themselves on press-up capability. My brother was awful at them. After basic training he could do literally 100's. You just need to put in the effort of doing them on a regular basis. 

I would echo the boots and also get yourself a Bergen. Make it a point of working out at every opportunity with a fully loaded Bergen and then it's less of a shock when it does happen. My brother wasn't even an elite serviceman but if he came home for a weekend he would be out every day in boots, fatigues and a loaded Bergen for a 15 miler.


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## ACS (26 Mar 2009)

Montage

Echo the above about boots, but with a word of caution, build up your boot time, because the sudden change from running in trainers to boots can (please note ‘can’) cause shin splints especially running on the roads.

I was once told by ‘clubs’ that if you were in a situation where you had to run in boots and Bergen then shin splints where the least of your worries. 

I used to suffer shin splints if I ran in boots so I used to do a lot of cross country forced march type training push very hard on the hills, careful on the knees on the way down. Learn to pace yourself, its the key to survival.


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## montage (26 Mar 2009)

Cheers for all the top advice - I think I will focus on training with a bergan after I Have passed selection - as there will be a fair amount of time until I would start training. Also I have had shinsplints in the past - put me out of action for 9 months, so not going to go OTT with running with weights!

Top advise with the boots, currently got a nice pair of magnums, but going to scrap these for regular issue boots which are far far lighter.

Will try the 100 press up thing after what you have said shinsplits 

Again, top advise, cheers all.


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## Niall McL (26 Mar 2009)

A colleague of mine was in the Marines and best recruit during initial training. He then considered applying for officer training but that entailed doing the whole training course againand he admits himself that he just couln't face putting his body through the ordeal again, so good luck!


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## ShinSplint (2 Apr 2009)

montage said:


> Cheers for all the top advice - I think I will focus on training with a bergan after I Have passed selection - as there will be a fair amount of time until I would start training. Also I have had shinsplints in the past - put me out of action for 9 months, so not going to go OTT with running with weights!
> 
> Top advise with the boots, currently got a nice pair of magnums, but going to scrap these for regular issue boots which are far far lighter.
> 
> ...



Hows it going mate?


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## montage (2 Apr 2009)

ShinSplint said:


> Hows it going mate?




Not so bad  ....will be better as soon as I begin the programme no doubt! haha.

Press ups are so tedious


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## ShinSplint (2 Apr 2009)

montage said:


> Not so bad  ....will be better as soon as I begin the programme no doubt! haha.
> 
> Press ups are so tedious



 I know. Thing is with the program, although it gets tedious, at the same time you're thinking "i've given myself this much pain, may as well carry on !".

TRY IT !


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## Twenty Inch (2 Apr 2009)

I like it - think I'll try it out.


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## montage (4 Apr 2009)

WOAH ...this programme hurts.
I can usually manage around 25-30 good form press ups (for some reason when I was 15 I could do alot more :S ) and finding week 2 tough.

Still, lets hope it works


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## Chrisz (4 Apr 2009)

montage said:


> WOAH ...this programme hurts.
> I can usually manage around 25-30 good form press ups (for some reason when I was 15 I could do alot more :S ) and finding week 2 tough.
> 
> Still, lets hope it works



You probably weighed a lot less when you were 15


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## montage (4 Apr 2009)

Chrisz said:


> You probably weighed a lot less when you were 15




I have also adopted the elbows in stance aswell - far harder = less press ups


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## Chrisz (4 Apr 2009)

'Pussers' press-ups are elbows out!


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## montage (4 Apr 2009)

Saw one guy do them in the gym when I went down to lympstone. immeadiate "-5" to his score


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## Baggy (5 Apr 2009)

Chrisz said:


> Because our troop had so many 'bad boys' in it, we did several (made it all the way over to Star Cross twice .



That's quite a scary thought...


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## cyberknight (5 Apr 2009)

montage said:


> I have also adopted the elbows in stance aswell - far harder = less press ups



well you are pretty much doing them just a s a tricep isolated press up with elbows in , elbows out you are getting the pectorals in on the action. when i did martial arts we had a lot of press ups i think i got to around 90 ish in my youth without serious amounts of training .Like anything practise the movement to get better at it .Wich i always thought was funny as we dont punch anything like we do press ups  , i always found pad/ bag work a lot more beneficial for me to develop power and sparring for speed.


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