Physique or Fitness; Why not more weight training?

[mr253]

Hello Militarytimes community! Its my first post!

Ok now thats out of the way I wanted to ask this, if you could only choose one or the other between physique or fitness when challenged physically, where would you like to be when they pop the question?

I for one would love to be top with my physique, more so because I love muscles and the strength I feel day in and out. Granted though I am 30lbs over my weight/height ratio but to me I feel tons healthier and more ready for a pt test if I were challenged with a random test. I'm 65in by the way.

However, in the past I was more inclined to be fit than built than anything else. I challenged myself to run a lot and blow the pt test out of the water, I used to train 6 days a week to keep up my <9:50 run time and even during pt I would exceed anything that was thrown at me, it was the challenge of beating my own expectations that motivated me.

These days however I don't train nearly as much as I used to, I train 3 days a week and only for an hour or so those days. But the change wasn't for the worse, in fact, physically I look and feel better, I am much stronger and if thrown with a pt test I would still exceed, scoring well into the 90's.

I read up on weight training, or rather, training with heavy weight with high intensity, 100% effort. when I started I could only leg press about 200lbs, now I'm 50lbs away from 800, a short 2 1/2 months of training. Granted I have slowed down a bit but I think physically I'm more ready than when I was in basic! Plus, even with the less running, I feel more confident going into a pt test after a week of zero training than if I did when I trained harder just because the training I do now is much more intense physically than the basic push up and sit up routine.

I for one think a couple of things:
1. Some of my peers feel the air force should be conducted with less regiment than say our sister services due to our fraction of history with the concept of regiment. It seems people want to train less and less with the formations and rather do their own thing, like me.

2. We should worry more about training our pt failures with more intense exercise than with more exercise with special effects like a heart rate monitor. Those individuals are out of work more and I bet I could train an individual with smarter and shorter exercise and get them ready to exceed a pt test sooner than with the standard push up sit up routine.

3. Who wants to be a pencil neck anyway? God gave us muscles for a reason and not being gender biased, everyone should be strong, especially individuals who serve in the military. If you can't do 5 pull ups there really is something wrong.

In the end the effort is the prize. I for one want to beat my own expectations, its much more gratifying. Whether a 95 or a 75 on a pt test I want it to be my own very best. At least I can say I gave it my all and be proud of it.

[mr253]

Aww thats it? I thought I'd get more out of the community than that! Haha, I thought I throw another PT related topic since the lasted two were dumped at the beginning of the year.

But seriously, I think its rediculous that exercise is so weak in the air force or rather, the enforcement and methods used to exercise is a joke. I think if anyone is out of work for something like exercise it shouldn't be a walk in the park, thats what civilians do but then again, Airmen act like it anyway.

Ciao!

[imnohero]

Sorry, I have better things to do with my time than to go to a gym reeking with BO and testosterone to lift weights for an hour, except I end up spending 50% of my workout time putting the 45 pound plates back on the rack that some musclehead left on the bars and machines. Oh yeah, and I can't just do a set without some asshole who thinks he needs to be able to bench press 500 pounds, hovering around talking smack about how "only people who are serious about lifting" should be at the gym. Then take a shower, in public, in a moldy locker room, where I inevitably end up with athlete's foot because the average male knows jack about personal hygiene.

I'd rather do yoga and calisthenics at home and then go out for a run, in the clean air, on the quiet country roads where I live, take a shower in my clean bathroom at home.

And for what possible reason would you need to be able to leg press 800 pounds?

[SecurityForces695]

Isn't this unfortunate, someone motivated and trying to find motivation from others getting nothing but slammed. MR253, im with you on the fitness thing. I trained for the Bataan Death March last year, and my team took 4th in heavyweight men's 5 man team division. I voted for 'modern gladiator' cause not only should we pick up heavy things every once in a while, we need to get it where we want it too.

[mr253]

I'm used to it, plus, you can't really expect any different in any other online forum.

About the 800lbs, you know, I really don't exactly know why I went so high, in fact, it just kind of happened. The routine is very simple and adding weight just feels like the thing to do. It seemed my legs got stronger than the rest of my body did and the growth really does show! I really don't want to brag or anything I'm just excited about the routine since today my workout buddy who has been training with me did his PT test today and he scored a 90.5!

There are a couple of reasons why I'm excited about it, one our routine met the time constraints given by our unit in terms of PT (an hour and 15-30min), three times a week and that includes us both going through the routine. Two, there was barely any running involved in the routine, and he ran the 1.5mi faster than any of his previous recorded pt tests!

This really motivates me to taking someone who is in danger of failing and train them for a month to see how they would score afterward. I really wish I had some sports medicine degree or something of that nature to back me up, this would be so much fun!

The gym really isn't a pretty place but anywhere can be dirty like that anyway. I have a memory of a six flags where some guy was running around inside the front gate butt naked high noon. I think some kids were scarred that day, I know i was.....:(

But anyway, it comes down to that simple saying, "choose your poison." If my joints are gonna get torn up carrying tool boxes up and down ladders I'd rather add to the list weight training. At least I won't have to worry about failing my PT test.:cool:

[Lang]

The Air force don't know squat about physical exercise- if they would get some of the fat ass airman of all ranks to get out of their chairs and do some exercise CORRECTLY- the force of the Air Force would go up and the medical costs would fall..Not kidding. Many medical problems- are due to fat assedness.

But you see its not a AF tradition to get all sweaty and icky

[mr253]

But you see its not a AF tradition to get all sweaty and icky

Haha sweet. :D


By the way imnohero, I practice great gym etiquette.

[Combat correspondent]

The Air force don't know squat about physical exercise- if they would get some of the fat ass airman of all ranks to get out of their chairs and do some exercise CORRECTLY- the force of the Air Force would go up and the medical costs would fall..Not kidding. Many medical problems- are due to fat assedness.

But you see its not a AF tradition to get all sweaty and icky

:)

holly crud! Are you not correct on this post! Thank God, Buddha and Allah that the CMSAF is cracking down on this old, corporate nonsense!

[Sgt HULK]

screw running, I never miss a day in the gym. By the time im done with my lift its far better then any job will do for me

a few fellas in my shop came with me on leg day 1 was throwing up after 15 min lol

i still chose modern gladiator

but a 12 min 1.5er ill never be

[BIGGUNS85]

HULK, I'm with you. I can lift more than my fair share, but my run time is horrible! Don't get me wrong, I'll run a good 4 miles, but I can't do it quickly. I'll train till the cows come home, but I've come to accept the fact that my muscles are good for torque, not horsepower. This is where our AF muscleheads lose out, which doesn't make sense to me. After spending an infinite amount of hours in a stinky gym pumping iron, I still can't get a PT score comparable to a few of my peers, who weigh 120 lbs soaking wet that eat Mcdonalds for lunch every day yet still don't gain an ounce!

[Lang]

The Air Force don't know squat about physical exercise...

In on of the threads above " leaders meet to revamp Pt" there's is one hell of a lot of hollering and gnashing of teeth by people who seem to be to be exercise adverse. The Air Force is changing. The resistance to change is ridicul-ass. Fat assedness causes a lot of problems in the Air Force- medical problems, it hurts readiness s- Warfit came about because out of shape Airman could not keep up when deployed. I guess people do not want to remember. Air force brass hats were embarrassed- the result-- warfit...

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/04/airforce_fat_AF_042808w/

"More airmen today are overweight than fit, according to Air Force statistics, and nearly 12 percent are clinically obese."

I think we all know people who have managed to not fit test for long periods of time HTF does that happen? If you can't deploy world wide why are you in the Military?

Now the brass hats are having a powow how do we fix it? Yeah how TF do you do that? You get qualified Medical/ Physical Medicine people to give you a few ideas. It's not rocket science- but it is science.. You do not train in a manner- or with methods that are biomechanically incorrect,

You warm up
You stretch
You do your active/aerobic exercise
You do not exceed your conditioning level

You have to be consistent- not hard to do it, its GD hard to be consistent with exercise.

Another problem-- all the Air Force knows how to do it run- chase the skinny commander around the track in the hammer pants. Some push ups and sit ups, limited weight lifting...

The best thing would be martial arts drills walking punching drills, kicking drills, M/A strength training methods
This idea strikes fear into the "no sticky and icky" traditional chair force types. About that time they start hollering that they " have no time" and go home and fire up the computer..

If you are in the military you are on duty 24/7 that's why its the military... Its your GD job to stay in shape. You are lucky- most are given time during the duty day to do PT.. In ancient times we did it on our own.

If the Air Force is going to have a effective warfit program it has to have people who are educated in exercise science- design it, teach it and implement it.

ILO/Jetson tasking for the Air Force may happen more and more- its a bad idea to think that things will get better. More effective to train and plan and prepare for the worst. IMO...

[imnohero]

good point, the AF is changing. so why are we still:
Ignoring that we are at war and running CONUS like it's the 1990s "peacetime" corporate culture
Using an EPR system designed 15-20 years ago
Still trying to meet peacetime manning levels determined in 1988
Promoting officers based on politics and "business savvy" instead of combat capability

[Lang]

Massive resistance to change- all you have to do is read the posts hollering "Not my job man" "its a waste of my time to get in shape" "I want a day off if I pass a spot PT test" WTF do you want a day off if you pass a urine test? Its kind of amazing- If you are in the military its 24-7. That's the way it was- now its different seems like. "Its not my job and I clock out at 1700."

I do not agree that the Air Force needs more people what they need to do is get rid of some of the layers and layers of management slots get rid of the micro management and put them in mission related working positions I think you can look into any unit and see that Sr NCO's walking around in the hall ways and sucking up starbuck's while the worker bees get hammered. Officer corp needs to be pared down.

Servile corporate yes men seem to manage the Air Force now at all levels- its going to be tuff to change the AF culture- the old way biz management is much more EZ.

If we get in more combat it will be changed if not its gonna be biz at usual. The younger troops who are getting deployed see what's happening and what is needed. Its the older ranker's who are resisting.

[imnohero]

And you believe that the path to culture change in the Air Force is PT?

[Lang]

think it would help if the AF was more in condition and saw physical fitness as a important part of being a military member. A part of changing corporate mindset- but not the whole.

And you- do you believe trying to improve physical fitness has been a liability to the AF mission?. Do you believe being a fat ass is a important AF tradition and part of AF culture?.

You don't think it would help the over all health of the USAF if more people were in shape and not 55 percent overweight and 12 percent certified fatties?

You don't think obesity has a effect on health? You don't think that a lack of conditioning has a impact on the mission?

I think it does

[Shrike]

How did the Air Force ever manage to do it's job so stunningly well for over 60 years without this PT program in place?

[mr253]

How did the Air Force ever manage to do it's job so stunningly well for over 60 years without this PT program in place?

Drug abuse maybe?

[Shrike]

Drug abuse maybe?

Then we should have been performing in abject failire since the mid-'80's when we got serious about piss testing. If not, then I think I've been missing some really fun-sounding meetings. :)

[ringjamesa]

The Air Force don't know squat about physical exercise...

In on of the threads above " leaders meet to revamp Pt" there's is one hell of a lot of hollering and gnashing of teeth by people who seem to be to be exercise adverse. The Air Force is changing. The resistance to change is ridicul-ass. Fat assedness causes a lot of problems in the Air Force- medical problems, it hurts readiness s- Warfit came about because out of shape Airman could not keep up when deployed. I guess people do not want to remember. Air force brass hats were embarrassed- the result-- warfit...

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/04/airforce_fat_AF_042808w/

"More airmen today are overweight than fit, according to Air Force statistics, and nearly 12 percent are clinically obese."

I think we all know people who have managed to not fit test for long periods of time HTF does that happen? If you can't deploy world wide why are you in the Military?

Now the brass hats are having a powow how do we fix it? Yeah how TF do you do that? You get qualified Medical/ Physical Medicine people to give you a few ideas. It's not rocket science- but it is science.. You do not train in a manner- or with methods that are biomechanically incorrect,

You warm up
You stretch
You do your active/aerobic exercise
You do not exceed your conditioning level

You have to be consistent- not hard to do it, its GD hard to be consistent with exercise.

Another problem-- all the Air Force knows how to do it run- chase the skinny commander around the track in the hammer pants. Some push ups and sit ups, limited weight lifting...

The best thing would be martial arts drills walking punching drills, kicking drills, M/A strength training methods
This idea strikes fear into the "no sticky and icky" traditional chair force types. About that time they start hollering that they " have no time" and go home and fire up the computer..

If you are in the military you are on duty 24/7 that's why its the military... Its your GD job to stay in shape. You are lucky- most are given time during the duty day to do PT.. In ancient times we did it on our own.

If the Air Force is going to have a effective warfit program it has to have people who are educated in exercise science- design it, teach it and implement it.

ILO/Jetson tasking for the Air Force may happen more and more- its a bad idea to think that things will get better. More effective to train and plan and prepare for the worst. IMO...

Damn dude. How old ARE you?