Assessment

The first part of any fitness program is assessment.  You need to assess where you are before you can decide where you're going, how you will get there, and when you will get there.  The military makes this easy with a Physical Fitness Test (PFT).  And my initial thought was to just use the Army PFT as my standard, since I am familiar with it.  However, each branch uses a different variation of the PFT, so I wanted to look at each one and see if I should use a different PFT, or make a hybrid.  I think I am going to go with a hybrid.

The Army PFT consists of two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a two-mile run for time.  Each event is scored, based on reps or time, from 1-100.  The minimum Army standard is 50 points in each, with a total score of 150 to graduate Basic Training.  The Marines use a similar style, except they do pull-ups instead of push-ups, crunches instead of full sit-ups, and a three mile run.  I'm ignoring the Navy, Air Force, and Coast guard, as they use lower standards.  And frankly, I'm a grunt at heart, so I'm better than those glorified postal workers.

So, for my own PFT, I am going to combine the Army and Marines, as follows:

• 2 minutes of Push-ups
• Max Pull-ups
• 2 minutes of Crunches
• 2-mile run

Now, I am tempted to just jump right in and take my first PFT.  However, I have a couple of hurdles to get over before I am comfortable doing that.  I have been battling a debilitating case of Frozen Shoulders for a few months now.  They are getting better, but they still hurt when I move the wrong way, or over-extend myself.  This has also left my upper body in horrible condition.  I was barely able to squeeze out five push ups last week.  The good news is that they were with very little of the sharp pain associated with the Frozen Shoulders.  The bad news is that they showed me just how atrophied those muscles have become.

So, instead, I am going to give myself a couple of weeks to prepare; assisted push ups, stretching, etc.  I need to get the joints and muscles used to movement and stress again.  I also need to get used to running.  Right now, I'd be hard-pressed to run a half-mile without collapsing, let alone two.  For that I will defer to my wife for advice.  She has become a competitive runner, and has even done a half-marathon.

In a couple of weeks, I will take my modified PFT and post my results.  My intention is to take another PFT at regular intervals, and post those results as well.  This way, I can track my progress, and decide if maybe I need to modify my program.

Next up: Design a program.

First Step - Cleaning house

Hello, and welcome to my new blog.

This will be where I chronicle my new journey into fitness, and I hope to use this as a way of keeping myself on track.

A bit of background, for those who don't know:  I spent much of my high school days practicing various forms of martial arts, and was highly influenced by Bruce Lee.  I'm also a huge fan of boxing, and a passing MMA fan.  At various stages of my life, I have revisited the martial arts at schools and classes, but have never stuck with it long enough to gain any rank (for various reasons).  And finally, I probably watched more military movies, and read more military novels (Mack Bolan was, and is my favorite) than was probably healthy for a kid my age.

Subsequently, I served in the US Army from 1989-95 (with a brief break in the middle).  I was an Airborne Infantryman with 20 jumps, served in Desert Shield/Storm with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and spent two and a half years playing laser tag as an OPFOR soldier at the Joint Readiness Training Center, then newly relocated to Ft. Polk, LA.

My dark secret is that I was chaptered out of the Army for being overweight.  0.27% overweight, to be exact.  I blame myself as much as I blame my Platoon Sergeant, who (and this was confirmed by several NCO's at the time) had it in for me because I wasn't a PT monster meathead, like the ex-Rangers in my Platoon.  But my then-wife was pregnant, and as many men do, I put on some sympathy weight.  Well, it was just enough to push me over.  Oddly, it only cut my enlistment by six days, and it gave me PX and Commissary privileges for two years afterwards.  My discharge was General, but turned to Honorable after six months out.  So, basically, it had very little negative impact on my life.

Except for my ego.  I've never been narcissistic.  But I have always prided myself on being able to do some things very well.  When I was a Mortar man (11C), I was good at every aspect of the job; fastest gunner in the platoon, expert at Fire Direction Command, and I knew the systems inside and out.  But, because I was never that physically gifted (I averaged about a 220/300 on my PT tests, though I did manage a 268 once), I was often overlooked.  Because, in the Infantry, PT and physical fitness was everything.  At least in my unit.

Anyways, from the time I got out, I have been battling weight problems.  I don't think I have weighed less than 200 pounds since 1993 or so.  I've had phases where I have gotten down close to that again, but generally I have hovered between 210 and 230 for a good portion of the last 20 years (at one point I was up to 270).  Much of this can be attributed to the hurt and depression I suffered through the years, as a result of my Army experience (of course a "rough" marriage didn't help).  Yeah, I spent way too much time feeling sorry for myself.

This needs to change.  And this time, for good.  That's why I have started this blog.  To help me stay focused on what I need to do.  So, in the following months, maybe years, I will talk about what I am doing, what I would like to do, and I may even discuss general military and martial arts topics as well.

I hope those who follow this enjoy the ride.  And if I make false assumptions, or say something you know to be wrong, feel free to correct me.  This is as much of a learning tool for me as it is a journal.

AIRBORNE!