jfreaksho

I'd point you at www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness. Instead of doing pushups and situps and planks all the time, you should be doing structured progressions to do more difficult variations - you should be working towards pistol squats, rather than just more squats, 1-arm pushups or pseudo-planche pushups instead of just more pushups. You also have space to do L-sits, and might even be able to do headstands, if you can cartwheel up into it.

Sandbags are cheap and easily scalable, though keeping them from breaking open can be a challenge.

To the OP: Ignore your major and do something interesting. Intel is great. As an officer, logistics is a pretty amazing field too- there's an old military quote, to the effect of "Amateurs discuss tactics. Professionals discuss logistics." I signed for a few sections of equipment when I was 23 years old, taking responsibility for nearly half a million dollars worth of equipment with a few strokes of a pen. I wasn't even a supply guy, just a sergeant that needed to take care of things. I've worked pretty extensively with most of the other branches and you've got a mixed bag of info here- some good, but a few misconceptions. Air Force is great for living conditions, but promotion is ridiculously slow- I know people that did 4-5 years and had no shot at becoming an NCO. The Army has plenty of their own drone operators and imagery analysts. The Army living conditions are worse, but promotions are faster than the Air Force and there's more money to go to interesting courses (and bonuses) than the Marines have. The Navy people I worked with have been pretty sharp, but their bureaucracy is amazingly impenetrable, which is a bit of a morale-killer. Personally, I think that imagery is one of the least interesting of the disciplines, if intel is your thing. If intel is your thing, there are quite a few ways to transfer that back into business skills- analytical skills, writing and communication, planning and prep, decision making, I would discourage you from picking supply/logistics unless you are really actually interested in it. I picked electronics maintenance for my first military job because I was an engineering student but there were many other jobs I think I would have liked better. I found my niche eventually, but pick something you are interested in. Active out the gate is the way to go. You get "vested" in all your benefits much quicker, such as education, home loans, etc. You get the option of Reserve Component when you complete your initial period of active duty, if you want it. I signed such a contract, and (aside from a mobilization) was not eligible for the same level of benefits until I hit 6 years. Flagwaver is a bit mixed up on the Reserve/National Guard thing: Reserve Component units can be really awesome or really terrible, whether Reserve or National Guard. Either way, neither is Active Component, and the rules of the game are different. People coming off active duty don't always adjust, and there are a lot of good reasons for that. Additionally, the Reserves tend to have more money for schools, better training opportunities (unless you want to be a grunt and jump out of planes or climb mountains), and much better promotion opportunities- you can't get promoted unless there is a valid spot for you to fill, and much of the National Guard is full up, so you can't move up until a slot opens. When that slot opens, you have to compete for it, while on the Reserve side they will often put you in an empty slot for your next rank up as soon as you are promotable, so you can be promoted in the position you already hold. The Guard is funded by each state, while the Reserves is funded by the federal government, leading to more funding issues in the Guard than the Reserves, though it varies wildly by state. Most states do have a few special programs just for the NG, though, such as specialized tuition assistance, or free tuition at state schools that the Reserves may or may not be eligible for. The actual pay is the same though, as that is all standardized for all branches and all components. Aside from any other extra pay (language pay, sea duty, hazardous duty, family separation, jump pay, etc) an O-1 in the Navy will get the same base rate as someone from any other branch with the same time in service. The benefit of the Reserve Component over Active duty includes flexibility- you get to be a civilian until you are sick of it, and you can request active duty orders until you get sick of it. You also have more control over your career- if you want to change units or get trained in a new job or career field, you just need to impress the commander enough to sign off on accepting you and/or spending the money on you. I've now been in 4 different units with four different jobs in three different career fields. You can drop into the Inactive Ready Reserve and do your own thing for a while and then come back pretty easily, if you want to focus on school or career or family for a couple of years. Shopping around is a good idea, but even that can be of questionable value. Many recruiters know very little about the positions they are trying to fill. You can talk to a dozen recruiters and if they haven't actually been in intel, none of them will be able to tell you *much* about it, as much of it is classified and the rest is freely available online. TL:DR Go active first for a few years. Pick something interesting. Do it until it isn't fun anymore. Try Reserve Component, whether Guard or Reserve. Do it until it isn't fun anymore. Consider a different career field. Do it until it isn't fun anymore. Profit!

You're missing out. Even just something as simple as functioning without a cell phone is impressive in the books- despite the amnesia he remembers his way around cities he hasn't been to in years, keeps an inventory of phone numbers in his head, and is able to find resources and people without the internet.

5/3/1 is a great program for short workouts, depending on the accessory work you choose. The actual warmups and work sets take ~25 minutes, four times a week. Bodyweight exercises really hammer home the idea that strength is a skill that must be practiced.

When I was a kid my parents felt I took too long to eat dinner. For motivation they would put a small Lego set on top of the fridge. If I went for a week eating my dinner in less than x minutes (30, I think) I would get the Lego set. Having it there in front of me but not being able to touch it was excruciating, but it usually worked.

If you want to build strength you need to focus your workouts - i.e. stop doing the circuit. The fatigue and lack of recovery in between sets is holding back your efforts in pushups. Do pushup (and pullup) progressions with a proper strength focus. If you really want to alternate exercises, alternate pushups with rows, but you can just do pushups, then pullups later. Rest as much as you need to in between sets. I'd recommend you pick a number you can do five sets across- can you do 5x5? Then start increasing your total rep count for the day- 4x7, 5x6, 3x10, 4x8, 5x7, etc. Once you get up to 2-3x20 you should be good to move on to more difficult variations, such as elbows in tight, hands close, or archer. If you can almost do pistol squats, keep working on them. You don't need to hold your legs back because your arms are weak. Lunges are great, but they are easier than pushups for most people. If they don't feel hard, you might want to check your form- go deeper, reach your legs out farther, etc. You can also add weight. Jumping jacks are a waste of time.

You have too much going on. Start pulling back on some of the variables: - Try working on L-sits on the floor or parallettes- it's more stable, but requires strong depression of the scapula. - Look up videos for training "pike compression strength". The one I remember is sitting on the floor in an L shape, put your hands on the floor next to your knees. Keeping your legs straight, lift your feet as high as you can. Move your hands forward to make it more difficult, backwards towards your hips to make it easier.

Strength training generally involves pushing harder for fewer reps and plenty of rest. With bodyweight exercises, you need to find more difficult versions of the exercises. You are likely to run out of dumbbells that will make much of a difference in your rowing as well. A pretty good strength-focused bodyweight routine is over at http://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness.

You are going too fast to maintain your pace. If you want to go for longer, you need to slow down. Not everything needs to be done at 100% effort. I would aim for about a 10 or 12-minute mile to start. This means that you run one lap around the track in 2:30 or 3:00. You run 100m in approximately 37-45 seconds. If you can do that, try doubling the distance but with the same pace.

Try Google. No, seriously- I'm not trying to be an ass (or I would have posted a lmgtfy link)- googling your symptoms is the easiest way to find some options for your problem. Two of the top three links for "pain on top of foot and shin": http://www.fitness19.com/shin-splints-and-foot-pain/ http://www.painreductionnow.com/top-of-foot-pain.html One says you probably have shin splints and need to stretch and take it a bit easier, the other says you probably have tendinitis or a foot fracture. I'd bet on the former, but I'm not a medical professional. Side note: The fact that you are considering this as something that will "sideline" you indicates to me that you haven't taken full ownership of your fitness level. You are Player 1, the only player in the game. You are the only one that can sideline you. Some things may cause detours through Rehab Land, but the decision to keep playing is entirely on you.

When you say "jarring" what do you mean? In my mind it means anything with impact, which means that you can do controlled exercises such as isometric holds and bodyweight exercises, as long as you aren't overdoing it. I would focus on bodyline drills such as RKC Planks and hollow body holds. You can also do Pushup and Squat progressions. If they are too much, move to an easier version. Do pushups against a wall, if that's all you can do. Squat to a stool, if that's all the further you can go. It's fine. Skip the running, skip the jumping jacks, burpees, etc. You want a slow, controlled strength progression. There are a bunch out there. You say you've been visiting your doctor for tension headaches- have you had your posture checked by a physical therapist?

I'd say clean up your form, or progress to slightly more difficult versions. For Squats, you can do side-to-side or cossack squats. For pushups you can tuck your elbows in, or even move to close-hand/diamond pushups. (I don't make a diamond shape when I do these, as it encourages me to flare my elbows out. A "W" shape seems to work better.) For plank, start doing RKC planks rather than just a plank. Substitute in side planks, 1-arm planks, or reverse planks if you feel like it. It's okay that you aren't totally smoked and crashed out on the floor. That is not the sign of a good workout- progression towards goals (with injury prevention and overall balance in mind) makes a good workout.

So the squat rack is busy all the time... What, exactly, is preventing you from deadlifting? Grab a bar from a bench press and load it up wherever there is free space.

First, don't lie to us. You're not sorry about that Ranger plug at all. :-) Second, I'd recommend committing to any program for three months at a minimum. Giving it a month is just barely time to get settled into the routine of it. If there are new exercises (how much experience does OP have with Front Squats?) it might take that long just to get comfortable with the lift, especially since it is only being done once a week. There are lots of other programs out there that will give you a mix between strength and hypertrophy. This program seems like a good stepping stone between having a strict laid-out progression (like SL/SS/Madcow/etc) and something like 5/3/1 where you have the flexibility to build all of your accessory and conditioning work on your own.