History and Goals
I am 23 years old, 5'1" (155cm). From the ages of 6-21 I was a competitive diver, even going so far as to compete in Division I in college. I eventually quit diving because I was burnt out and I had some pretty severe performance anxiety that caused me to gain a lot of weight. Since quitting diving, I transferred most of my time into rock climbing until my final semester of college, in which I was living at with my parents, and just got a regular gym membership.
The past half a year has been ultimately preparing for Basic Combat Training for the U.S. Army, and the subsequent Officer Candidate School that comes afterward. The primary goals for me to hit were to essentially a recomp/slow cut. I wanted to become a faster runner and increase my cardiovascular capacity, while also maintaining my strength from weightlifting. I really would like to branch Armor in Officer Candidate School, which would allow me to work with tanks and other armored vehicles. Allowing women into combat arms in the military has been fairly controversial, and there are many skeptics out there that we aren’t strong enough or fast enough to be able to do work just as well as men. So, maintaining or increasing strength was/is essential to me being able to perform my tasks well.
Before and After Stats
06/14/2018-1/17/2019
Weight: 151lbs (68.5kg) -> 139 lbs (63kg) = -12lbs (5.5kg)
Photos:
NSFW underwear pics
Progress from 06/14/2018 to 07/22/2018
Progress from 08/01/2018 to 12/14/2018
Additional photos from January 2019 because I was feelin’ myself
Diet
As per usual, this is the part of my routine that I always have the most trouble with. I’m lacto-ovo vegetarian and I have been for my entire life. I live with my parents currently who are vegan, so naturally whatever we make for dinner for everyone to eat is always vegan. I rarely track calories because I know this is one way I can get obsessive with dieting, and I like being able to bond with my parents over dinner without worrying how many calories I’m eating. (In addition, I usually eyeball about half of what my dad is eating and use that as a portion size)
The reason I believe I was still successful with a slow recomp/cut was for a few reasons. First, I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday (2 eggs, ¾ cup of brown rice, hot sauce and/or 1 tbsp hoisin) and I always know how many calories that is. Additionally I only eat two meals a day. I am super lucky that my mom and I get to prepare dinner together every day, and it’s always a large salad and then some kind of protein afterward. Thus, it’s pretty difficult to go over my TDEE unless it’s a holiday or other special event.
Routine
My routine includes a two a day session for training. The first session is a run of various distance in the morning, and the second is a weight training routine. In addition for the past 12 weeks I have been following the U.S. Army’s Ranger Workout Plan which can be found here. Adding the Ranger workouts have been absolutely BRUTAL on my body so I only workout from Mondays-Fridays and take the entire weekend off to stretch and rest and refuel.
This is a sample workout week skeleton that I have run in the past. I tend to tweak things often based upon how my body feels/personal preferences. I also change up my rep ranges to keep things varied and interesting to progressively overload.
Mondays: Leg/Butt days
-Running 20 (20 rounds): Place two markers 25 yards apart. Sprint to one marker and do one pushup, and then turn around and sprint to the other marker and do two pushups. Continue until you reach 20 push-ups. Rest for five minutes and then do 20 rounds with sit-ups
-Back squats 5x5 at 60-80% of max, Front squats 5x5 at 50-60% of max. Squat thrusts 5x5 60-80%. Accessory work to include weighted lunges 15x, Bulgarian Split Squats (x10,x8,x6,x4, increasing wt each time), Hip adduction/abduction machines (x10,x8,x6,x4, increasing wt each time).
Tuesdays: DL/Posterior Chain day
-3 mile run at 7:30/mi pace
-Conventional deadlifts 5x5 60-90% of max. Paused deadlifts (involves pausing and holding the weight right below the knee for 1-3 sec) 5x5 at 30-40% of max. Accessory work to include pull ups (x1,x2,x3,x4,x5), 1 arm bent over rows (40-60% of max, x8,x6,x4), Hamstring curl machine (x10,x8,x6,x4), Lat pulldowns (x6,x4,x2,x1).
Wednesdays: Bench Day
-400m x 6 at 7:30 pace, 800m x 3 at 7:30 pace
-Bench 5x5 60-70% of max. Accessory work to include tricep dips (x5,x4,x3,x2,x1), DB bench (x8,x6,x4,x2), push ups (5x10), DB flys (x8,x6,x4,x2), skullcrushers, (x6,x6,x4,x4)
Thursdays: OHP Day
-5 mile run at 8:30 pace
-Overhead Press 5x5 (60-80% max). Accessory work to include military presses (x10,x8,x6,x4), high pulls (x8,x6,x4), face pulls on machine (x10,x8,x6,x4), Lateral Raise/Front Raise/Internal and External Rotation w/ dumbbells, (5x3 every direction).
Fridays: Long Ruck Day
-Ruck march: 7 miles under an hour and 45 mins, wearing a 35 lb ruck.
Measurable progress or achievements
Max lifts:
Squat: 165lbs (74.8 kg) -> 200lbs (90.7kg)
Deadlift: 185 lbs (83.9kg) -> 255 lbs (115.6kg)
Bench: 85 lbs (38.5kg) -> 110 lbs (49.8kg)
OHP: 50lbs (22.67kg )-> 65lbs (29.4kg)
Mile pace: from 9:00/mile to 7:30/mile. Completed a 5 mile race in 38mins.
Going forward
Going forward I’d like to become a little more refined in my diet tracking. I feel that this will become way easier once I move out of the house and have the opportunity to meal prep my own food and purchase my own supplements. I’m pretty excited with my progress, but I know with an even better diet I can be looking much better. I’m also interested in doing a 10 week follow up to this post-basic training to see how my body will be looking, hopefully I’ll lose some fat with all the running I’ll be doing.
I’d also like to thank this community for being so supportive and cool. I really appreciate being a part of it.
5 days til basic. Yee-haw or something.
I am 23 years old, 5'1" (155cm). From the ages of 6-21 I was a competitive diver, even going so far as to compete in Division I in college. I eventually quit diving because I was burnt out and I had some pretty severe performance anxiety that caused me to gain a lot of weight. Since quitting diving, I transferred most of my time into rock climbing until my final semester of college, in which I was living at with my parents, and just got a regular gym membership.
The past half a year has been ultimately preparing for Basic Combat Training for the U.S. Army, and the subsequent Officer Candidate School that comes afterward. The primary goals for me to hit were to essentially a recomp/slow cut. I wanted to become a faster runner and increase my cardiovascular capacity, while also maintaining my strength from weightlifting. I really would like to branch Armor in Officer Candidate School, which would allow me to work with tanks and other armored vehicles. Allowing women into combat arms in the military has been fairly controversial, and there are many skeptics out there that we aren’t strong enough or fast enough to be able to do work just as well as men. So, maintaining or increasing strength was/is essential to me being able to perform my tasks well.
Before and After Stats
06/14/2018-1/17/2019
Weight: 151lbs (68.5kg) -> 139 lbs (63kg) = -12lbs (5.5kg)
Photos:
NSFW underwear pics
Progress from 06/14/2018 to 07/22/2018
Progress from 08/01/2018 to 12/14/2018
Additional photos from January 2019 because I was feelin’ myself
Diet
As per usual, this is the part of my routine that I always have the most trouble with. I’m lacto-ovo vegetarian and I have been for my entire life. I live with my parents currently who are vegan, so naturally whatever we make for dinner for everyone to eat is always vegan. I rarely track calories because I know this is one way I can get obsessive with dieting, and I like being able to bond with my parents over dinner without worrying how many calories I’m eating. (In addition, I usually eyeball about half of what my dad is eating and use that as a portion size)
The reason I believe I was still successful with a slow recomp/cut was for a few reasons. First, I eat the same thing for breakfast everyday (2 eggs, ¾ cup of brown rice, hot sauce and/or 1 tbsp hoisin) and I always know how many calories that is. Additionally I only eat two meals a day. I am super lucky that my mom and I get to prepare dinner together every day, and it’s always a large salad and then some kind of protein afterward. Thus, it’s pretty difficult to go over my TDEE unless it’s a holiday or other special event.
Routine
My routine includes a two a day session for training. The first session is a run of various distance in the morning, and the second is a weight training routine. In addition for the past 12 weeks I have been following the U.S. Army’s Ranger Workout Plan which can be found here. Adding the Ranger workouts have been absolutely BRUTAL on my body so I only workout from Mondays-Fridays and take the entire weekend off to stretch and rest and refuel.
This is a sample workout week skeleton that I have run in the past. I tend to tweak things often based upon how my body feels/personal preferences. I also change up my rep ranges to keep things varied and interesting to progressively overload.
Mondays: Leg/Butt days
-Running 20 (20 rounds): Place two markers 25 yards apart. Sprint to one marker and do one pushup, and then turn around and sprint to the other marker and do two pushups. Continue until you reach 20 push-ups. Rest for five minutes and then do 20 rounds with sit-ups
-Back squats 5x5 at 60-80% of max, Front squats 5x5 at 50-60% of max. Squat thrusts 5x5 60-80%. Accessory work to include weighted lunges 15x, Bulgarian Split Squats (x10,x8,x6,x4, increasing wt each time), Hip adduction/abduction machines (x10,x8,x6,x4, increasing wt each time).
Tuesdays: DL/Posterior Chain day
-3 mile run at 7:30/mi pace
-Conventional deadlifts 5x5 60-90% of max. Paused deadlifts (involves pausing and holding the weight right below the knee for 1-3 sec) 5x5 at 30-40% of max. Accessory work to include pull ups (x1,x2,x3,x4,x5), 1 arm bent over rows (40-60% of max, x8,x6,x4), Hamstring curl machine (x10,x8,x6,x4), Lat pulldowns (x6,x4,x2,x1).
Wednesdays: Bench Day
-400m x 6 at 7:30 pace, 800m x 3 at 7:30 pace
-Bench 5x5 60-70% of max. Accessory work to include tricep dips (x5,x4,x3,x2,x1), DB bench (x8,x6,x4,x2), push ups (5x10), DB flys (x8,x6,x4,x2), skullcrushers, (x6,x6,x4,x4)
Thursdays: OHP Day
-5 mile run at 8:30 pace
-Overhead Press 5x5 (60-80% max). Accessory work to include military presses (x10,x8,x6,x4), high pulls (x8,x6,x4), face pulls on machine (x10,x8,x6,x4), Lateral Raise/Front Raise/Internal and External Rotation w/ dumbbells, (5x3 every direction).
Fridays: Long Ruck Day
-Ruck march: 7 miles under an hour and 45 mins, wearing a 35 lb ruck.
Measurable progress or achievements
Max lifts:
Squat: 165lbs (74.8 kg) -> 200lbs (90.7kg)
Deadlift: 185 lbs (83.9kg) -> 255 lbs (115.6kg)
Bench: 85 lbs (38.5kg) -> 110 lbs (49.8kg)
OHP: 50lbs (22.67kg )-> 65lbs (29.4kg)
Mile pace: from 9:00/mile to 7:30/mile. Completed a 5 mile race in 38mins.
Going forward
Going forward I’d like to become a little more refined in my diet tracking. I feel that this will become way easier once I move out of the house and have the opportunity to meal prep my own food and purchase my own supplements. I’m pretty excited with my progress, but I know with an even better diet I can be looking much better. I’m also interested in doing a 10 week follow up to this post-basic training to see how my body will be looking, hopefully I’ll lose some fat with all the running I’ll be doing.
I’d also like to thank this community for being so supportive and cool. I really appreciate being a part of it.
5 days til basic. Yee-haw or something.