Having gone through several 121 initials, upgrades, and CQs (recurrent), I agree that it is an intense process that requires a lot of effort.

The only people I’ve personally see not succeed at my airline (SkyWest), were those that went out drinking every night. Meanwhile, the rest of us were studying every night during the week, only taking a break for dinner, the gym, and maybe a quick TV show or something to unwind. After all, you don’t want to go so hard that you get burned out. Oh, and I always do something fun like hiking or whatever on the weekends, as well as have a couple beers and a nice dinner.

One thing I’ve always heard in the regional training programs is to make sure you study in groups. I’ve NEVER been that guy, and I really find group study counterproductive and a huge waste of time. I study by myself just fine. However, working diligently with your sim partner to be proficient on flows and callouts prior to sim is extremely important for a successful outcome. If you go into day 1 of sim not knowing that, you are really screwing yourself.