How can anyone finish BUDS going into it with only 6 pull-ups and these slow run and swim times?

Great question – however, now with the Naval Special Warfare Mentor program, no mentor will sign off on you attending boot camp with these minimum standards.  Now, the BUD/S requirements are a bit elevated and will actually test the students on their max effort though push scores in this range before they go to boot camp:

Swim 500 yards – 9-10 minutes
Max Pushups – 80-100 reps
Max Situps – 80-100 reps
Max pull-ups – 15-20 reps
1.5 mile run – 9-10 minutes

But this does not answer your question.  The answer is to basically learn how to play with pain and discomfort.  The skill you must practice and learn how to do is to disassociate.   Since I was introduced to this concept, I interviewed several SEALs, physiologists, and psychologists as well as thought about my own experiences.  It was confirmed by all parties – Spec Ops students and scientists alike – the ability to disassociate is a highly useful skill that can be used in athletics, daily life, as well as SEAL training.  In laymen's terms - disassociate means to disengage from your body and focus on something else besides the pain / boredom / discomfort of life.

The ability to disassociate should not be confused with the disassociation disorder often caused by traumatic events, but rather realized as a method to endure long, painful, uncomfortable, and tiring events like Hell Week or cold water exposure.  Everyone I spoke with had a unique story how they were able to disassociate.  Here are several examples:

1 – Pain - A dental visit using no pain killer when getting a cavity filled.  Many have endured this with a focus on a “happy place” or gazing at a tiny spot on the ceiling.  I tried this ONCE – I made it but realized my disassociation skills were not as strong as I thought.

2 – Competitive / Long Distance Running – Many marathon runners spend the first few miles getting their pace down and then spend the next 20 or so miles focusing on something else like building a house brick by brick to help with the monotony of running 26.2 miles.  Then they come back and finish strong with that final kick that requires more focus to accomplish.

3 – Swimming – Many swimmers call what they do for hours at a time going into a “swim coma”.  Looking at the black line for 6000m+ requires the mind to wander, but also to be physically in the event itself.  Many collegiate swimmers talk about writing term papers while swimming.

4 – High Rep PT – When you do workouts preparing for BUD/S, the total reps in a pyramid workout or super set can take you into the several hundreds of pushups, sit-ups, dips, and even pull-ups.   Many former SEALs talk about zoning out within 5-6 sets when doing these monotonous high repetition calisthenics workouts.