Last Minute Training For The PARE

                Procrastination, it’s the enemy of everyone getting ready for a test. From the elementary school days, to college, to everyday life, everyone procrastinates. It’s easier to do when it’s a written test; you can cram the night before and do alright. But when it comes to a physical test, you can’t leave your training to the last minute.

                The brain can retain information relatively quickly; the body takes time to adapt. Giving yourself only two weeks to get ready for the PARE is cutting it close. I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but if you’ve been lacking in consistent training, the chances of you failing are quite high.

                Now, it is possible to pass the PARE with only two weeks of training, but it’s very difficult, and you’re certainly not going to have as competitive time as you would like. A couple years ago I had an extreme case with a client who failed her first test, running the PARE in 7:00, including 0:30 in penalties. She hired me as her trainer, but to be honest I did not think she would pass her test in only two weeks. That didn’t stop me from training her to her limits. Even if she failed again, I at least wanted to improve her time. I trained her 8 times over the two weeks, and I trained her hard. It helped that she was determined and put in the effort. When test day came, she surprised the hell out of me; not only did she improve her time, she passed the test in 4:36, with no penalties. That’s nearly a two and a half minute improvement.

                So what did I do with her? Her cardio conditioning was low, so I did a lot of sprinting and suicide drills, with short rest times. I worked on her mat jumping ability because she touched it on all 6 laps during her first test. Her strength levels were lacking, so I worked on her overall strength using bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and squats. I worked on specific obstacles and got her to be as efficient as possible, starting in a fresh state, then in a fatigue state to simulate the fatigue that will occur on the course.

                I don’t want to say this is the kind of training you should be doing in the last two weeks, since this was a unique situation. Everyone is going to be lacking something different. If I had only one advice to give for last minute training, though, I would say focus on sprint intervals; even better if you can do the intervals on a hill or stairs. The intensity of the intervals (and they should be performed at a high effort level) will kick start the cardio into high gear. I will warn you, when done correctly it will hurt. If it’s not hurting, you’re working not hard enough.

                 I’d recommend starting at 4-6 repeats of 0:20-0:30, with 0:30-1:00 of recovery. But you can play around with the number of repeats, the time interval, and the recovery.  When in doubt, start at the lower range and build up from there. Make sure to warm-up thoroughly, 5-10 min worth of warm-up time. You can perform the intervals 3x/wk over the 2 week period, taking at least one day of rest in between each session.

                I’m not going to guarantee a pass with the above training plan, but it’s a push in the right direction. If anything, it should give you a kick in the ass for not starting your training earlier. For all those desperately looking for some last minute training, feel free to contact me at redline.conditioning@gmail.com.