Garda Recruitment Stage 4 (2019 Campaign)

deenam

Aaron123 wrote: »

Good luck everyone doing the pct today ðŸ‘

Thank you! You too.. bricking it!

Aaron123

Me too hahaha

SquireD

My advice to anyone doing the PCT is just relax and try get yourself into the zone. As mentioned previously, a lot of people will fail this before the very first beep because their convinced they cant do it. You absolutely can!

I did mine in the middle of a recovery from Pneumonia and pulling a muscle in my lower back. Realistically i shouldn't have done it but said f*ck it, I'l give it my all and see how I do and to this day I'm still convinced their was some divine intervention that got me through! :P

STAGE 1:
Part 1. For the beep test, just put your head down and concentrate on taking a steady pace, gradually increasing to make sure you reach the line in time. Don't start looking along the line at others to see how their doing, just concentrate on your own form.
10 mins roughly is all it takes, this is easily the hardest 10 mins of the whole PCT in my opinion so pass this and your on the ball!

Part 2. My advice after it is to try take as long a breather as you can before doing the sit-ups and then the push-ups. Hulk up again and then get these out of the way.
That's Stage 1 complete with roughly over an hour before Stage 2. Use this to recover, get a small bite to eat and drink and prepare yourself for the obstacle course and then the push/pull test.

STAGE 2
Part 1. For the obstacle course, take a steady pace and try get it done under the 3 minute mark as this makes the push/pull test a bit easier. The guard guiding you around is very fair, to the point and will keep you informed of your time so don't panic if your thinking you wont know where your at time-wise.
Use the 1st lap to get a feel for it and then the 2nd and 3rd go will be a breeze for you.

Part 2. Straight after the obstacle course you'll be brought straight into the room beside it to do the push/pull. My advice here is put the hand on the knees for 10 or so seconds before you go in to get a breath. You'd be surprised how valuable this is after you've been running/'chasing' around the obstacle course.
While there, they'll ask you to test the machine to make sure its high/low enough for you. Take this time again to take a breath, grab the machine and examine it, again taking your time and then when you feel up to it, give it everything for the 20-30 seconds. It'll be over before you know it.

If you need motivation, just remember why your there and how badly you really want this. You don't want to have to repeat and fall further down the list.

A final bit of advice to remember is to KEEP WARM. You could be in one of the last groups to start and you'll be waiting in a cold hall which i would imagine is even colder at present so keep your body, and in particular your legs, warm and use the couple of minutes at the very beginning to do a brisk warm-up and stretch. You won't perform if your body is cold!

Best of luck to all!

GavK

Does anybody know how much notice you have to give if you want to defer your PCT ? I am due to do mine next Tuesday the 18th at 4pm but pulled my hamstring playing hurling last weekend so not sure if i'll be able to do it.

deenam

SquireD wrote: »

My advice to anyone doing the PCT is just relax and try get yourself into the zone. As mentioned previously, a lot of people will fail this before the very first beep because their convinced they cant do it. You absolutely can!

I did mine in the middle of a recovery from Pneumonia and pulling a muscle in my lower back. Realistically i shouldn't have done it but said f*ck it, I'l give it my all and see how I do and to this day I'm still convinced their was some divine intervention that got me through! :P

STAGE 1:
Part 1. For the beep test, just put your head down and concentrate on taking a steady pace, gradually increasing to make sure you reach the line in time. Don't start looking along the line at others to see how their doing, just concentrate on your own form.
10 mins roughly is all it takes, this is easily the hardest 10 mins of the whole PCT in my opinion so pass this and your on the ball!

Part 2. My advice after it is to try take as long a breather as you can before doing the sit-ups and then the push-ups. Hulk up again and then get these out of the way.
That's Stage 1 complete with roughly over an hour before Stage 2. Use this to recover, get a small bite to eat and drink and prepare yourself for the obstacle course and then the push/pull test.

STAGE 2
Part 1. For the obstacle course, take a steady pace and try get it done under the 3 minute mark as this makes the push/pull test a bit easier. The guard guiding you around is very fair, to the point and will keep you informed of your time so don't panic if your thinking you wont know where your at time-wise.
Use the 1st lap to get a feel for it and then the 2nd and 3rd go will be a breeze for you.

Part 2. Straight after the obstacle course you'll be brought straight into the room beside it to do the push/pull. My advice here is put the hand on the knees for 10 or so seconds before you go in to get a breath. You'd be surprised how valuable this is after you've been running/'chasing' around the obstacle course.
While there, they'll ask you to test the machine to make sure its high/low enough for you. Take this time again to take a breath, grab the machine and examine it, again taking your time and then when you feel up to it, give it everything for the 20-30 seconds. It'll be over before you know it.

If you need motivation, just remember why your there and how badly you really want this. You don't want to have to repeat and fall further down the list.

A final bit of advice to remember is to KEEP WARM. You could be in one of the last groups to start and you'll be waiting in a cold hall which i would imagine is even colder at present so keep your body, and in particular your legs, warm and use the couple of minutes at the very beginning to do a brisk warm-up and stretch. You won't perform if your body is cold!

Best of luck to all!

Thanks so much for the advice!! 😊

daniel1390

Usually only a week or 2, and they won't let you defer without a doctors note.

ba88

Best of luck with the PCT today troops.

It's mind over matter. Take one stage at a time and leave it all down there!

Goddard

Good luck to everyone doing their PCT today.

I got word last Tuesday I passed stage 3. I expect I should be called for PCT soon.

ConcreteAngel

Does anyone know if there is parking at Garda HQ or where is the best place close by to park?

cluedo123

ConcreteAngel wrote: »

Does anyone know if there is parking at Garda HQ or where is the best place close by to park?

You can park up the avenue to the left of the HQ, or try the zoo car park and walk over.

Triplek

Has anyone else waited weeks for word after form b? 5 weeks waiting to see if I need amendments or not or a gp form and still nothing. So annoying waiting around this long for this part of the process

ba88

Triplek wrote: »

Has anyone else waited weeks for word after form b? 5 weeks waiting to see if I need amendments or not or a gp form and still nothing. So annoying waiting around this long for this part of the process

I submitted the Form B on the 23rd October and received the GP clearance form on the 13th November. I'd get used to waiting to be honest.

The vetting will continue to go on in the background while PCT and medicals are taking place and beyond. Passed medical on the 9th January and am still waiting for the vetting to clear.

Things might pick up in the run up to the next intake - that's the hope at least.

LB1197

Had th PCT today. Failed on the beep test but passed the push ups, sit ups, obstacle course and push pull. My advice would be the beep test is definitely the hardest and probably requires the most training. I'm not sure what the best way to train for it is because obviously I failed it so any advice I'd appreciate. I saw more people fail today than pass. For the sit ups it's not a crunch it's a proper sit up. Your elbows have to touch the inside of your knees or kneecaps and then your shoulders have to hit the floor going down. The push ups your body must come all the way down. If you can get someone to hold their first under your chest that's probably the best way to practice. Also make sure that your hips and bum go down with your chest in one line because otherwise they wont count them. The Garda I had was very strict but I suppose it depends who you get on the day. For the obstacle course it's harder than it looks and the time of 3 minutes and 20 seconds to pass goes by quickly. The best advice I can give is to sprint as much as you can. Walk on the balance beam because it does wobble and you'll incur a time penalty if you fall off. (Happened me on the second lap) for moving the body the Garda I was talking to advised me to grab it by the shoulders to pull it and the the ankles going the other way. I saw people grabbing the head and they seemed to struggle. There are red stickers on the ground to indicate how far you have to move the body and the waist of the dummy must be in line with the red stickers. The gate is higher than it looks on the video. You'll be called straight into the push pull machine. Make sure to do a trial run before you start and make sure you have one leg in front of the other and knees bent. I know this is said a lot but use your whole body. 25kg may not seem like a lot but it is when you're tired so use your legs as much as you can. Hope this helps some of you!

Aaron123

After my obstacle course and push pull today I left to head home was everyone else the same? Just making sure 😅

Edsjd

For those who unfortunately failed, did Ye get in contact with HRM or do they email Ye with the repeat date? Failed the bleep test today

daniel1390

They will email you after a few weeks with a date, be prepared to redo it in 6 weeks from now

Chrisb13

I left aswell double checked with the trainer after push pull think we were all good to leave. Just wait for email about the medical now I think.

daniel1390

Ye all good to leave, HR will be in touch RE medical

Edsjd

daniel1390 wrote: »

They will email you after a few weeks with a date, be prepared to redo it in 6 weeks from now

I'm after booking a hall in my home town to give it socks!! But get a PT to help me!

LB1197

Does anyone know if you get called for medical even if you dont pass the PCT the first time or are you only called if you pass?

Coon93

LB1197 wrote: »

Does anyone know if you get called for medical even if you dont pass the PCT the first time or are you only called if you pass?

You’re only called for a medical once you pass the PCT

SquireD

Anyone who passed the PCT, ye should get an e-mail at some stage today to arrange the medical for next week. Unlike the PCT, YOU NEED to reply and confirm your attendance for it and you will need to bring that GP Clearance form as well.

Lcass

SquireD wrote: »

Anyone who passed the PCT, ye should get an e-mail at some stage today to arrange the medical for next week. Unlike the PCT, YOU NEED to reply and confirm your attendance for it and you will need to bring that GP Clearance form as well.

Our GP Clearance forms were collected at the PCT.

SquireD

Lcass wrote: »

Our GP Clearance forms were collected at the PCT.

My mistake, got confused between the 2 :P

Lcass

SquireD wrote: »

My mistake, got confused between the 2 :P

Ha ha no problem :cool:

Edsjd

On the push-pull machine did they explain what Ye had to do? Like was it 25kg or push and pull 25 times?!

St.Brigids

Edsjd wrote: »

On the push-pull machine did they explain what Ye had to do? Like was it 25kg or push and pull 25 times?!

You have to push and pull for 20secs generating an average of 25kg. They don’t tell you if you are doing enough when on the machine.

ba88

St.Brigids wrote: »

You have to push and pull for 20secs generating an average of 25kg. They don’t tell you if you are doing enough when on the machine.

The machine should beep though when you have pushed and pulled to the required strength.

Edsjd

ba88 wrote: »

The machine should beep though when you have pushed and pulled to the required strength.

They tell You to push until You hear the beep but got confused halfway through

Witcher

The beep is to say youve travelled the required distance end to end with the handle.