Notice for PCA

I got 5 weeks notice for my PCA and the familiarisation session was 2 weeks before the date of the PCA.

Its monday - friday. You'll be given a timeslot of usually around early morning or early afternoon. You can only reschdule in extreme circumstances, so drop everything to get to it. I pulled a sickie in work to go! Def get training as much as you can, its the hardest 3.5 minutes of your life and afterwards you want to die lol

I know. When i stood at the start line i thought it would be a breeze. But by half way through lap 2 i was regretting those thoughts. Its only a very basic test. The test gets harder if you want to move on to different units! Just sprint wherever you can and push yourself past your limit. My last lap my vision was blurred, i felt faint and thought i was going to be sick (it was 1.30pm and i hadnt eaten all day, not recommended!). I knew this was my only chance so just ran and ran and i made it. Somehow!

Yeah i honestly wouldnt worry too much about the push/pull. You get to try it before you do your test and plenty of the ladies have aced it so far. If your cardio is good then you shouldnt struggle with the circuit, its worth noting that if you knock over any of the cones/bars, or fall off the balance beam, then you have to start that section again. So make sure you go carefully. Practice circuits as much as you can, i wish i did. I literally went to the gym 3-4 nights a week for a month, i ran 1.5 miles and then did some basic weight training and it was enough for me to pass

Yeah, thats pretty solid advice. If you have a decent level of fitness already then you shouldnt have any problems. Just keep calm and you'll be okay!

its a very long process. I had 6 months between my PCA and getting my phone call. Just practice practice practice and you'll all do fine!

To be honest, I had completely given up. I didnt think i was in with a shout because of how long things were taking, and HR wouldnt give me any information on my application other than "you are on the merit list". In terms of fitness post PCA and medical i slowly stopped putting as much effort into it. Now, in hindsight, i would 100% tell people not to quit until you are told its a no go. I have a very short time to get my fitness back to a good standard before training starts.

In terms of the PCA, i think i stated above somewhere that for the 5 weeks leading up to it i went to the gym 4 nights a week, about an hour each time. I only worked on the basics, being cardio (both 1.5 mile runs and sprint bursts) and then some upper body strength with the free weights. I was quite impressed with how much of a difference it made in just 4-5 weeks, and it will make a difference.

I watched the PCA on youtube and i was one of the ones who thought "that will be a breeze!". Dont get sucked into that. Break each step of it down, and practice it wherever you can. Go steady on the obstacles, sprint between them where you can and as fast as you can. That was my method, and it did me well. Everyone will be different, and if you can then attend the familiarisation session (i couldnt and i was gutted). On the day you get around 5 minutes to test the course before you actually do it. This is where you can try the push/pull machine too. I didnt get around to trying this and nearly failed it, so get yourself a go on it to see how it works!

This turned into a bit of an essay, but hopefully it'll help some people out

Well, im no expert but feel free to ask away if there's anything in particular you want to know!

That a fair amount of time to get training!

KevBo2015 wrote: »

6 weeks for the fam visit or 6 weeks until the PCA??

Six weeks, or thereabouts, for the PCA.

Not at the house myself to check it fully, guys. Just got the info relayed on, but I'd imagine the familiarisation will be in a few weeks.

MissWillow12 wrote: »

Got mine there.

Mega like for this!!!!!!!

6 weeks will fly by!

I think the success rate will be higher this time, as people are more aware of what to expect.

I agree.

That's why I have been reluctant on various occasions to post anything I've heard.

If people are interested in the forum and the next stages of the recruitment process (especially to all those who have applied) - they should come on and chat.

At present there's only about 30 people in all these threads who have stated where they stand in this process - compared to the 900 we know are on the merit list.

Apologies that this isn't in line with the topic of the thread, but I am sometimes put off that people are happy to come here for information without contributing anything.

Campaign 1 was much livelier.

Icarus9 wrote: »

Kev I don't think those figures are quite right, it says there has been 677 replies which would indicate those figures are the total replies and views since this particular thread was started and not related to your particular post? Or possibly relates to your posts and views as there has t been 677 replies to this thread. I'm really not sure but surely there can't have been 47000 views since yesterday!?

It is sitting at 48,506 as I type this. That will be views since the thread was started. It will be interesting to see how many views it has tomorrow or the next day.