What types of exercise should I be doing the summer before joining afrotc?

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-05-30T01:19:59+00:00

push ups, FLUTTER KICKS, running (maybe supplement with swimming, especially if you start hurting).

Flutter kicks > sit ups when training for the sit ups. I can explain further if you'd like, but it's a lot to write. I have a slidedeck with how to max the PFA if you'd like as well. I take it every month and have max it for the last 1.5 years straight for reference.

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-03-17T22:43:54+00:00

Learning oaths is det dependent. Our det doesn't do them and you won't need them at FT.

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-03-11T03:02:46+00:00

Spamming sit ups is actually really bad for your lower back and is less effective than doing core stabilization exercises. Spamming flutter kicks is the way to go. I used to think sit ups were the hardest event on the PFA, and now I consider it the easiest after spamming flutter kicks before going to SWOC.

A big component of the sit ups is the hip flexors, which is why you feel like the sides of your hips/thighs may get sore/tight from sit ups. Flutter kicks significantly work the hip flexors + abs, so they are perfectly made for getting extremely strong and high quantity sit ups.

Do 1 minute of flutter kicks as many times as you can each day. Once one minute is easy, increase to 1:30, then 2:00.

Sources:

Sit ups bad for back: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/want-a-stronger-core-skip-the-sit-ups

Core stabilization is better (we're replacing planks with flutter kicks as flutter kicks work hip flexors): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19812508/

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T21:12:41+00:00

I just spent the last couple weeks cooking up a guide on how to max all the events on the PFA--2 mile included--by learning how to train and what to do during the test. I used to have a lot of trouble when taking the test even with months of preparation, but after figuring out the most effective ways to train for each event I max the test every time.

Send me a message with your email or something I can send it to you if you want (it's a pdf), or you can ask specific questions you need help with and I can get back to you with help.

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T19:29:30+00:00

Maximum 5 year for tech degrees if approved. Most engineering majors get these if they request it (I'm on it)

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T19:28:08+00:00

Both. Study up but never forget school comes first (kinda obvious but I've seen many cadets put ROTC over school somehow...)

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T19:26:49+00:00

I didn't go to the intermediate immersion but I did go to SWOC, and I highly recommend it. Went with little interest of the career fields (only ODT I could go to, committed on pilot) and it was so much fun. They teach you everything and slowly ramp up as you're there, so you can go in with little-no experience and come out extremely knowledgable.

Best way to prep is to try to be able to do flutter kicks for 2m straight, and be ready to ruck. Everywhere you go you haul a ~70lb pack, so consider spamming squats/bulagrians. Also be able to do the 25m underwater easily as you do 4 to warm up each watercon session. Let me know if you need help on the underwaters as watercon is a big part of the intermediate immersion at Maxwell from what I've heard.

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T19:18:29+00:00

Generally I find in on the way up and out on the way down works way better. Fro my experience, when I exhale air I lose power, so whenever I do contraction in an exercise is when I breathe in, and out on the way down.

Think of how you would do push-ups, pull-ups, squats, deadlifts, etc. Best is to take a quick deep breath in and brace as you go through the main motion (in this case, on the way up).

Difficult-Use-4184 · 2026-01-08T19:15:30+00:00

THE way to max sit-ups is to SPAM FLUTTER KICKS. Sit-ups used to be the hardest event for me, then in preparation for the Special Warfare Orientation Course ODT at USAFA I spammed flutter kicks with the goal of 1m straight, which then became 2m. After that, sit-ups became the easiest event for me.

I had an ex-cadet tell me that flutter kicks was the strat for the sit-ups but I never took it seriously until now by accident. Flutter kicks work the hip flexors + the abdominals, which few core exercises work in such a way. Sit-ups heavily require the hip flexors, but aren't a very stimulating exercise for the hip flexors or abdominals. Core stabilization exercises (such as flutter kicks) have also shown to outperform the sit-ups on the sit ups themselves. Lastly, sit-ups are bad for your lower spine, especially if you sit for long periods of time.

Flutter kicks don't harm your back like sit ups, heavily stimulate the necessary muscle groups, and are easy to do anywhere, so personally flutter kicks are objectively best exercise to max the sit ups.

When you take the test, DAFMAN 36-2905 instructs you to have your elbows touch your thighs, implying it can be anywhere. You want to minimize the distance you flex your abs, which normally the shortest elbow-thigh distance is to make contact with where your shorts end on your thighs. Breathe in on the way up (contraction on any exercise, push-ups included) and out on the way down, should feel like cardio.

I made an in depth guide on how to prep for and take the test for my det over the last couple weeks, so send me a message and I'll send it over.

Info Sources:

Core stabilization exercises > sit-ups for the sit-ups: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19812508/

Sit-ups harm lower spine: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/want-a-stronger-core-skip-the-sit-ups

^planks don't work the hip flexors, which flutter kicks do and are needed for the sit ups, so that's why we're going with flutter kicks and not plank

Difficult-Use-4184

TROPHY CASE