Progress Report (08/2018-01/2019): Getting fit for Army Basic Training

geobridge

New member
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.
 
@geobridge Diving is my aspiration hobby sport! Question - how much of an impediment is extra weight in diving? Like, is it possible to do it if you're a little on the heavy side?
 
@geobridge This reply meant more to me than I can say. I got it into my head that I need to lose weight to dive, but I am pretty sure that my weight isn't what's keeping me from getting a tight pike. I can barely touch my toes. Lol.

This realization helped me refocus on exercising.

So while I have you here -- any tips to get a pike? To have it happen in the air? Is it primarily flexibility or abs strength or quad strength?

My flexibility is really bad. Should that be my first focus over general fitness exercises (squats, lunges)? Although I know squats/lunges are important too. It feels a bit overwhelming since I don't know where to start. I think I've set "pike" as my first goal -- because I wasn't awful at other things, like I could kinda spin. Then core stability/overall movement control. Like when my coach says I'm leaning to the left and I can't tell, not being aware of it. That's how I twisted my ankle, jumping & leaning & landing off balance. Oh right, ankle strength & flexiblity. That's probably goal #2. Ankle where I tore the ligament hurts/doesn't quite move when I do the step-forward lunge in a hurdle. My ankles need to be strong & agile so I don't get injuried again.

Yep, totally overwhelmed.

But at least now I don't need to worry about losing weight!
 
@geobridge As a woman going armour in the country just to your north, I wish you the absolute best of luck! Armour school is famously tough up here, and I assume it’s similar down there— but with that attitude, you’ll push right through!

A lesson I learned from my platoon warrant officer this summer: it’s not about whether or not you fail (and you will fail) it’s about how you deal with it.

Through the mud and the blood, to the green fields beyond!
 
@geobridge I’m currently going through the same process! Thanks for the inspiration. My lifts and 3mi run times are nowhere near yours, but I hope to be a little closer in a few months. Hoping to go to Army Basic by this summer!
 
@geobridge Unless you are a pretty gifted athlete, you are likely running too fast to see long term gains in your running performance. It looks like the workout you wrote about has a fair bit of intense cardio, which does little to increase aerobic capacity, but will sharpen your speed for a bit.

The main question here is if running at 8:30 pace or even 7:30 pace is easy for you. Could you have a conversation at those paces?

Any routine that calls for specific pacing is very highly suspect. Run pacing should be very personal. I understand what the army needs to do it, but it just doesn’t seem like a good idea for long term health and gains.
 
@charlotte9014 Honestly I'm very lucky but since graduating college and moving home my parents have graciously offered to feed me and house me for free. I also am currently unemployed (before basic of course). So besides cleaning and doing housework and running errands to make things easier on my parents, I have a LOT of free time in which I can dedicate to training. I'm very aware that I am not the norm on this, but I plan to send my parents money for that time that they've let me stay later. I'm sure they won't accept it, but I'm going to make them take it anyway because they have been spectacular and so supportive throughout the entire process.
 
@geobridge Immediately post-graduation I was unemployed and living with my parents. This was the period of my life where I discovered fitness, basically as a result of boredom. It's changed who I am now, six years later, for the better. You are putting this time to great use. Well done!
 
@geobridge You are literally where I want to be, six months from now. Same age I’ll be an everything. I started running and taking exercising when I decided to take applying to army OCS more seriously. Thank you for posting this - it’s honestly made me feel better about the progress I lost from an injury.
 
@orynider So happy I can be motivating to you! Six months is plenty of time, but it has truly flown by for me. Just keep taking steps every day and eventually you'll look back and realize how much progress you've made.
 
@geobridge Congratulations! I joined after college myself, did five years active (MP) and am now in the reserves. I wish you all the luck in the world. The Army can offer a whole lot of opportunities you won’t get anywhere else. Take advantage of it.

My only advice, from the fitness aspect of it, is to take care of your hips and back. I’m 29 and am already looking at a possible hip replacement because of injuries I sustained while in service. My husband served 11 years and had the joints of a 40yr old (doctor’s words) at 28. Take care of yourself first and foremost.

Again, best of luck! You’ll rock it at OCS. HOOAH!
 
@congtywebbtccorp Gosh, hip injuries seem so common with female vets. I have had three hip surgeries so far, all in service, got medically separated in November, and will be getting another hip surgery in February this year. I am lucky that my right hip didn’t have to be replaced (total reconstruction tho where they broke the pelvis to rebuild).

This is not to scare you, OP! Even with my hip stuff, I loved the military. Just be cognizant of your body’s aches...and be willing to recognize the difference between sore and injured. I hope you enjoy basic and OCS! Way to represent the badassery of female warriors!
 
@geobridge As a US Army Vet who did exactly your path (BCT to OCS to 2LT, got out as CPT), I have a few words. Going in with this strong mentality regarding your fitness will garner you a certain level of respect [you will want] until you get more experience under your belt. A 2LT is the bottom of the barrel in the officer world, and not all 2LTs are created [made] equal. Everyone loves to give them a hard time, a right of passage, so to speak. Some 2LTs get more respect than others.

I know a female commander (CPT) who made a point to score a 300 on the men’s scale for the APFT. She didn’t have to, but she was determined to be the company role model for both men and women.

Your BCT to OCS path will not be respected by some (usually enlisted, men and women). Understand why might feel that way, but at the end of the day, it’s about the person you are and the way you treat others, not your path. Don’t let this discourage you. Some people’s paths were not as efficient. I know people like you and me and I know people who had to go through a lot of BS just to become an officer or SSG.

I don’t know if it’s still an option, but when I did this there was an option to postpone my commission after OCS graduation for a year. I didn’t think it would be for me at first, but later regretted not doing it. It will give you more experience with hands-on tasks/missions that you will direct/command someday. Officers rarely get to do the really fun stuff. This is your chance. That, and enlisted culture can be drastically different from officer culture. You will want to know the kinds of things your soldiers generally have to put up with on a day-to-day basis and what they think about those things. It will most likely give you an edge over the many officers who don’t have any enlisted experience at all (BCT doesn’t count).

The hardest thing about basic for me was the vast difference of maturity levels in people various years apart in age. How to communicate effectively with the 17-year-old I shared a bunk with (I did, and she’s a SSG now!). How I dealt with theft without tattling to DS. But you will not forget it and you will make lifelong friends!
 
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