Another military question: should I limit my size?

[Rugger]

Am I working to add muscle and bulk up in vein? Will it come to bite me in the ass once I have to run 5 miles soaking wet on 2 hours of sleep or when I have to ruck 20 miles? I'm worried that even if it doesn't hinder my performance that I'll end up losing it anyways because I wont be able to support my size on 2 MREs a day.

Your thoughts? Experienced minds only, please.

 

[DynaGlide]

MREs are like 2000 calories each. Eat all of it, and blast through water like crazy. You shouldn't have a problem with losing weight unless you are heading into extended periods of training.

 

[suncloud]

i don't know about how OCS works, but in the field, we got all the MRE's we could eat - i did 3 per day. just use your rucksack to do pullups, dips, pushups, squats etc, and you'll be fine. so long as you challenge your muscles and are eating enough, there's no reason you'd loose much.

 

[DynaGlide]

The ruck marches aren't fun, but they're really not that bad. You just have to keep going. They suck the most for us short people in the back. There are going to be dirtbags falling out all over. Just keep going, and drag the guy next to you if you have to.

 

[ABNRanger]

I understand your dilema or rather your issue. When I went thru Ranger school and SFAS, I lost some weight, but I prepared for it by increasing my BCAA and protein. While there, I chose not be picky about food, and made up for it when I got back. On field rotations, I got creative with workouts. Did ruck squats, ruck pushups when I can. Not sure what your environment will be like, but just prepare your body for the change, adapt, and overcome, then repair when you get back. I hope that helps.

 

[dukebrown]

Just lift heavy rep range 3-5 sets of 5-6. And let the army take care of the endurance factor. I got 9 years in currently at Ft Sill and 6"1 242 11%bf. My run time is nothing to brag about but 15:00 with out totally loosing my mind.

 

[Rugger]

So I guess the answer is 'don't worry about it'. Sounds good to me.

 

[Chub]

sorry i'm in a funny mood :trout:
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

 

[RobInKuwait]

If excelling in military physical fitness is your top priority, I would say absolutely limit your size. I know for me, if I'm carrying a lot of muscle, my run time goes down and running wreaks havoc on my joints. If you can run without a problem with your size I wouldn't worry about it, but if you have the same problems when you carry weight as me, I'd hold off on bulking.

 

[Rugger]

That's the problem, I don't know if i have problems. I'm at the heaviest weight I've ever run with. I feel fine at this weight, but I'm not sure what would happen if I kept going up. But yes, excelling at PT is very important to me. I suppose I need to evaluate my priorities. Right now on the APFT with really no training I can score about a 260-270; missing 300 because of the run only. I would kill to run a sub 14

 

[suncloud]

we had quite a few guys (me included) that were great at situps and pushups and were mediocre on the run. robinkuwait brings up a good point though. knee pain really sucks if you weigh too much. my old NCOIC used to make us do company PT in our flak vests. if you weigh a lot and are having problems running, then this will be a nightmare.

i remember that our S-2 shop (intel) had our low push up guy - 58 in two minutes, and our top guys - three of us did over 100 in two minutes.

so long as you can excel in two areas, you're still doing great for PT. of course, that kind of thinking will never earn you the PT badge.

you might want to find out what the high (100 points) and low points (60 points) for the three areas tested are - push ups in two minutes, sit ups in two minutes, two mile run , adjusted for age. if you can excel in all three areas, then you have nothing to worry about. if your run isn't that good, then gaining size might not be the best idea.

 

[DynaGlide]

At 5'8" 165, I hit 300 almost every time we were evaluated. My biggest problem was the sit-ups. I usually ran around a 12:20, and did around 100 push-ups. Then I'd struggle to hit 70ish sit-ups.

I bulked up when in Saudi, and put like 10 pounds on. When I got back to Alaska, I think my run suffered by about :35.

What amazed me (and others) was my girlfriend slammed a 300 with E A S E . She runs 8+ miles a day though, and does abs like a fiend. What really surprises most people is when she knocked out more push-ups than most of the dudes.

I hear they've added pull-ups to the AFPT? We didn't have to do them.

 

[ABNRanger]

At 5'8" 165, I hit 300 almost every time we were evaluated. My biggest problem was the sit-ups. I usually ran around a 12:20, and did around 100 push-ups. Then I'd struggle to hit 70ish sit-ups.

I bulked up when in Saudi, and put like 10 pounds on. When I got back to Alaska, I think my run suffered by about :35.

What amazed me (and others) was my girlfriend slammed a 300 with E A S E . She runs 8+ miles a day though, and does abs like a fiend. What really surprises most people is when she knocked out more push-ups than most of the dudes.

I hear they've added pull-ups to the AFPT? We didn't have to do them.

Really????
I could knock out 100 pu, run high 11's low 12's, but sucked at su. I think I crossed 70 maybe once in my career. I think a little leprechaun was pusing me up that day. Actully in all honesty, I had drank some Ultimate orange that test day.... yall remember ultimate Orange. That brings the question... what are some old supps yall remember from back in the day. Hmm might start a thread with that.

 

[DynaGlide]

Of course the old TwinLabs Diet Fuel and Ripped Fuel. I actually found a bottle of those downstairs the other day... expire 02/99. I won't be rushing to down those babies.

My main staple was Strawberry EAS Myoplex Plus Deluxe, with fruit punch Phosphagen HP.

There was some other stuff that tasted like vomit, but had like 30 grams of protein, and enough ephedrine to choke a horse. I used to choke that stuff down and knock out unreal workouts at the tent/gym in the desert. A little Andro6 never hurt anyone either .

 

[bslick69b]

youll most likely get shredded,with all the cordios,and iso's.BEWARE THE CATABOLIC MONSTER..up the protiens and bcaa's,you should be fine!!good luck man !!

 

[bslick69b]

youll most likely get shredded,with all the cordios,and iso's.BEWARE THE CATABOLIC MONSTER..up the protiens and bcaa's,you should be fine!!good luck man !!

oh yeah!! about the size, if you dont mind carrying it around,that should be find too, becaues what ever you lose should be mostly water and what little muscle you do lose, when your through with the gauntlet,the muscle memory will be there when you get back!!!so youll be fine!