Trying to join the Army

Good luck Trey!!

if working out leaves you short of breath, why not start with walking at a pace that makes you warm up but not pant. see if you can go 30 minutes a day, then add 5 minutes every few days. if you can't go 30 minutes to start, start at 20 or even 15, and try adding 5 minutes a week if possible. you can add your walks here on MFP, and it will figure out the calories for you. once you build your cardio, you'll be able to do other working out without breathlessness.

Nice for making the decision to join.

I did Basic in 2009, as a reservist in a non-combat MOS, and then had a ELS so I'm not a veteran. During Basic and AIT, or for you OST, you train with reservists, guardsmen and active duty. I was similar to you. I was 230lbs and over the weight limit, I'm in the 5'8-5'9... got a big neck, and the recruiters back then were more into getting recruits in. So I did luck by, and got help from the measurers at MEPS. At your weight though, I'd say you don't have a shot of a recruiter accepting you unless you shed some pounds. At 21, you're in the toughest test zone. I was in my mid-20s so I was more laxed.

I was at Fort Jackson, relaxing jackson and manage to lose 30lbs at graduation. Pretty intense. I scored pretty high on ASVABs as well, 97th percentile.. should done have active duty... but as a reservist with a split-option (all my training was in summer to meet with my school schedule) I was extremely limited to MOS that had opened slots in my city.Spring 2009 was the last spurge of big bonus and recruitment. I was still in school, so had the points to go in as E3. It's okay to be a POG. Some people join for the action of combat arms, I known others who went cuz the education, nursing cert, cisco network certs, etc. Others went for school benefits (i was in this group). Everyone goes in with the goal to serve the country, but at picking job time you decide what you want to do out of it. For me, I knew I would graduate college so I wouldn't need to pick an MOS that would prepare me for civilian world, and that helped me in my decision (alas reservists is limited in choices). My buddy is using army to help him become an IT professional once he gets out.

Trying to join, you will definitely need to pick up the fitness. The fitness test is always the same. If you can pass it, wonderful. My take away from basic is that it's not physically challenging if you're in shape. All the athletes and fit people made it fine through any smokin' session or PT. It's just a mentally taxing challenge but all and all my best 'summer camp adventure' ever. I'd do it again. I mean physically it's taxing on the body, but drill sgts won't kill you... and nothing you or destroy you. You will be sore a few days. It's still nothing to those who are used to pushing their bodies daily. For me it was tough, I made it through. Others didn't. I got lucky, i had good buddies and I ran 2 miles like my life depended on it.

If the working out is rough at the moment, the best now is to start slow and steady. walking on the incline, or something of the sort. After two weeks of cardio for me, i'm not dropping huge pounds, but my body is ready for me to up the resistance. Eating 'well' isn't too expensive. Ingredients to make a simple chicken salad is about $10, and can last you a week for lunch. You may need to spend more if it's gonna be dinner too. you can try those soy meal replacement shake mixes to help fill you up too. Diet will help a lot.

the demand isn't as high for recruits as it was in 2009. My buddy worked as a recruiter before returning to an infantry unit. They won't offer as many waivers like they did. So it will be tough, but good luck.