Army Ready?? Soo not.. :(

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Replies

  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    My unit was at a very high fitness level so I guess I missed that. I do know that they had “remedial” PT for normal units though but I never heard of people getting discharged for being overweight.

    Well, the reality is that someone in bad shape or seriously overweight is going to have a hell of a hard time humping a rucksack over 20 miles.

    In the US, there was an outfit called "FTU" - Fitness Training Unit - that was a holding pen for people who couldn't even meet the requirements to get *into* Basic Training. If you couldn't march for an hour or knock out a dozen so-so pushups, that's where they'd put you for a week or two. FTU's nickname was, the Army being the Army, "Fat, Tired and Useless".
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    IDK about the calorie intake tho. I normally eat 2000 calories a day but once I exercise my net calories equal out to about 800 - 1200 a day. Is that okay??

    Make sure you get enough protein, and netting 1000 a day or so will be ok. At least until you draw down your fat stores.

    Your body will tell you if something is wrong - the daily run will become ridiculously hard if you are under-fueling.
  • HWeatherholt
    HWeatherholt Posts: 283 Member
    I will never qualify, but I looked into the pt standards out of curiosity and am thinking about following some of the guidelines to mix things up and help me lose some weight, get fitter, and possibly qualify for the reserves -- I'm looking for a new job and found several that I could excel at but you have to be in the reserves. In the process I found (it took a little doing) the guidelines for the PT Tests, which included 2 miles, push ups and sit ups. I also found something called the Army Pocket Physical Training Guide that had workout plans and schedules to help you get where you need to be. You might search for it online -- I could only find it online in a PDF version.
  • rileyhunter169
    rileyhunter169 Posts: 150
    Which is untrue and has been debunked by most credible sources. You can if you want; but you probably don't need to as a novice trainee. I would do Starting Strength w/ pushup, chinup and situps 3 days a week with running/walking the other 3-4 days with solid liear progression (since your a female add 5lbs to the bar once every 2 weeks; additionally, since we are wanting performance as well; no 1200 calorie crash diets; find your TDEE with the exercise and consume 20% below that or about a 500 calorie deficit; you should be losing about a pound a week, if you log EVERYTHING; not down to the calorie f course but at least 95% accurate. If you want anymore than that, then you should've started earlier. You want to FUEL YOURSELF NOT STARVE. Remember; weight training will add muscle mass as a novice, even in a moderate deficit; so you'll be losing fat faster than you see on the scale. Remember, getting in shape is a marathon; not a sprint; but you should make good progress off of this because it's already been done and it works. BTW, I'm actually in ROTC at a university and have my next PT test wednesday... Looking to hit sub 14min on the run, 67+ pushups and 64-70 sit ups. I'm also majoring in Sports Science... Those are my credentials.

    HOOAH!!!!
  • PositiveBody
    PositiveBody Posts: 43 Member
    When I joined the Army years ago, I had to lose about 20 lbs...here is my advice if you want this bad enough.

    1) For as long as it takes, don't eat out if at all possible. It's hard to add up calories that come in various forms in restaurants.
    2) Get yourself around like minded people who exercise daily.
    3) Anyone not supportive of your efforts, don't let them into your world of success
    4) Log every morsal that enters your body
    5) Strength training and cardio will help tremendously
    6) If you have life stressors at the moment, try to get them to a minimum
    7) Stay absolutely focused on your goal.....

    Good Luck!
  • mikej1978
    mikej1978 Posts: 362 Member
    Here is something to think about..and please don't take it the wrong way.

    You are a 22 y/o female almost 200 pounds on a 5'5 frame. Big boobs (as you stated) or not that is still alot of weight.

    You are looking to lose 40 pounds and inches just to meet the minimum for the Army standards. Unless you put a 150% effort into a life style change if you do lose this weight an inches by "dieting" you will be struggling to maintain weight and stay in shape for your whole enlistment.

    The military is not for everybody that is part reason why only 1% of the population serve.
  • mama000
    mama000 Posts: 5 Member
    Army or not, it is calories in... calories out. I found for myself that I might forget to count the "small amount of oil" I used to cook, or the mayo on a sandwich. Once I was confronted to measure and weigh all foods and count them before I ate them, things really changed. Honesty is key. I had to get honest with myself. I exercise a minimum of an hour a day. MFP takes that into account.
    Good Luck. Stay strong.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Delete.
  • blankney94
    blankney94 Posts: 95
    I'm ex-military myself (from New Zealand). I did the hard yards before the recruit course, turned up and found it not too hard. There were other girls who were unprepared and they found it hard, like soul destroying hard. Also in the military world, you need to be on time for everything. If you are late back from a run - guess what happens - you are late for your next class. Then you get more negative attention.

    Best to turn up fit and in shape, and it will be a much better and positive experience for you. A previous poster is correct in saying that you will be required to maintain fitness too after the recruit course. In our case, we were fitness tested every 6-12 months.

    All the best for your future!
  • jasmynnlee
    jasmynnlee Posts: 4
    I hear what you are saying and I totally agree.. I recently gained all of this weight this past year nd a half believe it or not.. I have always been between 135 - 145 lbs. I have had a very stressful time with losing both of my grandmothers and an uncle and my job in such a short period of time. Not this is not an excuse just telling what happened and how i got to where I am.. I found solace in eating the taste made me feel better. And one day I looked in the mirror and was just like WTF!! I couldn't believe that I let myself get that big. I have since found a job and I have cut down on my food intake significantly but I still waver between 190 - 200 lbs.. I am pretty much completely sedentary in my everyday life except for when I go to the gym. I drive to work and I sit on my but all day once I get there. I also live with my parents as I just started working again and want to save up a decent amount of money before I move out on my own..

    But as I said none of this is an excuse if anything this is my motivation.. I refuse to ever go down that road again.. I handled that extremely poorly..
    Here is something to think about..and please don't take it the wrong way.

    You are a 22 y/o female almost 200 pounds on a 5'5 frame. Big boobs (as you stated) or not that is still alot of weight.

    You are looking to lose 40 pounds and inches just to meet the minimum for the Army standards. Unless you put a 150% effort into a life style change if you do lose this weight an inches by "dieting" you will be struggling to maintain weight and stay in shape for your whole enlistment.

    The military is not for everybody that is part reason why only 1% of the population serve.
  • rileyhunter169
    rileyhunter169 Posts: 150
    It's okay... No need to be guilty... Just get on dat der horse and ride.
  • CassaJ23
    CassaJ23 Posts: 5
    Here is something to think about..and please don't take it the wrong way.

    You are a 22 y/o female almost 200 pounds on a 5'5 frame. Big boobs (as you stated) or not that is still alot of weight.

    You are looking to lose 40 pounds and inches just to meet the minimum for the Army standards. Unless you put a 150% effort into a life style change if you do lose this weight an inches by "dieting" you will be struggling to maintain weight and stay in shape for your whole enlistment.

    The military is not for everybody that is part reason why only 1% of the population serve.

    I hate to say it, but he's right. I'm currently enlisted in the Army and I'm pretty muscular so I never made TABLE weight but was always within the body fat standard. I ended up hospitalized last year and couldn't do so much as WALK more than necessary for months due to having pulmonary emobolisms and I gained about 30 pounds since I went from working out twice a day to not being able to do anything. I was used to eating what and when I wanted and all of that changed. Getting down to weight to get in??? It's not that great of an idea unless you're ready to keep it up forever. I'm on the weight control program now and it's HELL trying to get this last little bit off. Just something to think about. If you lose enough to get in? GREAT! Congrats! But once basic training and job training are over? Don't let yourself slip back into that lifestyle or you're gonna end up in trouble and kicked out eventually if you can't get it together.. Good luck!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Have you tried the 5:2 lifestyle? Sure works for me. You can do it.

    Key point for the originator is improving fitness, which will bring the eight loss. Given the amount of phys needed to reach entry standard and be fit enough to manage new entry reasonably easily then something like this isn't practical. Doubly so when she actually gets to new entry and has very little control over meal times and what's on the counter.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    But as I said none of this is an excuse if anything this is my motivation..

    From everything that you're saying it sounds like you need to ramp up your intensity on the phys, given the task based nature of your aspirations that's a matter of running outside and some improvements to upper body strength. You'll probably find that bodyweight strength training is enough, but to give you the intensity that you need I'd suggest circuit classes, rather than trying to do it on your own.

    That said, in my experience US Army do tend to be more weights focussed than UK, Aussi, or Kiwi who tend to do a lot more CV and circuit type training.

    You've recognised what caused the issue that you now have to deal with, a long hard look at your lifestyle as it stands justnow will help you identify where the vulnerabilities are.

    What trade is it that you're interested in joining?

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