My Workout Routine

I have been interested in fitness for quite some time. I remember when I was around 11 or 12, I was already trying to work out with free weights and do some running. I was pretty skinny then, but the interest was there. I never considered myself a jock in high school, but doing energetic things has been a part of my routine for quite some time.

After joining the Coast Guard, fitness became even more important for me. At first, I wasn't really doing much. Of course boot camp had its requirements and I easily met all of those, but wasn't in the 700 club if I recall that moniker correctly.

After doing my first tour on a ship, then going to school, I was introduced to more intense weight lifting as a lot of the techs from the shop would head over to the gym after work and get a good workout in. We supported each other and talked manly gym talk. It was a bonding experience.

And so it went as I piled on the years of my career and alternately piled on muscle and weight, back and forth through the years. My running and biking would ebb and flow also, depending on the season and my inclination. My wife and I were also introduced to "real" volleyball and eventually wallyball, which has become our passion. We also do Adventure Races together and have had some success in our endeavors in this sport.

And so we come to the present, where I prepare for what I am hoping will be a physically challenging CPO Academy experience. Lately, I have been doing a lot of research into the different services Physical Fitness programs and tests. I'm telling you there are quite a bit of differences, but what it usually comes down to is upper body strength and endurance, core strength and endurance and aerobic ability and endurance; pushups, sit-ups and running.

I have found some good information all over the Internet and within our network. I looked into the Boat Crew Physical Fitness Standards, the Coast Guard Fitness Assessment from the Personal Wellness Profile, the Army Physical Fitness Test, the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Program and Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP).

To keep my workouts constantly changing and challenging, I am right now doing a lot of stuff from the Marine's Fitness program. They concentrate a lot on pull ups, but mix in so much other stuff, it stays interesting.

Some of the things I am doing are:
A circuit course of 10 different exercises, mixing body weight and weighted exercises followed by 40 yd sprints.
Core exercises followed by a 1.5 mile run.
A few rounds of a 1/2 mile run, then exercises that consist of pushing, pulling, squatting and overhead lifting.

I tell you they can be intense.

Also, in a serious attempt to get my body weight and fat percentage to something I am comfortable with, I have started on a program of my own making that mixes these workouts (at least 6 times a week) with some smart eating. I have lately been logging EVERYTHING I eat on a couple of websites that show me exactly what nutrients and calories I am taking in and what I'm getting too much of and what I am not getting enough of. It is very enlightening and I have dropped a good amount of pounds in the few weeks I have been at it.

I may post some of my workouts here as things move along.