The Army will be getting a new fitness uniform soon to replace the current gray and black uniform that is Army ugly.
I saw the new uniform in the clothing sales store on Fort Meade. I noticed that "Army Strong" was written on the sleeve of the uniform.
I smiled.
When I came to Fort Meade and started Army PT at 4am, I scored a 297 on the PT test. Since then my fitness has declined. Before I came to Meade I was training for an Ironman triathlon, adding about a mile a month since swimming two miles in January. Now I am declining. I ran a marathon in March and have barely run 30 miles a month since I have been here. I ride everywhere on post but now my total miles have dropped from 800+ to less than 700 per month.
Am I whining?
Yes.
By being forced to do Army basic trainee PT five days a week, I do far less exercise than I would have on my own. And now it's starting to show.
This may be a good PT program for people who watch movies and play video games if they are not dragged out of bed in the morning, but it is a bad program for someone who actually trains.
One of my classmates runs two miles in 12 minutes and is training for a marathon next month. He does his long run on Wednesday night. At 5 am Wednesday morning we do hill sprints or sprint in a circle. At 5 pm, Ben runs 18, 20 or 22 miles.
Then he is up before dawn doing upper body exercises at 5am on Thursday.
Most units do not have returning sergeants who qualify for fitness awards do this kind of PT.
27 days to go.
