What is it that drives you to push yourself when PT'ing by yourself?

2020-05-29T23:07:43-04:00

Hello RallyPoint, I hope everyone is well today. Aspiring to enlist with the Army in the next year or two, I have already begun PT'ing myself on a daily basis. I intend to ace my PFT when I get to basic because to me, nothing else is acceptable on my part. It is not so much me wanting to be snobby and score 300 all across the board on my PFT just to do well, but it is more of what I believe is the right thing to do. With that said however, in the past few weeks, I've only been able to shave a minute and fifteen off of my original time (14:30) down (to 13:15) on just a SINGLE mile run, when I know I have to do double that for the PFT (13:15 for two miles). My push-ups and sit-ups can always use improvements, but I am overwhelmingly disheartened by my running capabilities most of all. I was never a runner, not even in high school (when I was decently fit) was I a runner.

I am 40 lbs. over the weight standard and probably a good percentile over the BMI standard as well, but I am not noticeably obese, I have a small bit of a gut, but that's it. I can't help but give in to my mind every time it incessantly screams for me to stop when my throat, lungs, and muscles are burning to the point of projectile vomiting. In a sense, I did make the perfect score time of 13:15 (for my age group) on my last run time, but only at half of the work (only one of two mile). I can't help but look at that and consider how ironically pathetic it is that I only can make the perfect score time with only half the required distance. Today for the first time on my daily run, I actually stopped two-thirds of the way and just gave up. I see the weakness in my mind, but I am at a loss and don't know how to close with and engage it. Running is crucial to PT and PT is crucial to the military, when I'm not wheezing and puking from running and have time to catch a breath, I keep telling myself that I won't tolerate this weakness from within myself, but every time I projectile vomit or dry heave when I run, it brings me into doubt once again. There is a friendly running group that I know of, but due to current events, they've been offline for a while. Hopefully they can help me with my weakness.

Meanwhile on here, I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for wisdom and knowledge. What I'm mostly asking is, what is it that you do or use to help push you through those times when you want to give up, when your mind just keeps screaming at you about how much this sucks, and how you actually physically “embrace the suck”? For someone that is not in the military yet, how does one get himself not just physically, but mentally prepared to do what they have to?

Again, I hope all is well with everyone.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 29 at 2020 11:32 PM

2020-05-29T23:32:54-04:00

Jake Lang Be a planner and goal setter. Set goals and then go out and achieve them. Tomorrow go to Wal-Mart and go back in the garden section. Pick up a 40 pound bag of water softener pellets and feel how heavy that is. That is what you are carrying around as excess weight. Eat balanced meals watching your portion control. Lose that weight and you will find everything much easier. You are very fat! When you lose the 40 pounds, come back on here and tell us how your PT is coming along. Plan, set goals, and execute. I motivate myself and you can do the same.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2020 2:39 AM

2020-05-30T02:39:57-04:00

I like watching everyone suffer around me when I’m doing group PT. When you join, you will do mostly group PT. The sounds of other puking and crying drove me on. Now that I’m mostly alone, is about building a healthy habit after retirement or a good workout plan with my wife

Response by SSG Laurie Mullen made May 30 at 2020 3:40 AM

2020-05-30T03:40:53-04:00

Ok, first of all, you should not be puking or vomiting when you run. Look up the Couch to 5k program and follow it. You should be focusing on your cardio vascular fitness and endurance right now, not your run times. As you loose the weight and your cardio vascular fitness improves you will see your times improve. I know it's frustrating right now, but this is not going to happen quickly, it is going to take time. You are going to have to be patient or you will fail. If you can afford to, look into a cross fitness gym. They will help you build muscle and stamina. Just don't get caught up in the cross fit fanatic mind set. You want to get fit, not hurt. Good luck.

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made May 30 at 2020 7:49 AM

2020-05-30T07:49:27-04:00

Two thongs: dropping over a minute off you mile time in juat a few weeks is AWESOME! Keep it up.
Second (and this will sound contradictory to the first point), slow down. Focus on finishong the mile. Don't worry about time right now, just worry about finishing without stopping. Try to keep an even pace for the entire mile - no starting fast and then slow I g down as you get winded. Even if that means you run a 17:00 pace. Finish that mile without stopping. If you can't do it, finish 1/2 mile today. Tomorrow 1/2 mile plus 50 feet. Day after 1/2 plus 100, and so on.Once you can consistently finish a mile at an even pace, THEN start working on speeding up. Each day go hust a LITTLE bit faster. I mean like 5 seconds - it adds up. After about a month, start increasing the distance 1/4 mile a week. In a span of three months, you will be where you want to be.

As far as what motivated me to PT when I was by myself, it is all about the end state. When the suck hits (regardless of whether it is mile 17 of a 25 mile ruck, day 7 in the field, or step #16 of a 2-mile run) you have to think about what the goal is. *Why* are you out here doing this thing? Focus on the goal, and take it in small chunks. "I want to get in good enough shape to join the military. This will help me do that. I just gotta make it to that stop sign." Once you are almost to the atop sign "I made it this far, I can keep going. This is getting me ready for the military. I just gotta make it to that light pole." And so on.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 30 at 2020 7:04 PM

2020-05-30T19:04:39-04:00

I did extra PT on my own because I wanted to go to OCS.

Response by LTC Eugene Chu made May 30 at 2020 7:24 PM

2020-05-30T19:24:00-04:00

Off topic answer is to focus on nutrition along with your PT. Since you are overweight by military standards, you may be hurting yourself with exercise while in poor condition. Military basic training food is three square meals and less than 3000 calories daily (speculative guess). Alcohol is not allowed in basic training and sugary items are available, but highly discouraged. Watch what you eat along with your PT regimen

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2020 8:51 PM

2020-05-30T20:51:21-04:00

Good music, the motivation to not puke after my next 2 mile run, and the dedication to never be a fatty.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made May 31 at 2020 3:47 PM

2020-05-31T15:47:14-04:00

Jake Lang Set Goals, Reasonable Goals. Compare Yourself against Yourself. You are Not Me. You Will Never be Me. Never Give Up! Respectfully CTO1 Wm "Chip" Nagel USN(R) The Cheetah.