What physical fitness advice would you give a civilian looking to enlist? Where should I start?

2016-01-15T23:03:01-05:00

**UPDATE AS OF 12MAY2016**

**I'm happy to announce I've lost a decent amount of weight thus far, and my fitness levels have definitely done up. I still have a ways to go, but I am getting better. I dicked around for a bit too long in starting, but then finally got into gear. My weight has gone from 6'3" and 277 lbs to 255 lbs over the course of two months. I'm looking to continue this journey and drop to approximately 205 lbs which is within the standards of DoD, as well as being a healthy weight for me.

The workout I have been doing has been as follows:

Morning: Elliptical machine (don't use arms, only legs). Use for 30 minutes in a series of sprint intervals. EG one minute all out, one minute rest. I usually go a distance of roughly 3.15 miles while doing this.

After I finish work/class I then hit the gym. At the gym I do a circuit. Circuit is 10 pull ups, 10 push ups, 20 squats, 10 dips. 30 second rest. Repeat five times. This is then followed by another round of cardio.**

I'm a civilian who is interested in enlisting. My biggest issue now is my physical fitness - eg I'm overweight and out of shape. I'm able to plod through a mile, but I know that is substandard.

Can anyone recommend where to start, ways to improve my overall fitness, and a standard I should aim for before enlisting?

Thank you everyone!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2016 11:07 PM

2016-01-15T23:07:24-05:00

Chris Grimm Is there an activity you enjoy? Commit to it and do it as often as you can. Don't have something try different things. Total body fitness, boxing, kick boxing, swimming, group fitness sessions as opposed to going it alone. Physical fitness doesn't have to be a drudgery. Also you have to set goals and time frames to attain the goal and hold yourself accountable.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2016 11:08 PM

2016-01-15T23:08:49-05:00

Ask for advice from reputable sources for reaching a healthy weight, preparing for the military fitness tests, and hone in on what your specific fitness goals are. Even while enlisted, fitness will be a personal responsibility. Running is the devil you can't simply avoid for tests. Read the threads for the tags you added for this forum. Remember that small steps create big changes. Multiple meals throughout the day, exercise, and mental state are necessities, though.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Jan 15 at 2016 11:09 PM

2016-01-15T23:09:39-05:00

Chris Grimm One vow! Do not drink anything but water and coffee! Eat well, you know that already, DO IT!

As you develop a training program; pay yourself! Not by eating more - by putting your results on a chart that will enable you to compare last week to this week. Then PRAISE yourself! Not daily comparisons, you would be chasing your tail!

Response by MAJ Rene De La Rosa made Jan 15 at 2016 11:11 PM

2016-01-15T23:11:09-05:00

Kettle bells will make the difference in your life, Chris Grimm.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jan 15 at 2016 11:15 PM

2016-01-15T23:15:20-05:00

It really depends on what service you are looking to go into, and what time line you are looking for.

Each service has different Physical Fitness requirements, however they are generally a Run, Upper Body (Push-ups or Pull-ups), and Core (Sit-ups or Crunches).

I would suggest focusing on getting within DoD weight standards FIRST. The reason being is that will make Physical Training SIGNIFICANTLY easier. The easiest way to reduce weight is through DIET. Exercise has LOTS of great benefits, but weight loss is a "secondary" benefit. DIET is how you will lose weight.

While working on weight loss, you can still work on PT though. I would suggest a Couch to 5K (3.1 miles) program. No service has longer than 3 miles requirement, therefore if you train to that standard you will be fine. Your long term goal is to be able to run 3 miles in under 18 minutes (that is a "perfect" score on the Marine Run.)

Additionally, you can work on Push-ups, Pull-ups, and Crunches/Sit-ups simultaneously. Look up the charts for the services (and your age bracket) and aim for 20% above the max. When starting, don't worry about time. Just focus on form, and doing them correctly. Alternate days (Core one day, Upper body the other).

This will get you started.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jan 15 at 2016 11:19 PM

2016-01-15T23:19:16-05:00

Chris Grimm Congratulations on choosing to better your life, and serve our country. I look forward to the day I can call you Brother.

First thing I'd do is contact the recruiter of the service you're considering, and find out what the minimum physical requirements are for that service, and start with that as an initial goal. Then craft and execute a plan to get there, using research, community resources, family, friends, maybe even professionals (ie, trainers, etc).

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2016 11:44 PM

2016-01-15T23:44:29-05:00

Start light so not to injure yourself, sit-ups every day, push-ups every other day and a light run everyday, slowly add more time and speed to each event unit you muscles think it is second nature. Don't start out trying to pass, just do what you body can do, then slowly challenge it.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2016 12:01 AM

2016-01-16T00:01:05-05:00

All of the responses offer excellent advise. Make sure that you warm up with stretching exercises and gradually increase repetitions. Find a good routine and stick with it. Do not expect results overnight, but they will come. Thank you for wanting to serve our country!

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jan 16 at 2016 2:27 AM

2016-01-16T02:27:50-05:00

Eating right, and drinking water is first... Then cardio - walk, jog, run... slow and steady. Add Push Ups and Sit Ups/Crunches... Every other day... As Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS mentioned you also need to train to the standards of the branch you decide on... Run distance, Push-Up, Pull-Up etc...

Response by SSgt Paul Esquibel made Jan 16 at 2016 1:31 PM

2016-01-16T13:31:07-05:00

Well Chris, first off you need to get your lifestyle on lock down, meaning a diet isn't going to do anything because the idea here is to get you in and staying fit vs just getting in and going back to your old ways. This will have some length to it so I apologize ahead of time, but if you follow these steps you can achieve success in any branch regardless of the physical requirements.

1. Cut all sugars out of your daily intake
2. Cut all non-complex carbohydrates out of your daily intake, i.e. bread, corn, pasta, fruit,
3. Increase your daily intake of slow digesting proteins, i.e meat and shakes
4. Cut all sodas, juices ect, drink only water, coffee or Monster zero calories (don't have carbs in them)
5. Take a picture every week with the same pose, don't flex during your transformation, as people we see ourselves every day and it's hard to see changes, by comparing and contrasting each week you will be able to see the changes which will keep your motivation high.
6. "Only" eat Complex Carbohydrates, i.e. anything green, this will provide you with the fiber intake needed for your body to process/digest all the protein intake.
7. Prepare all your meals for the week or half the week and then cook again, eat 3-4 meals a day about every 2-3 hours, by doing this you increase your metabolism as your body is always digesting food.
8. Set aside "1" day for a cheat day meal, note the whole day is not cheating just one meal.
"You don't need a gym membership to get in shape, so don't waste the money"

Once you have developed a lifestyle plan as stated above your body will do the rest, by cutting out high sugary foods/snacks and non-complex carbohydrates, your body will need to pull from a source in order to produce energy each day, your body will burn your fat before it burns muscle helping you lose any excess fat/weight.

Training:
Mon/Wed/Fri
1 minute of push ups, shoot for 60
1 minute of sit ups with hands across chest and behind the head each, shoot for 60
1 minute pull ups, shoot for 25
1 minute of squats, shoot for 60 or more
Start by running 1 minute walking 1 minute, when you are running, run at 60% of your speed, in total your will run for 15 minutes and walk 15 minutes, in 2-3 weeks increase the time you run to a 2-1 run to walk ratio and keep increasing until you can run for a full 30 minutes.
Tue/Thur/Sat
Do 20 min of 15-20 yard sprints running at 80% of your speed.

This is really basic, but it will build the foundation and help you achieve your goals.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 16 at 2016 7:53 PM

2016-01-16T19:53:33-05:00

Talk to a recruiter for the branch of service you are interested in. I know that both the Navy and the Army recruiters near me have programs to work with prospects on physical fitness, including meeting with them a few times a week for organized physical fitness sessions. See if your local recruiter might do this

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2016 10:31 AM

2016-01-20T10:31:32-05:00

Don't do what I did, all I did was beef up and lift weights. Just honestly run! Do a few sit-ups and push-ups throughout the day, it'll really help. Focus on doing a proper push-up.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 2 at 2016 11:34 AM

2016-02-02T11:34:46-05:00

Keep it simple. Push ups and situps. Run.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2016 11:21 AM

2016-06-27T11:21:17-04:00

Run and drink water, that's what you'll be doing the first few months in whatever service. Talk to your recruiter and see if you can work out with them. They probably need it as well.
Do more weight training, as this burns fat a lot quicker. Turn your A/C up in your home, so you're sweating more and then drink more water. If you have heated seats in your car, turn them on and just roll down the windows and turn the A/C off.
Eat more green stuff, drink coffee, and stay away from the GNC products. Stretch, stretch, and stretch some more. Take deep breathes in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Drink 8 oz of water before you eat anything, and eat foods with a lot of flavor, as this will tell your brain your not as hungry as you were while eating (hot sauce helps).
Stand up during phone calls and emails, and always take the stairs.
Once you're done there run at night and eat some cottage cheese, this has a slow burning protein so you'll never turn off your digestive system.
Then drink some more water before going to bed.
Wake up and piss, piss a lot and call it "excellence".

Response by CPT Wayne Price made Jul 5 at 2020 5:55 PM

2020-07-05T17:55:16-04:00

When my son applied for and was accepted for Air Force OTS he was a power lifter and way over the weight limit. He ran and biked 6 or more hours per day, and developed excellent cardiovascular fitness. He was so fit when they did physical fitness tests he and his running partner, now both Air force Officers, failed PT tests because they were so fit that the tests did not cause a heart rate increase. This was not held against them but gives you some idea.

Response by CPT Wayne Price made Jul 5 at 2020 5:57 PM

2020-07-05T17:57:47-04:00

Run, bike, eat a healthy diet and do some weight lifting, pull ups, pushups in your spare time.