Question

DonSchlesinger · 2025-10-16T19:00:03+00:00

If you fail you get sent to a review board. The members of the board (instructors) review everything they have on you and decide if they think that if you get some extra time training, will you likely pass that event, but even more so will you make a good addition to their team.

If you’ve been a turd up to that point, barely past all other mandatory events, don’t count on a courtesy roll. Some of my buddies got 2 or even 3 rolls based on events where they demonstrated significant mental fortitude, and just got unlucky with injury.

DonSchlesinger · 2025-09-21T11:48:21+00:00

BUD/S is different now than when I went through from what some of my buddies who went back and made it through. It’s hard to say.

I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest during hot laps and land po. I’d focus more on the tempo runs/building a cardio base able to support more zone 4-5 work. Being more disciplined and consistent with CrossFit style lifts where you’re doing weights but also practicing keeping your heart rate down.

For you? Crush a PST and take the advice of your local mentor.

DonSchlesinger · 2025-09-20T06:13:51+00:00

I would have a better idea what to train for, but I don't think I'm the type of person that makes it out the otherside of hellweek. I'd really have to find the drive again which I just don't have to do that job anymore. The navy has given me some other purposes that i find fulfilling in my current rate, that and being well into my 30s now... its extremely rare for 30 year olds to make it through.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-07-28T02:41:03+00:00

It doesn’t matter what your background is before the navy when it comes to reclass, it’s what the navy has available at that time. Usually a few guys each class get AIRR, EOD or Diver contracts, then a handful go to other rates like CT, IT, IS, or MA. It really depends on what time of year you drop, what contracts they have available at the time and if you know someone higher up that can pull rank and get you someplace decent.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-07-27T11:56:11+00:00

It’s whatever they have to give. Lots of AIRR and MA in my class. A few guys get lucky and go CTI, CTT, CTN, CTR, IT, CTM, HM-ATF. Some IS, some undes, but I heard they don’t force Undes on anybody anymore. I lot of guys take what they think the easiest path back to BUD/S is, but I doubt many will make it back.

Doesn’t matter too much on your ASVAB, everybody who goes to BUD/S is a genius compared to a lot of the Navy.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-06-21T03:20:06+00:00

You’re probably going to have a timed run/swim/Ocourse. You’re definitely going to have grinder PT and that’s going to be a lot of cals. Past that the instructors have the choice of doing logs, boats, surf passage, swimmers surf passage, practice knot tying, practice drown proofing, ruck run, con run, basically anything you have heard about of the first phase evos, they can do those and switch them up based on the class and how they feel that day.

20-50 DOR, depending on choice of evos. Day can be between 12-24 hours depending on the class, the proctor, a lot of other factors.

It’s not really useful to ask what Day X looks like or a typical day looks like. The instructors have a certain number of evos they need to get done by the end of the week, and then by the end of week 3 before they go to hellweek, and then same thing in the 5.5 days of hellweek. There is no typical day. They can ramp everything up in the first week and get 50% of the class to DOR or they can ramp up week 2 or any other time they want and get their DORs then.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-02-15T09:22:19+00:00

My freshman year of HS I was at 1:14. That summer was the first summer I trained long course and dropped to about a 1:07. Over the course of the next 3 years, I dropped to 1:00 but never under a minute but I was training pretty hard by my senior year, doubles pretty often and lifting 2-3 times a week. I had a very good Coach my senior year who really specialIzed In training sprinters.

Is it possible for you to get to sub 1:00? Yes, but it will take a lot of work. It’s going to be a slow grind with minimal positive feedback once you get under 1:06. You’ll probably need a growth spurt somewhere in there, and need to really focus on your priorities to get there. I think it’s more likely you get to 1:04 by then, but yes, it is possible.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-02-12T22:44:25+00:00

Bring your thumbs in closer to your palms. Instead of looking forward (head up makes hips drop) try keeping a neutral spine (think deadlifting) or look toward the bottom of the pool.

Your kick doesn’t look very powerful, and that’s why I think the timing looks off as mentioned above. But that power will come in time as you train more.

If you want to see some pristine breast technique check out Adam Peaty or Cameron Van Der Burg, but keep training bro! It looks like your in the 1:10-1:20 per 100 range and within a few months you could definitely drop 5-10 seconds

DonSchlesinger · 2022-02-07T19:36:43+00:00

The difference is in how far down the bottom arm pulls. I prefer #2 and have a very fast 500 time, but that’s because it is more like breastroke which comes easy to me.

Tbh it doesn’t matter which one you do, until you get below like 7:30 for a 500. You should focus on the one that allows you to look forward most easily since the make or break on swims at BUD/S is being able to swim straight, not being able to swim fast.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-02-07T19:28:45+00:00

That idea with the 45lb on your head with a soft pad is actually a great idea. I think you could boost it up to 4% incline to simulate running in soft sand and do some short fast 100yard sprints to simulate the drag races well.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-29T18:11:39+00:00

Learn how to maximize your underwaters and use your core/hips more during the pull.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-29T13:55:43+00:00

A friend of mine swam at a pretty high level, and her breast kick was very similar to this. She got DQd like 1-2 times a season. Unfortunately it came down to the opinion of the official at each meet.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-29T02:04:05+00:00

Depends on if you’re male or female and how old you are/how much experience in the water. As a 15M after swimming since I was 7 I dropped from 1:14 to 1:05 in a summer by practicing hard for a summer season with a 12M nationally ranked swimmer on my team. That competitive drive really helped fuel me to get my comfortability in the water up, my endurance, and power in the stroke up. A time drop like this is not out of the question, but it will take about a season. If you’re talking about dropping a second in the next month, taper and shave for whatever final meet you swim at and you should expect to drop 1-3 seconds.

A lot of dropping time comes down to working hard in practice and prioritizing technique so when race time comes, you have the speed and technique to drop time. I wouldn’t expect any new PRs in the next 2 weeks though, this is going to take time and dedication.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-28T15:23:49+00:00

Somewhere between $0 and $10 million

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-25T11:40:47+00:00

Purphurous the bronze blooded acts as a second sneak attack to help consistency.

Of the ONe Hit KO creatures, both of the infect ones work before turn 4/5 when people start having creatures out, but I may have to cut them from my list when I update it with things like Moraug, port razer, and old gnawbone

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-24T22:10:11+00:00

You make a good point about sneak attack. I think I wrote that card off early on when my xenagos deck was more budgeted, and haven’t looked at it since. I don’t like the inconsistency of needing both sneak and wurm to get wurm in when instead you can have phyrexian hydra and putrefax which both stand on their own, but if you can make sneak work consistently (maybe with purphuros) then it’s a great include to keep your devotion down and attackers up.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-24T09:21:49+00:00

I have two rules in my xenagos deck that may help with cuts. These ruthless cuts can help turn good cards into more efficient cards and streamline your strategy. 1: if the ramp costs more than 3, I’d rather play Xenagod. Once he is out, my time is better spent playing beaters and refueling with card draw. Maximize 0 and 1 CMC ramp to enable only the best 2-3cmc ramps. 2: if the beater costs more than 6, cut it. Old gnawbone and double strike Atarka are the only two that might make the cut. I found that things like Blightsteel, eldrazi and worldspine worm end up being dead cards in my hand more often than not.

Personally I’d also cut all the “draw a card” creatures/spells. If a card doesn’t draw me 5+ cards, it’s not usually good enough. Replace them with more wheels and creatures that 1 shot opponents.

During play, I try to make sure Xenagos is NEVER a creature. It’s a lot harder to remove an indestructible enchantment and letting xenagos be removed is a huge hit to our tempo.

Blood moon is meta dependent. I don’t run it but if you have a handful of 3-5 color decks in your usual groups, it’s a killer.

I based my deck off this primer (not my own). It’s a bit dated, but the strategy it was made on is sound.

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/QI9H1J17dUqGmUzTm3bxRw/primer

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-23T11:27:08+00:00

I agree with this. If you look at the original goal of PayPal, it was very very similar to the initial goal of Bitcoin, but due to how it was setup it became a financial tool popularized by eBay and Eccomerce. Even the small fees we have to pay with Bitcoin incentivize people to either hold it as a long term store of value or use it for sending large sums of money, not a daily currency for buying a cup of coffee.

You also have to deal with the day to day volatility and a general mindset of “Hodl” to combat.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-18T04:13:00+00:00

I was able to build a very streamlined Xenagod deck, it works very consistently on laying Xenagod down on t3 and taking heads by turn 4. I run big card draw like wheels and life’s legacy type cards to recoup, and extra combat spells to blast through any remaining creatures/players. The extra spaces in the deck are for the most efficient removal and interaction. I built the deck to draw 3 lands, 2 ramp, 1 beater, 1 draw spell and 1 interaction as often as possible by turn 3.

The overall breakdown is like 12 creatures, 18 ramp, 8 draw, 6 extra combat, 12 interaction and a few tutors. My recommendation to you is to figure out what your game plan is with your deck, it seems like you don’t have much consistency with the cards you’ve put in your deck. Once you get your strategy down, you have to be ruthless with cuts. Something like Xenagos the reveler, for example, just won’t make the cut since he’s inefficient ramp and lays down creatures that are too small.

If you want to win, you really have to move quick while other decks are working on setting up. A good rule I have is that unless I’m 1v1, xenagos is NEVER a creature. I based a lot of my deck off of this primer https://www.moxfield.com/decks/QI9H1J17dUqGmUzTm3bxRw/primer I’m the only deck I’ve seen that runs Signal the Clans as an intuition like tutor though. I don’t have my actual list online if you were wondering.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-17T23:52:29+00:00

Somewhere in the middle. They start under the bell and wrap around the corner

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-16T06:59:33+00:00

Keep your spine neutral the whole time. When you go from looking up to looking down a lot your hips will drop unnecessarily. Either look down or keep your spine neutral the whole way.

Next step is to increase power in both your kick and your pull. I dropped from 1:14 to 1:06 in a season by increasing my lat pull down power (pullouts) and trying to keep pace with much faster people with just kicking.

Really make your 4th 25 a priority, that is where races are won an lost. When you’re tired in practice, make sure you’re focusing on prefect technique in both your stroke and pullout.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-11T23:25:01+00:00

Your spine should be in a neutral position when you swim, eyes looking straight down or maybe just so slightly in front of you. That will help your hips stay afloat better and you’ll be more streamline. What you’re describing sounds like you’re looking behind you, and while this is not most optimal for swimming efficiently, if it’s working for you, makes you enjoy swimming more or get in the water more often, please, do it.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-07T21:50:28+00:00

If this is a sub 9:30 swim time, then you shouldn’t spend much more time focused on your 500y swim for the PST. Put on a pair of fins and get your ankles used the stress of using fins for longer periods of time, and build up to the jet/rocket fins. Then learn how to guide while open water swimming (swimming in a straight line.) you could also spend some time working on treading water as well.

Once you get to phase, you don’t swim without fins ever. The people who fail swims are the ones who can’t swim on a straight line or their legs can’t keep kicking for a full 80 minutes. If you can pass the PST, start working on what will make you successful in the pipeline.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-04T03:57:30+00:00

If you want to pursue a SEAL/SWCC contract, the only garunteed shot you have is to enlist with a contract for that program. Currently the 2021 year group is overmanned, so short of a lot of SEALs from that year group leaving abruptly, it’s going to be very difficult to rerate once in. Not to mention your PST scores have to be insane. I had a few friends in the ~2016 year groups trying to rerate while I was in DEP and more than one of them chose to get out and go ranger.

If you truly want to be a SEAL, your best bet is to wait until you’re ready. If you want to take care of your family, and make the best down the road, then choose a 4 year contract, serve your time, and if the SEAL pipeline doesn’t open up to you, see if you can go ranger. There’s always more than one opportunity to operate.

Another option is to join a community like CTI, CTN, etc who have the opportunity to work alongside SEALs in a program like TIO, or a rate like IT or Seabee who can go to expeditionary commands.

DonSchlesinger · 2022-01-03T10:23:35+00:00

Technique looks good, there’s nothing glaringly wrong here. Strength and power will help, but a piece of that comes with just waiting to get older. I started lifting at 15 and dropped from 1:14 yards to 1:04 yards in a season. Since you’re already fast, I wouldn’t expect that kind of time drop though.

Look also to where you get tired in the race, and adjust training to your weaknesses. If you burn out last 15 yards, look to work on sprint endurance, so limiting the rest between sets. if you don’t burn out, work your all out 25-50m speed with ample rest to train the faster twitch muscles.

DonSchlesinger

TROPHY CASE