Training for the Military?

baxgilter

Hey Yall, I am in the process of enlisting in the Army and wanted to see if anyone else on here was doing the same or any other branch of the military? What are you guys doing for exercise, how are you eating etc? Advice, thoughts, ideas?

- JoAnna

annieheavrin

I'm not in the Army but my husband is and since we were married before he enlisted, I can tell you what he did and what he worked on before he left. RUN! Especially in basic, RUN RUN RUN is what you'll do. I would once again work on running (lol) but I would also try to work on your sit-ups & push-ups since those are things you need to pass PT tests. He had some lbs to lose before he left for basic so he would run outside in a sweat suit to get himself sweating and get used to running again in general. But, what you aren't "up to par" on before you leave for Basic, they will get you there once you arrive. Good luck! *Hope this can help somewhat!*

MLgarcia3

I'm not in the Army anymore, but my advice is start running! That was the hardest part for me because I was never a strong runner. Just try to get up to 2 miles :-) Also work on those pushups, because you'll be doing PLENTY of them!
Good luck!

kazzamcamille

I just wanted to thank you all for you service! I appreciate it more than words can say. I couldn:t imagine the US without you all. Thank you so much!!"

Chrans

I'm in the Air Force and recently passed my PT test with a 95%. I wasn't able to work out for a year because of ankle surgeries and the last 3 months I have been going to the gym religiously. I will do strength training on Mon./Wed./Fri. and on Tues/Thursday/Sat I would run for 45min - 1hr on the elliptical and eventually moved to the treadmill and then outside running. Like Annie said running is going to be a large part of your pre-Army routine. Make sure you are working on your sit-ups/core not sure what time limit the Army gives for their PT test but ours is 1min for sit-ups and push-ups. I would suggest doing as many sit-ups as you can in 1 min then take a break for 1 min and then do it again until you have done it 3 times. Keep working on these on your run days so at least 3 times a week. As for push ups, I would find a good workout program for your Chest/Shoulders/Biceps/Triceps, after a month or so of working on getting your muscles back into shape start throwing in some push ups in the same manor as sit-ups 1min/1min break for 3 times. Good luck!

Ittee

Marines incorporate all those over pieces of advice, and work on pullups as well. Be able to do about 100 crunches, (20 would be ideal, but you can go lower) pullups, and run, run run.

gp79

Do what counts. Push ups, situps and 2 mile run.

With the new PRT you won't need to run farther than 4 miles.

Rob_Sarge

I have been enlisted in the Army now 15 years and there have been some changes. The Army is currently in the process of changing the way the Army Physical Fitness Test is conducted. Currently, the old PT test should be still in place....you will do as many push ups and sit ups as you can in 2 minuted and conduct a 2 mile run as fast as you can. Of course your age, weight, enurance, strength limits will all play a factor. I do not know if Army Basic Training is doing the new PT test yet....consists of stuff like a standing long jump, mile and a half run, shuttle run and a few other things. You can Google APRT and see for yourself.

Since the end of the Iraq War the Arm is "trimming the fat" all over so you have tomake sure your nose is clean and you can meet the height and weight standards and maintain it properly. Eating right and exercise is so very important.

I suggest you conduct a practice PT test on your own if you have not already. If you are interest, shoot me a good e-mail address and I will send you a PDF consisting of the new PT manual. One thing you will see about the Army is everything has a damn manual of some sort.....robert.spitzer@us.army.mil is my e-mail if you have any other questions.

kekl

I'm currently in the army.

What everyone else said - Run Run and RUN. And do your pushups and situps.... there are a few tips and tricks as far as form to help improve them but the basic gist is just do them. PROPER form on the pushups is very important... it is better to do 10 perfect pushups than 50 ones that don't count on the pt test because you're not going down the whole way.

If I were you I would train to run 3 miles, that way the 2 mile PT run will be EASY.

Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

sculley

Husband and I are both navy. Best advice would be to start running now, pushups(all type dive bombers etc) attempt to do pull ups if you can't I recommend the cheat ones where you jump and hold as long as you can with chin over bar and sit-ups.

You might want to focus on longer distance depending on your mos because in my 13 year career I have seen 3-4 miles of Indian runs on a beach with gear or medicine balls.

Good luck

martincla

4 miles! Try 8 or 9! Are you going in as a trade? In the UK its 8 mile tabs with all ure 30k kit on (its basically a run not a quick walk) good luck your going to need it!

Just push yourself, yea best advice is run! Run with weights in a bag too to get used to running with a considerable weight on your back, if your going in as a trade its not so bad but on a day to day basis its at least a 4 mile run...

Im in the RAF (UK) and our PT wasnt as hard but Army are different over here and take their PT VERY seriously, if u cant run 4 miles without stopping forget it haha!

Good luck and train hard! Id deffiantely train to do ure mile and a half in a resonable time and then do it again (our lads and lasses in the army do a mile and a half warm up jog then the mile and a half fitness test in ure fastest time stright after) but the US might be different

Good luck! BEAST YOURSELF!

As for eating you will be eating at least 3000 calories a day (ration packs when on exercise) its not the best food to be honest (pizza and chips for lunch!) but you will need the carbs to get through the day! I would definately up your protein intake to deal with the stresses of the runs and also your fruit intake, take on lots of water as they will be literally forcing it down your neck during basic training, I wouldnt eat 3000 calories a day training, thats just needed on basic as you are literally CONSTANTLY doing some sort of exercise.

Also you will need to do pullups (even as a female) for the FIT test :P x

SueD66

My son is in the Navy and he ran ran ran, still is, and push ups, pull ups, sit up. He also had to do alot in swimming for his rate. AWO. The more you can do before hand the better off you will be.
Thank you for what you are doing. It is soooo appreciated

MHunte

I am thinking about joining the Maryland National Guard and been training hard for that last 2 months, the 3 main things you will need work on is push-ups, sit-ups, and the 2 mile run. find out what your weak spot is and work on that more often, Most people have problems with the 2 mile run and the push-ups. As long as you can pass the 2 mile run with a score of 60 points or better on the PFT you should be able to keep up in basic, it's not like your going to run 20 miles every day, the most you will ever run in a day is 5 miles. My weak spot is that 2 mile run i can run it nonstop but my time is to slow to meet the min score, the past month i been working on distance running 10-12 miles just about every other day, from next week i will be working on speed so my total distance will be less but my time will be faster.

eab12191

My husband is military and he was way out of shape before joining. He started running everyday a little just up an down our street for a month or so until he left.

BTW you are from my husband's hometown! lol

MHunte

4 miles! Try 8 or 9! Are you going in as a trade? In the UK its 8 mile tabs with all ure 30k kit on (its basically a run not a quick walk) good luck your going to need it!

Just push yourself, yea best advice is run! Run with weights in a bag too to get used to running with a considerable weight on your back, if your going in as a trade its not so bad but on a day to day basis its at least a 4 mile run...

Im in the RAF (UK) and our PT wasnt as hard but Army are different over here and take their PT VERY seriously, if u cant run 4 miles without stopping forget it haha!

Good luck and train hard! Id deffiantely train to do ure mile and a half in a resonable time and then do it again (our lads and lasses in the army do a mile and a half warm up jog then the mile and a half fitness test in ure fastest time stright after) but the US might be different

Good luck! BEAST YOURSELF!

As for eating you will be eating at least 3000 calories a day (ration packs when on exercise) its not the best food to be honest (pizza and chips for lunch!) but you will need the carbs to get through the day! I would definately up your protein intake to deal with the stresses of the runs and also your fruit intake, take on lots of water as they will be literally forcing it down your neck during basic training, I wouldnt eat 3000 calories a day training, thats just needed on basic as you are literally CONSTANTLY doing some sort of exercise.

Also you will need to do pullups (even as a female) for the FIT test :P x

Don't go running with weights on your back you will hurt your self, if anything do a incline walk with weights if you're on a TM or go find a hill and walk. I normally use a 85lb vest from MIR and walk at max incline (15) your pack will weigh around 60-100 pounds when carying a full load.

stephm112

I'm not but my boyfriend is currently in training with the Royal Marines. RUN like everyone else has said and you should have a decent amount of strength. Your stamina needs to be to be exceptional though and that's the main thing x

Devlyn_P

Hi, I am a Marine. The best pre-training for the US Army is jogging/running. Build that endurance because you will be training with your body weight mainly ie. pushups and situps. Your runs will be 2miles so strive to do that non stop. Good luck and have fun while you are in there! This is an experience you will never forget and a camaraderie like no other.


Edit: Don't worry about going for anything over 3+ miles because in basic you guys all start from the beginning and build up. You will have nothing but time (their time) in basic to fine tune what your job will be later.

RAFValentina

Hey, I'm an Air Traffic Control Officer in HM's finest "The Royal Air Force". *insert generic inter-service rivalry banter here*

The best thing you can do for generic fitness is get out running. Run/jog/walk intermittently at first if you have to but PUSH yourself...they're only going to do that to you in training. I'd aim to be able to run a mile and a half if you're under 25 and female in less than 12 minutes to be competitive but also as a reasonable and achievable target. It's not super fast by any stretch of the imagination but it's not slow. However, this is purely for the fitness test you must understand, although there are various inter service and indeed inter-branch additional tests. MSFT is the generic RAF fitness test, but officers and I believe all recruits now, do the 1.5mile (2.4Km) run test as their CV test now and 2 mins situps and 2 mins pushups. In the annual fitness test (or twice annual if you're just getting a pass) its the MSFT and 1 mins pushups followed by 1 mins RAF situps. Levels are online somewhere. But you get graded on the level of pass, green, light blue, dark blue. It's pretty hard to achieve a Dark blue and it's not too easy to get a light blue either. Especially as it's graded that the lowest band you scored in across the three disciplines determines your colour. For example, I got dark blue pushups and sit-ups, but only a light blue run at level 9.03 on the MSFT so i ended up a light blue. Still it's the same renewal time as a dark blue of 1 year so thats OK!

You've got to want to do it to be successful and see through short term pain for long term gains.

Strength wise...get practising those pushups and situps. Time yourself...feel the burn. Do it til it hurts...and when you're standing around or have a free moment, to inclined pushups on a counter top/edge of desk/stair for lower intensity strength training to SUPPLEMENT the proper pushups...

Being able to run around carrying heavy weights in a practical form such as jerry cans whilst wearing your body armour, kevlar helmet and all your clobber is essential which is why they train you so hard, at least, it's one of the reasons. Condition yourself before you even go for selection because it will give you a competitive edge against other candidates and when you are selected, make life and training a whole lot easier, and less embarassing. It's also important so as to protect yourself from injuries by being strong and not shocking the body in training. Before commencing training, a few lightly weighted JOGS may be a good idea, especially in the boots they issue you before starting training... Be careful you don't put too much weight in... I'd say for a young lady, about 5-10Kg MAX and don't thrash the run, make it a steady jog and short too. Jog about 1/2mile, briskly walk the next and then another jog for 1/2 mile and walk the next. This will help build up some strength in your lower limbs' muscles, joints and bones etc. Compliment with good stretching, strength work such as lunges, squats etc and nutrition. Girls under 25 should be eating plenty of calcium at this time in their life.

In summary. Get running. I suggest 45mins-1hours running as this is what training is likely to be for PT... sometimes shorter, sometimes less.
Get doing pushups whenever and wherever you can. Same with sit ups.
Do some anaerobic training too, personal suggestion is either Tabata protocol which you could do in your room first thing in a morning and last thing at night and also circuit training.

The biggest thing is you MUST push yourself, it won't always be nice or pleasant but you'll get results and feel rewarded by that.