Topic: Comparing Physical Fitness (Jogging, Diet, Cardiovascular, and Strength )

[Red_Snapper]

I know that I am CLEARLY not the first person on this thread to ask this question, but I need a no b.s physical assesment from either a member of the CF, or someone of significant experience. I have to go for my physical assesment in March or April. I know the requirements but I still want to strive to excell. I can currently do about 40 standard CF pushups, and situps I can pretty much do to no end. But running. I haven't really ran for about 4 months, and in that time, pretty much everything I had worked to accomplish dissapeared. I was able to run 2.4km in about 9:10 and 5km in 23 (flat land), but know I think I could probably only run 2.4 in 11-12 with a struggle. I know I need to get back into shape for running, but i'm curious how well I'm doing in the other aspects of assesment, and if someone could tell me a simple rough program that I could follow it would be highly appreciated. 

[George Wallace]

[EDITTED to create new Topic]

This will give others the chance to compare their Training and results.

[Bo]

Depends on your exact goals.

You're above average in all fitness categories so passing the test is no problem. However, if you want to really excel at ONLY the fitness criteria judged by the CF, then practice pushups, situps, beep tests (that's what you get assessed on I believe), and grip strength.

As for a routine to get better at those particular exercises, well, try doing 3 beep tests per week on non-consecutive days and the pushups, situps, and grip work on the other days. 3 sets of each exercise to failure should do the trick.


Now, if you want to improve your TOTAL fitness as well as doing well on this test, then look no further than www.crossfit.com. It is an excellent workout regimine for complete fitness (strength, speed, power, endurance, flexibility, agility, etc.)


Good luck

[NSfirefighter]

alright now im a total weakling jus to get that out of the way but im getting there (i work out at least once a day)

im not asking to be spoonfed im just looking for a cf members advice as i no longer have any cf members in my family

so heres the info

im 17 i weigh about 175 im not chubby or nothing im rather skinny actually

i can do about 17 or 16 cf standard pushups on a good day but then my hands and arms begin to shake and i feel like im going to collapse. Not pass out just like drop

i can do the 19 situps in about one minute i havent tried actually timing it yet but the last one is rather difficult though

i havent tried chin ups yet

running i cant improve on but at a fairly normal jog rate i can only go for about 15 minutes and im out of breath (i know that doesent give you guys an idea of how fast im running but i cant think of any other way to describe it )

im in very poor shape i know

my questions are

is there anyway i can stop the shakes when i do pushups? i try every day but i can never get past 17

is there any very basic tips i should know?

my goal is reserves be ready by this summer at least

any advice is welcome and if you must flame please be gentle

thanks

[Hatchet Man]

alright now im a total weakling jus to get that out of the way but im getting there (i work out at least once a day)

im not asking to be spoonfed im just looking for a cf members advice as i no longer have any cf members in my family

so heres the info

im 17 i weigh about 175 im not chubby or nothing im rather skinny actually

i can do about 17 or 16 cf standard pushups on a good day but then my hands and arms begin to shake and i feel like im going to collapse. Not pass out just like drop

i can do the 19 situps in about one minute i havent tried actually timing it yet but the last one is rather difficult though

i havent tried chin ups yet

running i cant improve on but at a fairly normal jog rate i can only go for about 15 minutes and im out of breath (i know that doesent give you guys an idea of how fast im running but i cant think of any other way to describe it )

im in very poor shape i know

my questions are

is there anyway i can stop the shakes when i do pushups? i try every day but i can never get past 17

is there any very basic tips i should know?

my goal is reserves be ready by this summer at least

any advice is welcome and if you must flame please be gentle

thanks

First things first, improve your grammar.  Second what is your diet like?  If you're eating crap, then your body will respond accordingly.  Diet has a HUGE impact on your fitness levels.  As for your PT search the multitude of threads here lots of info and advice on how to create programs, go to www.crossfit.com or google the Army Fitness Manual.   To get you started:  to increase your push ups, do variations (ie triceps, wide, on a medicine ball, plyos etc.)  use different set/rep combos (ie pyramiding or that thread on pathway to 50).   Sit-ups again variety is your friend (reverse, twisting, with wieghts etc.) and don't forget to work your lower back as well or you get imbalanced.  Chin-ups now is as good a time as any to start.  Running you CAN improve, everyone can always improve something.  If you are out of breath after 15 minutes you either a) have medical issues, or more likely b)you are running to damn fast.  Pick a distance, say 5km, now go out and try and run that at a pace that won't leave you winded by the end.  Record your time, and repeat, trying to GRADUALLY increase your speed.  Thats just keeping things simple.  There is more advanced stuff you can do, once you get a grip on the basic stuff.

[NSfirefighter]

sorry about the grammer mate

and thanks for the advice

[RTaylor]

Ive gone from having a spare tire to having a spare bicycle tire in the past few months. My PT isn't what I'd like it to be, but circumstances being what they are, I think Ive done well in dropping 20 or so pounds.

I've also more than quadrupled my upper body strength, from doing 3-5 pushups and it hurting bad (I had repetitive stress issues that were rooted in my shoulders, thought that doing nothing would help keep the pain at bay). After near 2 years of doing nothing upper-body wise, I said screw the pain and went all out, well, started a personal regime. The pain is gone, has never returned, and I can now nearly get all my pushups off that I need (19) and want to get more in.

Cardio is my bane right now, I just can not get enough in daily or even weekly. I get out walking for 20 minutes a day while at work and try to get out when I'm home with my son as often as I can, but it's never a real solid workout (I live in dogpatch, and there's 0 decent areas to run / jog / etc, and the woods are swampy muck at the moment). Im not in horrid shape, but no where near where I used to be which is a shame. Winter hits people in my area hard in regards to exercise

The only thing you can do is try, and keep working on it 1 day at a time, and before you know it you'll look back and say "Wow, I've come a long way!". 

[Steve_Rogers]

Let's see! I can run 1.6 kilometers in about 5 or 6 minutes at my fastest. I can do 50 push ups perfectly fine, and up to 100 if I pushed myself, and am as fit and healthy as an ox! I should ace everything here, commandos!

[Jim Seggie]

Here's my schtick:
As a 50 year old reserve infantryman, I have to do PT just to keep up wtih the young ones.
I walk....lots.....stamina for 13 km BFT
Weights/resistance training
Some cardio, but not to be overdone.
Pushups....only if I have to
Situps..rarely but I do have an abdominal routine.
I completed 13 km in 2 hours 5 minutes last fall.

[MedTech]

Let's see! I can run 1.6 kilometers in about 5 or 6 minutes at my fastest. I can do 50 push ups perfectly fine, and up to 100 if I pushed myself, and am as fit and healthy as an ox! I should ace everything here, commandos!

WHO the frack are you?!

[Ex-Dragoon]

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[AirCanuck]

Ive gone from having a spare tire to having a spare bicycle tire in the past few months. My PT isn't what I'd like it to be, but circumstances being what they are, I think Ive done well in dropping 20 or so pounds.

I've also more than quadrupled my upper body strength, from doing 3-5 pushups and it hurting bad (I had repetitive stress issues that were rooted in my shoulders, thought that doing nothing would help keep the pain at bay). After near 2 years of doing nothing upper-body wise, I said screw the pain and went all out, well, started a personal regime. The pain is gone, has never returned, and I can now nearly get all my pushups off that I need (19) and want to get more in.

Cardio is my bane right now, I just can not get enough in daily or even weekly. I get out walking for 20 minutes a day while at work and try to get out when I'm home with my son as often as I can, but it's never a real solid workout (I live in dogpatch, and there's 0 decent areas to run / jog / etc, and the woods are swampy muck at the moment). Im not in horrid shape, but no where near where I used to be which is a shame. Winter hits people in my area hard in regards to exercise

The only thing you can do is try, and keep working on it 1 day at a time, and before you know it you'll look back and say "Wow, I've come a long way!". 

Hey there
speaking as someone who frequently gets beat down by old man winter;
It is definitely hard keeping in shape during the winter.  I live in London Ontario which is in an area known as the snow belt.  The key is to use indoor cardio as well as outdoor.  Walks are good - but you should try to go to a gym maybe 3 times a week.  If running is hard on your joints, use the elliptical, which has no impact.  Really the key is to get into a routine - the hard part isn't really sticking with it, I find, it's starting it up.  I personally have not great knees, so I use the elliptical generally.
cheers

[RiverDriver]

If you are looking to build upper-body strength, or increase your failing point for push-ups and chin-ups, try a pyramid work out. It worked for me. Here's the best description of a pyramid workout that I've found: http://www.military.com/military-fitness/fitness-test-prep/pt-pyramid

[warren_t]

RiverDriver-thank you for the Fitness link-specifically the Pyramid. I enjoy the change or muscle confusion workouts.

I have gone through P90X and continue to do so. It is an excellent program. Plyometrics, Yoga, Core Synergistics, Stretching, Abs and the Specific Muscle Group exercises. CV is the core to my weight maitenance. The Stair climber (machine looks like a reverse escalator), treadmills, etc. Lots of variety to achieve the cummulative CV fitness result. Diet determines my abd tone (six pack  or not). Canned food-including sauces etc minimal, tuna, salmon ok. For me anything with high sodium is a no no, fresh food-the optimum. Fast food-1x per week. I still cheat diet wise- a slice of pizza, or a TH donut. Try not to eat at bedtime, I have protein only.
Recovery drinks-also critical to response to training. During and after.
Thanks for all these tips.

[tuyop]

sorry about the grammer mate

and thanks for the advice

I'd stay away from crossfit for now. Crossfit is for people who already have a good level of fitness. You can't do 20 pushups so you really shouldn't be doing king lifts or 400 meter weighted runs, you're just going to hurt yourself and see no improvement in your fitness.

Let's see! I can run 1.6 kilometers in about 5 or 6 minutes at my fastest. I can do 50 push ups perfectly fine, and up to 100 if I pushed myself, and am as fit and healthy as an ox! I should ace everything here, commandos!

Also 1.6k in 5-6 minutes isn't INSANELY fast. I do 8k in 31 minutes. 5 in 19:30. 2.4 in 8. That's very impressive for pushups though if you can actually do 100 proper military pushups. Good job.

[Hatchet Man]

I'd stay away from crossfit for now. Crossfit is for people who already have a good level of fitness. You can't do 20 pushups so you really shouldn't be doing king lifts or 400 meter weighted runs, you're just going to hurt yourself and see no improvement in your fitness.

Also 1.6k in 5-6 minutes isn't INSANELY fast. I do 8k in 31 minutes. 5 in 19:30. 2.4 in 8. That's very impressive for pushups though if you can actually do 100 proper military pushups. Good job.

And obviously you don't have any idea what you are talking about wrt crossfit.  Crossfit is for anyone and everyone, all the workouts can be scaled down to accomodate people at all fitness levels (that doesn't mean necessarily making the workouts "easier" per se. Example, substituting push ups from the knees or wall for regular pushups, jumping pullups/negatives for regular pushups, using lower weights etc).  Reading the FAQ/Getting Started section of the mainsite, will tell you that right off the bat. 

[kyfho1]

Right now I can do about 30 pushups, Also I can run a mile in 10 minutes(i realize this isnt good) but I havent tried to push myself on the running yet so I am working on that.
I have spent hours upon hours looking up threads on here and other websites trying to find the perfect way to set up a work out schedule for myself to get the best results possible over a 2 month stretch.
I created a work out regime for the following two months and it includes a 60 min fast walk on my treadmill monday through friday in the mornings. Also tuesday and thursday nights another 60 min fast walk.  And on mon/wed/fri nights a 30 minute HIIT (high intensity interval training) which is 1 minute walk 1 minute jog 1 minute run 1 minute sprint, then repeated until i get over 30 minutes and a 5 minute cool down.

Now on monday wednesday friday I have included 2x sets of pushups and also a 5 minute ab workout.
Tuesday thursday, squats and leg excercises.

I am confident this routine will get me where I need to be only I am worried I might be pushing myself too hard on the treadmill.  So far I havent had any problems I do proper stretching before every walk or run, but I would like some peoples opinions on whether this is a little too hard and maybe what I could do to give me more results and less risk of injury.


One other question I have is that I have been trying this 5 minute ab exercise I found in another thread, I will post it below.. but anyways, after I complete this workout, the couple days after my hips HURT real bad.
I realize I have to work out the hip flexors and lower back at the same time I work out my abs or this could result in injury aswell.  Is there any exercises anybody knows of that could help me with this? I do not live near a gym so anything that could be performed at home would be valuable. 

Thanks again and here is the 5 minute abs exercise I was talking about..

The point of this is to do each excercise for 1 minute, and then switch to the next right away, thus giving yourself a full 5 minute ab workout.

Ex 1.  Lie with your back on the floor, straighten your legs, and begin lifting them about a foot to a foot and a half off the ground, almost like your walking but with your back on the ground.  Don't let your feet touch the ground, they should come as far down as possible without touching the ground.  As one foot goes down, the other shoudl be going up.  Do that for one minute.

Ex 2.  Put your legs straight into the air, and begin lifting your butt off the ground. It'll feel uncomfortable at first but you'll get used to it.  This works your high abs.  Make sure not to put your hans under your hips for support.  Do that for one minute.

Ex 3. Crunches.  Yup, just do crunches for one minute.  NOT SIT UPS....crunches.

Ex 4. Straighten both legs out, keeping them off the ground and together.  Bring them into your chest, or as far into your body as you can, and then straighten them out again.  Like excercise 1, make sure not to let your feet touch the ground, and keep them straight.  Do for one minute.

Ex. 5.  Straighten your legs up into the air again , but this time bring them down to one side of your body, like your twisting yourself on the way down almost.  Then to the other side, and back and forth you go.  Do for one minute.

Now feel the burn.  I normally try to do one set using 40 second intervals, and a second one doing 30 seconds intervals.  Trust me, you WILL feel the burn.

[Jebus]

You should also include Squats in your workout. Resistance training is just, so damn good.

[DanKnee]

For anyone looking for a running program and owns an iPod/iPhone, I highly recommend downloading the Couch to 5K app (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml). It’s a great tool and keeps track of everything for you. A voice will speak over your music and tell you when to run or walk.

I’m currently on the ninth week and can run 5K without any trouble. I usually throw in sprints near the end to push myself. When I started I could barely run for 3 min straight. I found this app while searching other fitness threads. There is a lot of great information on this site if you have the time to search around.

Also, I found the 300 workout to be helpful and something you can do before bed. It is 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups and 100 squats. Example: Do push-ups until failure. Take a short break and continue until you reach 100. It could take you 5 or 30 min depending on your level and then move on to sit-ups. Just make sure you don’t cheat yourself and keep proper form.

[Chilme]

Go to the Army Run website below and you will find a beginner and advanced running program for both a 5K and half marathon.  For those with no direction, it is a good start.

http://armyrun.ca/en/raceinfo/bootcamp.aspx

[Iron Man]

I have read this and many other threads, and haven't quite found what I am looking for..... I have my application in (hoping for Combat Engineer, reserves) and have been training hard, my physical is in a week. I have included pull ups, pushups, sit-ups, TRX (basically resistance training) and a lot of running into my workouts. My issue is that I seem to be consistently loosing weight, but understand that I am already lean and if anything am trying to put on weight or mass. I signed myself up for my first half marathon to take place this August, to help with training and motivation, but am wondering if I should drop that because of the weight loss? If (and when) I get the call for BMQ, I don't want to be a bean pole because I've been running so much, but on the other hand I want to be in the best shape possible. To give you an idea I am 6' and currently 165lbs. used to be 175lbs. I would really appreciate advice from someone who has been there. Thank you in advance.

[phillip]

@Ironman

I'm not thin myself, 5'9 171lbs, but I've read that if you are lean and want to put on muscle mass (as long as you are adequately strength training) that the GOMAD method works pretty good. GOMAD standing for Gallon Of Milk A Day. doesn't have to be a gallon, but for example my armwrestling coach drinks a liter of milk every day at lunch time.

you can also combine that with protein powder. I don't want to recommend any websites or brands because I'm not sure if that's against forum policy, but as long as whatever protein you're getting is a whey isolate and has little to no sugar, you should be good. it's the best way to get the protein you need for your muscles without a lot of padded calories in carbs and sugar.

best of luck!

[Jim Seggie]

IMO stay away from supplements. I understand that they can and do build lean muscle mass...however....if you are in FOB Middle of Nowhere.....and there is no CANEX or PX.......and you have IMPs to live on.....then what?
Body builders have a hard time in the field. Their lives revolve around training, eating and resting to build that mass. In the field, that don't happen.

[Iron Man]

Thank you for the advise guys. Sorry to be fussy, but I am looking for advice on running vs. weight gain. I don't expect, nor do I want to get "huge" but should I keep up with the 1/2 marathon training and try to maintain weight, or ditch that, still get cardio in, but concentrate more on the strength training? I know they are both important but what should I be concentrating on for BMQ? I want to be as ready as I can be and if any advice will help I will gladly take it. Thanks again.



Mr. Seggie, thank you for your sacrifice. May your son Michael Rest in Peace.

[ballz]

Thank you for the advise guys. Sorry to be fussy, but I am looking for advice on running vs. weight gain. I don't expect, nor do I want to get "huge" but should I keep up with the 1/2 marathon training and try to maintain weight, or ditch that, still get cardio in, but concentrate more on the strength training? I know they are both important but what should I be concentrating on for BMQ? I want to be as ready as I can be and if any advice will help I will gladly take it. Thanks again.



Mr. Seggie, thank you for your sacrifice. May your son Michael Rest in Peace.

I don't know what your 1/2 marathon training entails, how far/long you are running and how often, but...

I trust you realize that running is sort of contradictory to gaining weight, especially since you seem to have a high metabolism anyway.

If what you are wondering is how to gain weight, but also keep your cardio at an acceptable level at the same time, then I would say (purely my opinion) that an 8km run (running for time) 3 times a week will help you maintain at least "above average" cardio... If you can run 8km in 40 minutes I would guess you'd be in the top 15% of your course for running period.

This "8km, 40 min" is based on the fitness levels I've seen from my BMOQ and CAP courses. That's it, that's all.

If you aren't running that much already, well... increasing your running to that will obviously only increase the weight loss effect.

[Muttenthaler]

This is a reply for every person who posted on here.

Do these things:

Cardio:  High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - Look it up and do it instead of typical endurance training (useless).
Strength / Endurance: Circuit training is ALWAYS best. Do some research on full-body workouts and apply your new-found knowledge!
Stretching / Flexibility / Core: Just two words; Yoga, and Pilates. MY bench alone went from 135 to 365 in two months doing Yoga, and Pilates. Not to mention the incredible flexibility and renage of motion your joints will love you for. You will be much less injury-prone.
Nutrition:  Fruits, Veggies, Lean Meats, and Whole Grains. Every Meal.

[shreenan]

I'm wondering how I would improve my hand grip score or how would I practice and running on a treadmill what level/setting should I run on or work towards.

 
Thanks

[ObedientiaZelum]

Stretching / Flexibility / Core: Just two words; Yoga, and Pilates. MY bench alone went from 135 to 365 in two months doing Yoga, and Pilates.

So you almost tripled your bench, in two months, by doing yoga? What?

Shreenan,

I'm wondering how I would improve my hand grip score or how would I practice and running on a treadmill what level/setting should I run on or work towards.

Handgrip is easy, go to a store with weights or even walmart and buy one of those little handgrip exercise things.

How would you practice on a treadmill?  It's pretty straight forward

Running on roads (paths trails etc..) is much better than on a treadmill. Treadmills basically pull you along. I've got a friend who runs on one every night. Motors pretty good on it too. On the street they crumble. I did the same too.

Try this, it knocked a lot of time off my 5K and 10K run.
Run full speed (monsters are after you) for 30 seconds, then walk 30 seconds. Then run for 30 seconds and walk 30 seconds. (do this 5 times)
Next move the times up to a minute. Run a minute walk a minute run a minute walk a minute, 5 times.
Then bring it up to 2 minutes, again do the ratio 5 times.  You'll be gassed at this point so you'll need to pace your 2 minutes of running a little bit but still, your pace should be running away from something scary.  Do that 3 times a week and you'll notice a huge difference.

[nik214]

Recently started running to get into better shape for my testing. Off the bat I ran a 10:30 2.4 km which is not amazing by any means I am just showing my level of fitness. My question is: Would it benefit me to go on runs upwards of 10 km? or should I keep my focus on getting faster at distances shorter than 10 km? Thanks.

[cypres78]

Recently started running to get into better shape for my testing. Off the bat I ran a 10:30 2.4 km which is not amazing by any means I am just showing my level of fitness. My question is: Would it benefit me to go on runs upwards of 10 km? or should I keep my focus on getting faster at distances shorter than 10 km? Thanks.

Pretty wide open question, it depends on what your goals are. For starters, what testing?

[ballz]

You will definitely want to be able to run longer distances than that. The key is varying you distance/intensity/time.

If you run 5km once a week at your fastest, then a low 10-15km once a week (the distance should tire you out, not the pace), with a day of high-intensity intervals, you will end up with a better 5km time than if you were just running 5km 3x a week

10.30 for 2.4km is a good start if you're not into running by the way, so if you keep running you should do fairly well at it.

[nik214]

My goals are just to get in great shape all round. I have applied for a reserve unit so I believe the cardiovascular test is the beep test.

Ballz: Thanks for the advice. I am going to do a couple more 5 km runs and include intervals; then try and work my way up to longer distances.

[cypres78]

My goals are just to get in great shape all round. I have applied for a reserve unit so I believe the cardiovascular test is the beep test.

Ballz: Thanks for the advice. I am going to do a couple more 5 km runs and include intervals; then try and work my way up to longer distances.

I use the and have seen great results. I do not do the strength and conditioning workouts as I have something else I do.

If you only do the runs its based on a long run, med interval and short interval per week.(3 workouts)

www.crossfitendurance.com

[nik214]

Thanks for the link

[THINKBIG]

Hello,  I find a nice book online last week that I would like to share with all of you I was searching on youtube on Paleo diet and I found this:  This is very long but it is great stuff.  I seriously think that book with help a lot of people in the FC.  It could be a future tool for PSP staff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PdJFbjWHEU

Book : ( Body by Science ), I read it all as a french men it was easy to read.  You must read it all to understand.  DO not just read the work out you will not get every tool you need to succeed in your training.

I am giving a try to this work out + my sport biking and diving.  I stop running training because at long term it is bad for your joints. I use to run my 2.4 km in 8 min.

Any comment or help ... I will be more than happy to put you in the good direction.

[jpr]

For anybody who is concerned about a lack of grip strength, I would like to introduce you to my friend, the farmer's carry:

If you have access to a gym, just pick up some dumbells (they should be heavy) and take a tour of the gym.
Be sure to nod and smile politely at the people who look at you funny 
This exercise will build grip strength, forearm strength and size, and serve as a good assistance exercise for the deadlift (if deadlifts are part of your training regimen)

[nik214]

I do that farmers carry once in a while. Love the burn in the forearms after about 50 feet