Fitness has always been a big part of who I am. I was lucky to have a decent amount of athletic ability which allowed me to enjoy the sports I participated in. I also have a competitive nature that pushes me to stay in shape. Whether I was playing football, running track, or even getting down to playing washers as well as the drinking games flip cup and beer pong... I always wanted to win. I carried this edge from high school and into college. After many degree changes.. I settled into earning my B.S. in Kinesiology with the major Applied Exercise Physiology. I continued to enjoy going to the gym and also learned I really enjoyed helping others achieve a healthier lifestyle as well. I was able to branch into volunteering at a local hospital helping with inpatient physical therapy as well as managing and becoming a Personal Trainer at a local gym. I never felt a greater passion for something than when helping stroke patients as well as hip replacement patients (these were the 2 major areas I saw a lot) learn the motor skills and develop the ability to walk again. Becoming a Physical Therapist was my new goal. The only issue... besides getting into PT school was extremely competitive and I slacked off on a portion during school that might hurt me some... it was also costly. I put the PT plan on hold and took up a Personal Training position back in my hometown right after graduation. I was and still am a big believer in practicing what you preach. I can't stand anything more than seeing an out of shape Personal Trainer. This mindset led me to push myself harder and continue to educate myself on achieving a healthier lifestyle. Even though, as I already mentioned in my About Me section, I eventually left the fitness industry for the Oil and Gas sector, I still hold my fitness values close.
Current Fitness and Prep for the Army
I have always been a morning person.. and because of this I usually knock my gym workouts out before heading to my job. This requires many 3 am wakeups in order to get to the gym around 3:30am and then into work by 5:45 am or so. I learned after working a 12 hour shift.. my gym workouts took a hit just from being mentally drained. I have and still do try and make it to the gym 6 days a week. Prior to joining the Army... cardio consisted of light warm-ups and on leg days I would hit the stair climber pretty hard. Swimming also worked its way in twice a week.
Once I joined the Army I looked up the Physical Test to see where I stood and what I needed to achieve. In my mind... there is no reason I cant achieve a perfect score.... and at the very least I want to keep that as my goal and my mindset shooting for it as well. For my age bracket I would need:
2 Mile- 13:18 or better (13:00 for the younger age which means this is my goal)
2 min pushups- 77
2 min sit ups- 82
Being 28 years old... I have to do a few more pushups and situps than those younger than me... but I get 18 seconds more on the 2 mile. My final goal was of course to break the 13:18 before I ship off to basic... but in reality.. I wanted to break 13:00 because that's what the younger group has to achieve. I don't believe the test should have separate standards for age. I have a feeling I will hear plenty of "old man" jokes since I will be about 10 years older than the majority of the guys so I don't want to use the extra time because of my age as a crutch.
Although I still have not attempted the official 2 min tests... I was and am confident I can get close to if not better the pushups and situps already. The 2 mile would be my weakness. I started working cardio in 4 times a week after work... gym session still in the morning. What I ran after work depended on what workout I did before. Here is the break up:
After leg day: 1 mile speed interval on the stair stepper
1 mile run on the treadmill- 8:00 min max
1 mile on the elliptical
Day after leg day: Chest/Bi day- Interval run day.. run 1/4 mile at a 1:30 pace.. equals a 6 min mile. Walk 1/10 mile.. then back to the run. 3 miles of this.
2 days after leg day- Back/Tricep day.. Timed 2 mile run... break.. then jog 2-3 more miles.
Initial goal:-- Break 14:00 min.. very first timed run was 14:07. 2 months prior to ship out date.
Next goal: 13:30--- 98/100 points.
Final goal 1--- 13:18. Max points
Personal final goal- sub 13:00. Max points for younger than my age. Around Sept. 14th.. 3.5 weeks before shipping out I finally broke the 13:00 time and ran the 2 miles in 12:51. YES!!!!!!!!!!!
With it being 9/23/14 now.. and less than 2 weeks til ship out.. my goal is just to maintain my workouts.. keep pushing but not to the extent of causing injury.
No comments:
Post a Comment