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Bro there is an abundance of resources for information on the officer route:

Current as of May of this year

Couple years old, but still pretty good

Trimhopp went to SOAS and was offered an officer slot a while ago. Dig through this thread and his comments for some insight. He's not active on the sub anymore but I'm sure he'd be willing to answer questions. He's chill.

Breaking BUD/S: Nothing in here we haven't heard, but the author lays out the process pretty well. I'm sure some things have changed since the book came out, but it's a good resource.

u/77dude has a son who went through BUD/S as an officer. Maybe he would also be willing to answer questions. But inform yourself first OP so you don't have to ask anything you can Google. (Not being an asshole, just encouraging the "ask three before you ask me" rule I learned growing up)

Probably time to add some polarization to your training. A couple times a week, I'd do whatever distance you've been doing plus an extra mile or so. Then the other 2-3 days a week, I'd hit the track for a speed workout.

A very basic speed workout that I like is 8 x 400M, with a very easy 2 min jog between each interval. At the beginning, the 400M intervals should be at your goal 5K pace (preferably a bit faster). So it requires some math, or you can just go by feel and do around 80% effort; not an all-out sprint, but not a pace you’d hold on a normal run. Try to hold the same time for each 400M piece. This is best done on a track and after sufficient warmup/stretching.

As you get stronger, keep polarizing by making the distance runs longer and the intervals faster.

There's a great book called The Science of Running which is like $15 on Amazon and has more knowledge in it than any of the $100+ online programs. If you really want to get faster, buy it.

Edit: added link to book

This may sound weird, but get yourself a pair of surface fins (I've had these forever and love them) and work on your technique. SEALSWCC's video guide to the CSS is actually pretty good (albeit a little too classroom lecture-ish for me), and I saw guys use some of the techniques in this video to go from not being able to swim at all to having passing PST times in anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast, which you seem to understand. When you do these drills you aren't trying to kick super hard, and you don't want to push off the wall very far - most of your time should be spent on the drills.

Yeah, all due respect Laesyvan, but I've heard and read the direct opposite. All the guys I've known in group have said that SOPC/SFPC does a terrific job of preparing X Rays for SFAS, and they tend to fair a lot better than their reg army counterparts on average during selection...check out Chosen Warrior by Dick Couch. He echoes that sentiment. Plus X rays aren't really hated for their background, if a guy works hard and gets after it, he'll be respected (or at least that's what I've been told).

None the less, if you're really interested in becoming an Officer /u/TheRadSpaceman then all of this is moot anyway. You'll apply to SFAS as either a first LT or Captain, and will have to spend a few years in the regular army before applying - not unless you apply for RASP 2.

What kind of facilities do you have access to bud? Any weights, or is it all bodyweight?

Stew Smith is the man with all things prep-fitness-related.

You may check out Military Athlete as well; they have programs for literally every school on the planet. The unscrupulous may be able to find some of the PDFs online without paying for them.

Finally, Tactical Barbell is pretty cool.

I'm not familiar with BA Airborne pipeline or what's emphasized. US Airborne School is running and pullups, basically. It's not a particularly physically demanding course. There's also jumpmaster school which has one of the highest attrition rates for schools, but that's not physically taxing, it just requires 100% scores.

But any of those resources should help you find a workable program. Pretty much any 3-day strength/resistance training program followed by 30-60 minutes of HIIT should plug into your schedule fairly well.

Finally (and obviously) – don't drink. Drink to celebrate after you've finished. You don't want to get run down, fuck your times up, get sick, or not be on your game. Beer will still be there in a month.

Keep at it and keep your head down.

EDIT: Somebody here can probably say with more certainty but when I seem to remember something about staying in shape during fleet basic in the excellent but fairly obvious Breaking BUD/S.

Read this:

The Relationship Guy. Jack was my best friend at OCS and a physical stud. He was the ideal 5′10″, 200 lb, thick-necked, strong legged, Academy guy. He was raised in Maine as a member of the Polar Bear Club, so icy water didn’t even phase him, and he knew a great deal about BUD/S, SQT, and the Teams. We all, Jack included, thought he was a shoe-in. While under a boat in Indoc, Jack actually choke-slammed a pathetic member of his boat crew into the sand a few times until that guy (who we’ll talk about in a minute) quit. Jack was legit until he quit 3 hours into Hell Week, during a short Surf Torture after the last Log PT ever, of all things. Because of his girlfriend of 3 months (who had recently promoted herself to fiancee). Rewind a few months.

Jack was a great guy until we got a cell phone access at the end of OCS, when he ceased to exist. He was on the phone with this girl constantly, having the most emasculating phone calls one could ever imagine:

“What did you have for dinner?” “Oh, was it good?” “What did you have for desert?” “Well you should get ice cream then” “What flavor? I don’t know. What flavor do you want?” “Then you should get chocolate.” “One scoop or two? I think one.” “Okay, then get two scoops honey.” BARF.

I shared a room with Jack in BUD/S and spoke to him less in a month than I had in any given day of OCS. No joke. The kid was beyond reclamation and it showed. By the time we started First Phase, Jack was talking about marrying this girl during SQT. She came out to visit from the east coast on a regular basis, draining his bank account at an alarming rate. He proposed and they set a date for sometime in the middle of SQT when he thought he might be able to get a weekend off. He was so distracted that, at the beginning of Hell Week all he could think about was that she was too high-maintenance to deal with him being a SEAL. So he quit.

He was processed out of the Navy and got married while his class was in Kodiak, AK. (If he hadn’t quit, he would’ve got married while his class was in Alaska during his wedding, for which he’d already paid non-refundable deposits at his new wife’s insistence. Which shows he - at least subconsciously - knew he wouldn’t make it). After months and months of feigning happiness, he finally came to terms with his regret and is trying to join the Army Special Forces. I hope he makes it, but I can tell you one thing for sure: if it wasn’t for the woman, Jack would be a Team Guy already.

What do we learn from Jack’s failure?

• Get your household in order. BUD/S is enough on its own. You don’t need to add anything more to your plate. If your girlfriend can’t deal with the hours, stress, or you absence, get rid of her. Despite how awesome you think your girlfriend is, this probably (statistically) applies to you. I’m not saying don’t have a girlfriend when you’re going through. I did, and she was wonderful. She made me food at all hours and helped me prep uniforms for inspections. Good women do exist, but yours probably can’t handle BUD/S. And if she can’t handle BUD/S, she most certainly cannot handle life in the Teams. Save yourself the stress and heartache and do some honest thinking about her expectations and needs. If she’s not going to make it, cut her off now so you don’t have to deal with THAT on top of the stresses of BUD/S.
  
  
• Fully understand your commitments. Jack was dumb in any number of ways, not the least of which was his expectations of life after BUD/S. he scheduled his wedding for a weekend when we’d probably be in SQT. He scheduled it during Basic Orientation/Indoc. See any glaring problems with this? One: how did he know he wouldn’t be rolled once or twice along the way, resulting in his being in BUD/S when he was supposed to get married? He didn’t. Two: how did he know that weekend, even if he HAD made it to SQT, would be available? In reality if he hadn’t quit or been rolled, he would have been on Kodiak Island in Alaska on the day he’d reserved that adorable little chapel in Cambridge. There is no excuse for this level of stupidity. Either he subconsciously knew he was going to quit, or he had no grasp of the commitment he was going to have to make in order to become a SEAL.
  
  
• Don’t make big decisions during BUD/S. BUD/S is mental; it is the world’s most effective mindfuck. You will not be in any condition, despite what you think, to make a big decision. You’re not even going to be in a condition to decide whether you ‘actually’ want to be a SEAL, which is why I’ve told you to make your mind up Before you get to BUD/S. If you can’t even make a good decision regarding the very thing you do all day and night, how do you expect to be able to make a good decision about anything else? Do not get engaged. Do not ask for a divorce. Do not try to have a child. Here are the decisions you WILL get to make: What should I eat for breakfast? What should I eat for lunch? What should I eat for dinner? How long should I stretch before I got to bed? How much more water should I drink? What should I do this weekend to recover and decompress before next week kicks me in the teeth? If you try to make a decision beyond the scope of these questions, you are wrong. Being wrong very often results in ringing a bell three times and hanging your head for the rest of your life.

My personal advice for 1.

First focus on cardio, and build up your cardiovascular fitness. Later on once you're in decent shape, incorporate a ruck regiment.

The following is only my opinion,

[Cheap ruckpack] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Z5F2LQG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

Buy yourself backpack with triple military style straps so you dont hurt your back, make sure you're properly strapped.

I wouldn't ruck with more than 10-20 pounds for your backs sake and safety, UNTIL you get closer to ship date and you starting to practice your 9 mil, 44 pounds.

Many guys say not to practice rucking at all to preserve your back.

I would first start just regular rucking, every two weeks.

First week take a small timed, non paced 2 mile ruck. You have a lot of time till you go in 1.5 years. So no need to push yourself very hard till you get closer to the date.

Two weeks later take another hike, 2 mile hike but this time try to push yourself for a better pace at least 20% faster.

Two weeks after that do another 2 miler, but 40% faster.

After that start your 3 mile regular timed, non paced ruck.

And so on and so forth, the whole point of it is to progressively get your body to increase distance, and then increase your pace.

It will take you 27 weeks to complete this, out of the 72 weeks weeks that are in 1.5 years.

To time yourself, and see your pace, you might need one of dem fancy watches.

Watch

Fuck yeah man, thats great exactly what I wanted to see. I haven't read most of the philosophy or any of the climbing or finance. Appreciate you taking the time to post this, greatly expanded my to read list. Of you liked Gates of Fire, I'd highly recommend Pressfield's [the Virtues of War] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FCKFEE/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1) follows Alexander the Great's rise and conquests.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019D130Q2/ref=twister_dp_update?_encoding=UTF8&th=1&psc=1

Grabbed these for $100 at a New Balance store yesterday. If you wear a size 9 like me, the black/white are $33 so I just ordered them and will be returning the other ones. Not sure how good they are, but they said these would be the best for my foot.

Anyone here read "Worth Dying For?" I was just browsing Amazon, it seems like it actually raises some good questions, the author definitely uses his SEAL title to promote the book but it doesn't seem like it's centered around his experience specifically as a SEAL. If nobody here has read it I'll pick it up and tell you guys what I think.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Worth-Dying-Navy-Seals-Nation/dp/1501124110/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51CIKnsE3SL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL480_SR318%2C480_&psc=1&refRID=SACSCYYCEZSGP4FA4P3X

Gotchu: Swim Cap

And thanks. It seems like from people are saying that I need to glide more and rotate less. Gonna work on that. What are some torso rotation drills I should look into?

If anyone's been looking for some solid inexpensive earbuds that won't fall out when you run, I think I found the solution.

Coosh Wired Comfort In-ear Earbuds Headphones with Removable Earhooks (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071SG3B1L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_N3zxzb3KPAKD1

They don't have the gucci bluetooth that people use but they get the job done. I don't like running with my phone so I have a 1x1 iPod mini and it's a nice lightweight setup. And they are fucking called cooshes.

Seems like a good read, starting to read it, not really of a fan of the guy because he created the hoax situation back in '13 (esquire article). But overall, I guess he is a solid dude.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1501145037/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HX9MAWDF50VQ1TKMZES8

PSA: for those of you doing high interval training & such, this stuff is a godsend. Check the stats.

https://www.amazon.com/PacificHealth-Endurox-R4-Electrolytes-Antioxidants-x/dp/B00029F42I/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1549464305&sr=8-3&keywords=endurox+r4

Try reading this as a starter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024NP5FG/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1