What Not to Do Before a PT Test

Well sports fans I have a very interesting story about PT tests. As you know I have dedicated my last few entries towards explaining the best methods to prepare for a PT test. This includes what to eat and how to stretch the night before to prepare your body. Well, as it were I failed to follow my own advice. I have been on a strenuous workout regiment that has left me a little banged up and stiff; however, I have gotten in pretty good shape during the last month. In an attempt to free up some time for workouts on Thursday and Friday, I decided to take the PT test this morning. I didn't feel that great, but I figured I would be just fine. For your information, I did not do the best job drinking water last night; I even had a few beers. This wouldn't have been so bad by itself, but I ended up having explosive diarrhea this morning. So as of 6:15 this morning I was quite stiff and dehydrated. Despite not being in the best condition, I went ahead and took the test. My performance was less than stellar on the push up and sit up events, but it was not horrible, even with all of the cramping. Most of my decision was motivated by the weather this morning. I figured that there would not be a better day to run than today. The run began well like the other events, but after two and a half laps my muscles started shutting down. My right glute and left hamstring completely cramped, preventing me from finishing the run. I failed to heed my won advice an ended up paying the price. Please take care of your bodies before a PT test.

Preparing for a PT Test Part 2: Thursday Night Workout

This has been adapted from Thursday Night Workout.

Background

It can be challenging and confusing to plan a workout. It becomes even more complicated when you try to develop one to prepare your body for a PT test the following morning. There are a few basic principles that you should keep in mind. The first is that you should always warm up before a workout. It will get your blood flowing and loosen up most muscle groups. The stages following the warm-up are the static and dynamic phase. Static stretches involve no movement, simply holding the stretch. Dynamic stretches are done by moving constantly.

Warm-up

A good warm-up should be long enough to increase your heart rate, while short enough to avoid hurting tomorrow’s performance.

1. 5 minute Jog
A quick jog is a great way to start a workout. If you are unable to jog, a stationary bike can be quite useful.

2. 15 Push-ups

3. 15 Sit-ups

Dynamic Phase

The following stretches should be done slowly, avoiding jerky motions. Be sure to widen your range of motion as much as you can. These stretches should be done in moderation.

1. 1 min of the arm and shoulder rotation

2. 1 minute of the neck rotation

3. 1 minute of the hips rotation

4. 1 minute of the bend and reach

Static Phase
You should finish with a small amount of key static stretches. The following stretches work best if they are performed in three, ten second sets, each set should be done by stretching further each time. Do not stretch for too long. This will only hurt you.

1. The upper back stretch

2. The chest stretch

3. The hamstring stretch standing

4. The quadriceps stretch and balance

5. The hip flexor stretch

Personal stretches
Do what other stretches you feel would help you, just make sure that they are not done in excess.

In Conclusion

This workout has worked for me in the past, but that’s not to say it will work for you. Adapt the workout as you see fit. Good Luck

Preparing for a PT Test Part 1: Eating Habits

This list has been adapted from Preparing for a PT Test, for more info check it out.

1. Stay Hydrated

This is the simplest and most intuitive of the tips I will offer, but at times it can be most difficult. It is much more complicated than drinking water. Drinking too much water at once without eating will flush the body of electrolytes. Water should be drank at a rate of 16oz/hour. This is half of what we can safely process in an hour. The important thing to realize is that this must be done gradually throughout the entire day before.

2. Do not Carbo-load
We have grown up with the belief that we should be eating a large amount of pasta or carbohydrates the night prior to a PT test. The only result of eating a large amount of pasta or rice is having to get rid of the pasta a few hours later. If this happens to be the following morning, I couldn't imagine a worse time to have to use the bathroom.

3. Avoid Taking Multi-vitamins
Multivitamins may be helpful in meeting your daily needs for certain nutrients; however, there is such a thing as too many vitamins. Taking a large amount of vitamins to give yourself a boost on the morning of a PT test will only hurt your cause. Your body uses a great deal of water and energy to process and remove extra vitamins. If you want to take vitamins the night before a PT test, do not exceed half of a multivitamin.

4. Avoid Fried Food
Fried food will hurt your performance in a number of ways. The most drastic of these is the effect it has on blood chemistry. Fatty foods cause a huge spike in blood sugar, followed by a large crash. Following this crash is a significant drop in energy. This is the last thing you want to happen when preparing to store energy for a big day.

Bottom-Line
Eating a healthy, well balanced, light meal with plenty of water throughout the day will best prepare you the night before a PT test.

Military Ball Time!

Today is everyone's favorite, the night of all nights,... the military ball! Ok, I'm done. Today marks the longest and most stressful day the MS IV's will have all year. The process of transporting all materials, setting everything up, adjusting any plans, and rehearsing one last time is extremely arduous. I will rarely speak out against the cadre; however, they are impossible to deal with when it comes time to prepare the ball. Everyone has an opinion about how the ball should be run, and these opinions will surface on the day of the ball. Trying to satisfy the wants of others when you barely have enough time to prepare what you had drives cadets to insanity. So they run around like their hair is on fire in the hours leading up to the ball, leaving barely enough time to get dressed and make it back on time. The moral of the story is that everyone who goes needs to thank the MSIV's that put in the many hours required for a successful night. Now comes the time to address the consumption of alcohol. It has become practice for senior cadets to drink heavily prior to showing up at the ball. My opinion on the subject is that no one should be drinking, especially the senior cadets. They should remain sober because they are responsible for running the ball and caring for younger cadets. Last year I remained completely sober so I could drive anyone home who needed it. The ball is designed for the younger cadets to have fun and not have to worry about getting home. I will not address the post-ball happenings, but ask around if you are curious.

Motivation anyone?

Before I begin to write about the happenings of this morning, I want you to know that despite having a high opinion of myself, I am in no way unrealistic. I feel that, given the opportunity, people should step up and help their buddy. Back to the morning... I was standing around with the juniors and seniors when the cadre were asking for help this afternoon. Apparently, a junior from Bradley needed someone to run with him. He would be taking a PT test around one o'clock and thought it would be helpful to have some people running with him. At this point no one volunteered. Everyone just stood there and pretended that they were busy for the entire afternoon. There was no way that out of 19 people, no one had an hour available. This is a common occurrence in ROTC. Whenever there is some function going on that requires volunteers, everyone within hearing distance has a full schedule. ROTC will require time outside of the usual functions, but it is quite funny how, after time, people's reflex is to reply that they are busy. If they lack a reasonable excuse, they will make one up as fast as they can. I know that we are busy, but we must remember why we decided to join ROTC. I joined in order to help people, and try to do so when the opportunity arises. Try to think about this when someone asks for help.

Corrective Measures

Yesterday I was complaining about how bad my shins and feet were hurting. Instead of complaining about it I made a trip to Walgreens for some insoles. I was looking at the many insoles, trying to find the perfect one. I grabbed two different ones. The first one I tried out were the Dr. Scholls one-size fits all orthodics. The insoles are not the kind that you cut to fit your proper size. They simply don't have the protion beyond the ball of the foot. This allows them to sell it as though they would fit sizes eight to twelve. Unfortunately for me, the insole doesn't fit size 12 feet properly. The arch doesn't quite match up as I hoped it would. Without proper arch support, I was basically left where I started. The next set of insoles I purchased were the Aero 3 by Profeet. They appear to be a generic brand, in cost and appearance; however, appearances are deceiving. These are foam insoles that have an air chamber that runs from the heel to the arch of the foot. After cutting the insole to size, I tested them out. At first they did not seem to fit correctly, but after five minutes, I could notice the difference. The Aero 3 were easily worth the nine dollars, and my feet feel great today even after running twenty minutes of stair laps with a rucksack. Running stairs usually kill my feet and calves, but today was different. My feet still hurt a little bit, but no where near as bad as they would have without the insoles. I would recommend buying these insoles if you are having foot problems or if your shoes have lost padding and support.

The Pains of Ruckmarching

We all go through the pain of getting back into a training regimen every year. In trying to prepare for a twelve mile road march, I have began the training. I can't describe just how painful it can be getting started. My feet and shins are in an incredible amount of pain. The road marching is bad enough by itself, but I can't seem to get past the pain that feels as though my shins are on fire. After about two miles, my feet go completely numb. You might think that this would be good news; unfortunately, I can't control the movement of my left foot. It just flops around as I lift and move my legs. The tightness of the tendons is not limited to when I am actually marching. Despite stretching the muscles and tendons below my knees extensively, the arches of my feet are incredibly stiff. I am debating a number of changes to help my legs. I am going to purchase some insoles for my boots. I feel as though the insoles are not doing their job and supporting my arches. The best kind that I could think of would be those liquid ones that move as you walk, but I am not sure that these exist. I will also begin to take ibuprofen before and after workouts. This won't completely erase the pain, but hopefully it will dull the pain enough so I can get through the initial pain. After getting past the first 1.5 miles, the shin splints begin to dull. After the workouts, I rush to the frozen veggies. These provide a very cheap and reusable alternative to bags of ice. I am going to have to figure out how to overcome this. The only way to be ready will be by getting through it and putting in the work.

Hell Day # 1

Yesterday was the first real day of Air Assault training. I started my workouts yesterday morning with a four mile interval workout. The name is misleading because the workout is actually involves six miles of running. To explain what intervals are, they are sprints done on a track folowed by a jog of the same distance. In the case of this workout, the intervals were of 400 and 200 meters. The workout began with a mile ran at an easy pace. For most people this should fall below the 8:30/mile pace. The next stage in the workout was the beginning of the 400 meter intervals. I ran four 400m sprints with 400m jogs in between, totaling 2 miles of four hundred's. In case you have never run 400m sprints, there is nothing more miserable. By the end of the second sprint, I felt as though I was going to die. The next stage of the workout was more intervals, this time 200 meters in length. The overall distance covered in this stage is the same as the four hundred's because I did eight 200m sprints followed by 200m jogs. After running four miles, I really started to drag. My legs and feet were basically dead half-way through the two hundred's. The final stage, which I did not complete, was another mile for time. The goal is to make sure that it is completed in less than 9 min. Later on last night, I hopped on the treadmill with a 45 pound pack. Let me say that road marching is no joke, especially when you have not done it in a while. After only two miles, I was completely soaked in sweat. All I know is that I will be rucking a lot more in the next three weeks.

A Good News Day

From the title I am sure that you can figure out that today brought some good news, both items ROTC related. The first piece of news was related to the news every cadet waits for. I found out when I will finally end up going to BOLC II and BOLC III. For people new to ROTC land, BOLC II is the school that immediately follows ROTC in the training progression. It lasts six weeks and takes place at FT. Benning and FT. Sill. The class overall is pretty basic and much like Warrior Forge. I will be reporting to FT Benning on September 8. Following BOLC II is BOLC III. It is the job-specific training for an Army officer. This school teaches branch specific knowledge, and, for me, is located at Fort Leonard Wood. The school varies in length, depending on branch. Engineer BOLC III lasts for 17 weeks, making it shorter than most schools. There are a few more pieces of information that most cadets wait for, especially where we will end up. Duty stations typically are released in April. Today it is nice to know at least when and where I will be going in the next few months. It is tough to wait to find out what is going to happen, but once you do it is very liberating. The second piece of good information was that I found out today that I will be paid for the last year and will receive the check within the month. It is nice to know that efforts will be recognised. I have worked hard, and I feel as though this is the recognition of it.

Morning Swim

Today for PT i opted to swim instead of running outside on the track. Swimming is an extremely good workout. The low impact resistance training is great for endurance and joints. Running everyday can wear on a person's joints, especially in the lower body. Swimming offers a unique opportunity to work most muscle groups to muscle failure without putting pressure and stress on the joints. Swimming, especially when you are not used to doing it, is quite challenging. Try swimming 100 meters and see just how winded you are. All morning I felt like I was on the verge of drowning. The funny part about this is I am actually a decent swimmer; there is just something about swimming laps that shows you how terribly inefficient your form is. For the workout, we bagan by swimming 200 meters (8 lengths) as a warm-up. Following the 200m we then did a 50 meter freestyle sprint for time. Based on this time we had to complete twelve 50m sprints in less than 20 seconds added to our times. For example I swam the sprint in 55 seconds, so I had to swim the next twelve in one minute and fifteen seconds each. Following the sprints, we then swam ten 50m lengths with our arms extended above our head. We did this without using our arms and while on our backs. This may not seem that difficult, but there is nothing like sharing a lane with two others and constantly inhaling water as they pass by. After this delightful, and I mean delightful, workout we were broken down into groups based on our initial sprint. We were instructed to hold a styrofoam thing between our legs. We had to swim 500 meters without using our legs at all. This was a ridiculous upper body workout. After the first 100m, I felt as though my arms were going to start on fire. Overall, the swim was a great full-body workout, and I would highly recommend swimming as a way to spend a morning.

Preparing for Air Assault

There are few things more exciting for a cadet than finding out about the possibility of attending on the the Army's many follow-on schools. Saturday was no different for me. I found out that there was a chance that I would be able to go to Air Assault school. For those who don't know much about it, Air Assault teaches soldiers skills that would allow them to conduct operations involving helicopters. This includes rigging equipment for lifting with helicopters, dismounting helicopters by rappelling, and bringing in helicopters in lifting operations. Air Assault is a very physically and mentally demanding school, and many do not succeed. The physical challenges involve completing an obstacle course and a twelve mile ruck march. There is also runs sprinkled in throughout the other days. The challenging part about preparing for a physically demanding school is becoming physically ready to go. A twelve mile road march completed in three hours is very difficult. Unfortunately, there is only one way to prepare yourself for it, road marching. This is especially difficult during the winter months. There are a few options, but only one logical choice. When traveling twelve miles, walking around a track is just not a realistic option and three hours on a treadmill could be mind numbing. I will let you know how the process goes and will be posting about recommendations about workouts in preparation for AAS.

Training Mentality

Preparing for a PT test can be quite challenging. There are two distinct mentalities when it comes to training: training for the test and training to the best of our abilities. If you fall into the first group, the reason you are running every morning is to pass the PT test. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this mentality. This focus will shape your workout. Since the exercises performed during a PT test are 2 minutes of push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run for time, all exercises performed should be designed to improve one of these areas. By mimicking the design of test, workouts will better prepare you for success. For example, doing three minutes of push-ups and sit-ups before running two miles as fast as you can everyday will drastically improve your score. Repetition will build muscle memory and increased performance in those activities. For someone with this mentality, any other workout is a waste of time. The second approach is that the PT test is simply an evaluation of physical fitness. This approach will encourage an individual to improve his or her overall level of fitness, including muscle groups that lie outside the testing parameters. This approach will make soldiers much stronger and more fit; however, it may lead to lower results on the Army Physical Fitness Test. Even with this approach, some time you must do some push-ups and sit-ups. The only way to do well on push-ups is by doing push-ups. Feel free to diversify your workouts, but make sure you have plenty of push and sit-ups in the plan. I know this has been somewhat abstract, but there is a simple takeaway: no matter what mentality you have concerning PT, make sure your plans include plenty of push-ups and sit-ups.

A Good Wednesday Workout

Today the majority of the battalion started off the day by inspecting uniforms. This is not my idea of a good workout. The number one explanation of why your PT score is not improving is that you are not getting the maximum effect out of your workouts. As cadets we are already waking up in the freezing cold. We must remember exactly why we woke up so early in the first place. We are doing this not for enjoyment but for personal improvement. You might as well get the most out of your workout. It is typical human nature to do what we must to get by. It takes a sadistic person to push themselves to the point of vomiting. The key is figuring out where that point is and pushing yourself to the edge. I understand that you are not planning what we do in PT, but there is a way to be completely exhausted afterward. Make sure that you do every exercise to your best effort. If you push yourself to your limit, no matter the exercise, you will always get the desired effect. Today my workout started with a 1/2 mile warm up at 7:30/mile pace. I then ran stair laps until I could no longer do the exercise safely. I had originally decided to do these for ten minutes, followed by another 1/2 mile. I ended up being able to do over 11 minutes until I slipped on the way up. After the twenty minutes of running, I did pyramid exercises of push-ups, pull-ups, and v-ups. The V-up is a sit up where you raise your legs and torso to meet in the middle. The pyramids typically involve starting at a number of repetitions, increasing repetitions until a point, and decreasing reps until reaching the original starting point. I simply started at fifteen push-ups and V-ups and 10 pull-ups and worked down to 9 push/V-ups and 5 pull ups. After a good stretch, I was done for the day.

A Crushing Blow

Well sportsfans, today we all suffered a tough loss. Now most of you haven't had the pleasure of seeing my digital Dakota watch, but if you had, you would have been able to read it from across the room. If you're trying to picture it, close your eyes. Now think of the clock at home in your kitchen. Finally, put a rubber strap on it, and you have the Dakota A1797. I know that I seem to be critical of it, but I really enjoyed the watch. I bought it from Ranger Joes about a two years ago for $54. It still remains the same price. Despite getting some greif about the size of the watch's face, I truly did not mind it. The large face made it very easy to read at a quick glance. It also was visible within about 10 feet, which is a pretty good range. These large letters also come in handy when trying to read the watch at night and while using the digital compass. The digital compass may seem like overkill; however, from my experience, the ability to tell, within 5 degrees, what direction you are facing is priceless. To switch to compass mode, you only hold down one button for 2 seconds. The watch then displays the direction, referenced with an arrow, to the nearest degree. You may think that you would rarely use this function, but compared to pulling out a compass, pushing one button is much easier. It's not exact, but it is much easier. The other features provide exactly what you will need in a watch. The watch is completely waterproof to 165 feet. The large crystal watch glass is extremely tough. I wore this watch in garrison and in the field for two years, and the only thing that damaged the face was consistent use of 99% deet bugspray. That really makes me think about what it does to skin. Back to the watch- My Dakota watch had an easy to use alarm, stopwatch and settings for two time zones, perfect for someone deployed to a differet time zone. I strongly reccommend grabbing one of these watches. Granted they are twice as expensive as typical sport watches, but the digital compass is worth it. I will let you know how they honor the five year warranty.