Push-ups and Flutterkicks: Prepare for Pain

Before each PT workout begins, the “form for PT” chaos must go down. The platoons must form themselves in perfect ranks to do robotically operated stretches to yelled commands with proper shouted responses. No infractions are allowed–for example, wearing a watch to PT, bringing a pen in your pocket, or not being loud enough.

For most all of OCS, if everything operates perfectly smoothly, somehow the company won’t be loud enough.  So time to get incentivized.

By pain.

Every day, it seemed, we did a few hundred flutterkicks while screaming and at least a hundred push ups.

Don’t think these are your knock-out-a-few-dozen-in-the-gym push ups, either. You do two full push ups per count (up-down-up-down=one) and you hold the pushup position forever while screaming “Aye-Aye-Somebody” until the company “finds its volume.”  And don’t forget. The PT is yet to come. This is just the warm up.

Doing flutterkicks seems so simple, so easy. And it is. Until you have to do it while screaming. With the added weight of boots. And then are forced to hold your feet out in front of you a seeming eternity.

Do as many push ups and flutterkicks as possible to prepare yourself. Hold the workouts at the hardest point as long as possible. Scream or hold your breath while you do them to simulate being near-hypoxic.  Then, do more pushups and flutterkicks.

Or look forward to some pain at OCS for not preparing well!