h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hi,
i'm currently in training for selection for 23 sas,can anybody offer any advice/hints & tips etc, regarding the selection course?
i've been training 6 days a week,running,cycling,swimming,walking (with a bergen on and in the hills) press-ups,sit-ups,weight training.
but i want to be sure i'm fit enough before i contact them,although i've been told that there maybe a selection starting in january and i would ideally like to be ready for then.i know they only run two courses per year,and if i don't feel ready in jan.then i will apply for the next one,as i'm 100% determined to pass selection and do not intend to apply until i feel 100% ready for it.i WANT this,i have read everything i could get my hands on regarding the TA sas and i believe it would suit me,but i am under no illusions about how hard the course will be,but i have also read that you have to really WANT it,and you have to be determined. well i do,and i am.
but please if anybody has any advice they could offer i would appreciate it very much,particularly from anybody who is or has been a member of either 22,21 or 23 sas.
thanks,
sam.

Dont give in. Believe in yourself. Train for High walk.Test week isnt too bad. Its all in the mind. Don't over train. eat well. Train whats best for you. Give every training day your best shot.
Ps I passed.

Hi, You sound just like me when I started training. Here are some good tips that I Wish someone could have given me before.
* Try and get the routes for the tabs. Selection for 23 has changed just recently and the course is a year long now with obviously only 1 course a year, to that end the first phase is done in groups over some hills in the area on which sqn you are joining. This is where you will learn all you have to learn about practical map reading and be able to pick up on your hill fitness.
* There is a phase before the above phase inwhich you will cover all basic military skills, (a bit boring if you are ex-reg) however it will act as a polish up.
* Phase 3 is where the fun begins, this is where the selection starts proper and has 9 weekends set usually every other weekend with some being 3 days. weeks 1-4 are in groups and pairs. Weeks 5 onwards are solo, this is where your map reading has to be shit hot. Try to get your map reading squared away in the earlier phases.
* Week 9 is the final weekend and is down in the Brecon Beacons. If you are successful you will stay down there for test week.
*get yourself a good pair of well fitting boots and wear them in well before you start the hill phases. Get the best boots you can. I used Meindl Island Pro. They have to be black and military style. P.s they don't like danner's down there !
* don't train with more than 401lb in your bergan.
* Try to go tabbin in the places where you will be training on selection and get to know the areas, this will lead to less time navigating on selection.
* The best training for the hills is training on the hills !! get yourself out the gym and on the hills in your local area and down to brecon when you can.
* Map sheets 160 and 161 will help you for your routes. 1:50,000
* Get a set of Sorbothane insoles, around £18.00
* Try different types of energy food whilst your training in the hills and see what works for you. I use chocolate, kendle mint cake, and salted peanuts all mixed up in a pouch and also a block of jelly and just swallow a chunk every now and then, that way it has a sustained release of energy.
* Don't stand out on selection, act the 'Grey Man'.
* If you do train in the gym train with light weights and increase reps.
* Swimming is good. You have a swim test at the beggining of phase 1. Usually 20 times round a pool and one width under water folowed by 2-5 mins treading water. There is no time limit on the 20 times round.
* buy 'The Soldiers Handbook' about £6.50 from Soldiers of fortune.
* monitor your heart rate in a log book and watch it come down as you become fitter, this will encourage you to train harder.
* Do not over train - Know your limits ! Let your body totally recover after a good tab.
* Recce Elan Valley and get to know the North and South routes as these are infamous on selection and see the end of some potentially good SAS soldiers.
* Get into the habbit of getting to places 5 minutes before you need to. As this is a biggy on selection.
* For 23 SAS you need to be covering a speed of 3kph over the hills. This doesn't sound much but it is as the crow flies regardless of the way you choose to go. Try to acheive 4kph early on as it has been known that lads doing 3kph at the beggining do not pass test week at the end.
* Work out your time and distance yourself when training and log your times and try to bring it down or increase your weight in your bergan or increase the distance.
* There is no fitness like hill fitness. Test it yourself. Try a 3 mile run on a treadmill and record your time, then a day or so later go tabbing in the hills then after a day's rest try the treadmill again and watch in amazement how you bust your time !! It's all down to muscle endurance and cardio fitness.
* If you need any military kit then a shop in Brecon is your answer. Jay Jays sells everything you could think of.
* Make sure you are settled civi wise as this can bring you off the course at some point as it does with many a candidate. I.e Work, Girlfriend, etc, etc.
I hope this has been of some help to you. I could go on forever but a lot of it you will find out yourself, and if it wasn't hard you probably wouldn't want to do it !!
P.s Enjoy it !! It is the hardest thing you will ever do in your life. That is why you will never forget it. Trust me, It's worth it.

Hi,
you say selection has changed for 23 (year long) is that the same for 21, in my neck of the woods,(bramley, basingstoke 21 reg)
great article by the way, im in my last month of training before im hopefully ready to apply for selection, anymore info you could give me would be great,
one thing you did say that ive heard different, is reference footwear, i would love to take the boots that ive been using, and which are worn in, but apparentley you have to wear the issued shite!

1. were can i get hold of map sheets 160/161
2. what were you times for 5 miles, 8 miles and 1 mile!
im on roughly 7.5 minute miles, is that good enough yet!
im a gym instructor so i have equipment coming out of my arse and at my disposal, any comments on this or just keep on hills!

this might sound like a daft question, im using a army issue day sack as my bergan, do they use different on selection.

this is what info ive gathered so far! -
Day one (after intial enquiry) recruit enlistment procedure day, minimum standard they are looking for is 5 miles in forty minutes., circuit training and sprint work, bit of a beasting then a interview!

induction weekend - 8 miles in sixty minutes, medical

recruit weekend one - CFT in 1hr 30-40 mins, bergan and boots with 40lbs.

with reference to the swimming test, ive heard its 1 km, when you did yours was it a 25 or 50 mtr pool, sounds daft but im training in a 50 mtr, doing circuits round which is obviousley alot longer than a 25mtr pool! blowing out!!

no doubt i will think up other usless crap to ask you at a later date, but one final question, is it worth it -really worth it! if you are in, is it like you imagined,
and what do you do after selection/continuation/jumps course, when thats finished!
thanks

regards

L
i know you cant tell me everything but like you said "i wish someone...."
its hard not knowing whether your doing enough or too much!
cheers

Has anyone got any realistic benchmark ‘real world’ fitness levels that one should achieve for ta selection? Number of pressups etc. I’m running about 6.6 min miles at a distance of 20 miles. But is that good enough?

L, did you sign up already, or are you on the ’05 course?

Interested in attempting Selection for TA SAS?
Get live advice and direction online from a serving member of the current training team-
If you are serious come and introduce yourself -
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/talk/thread.phtml/post897331/#897331

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http://pub10.bravenet.com/forum/848637794

Now at-
http://groups.msn.com/SASRSelection/welcome.msnw

WHATS THE MAXIMUM AGE FOR ENTRY AND TO BE CONSIDERED FOR SELECTION ? NOW THATS A TOUGH QUESTION EH ???

Hi can anyoneone tell me how long id have to wait till i can apply for 21 sas ta?Iv just joinned a ta unit.Thanks