Day One with ratings and Air Force PT prep

Today is not just the first day of my using the new rating system, but also the first day of my training for the Air Force PT exam that I will never take.  I’ve decided to shake up my workout routine and for three days a week focus on pushups, situps, and running, three of my least favorite things to do.  It was a workout filled with some success and lots of opportunity for improvement.  I’d like to say that I’m starting at the “Private Pyle” level, but to be honest, Gomer would have smoked me.  Here’s my honest recap of the workout.

1.  I went and got a military haircut because I thought that would get me in the mood.  I’m putting that down in the success column.
2. I actually showed up at the gym and had the courage to try this in front of other people.  Looking around I realized that pretty much everyone didn’t seem to care about such an important event in my life.  I think they were all pretty selfish.
3. 5 minutes warm up on the ab work out machine.  I actually like doing this exercise, so things started out well.
4. Pushups.  After over a decade of pretending they didn’t exist, I set my timer for two minutes and got into position.  The military goal is around 45 in two minutes, but my goal is 25 in two minutes.  My actual was almost 1 good one, 2 halfs, some rest time, a couple of quarters for show, and then attempting just to stay in the starting position for the rest of the minutes.  I was not even successful at that.
5. Situps.  Likely my most embarrassing area because I thought I could actually do these.  I’d like to say that the pushups ruined my muscles and wore me out, but it’s different muscles so no excuse there.  I didn’t even get one complete situp done, I just laid there like a fish out of water trying to push up my chest to even see my knees.  Quite disappointing.  Military goal is around 45 in two minutes, but my goal is 30, which has me wondering now if that’s possible.
6. Running.  I downloaded one of those “couch to 5K” programs and set myself up.  For my first time running in years, I decided that my walking speed would be around 3.1 MPH and the running would be at 5.1 MPH at an incline of 5.  I’m not positive that’s the perfect way to start something like this, but figured I had to start somewhere.  The program had me running for 30 seconds and walking for 3 minutes over the course of 30 minutes.  I actually did a lot better than I thought, so that made up some of earlier disappointment.  Military goal time is 1.5 miles in around 12 minutes, which is my goal time also.  My actual time though was 23.5 minutes.

I’m not sharing this with you because I’m a glutton for embarrassment, but instead to have you as an accountability partner to have me show improvement.  After all the results I’ve felt in the past six months, I know that even though starting something new is tough in the beginning, if you keep plugging away, then it gets easier.  During these last month’s I’ve been to the gym a lot and have typically stuck to my favorite exercises.  I did that because I felt I got a good workout, I had a routine, and I knew that I could those things.

I realized that eventually you just become stagnant and stop challenging yourself, which is important if you want to keep growing.  I don’t have a real desire to do my Air Force PT training 3 times a week, but I have accepted that I need to do it to show that I can conquer something else in my life.

Curious what I ate today?  Here’s a quick recap.

• Scrambled eggs with Kielbasa turkey sausage.  A little bit of cheddar cheese sprinkled over the top, which I realized has kept me from being green in cheese today.  (See ratings below.)
• 2 apples
• Grilled Bratwurst over a bed of diced potatoes, carrots, and onions.  No condiments, which made me green for sugar in the ratings.
• Lots of water.

​Expect to hear more from me in the next day or two.  Thanks for reading!
John