(Ok this is frustrating I had this whole long post written and then it just disappeared. So I'm writing it again. That's ok I didn't need that half-hour.)
I've started this BLOG as a journal for my experiences before Basic, during Basic, during AIT, and possibly into my military career. Before we get too in depth let me give you a little info about me. I'm a 29 yr old male from central georgia. I'm 6'1" tall and 235lbs (at least until the army gets a hold of me). I'm married to a beautiful woman (Becky) and I have two great kids a 3yr old girl and a 5 yr old boy (Madison, Martin). I have a few priorities in my life: God, family, church, and country. You may wonder how a person with those priorities come to enlist in the army. Well it may help to know that I'm going for the MOS 56M Chaplain Assistant. If you'd like to know more about Chaplain Assistants go here.
There are many BLOGs about Basic Combat Training, but most of them start with MEPS or Reception week. I wanted to give a perspective on joining up from the begining. I'm over the weight limit for my height by 23lbs, but my recruiter (and everything I've found on the net) says that the weight doesn't matter so much as your body fat percentage. I found a good body fat calculator and started tracking my progress. Initially, I had 6 inches to lose from around my mid-section. I'm down to about 3.5 inches to lose now. I will be tracking my progress in reaching my goal of passing the MEPS PT test and my experiences in BCT (Basic Combat Training) and AIT (Advanced Individual Training).
Now, to pick up where I am. Last night I did 50 push-ups for the first time. It was across 5 sets though with a few minutes of rest in between. I'll be doing push-ups again tonight and concentrating on hitting the 50 mark again with more even sets and less time resting between. I just started doing unassisted sit-ups and I did 25 total in 2 sets. Even though I can do 35 Assisted (where someone holds your feet) situps in less than a minute. The unassisted situps will be what I do in PT (Physical Training) during BCT.
I had to go to the doctor yesterday because when I run my calves burn really bad on the inside. I makes me unable to even jog the whole mile, let alone finish it in under the 8.5 minutes required to get into the military. I thought it might be shin splints, but the doc said no. He said I should just ice it after I run until my legs get used to working out again. Then, I went and worked out, played 4 sets of tennis, came home, and subsequently forgot to ice my leg. No cardio for me tonight, but tomorrow will be a different story.
In my quest to be as prepared as possible for BCT I did some research and found far more info on the internet than I got from my recruiter. There's a great site called www.armybasic.org that puts you in touch with hundreds of other people who have either been through BCT or are going to BCT. There's also some pretty good links there to help you find out what you need to know. I'll be updating this regularly with my PT progress and bits and pieces of information as I learn them.
Anyway, I'm off to PT.