I leave may 15th, 37 days from now. Yes, I am counting them down to the last hour. I just have some concerns. First of all, I can already max out my push-ups and sit-ups, but I can juuuust run a mile in about 8 minutes. I'm not very good with running, but I'm not worried about that since it takes me like, no time to get in shape.

My problem is One, I'm way too skinny. I have that body type that can eat anything and not gain a single pound. The only weight I do have is muscle. A lot of people tell me I am too skinny to follow my dream to become an airborne ranger (got it on my contract, 11X, BAT, then RIP) I just want your opinion on that. Some people actually tell me it gives me an advantage, especially since I'm pretty strong and can lift heavier than my actual body weight (5'9 134lbs)

The second is getting injured. My shoulder is stable enough to do hard pt, but I'm afraid I will injure it or something. The doctor at meps said that it was ok if I could do the stuff I went through, since I have no medical history of dislocating it. It'd suck if I dislocated it in BCT.

Other than that, I am fully confident I'm going to get through basic training. Although I am very much in shape, I still think I'm going to get stomped in the ground. I just hope BCT isn't as wimpy as some people say it is nowadays, I'm looking forward to the challenges of BCT.

first off i want to thank you for your service and congrats on all that will come...now down to business...don't even worry about the weight...you will put on some weight at bct...i can't say much regarding airborne as i'm not airborne...your shoulder shouldn't be a problem, but if it starts to bother you, the army will take care of it...the only way to get better at running is to run...point blank...get out there and run...and again don't worry about it, in 37 days you'll be doing a ton of running...when i left for basic i ran a 12 minute 1 mile...when i graduated i ran a 13 flat 2 mile...so just don't fret it...the drill sergeants will make sure you're ready...now about the weaker bct, i'm not sure how tough it is any more, but judging by the new privates we have here, its pretty soft now...my lil bro just went through and at his graduation they were handing out AAM's like crazy (high pt, weapons qual, honor grad., etc...) if your ds's dont put it in your head, put the discipline in there yourself...and most of all have FUN!!!!!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by jgarner:
first off i want to thank you for your service and congrats on all that will come...now down to business...don't even worry about the weight...you will put on some weight at bct...i can't say much regarding airborne as i'm not airborne...your shoulder shouldn't be a problem, but if it starts to bother you, the army will take care of it...the only way to get better at running is to run...point blank...get out there and run...and again don't worry about it, in 37 days you'll be doing a ton of running...when i left for basic i ran a 12 minute 1 mile...when i graduated i ran a 13 flat 2 mile...so just don't fret it...the drill sergeants will make sure you're ready...now about the weaker bct, i'm not sure how tough it is any more, but judging by the new privates we have here, its pretty soft now...my lil bro just went through and at his graduation they were handing out AAM's like crazy (high pt, weapons qual, honor grad., etc...) if your ds's dont put it in your head, put the discipline in there yourself...and most of all have FUN!!!!!!!!

I can't wait man. I'm doing PT for myself right now. I run every other day Starting on monday, then do uper body stuff like pushups, situps, light wehgt lifting (that is just to try and build mass, not strength) I work my joints with a resistance band. Thanks for your input, further input from others is welcome as well. I've looked up basically every little thing about BCT. Very motivated.

Edit: I also give myself a test APFT every sunday. With the exception of running two miles, which I am working on as much as I can before I leave.

Hey man no worries, ive been in for a little while and im almost in the same boat as you! I just had surgery on the leg so it destroyed my running, I will be attending wlc (warrior leadership course) soon and im just getting out and running til i wanna die, so keep your head up

So what's with the shoulder thing? You said you don't have a medical history of dislocating it, but you're worried about it? Maybe I missed something....did you just dislocate it once or something? I separated my shoulder about 6 months before going to basic, and I didn't have any problems at all. It got a little sore when I wore my IBA ("bullet proof vest") but I got used to it. And it never affected my training at all.

As for being too skinny and not running your two-mile fast enough...yeah, you'll be fine. When they break you up into running groups, run with Alpha (A group) no matter what. The others are just too easy, especially if you want to improve. You may struggle to keep up (probably not, but maybe...), but even if you're struggling, it's better to be pushing yourself with Alpha group then just rolling along with Bravo or Charlie.

And yes, I'd say basic training has gotten pretty soft. I graduated about a year ago and it was much easier than I expected. Granted, I'm a whimpy little MI geek who went through Fort Knox, not Benning. Hopefully they're keeping it pretty tough for you grunt types.

Anyway...as long as you keep up your motivation, you'll do fine. I fully believe you can do absolutely anything as long as you can drive yourself to do it. Just never let yourself quit, at anything in any of the training you go through, and you'll be a ranger no problem.