PARE and POPAT training obstacles: the problems you have and the tips and solutions to overcome them.

The PARE and POPAT test are physically demanding tests. Many applicants will prepare by performing easy to moderate runs or lifting weights for high reps. But, they will also forget to practice the skills necessary to run the test efficiently. As such, after their test, they realize the training they have been doing wasn’t sufficient enough.

They were running, but they weren’t running with enough intensity. They were lifting, but they were focusing on small muscles instead of compound lifts. They also realize that there’s a technical aspect to the test. It’s not just a matter of running around cones, jumping obstacles, and scrumming with a machine.

Below I’ve outlined 5 common problematic areas that applicants experience in the PARE and POPAT tests. I talk about the problem, provide a solution, and give tips and tricks when it comes to the technical points of the tests.

Push/Pull

Problem: Lack of strength and technique

Solution: Strength training, technique work

Exercises to Work On: push-ups, pull-ups, inverted rows, seated rows, standing rows, bench press, pulldowns

Technique Work:

Push lean in from the legs and use them,  don’t rely on the arms and chest to push continually push, never relax take as few steps as possible, you’ll cover more ground if you shuffle, always keep one foot on the ground practice with a partner to simulate the push (watch the video below for a quick simulation)

Pull don’t lean back, sit back and stay low pull with the back muscles as well as with the arms, and keep the elbows bent take as few steps as possible, you’ll cover more ground if you shuffle, always keep one foot on the ground

Vault Jump

Problem: Lack of confidence, lack of leg strength and power, gassing out (especially for POPAT)

Solution: Build up confidence, practice at varying heights, increase leg strength and power

Exercises to Work On to Work On: squats, deadlift, lunges, jump squats, tuck jumps, hurdle jumps

Technique Work:

Here a couple posts you can refer to when it comes to jumping the vault:

For help with the PARE vault, check out my article on Jumping the PARE Vault 
 

For help with the POPAT vault, watch the video below POPAT Vault Jump Instructions

One tip for those who have difficulty jumping 3 ft: practice on a lower height first and slowly jump higher heights until you’re at 3 ft. If you have access to aerobic steps and risers, you can use those to simulate the vault, while at the same time practicing at various heights. The back of couches is another good option. If you make a mistake, at least you have cushions on the other side to break your fall.

Mat Jump

Problem: Gassing out, lack of leg strength and power

Solution: increase leg strength and power, improve run up to the mat

Exercises to Work On to Work On: squats, deadlifts, lunges, split squats, step ups, broad jumps

Technique Work:

• sprint to the mat
• don’t look at the front or back of the mat, look beyond it
• reach with your front leg, don’t let it drop early
• jump across, not up and over

Below are a couple videos, one demoing an inefficient way of jumping, which I just call up and over. The second video demos the quicker and and more efficient of jumping, which is to jump straight across and minimize any vertical jump.

Controlled Falls

Problem: too slow falling down and getting up

Solution: burpees and sit ups

Exercises to Work On: burpees, push-ups, sit-ups, reverse crunches, planks

Technique Work:

Front Fall drop quick; place your hands on the ground and kick out both feet behind you at the same time drop quickly to the ground; as soon as your chest and hips touch, push yourself away from the ground right away. It’s touch and go movement, and you should feel like you’re bouncing off the floor as you’re pushing up, tuck both knees to your chest and stand

Back Fall drop quick to your back, don’t take your time and set yourself up, get to it quickly once you’re flat on your back, use your arms to swing up just as you’re performing a sit-up; that momentum will help you up quicker as you’re coming up, place your hands at your sides and use your arms to help you stand up

If you want a video tutorial for controlled falls, check out the two videos below on the front fall and back fall.

 And if you want a “fun” drill to add to your training repertoire, you’ll love the Controlled Falls drill.

Gassing out

Problem: Not enough intensity to the conditioning training, only doing moderate intensity runs

Solution: high intensity interval training

Exercises to Work On: 400’s, 200’s, sprint intervals, stairs/hills

400’s Run 4-6 400’s, aiming between 1:30-2:00 each 400. Rest 2:00 between sets The goal is to run the same times each 400, so if you ran 1:45 for your first 400, you should be running within +/- 3 seconds  each 400. Word of caution, don’t run your first 400 too fast, you’ll end up running slower on each 400.	200’s Run 5-8, aiming between 40-1:00, rest 1:30-2:00 between sets The goal is to run the same times each 200, so if you ran 0:50 for your first 200, you should be running within +/- 2 seconds  each 200. Word of caution, don’t run your first 200 too fast, you’ll end up running slower on each 200.
SPRINT INTERVALS If sprinting for time, perform 10-30s sprints, rest 1:00-2:00 between sets If sprinting for distance (ie 100m), record your time and keep it consistent. Rest 1:00-2:00 Perform 5-10 sprints, depending on fitness level	STAIRS/HILLS Find a steep hill that  you can run up anywhere from 10-30s Perform 5-10 hill sprints, depending on fitness level. Recovery walk down the hill, plus another 15-30s of rest at the bottom before you go again If on stairs, running up one storey and back down counts as one climb. Perform sets of 3-5 climbs and rest 0:30-1:00 between climbs

The above is just a snippet of interval training you can do, there are many others that can be performed. Just make sure you are performing it at a high intensity that is consistent. A word of caution: don't perform high intensity intervals more than 2x/wk, 3 max. As tempting as it is, you won't be doing your body any favours. There is still a place of low and moderate intensity training, which is a topic for another day.

Technique Work for running (yes, running involves technique):

• Run tall and relaxed
• Keep shoulders, arms, and hands relaxed, avoid tension
• Land softly on your feet like a cat, instead of heavy like an elephant
• Try landing with your feet under your body, instead of reaching out
• Keep your running cadence (the number of footsteps you take) around 90 BPM per foot. That usually means you’re not overstriding and your feet are landing under your body.

You have the solutions, now it’s a matter of incorporating them into your training. If you’re having a hard time putting together an effective program and need coaching help to prep for your PARE or POPAT, email me at redline.conditioning@gmail.com.

You can also check me out on Facebook at Marc Locquiao – Redline Conditioning. And if you want regular updates on motivation and training, sign up below for my free newsletter.

There's Always Something You Can Do

I’m a Filipino dude, and needless to say, I’m a shorty. Last time I checked, I was a shade under 5’6”. But I’ve always liked to jump, and surprisingly for a short guy I can jump pretty high. But not high enough to touch a basketball rim. For years I would always be an inch or two from touching it, but never closer. I stopped trying to touch the rim after I got into triathlons. And since getting vertical isn’t a priority for a triathlete, I stopped jumping. Although I could still jump high despite all the mileage I logged biking and running.

In the last few years I haven’t been racing and training much in triathlons, and I wanted get back to things I stopped doing during my pursuit of triathlons. So last year, I was tried a program to improve my vertical jump. What spurred on the interest was a previous program I was trying to help increase my strength. At the end of the program I decided to jump for the hoop for shits and giggles, and to my surprise, I touched it for the first time in my life. I thought “well shit, if a strength training program got me to this point, imagine what a specific jump training program will do for me.”

I got all gung ho about it. I was picturing myself flying through the air like Spud Webb and throwing down the ball. I wanted to bounce around like a kangaroo and leap tall buildings like Superman. Unfortunately, my dreams of soaring the skies died pretty quick.

It was week 2 of the program and I was performing deadlifts at the start of my session. It was at a manageable weight, about 205 lbs. I’ve pulled that weight many times before so I figured it would be a piece of cake.

Nope. Not sure what I did, I must’ve pulled funny because I felt a little twinge in my low back. But stupid me, instead of stopping right there, I decided to finish off the set and do 5 more reps. The next day I couldn’t bend over, even for the simplest things. That put a damper on my training. Deadlifts were definitely out of the question and squats couldn’t be done either, even front squats. The slightest bend forward with load would bring about pain in the lower back.

What was I to do? I love deadlifting and squatting, and not being able to perform them was kind of depressing. Most people in this situation would end up quitting. But I knew there was a way around it, so I experimented. Any kind of bend at the hips was out of the question, especially when under load. So I had to keep my torso upright the entire time. What exercise would allow me to do that?

Split Squats!

This exercise was a godsend for me. It allowed me to work my legs hard without putting any undue stress on my lower back. And I could do variations on it. Check out some of the variation below:

Dumbbell Split Squats

Bulgarian Split Squats

Barbell Split Squats (back)

Barbell Split Squats (clean grip)

The only variation I didn’t perform was with the bar on my back, as I still had a slight bend forward. Otherwise, I was able to work around my injured back. It took about 6 weeks until I was able to perform regular deadlifts again.

Anyway, the point of this article is that no matter what injury you have, there are ways to work around it. Injuries can happen to the best of us. Whether you strain your back like I did, pulled your hammy while running, sprained your ankle, or suffered a fracture, there’s always something you can do.

Obviously there are things to avoid, but it doesn’t mean you can’t train. Broke a finger? Work the other arm. Sprained your ankle? Focus on upper body training instead.

Yeah, it sucks that you can’t do what you want to do, but you can’t mope about it. Moping isn’t going to help you heal any faster. Besides, by focusing on something else, it will help expand your training vocabulary if you will. You’ll be trying things you’ve never tried before and just might enjoy it.

Oh, and if you’re wondering if I ever grabbed the rim, well I had to put that on hold. When my back felt better and I was ready to kill it in the gym again, my wife gave birth to our baby boy. And since then I could care less if I grabbed the rim or not. My boy, my family has got my attention. One day I’ll get back it, just not now.

Overcoming My Fear

What’s your greatest fear? Heights? Spiders? Water? Public Speaking?  They say that some people would rather die than to speak in front of an audience.

My biggest fear growing up was water. I know what you’re probably thinking, “this guy was scared of the water? The guy who races triathlons? No way!”

But it’s true. I never learned to swim as a little kid, so that contributed to my fears. I also watched Jaws one too many times, and anything where scary creatures came out of the water.

It was a fear that stayed with me until I was 9. At that time, I was on a sailing trip to Mexico with my family. Oddly enough I wasn’t afraid of sailing, what being surrounded by miles of ocean all around me.

We were docked in Puerto Vallarta, and my sister and I had met a few other kids during our trip. There was this one hotel by the marina that had a swimming pool, and we’d all go there to hang out and play and just do kids stuff.

At the pool there was a deep dive tank, and there was a shallow area for wading around. My sister and all our friends would all be in the dive tank, jumping off the diving board and swimming to the bottom of the tank. I was jealous.

I was jealous because I was stuck in the shallow end with get this....a lifejacket. That’s right. Even though I was tall enough to touch the bottom, I still had a lifejacket on because I scared. I was scared of drowning in a shallow pool.

I wanted to be in that dive tank with my friends too. I can see them having so much fun, and I was missing out on it because I was scared. That’s when my jealousy started turning to anger. I was slowly getting pissed. I got so pissed off, and so angry, that I ripped of my lifejacket, charged up to the dive tank, and dove right in.

It was sink or swim for me, and I swam.

I conquered my fear, and I challenged myself to take on a fear that had scared me for too long.

Now look at me. I was able to get into triathlons later in life. And my love for triathlons has taken me around the world. I’ve been to Switzerland and Australia for races. I got to explore parts of Canada I never would have gone to if it weren’t for triathlons. All because I overcame my fear of the water.

What’s your greatest fear? Why does it scare you? Whatever it is, don’t let that fear get in the way of living your life.

POPAT Vault Jump Instructions

The vault jump for the POPAT can be daunting for applicants. You’re jumping over a 3 foot barrier, with only your hands allowed to touch, and you’re doing it at the end of the test when you’re completely gassed. On top of that, you have to drop onto your front or back when you land on the other side, further fatiguing you when you feel like crap and your lungs and legs are burning.

I put together a quick tutorial when it comes to jumping the vault. I cover a few tips that you can take away and practice on your own.  I’ve also included a video to show how fast it can be. If you need a little more guidance, feel free to shoot me an email.