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LANSING -- When the clock strikes 5:30 a.m., it means one thing for Michigan State Police recruits…physical training.

This PT consists of an hour and fifteen minutes of water training, pushing many of the recruits to their limit.

"I don't care how strong you are or how weak you are; if you just do not give up, those are the people we're looking for,” said state trooper and instructor Joseph LeBlanc.  “So we push them physically here beyond their comfort level."

Recruits are also pushed mentally from daily room and equipment checks to classes, covering everything from law to report writing, during the 20-week academy.

Out of 800 applicants, only 38 were chosen for the 122nd Trooper Recruit School, making it the smallest class in Michigan State Police history.

Breaks are few and far between for recruits who are busy from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.  They are even required to march to and from all organized activities.

"It's a lot different than what I expected,” said recruit Chris Gerard.  “It's a lot more physically and mentally demanding than I ever expected."

"It's an eye opening experience,” said recruit Kyle Kelley.  “I mean, right from the get-go, you're going 100 miles per hour all day."

But the instructors insist there is a method to the madness.

Most of them are state troopers stationed across the U.P. and they could be serving with these recruits down the road.

"It's very important for us, as instructors, as temporary staff here, to make sure that we have the best product, so to speak,” LeBlanc said.  “I want somebody that I know is going to sweat and bleed as hard as I did when I was in the academy."

The 20-week trooper recruit school wraps up in May.

To get weekly updates on the recruits, you can click here.