July 9, 2011
My name is Vanessa and I'm as lazy as they come. No exaggeration necessary. Whenever the term exercise is even brought up, my mind leaps forward in an effort to discover some excuse for me not to folllow through. Even this mental 'leap' (i.e. exercise) is enough to piss me off. And, the realization of how enormous this character flaw is, in relation to my health and overall well-being, is what, ultimately, led me to the decision to improve my fitness.Well... that and the fact that a little over a month ago I enlisted to become an Active Duty soldier for the U.S. Army- something that could very well be either the best or worst decision of my life.
Either way, I've already gone to MEPS, swore in and chose my MOS. I know the estimated date to leave for Basic Training, as well. The only problem is that I am terrified of physical fitness. I dread it. I hate it. I wish that there was no need for it. And, Basic will be two months of nothing-but.
I still have something that's referred to as 'Future Soldier Physical Training' or 'PT', in the meantime every Wednesday with several Sergeants and other Future Soldiers. The thing is, at this point I can't keep up with any of them. There's this short little dude who out-exercises all of us. 80 push-ups in 2 min., 90 sit-ups in 2 min., a 2 mile run in 9 min. He pisses me off. Theres this other wiry-lookin' kid, always excited and saying things like "Awesome!". He pisses me off, too. lol, Really I like 'em both, I just hate the fact that they're so good at training even with their physicality being such the polar opposite of what you would expect someone capable of doing such things, and to look at me you would assume that I am healthy, when in fact I can't even keep up. In truth, my physical fitness is on par with the overweight guy who just joined, but still has to lose a few pounds before he's fully accepted. That guy puts up some impressive effort, though, which is more than I can say for myself!
Perfect example of what I need to improve on:
The third Wednesday of PT we ran a mile to a nearby park. I could not jog the complete mile, and had to stop multiple times to walk. Once there we did a number of stretches and vigorous exercises (push-ups, flutterkicks, etc.) after which we were asked to sprint. I made it halfway with the group before breaking off to walk with the overweight guy (I'm gonna call him Potential Soldier from now on). Oh, and here comes the rest of the soldiers on their 3rd sprint with little guy leading the way pointing and laughing. Little asshole, lol.
However, up-to-date my improvement has been marginal but alot better than when I started out. In the beginning I couldn't even do a push-up. I'm not joking. Now, I can do 20 military style. The number's not much to brag about, but I'm proud of the form. I haven't been counting sit-ups, but I haven't been doing them that often. When I do, I just do them until I physically can't anymore. Running has been disappointing. For the time-being I will walk as much as I can and try to work up to running a full mile. Baby steps. Later on I'll worry about timing.
Also, a couple of questions:
Does anyone know if running triggers acid reflux? If so, how should I deal with it? I've never really had an issue with it before, but now every time I run I just get this terrible acid reflux feeling.
Suggestions?
Happy Exercising!,
Vanessa
