Team Beachbody ¡preestreno!Español Guest

In 2006, I joined the US ARMY. I was 35 and in the worst shape of my life- working 2 jobs and getting an average of 4 hours of sleep per night in order to feed and maintain my wife and SEVEN children. I needed a change- while making money obviously, and the Army seemed to offer me hope for personal transformation and that sense of mission that I felt I had lost. After 9 weeks of Basic Training followed by another 14 weeks of Officer Candidate School- I was in the BEST shape of my life. It had been an incredible struggle to "get there". However, I was also beat up pretty badly. I had no arch supports through all that training, and the damage to my feet, ankles, legs, hips, and back was excruciating. Between the miles of forced platoon running, ruck marches, and combatives training, I had done some serious damage to my body. I was taking an average of 2.5 GRAMS of Motrin and/or Naproxin each day to control the pain (prescribed by Army Doctors, of course- this is where you laugh if you have any Army background)
After my commissioning, I came home for an eight month break before my next training phase. Working out was very painful when I returned home despite physical therapy twice a week, and I quickly lost all of the strength and endurance I had gained from my initial Army training. I did not have the money to attend a gym for low impact machines or swimming, and running was either too painful or not allowed by my doctor due to the pounding.
My low point was reached when I went back to Ft. Benning for another 8 weeks of tactical training- Phase 2. I could not keep up with the platoon on our very first formation run. I FELL OUT. Worse yet, our training officer made the platoon physically CARRY those of us who fell out of the run. This was an example of the I WILL NEVER LEAVE A FALLEN SOLDIER adage being applied in a training environment. The lesson was not lost. I was embarrassed and humiliated, and, even worse, I felt bad for the THREE soldiers that had to carry my FAT butt for the next half mile. I did not want anyone carrying me on their back again, and I over-compensated by running beyond what I was capable of at the time. This over-training severely overstressed my body causing damage in my legs to my T-Bands and knee ligaments. Bottom line, my body was not ready to suddenly start running 3 miles or more per day at an average 8 minute mile pace. I had to drop from the program due to the pain, and 2 weeks before my class graduated- I came home. I came home in April of this year in even worse physical shape and pain than ever before, and the phase of training I FELL OUT of was delayed for yet ANOTHER year: June of 2009.
When I came home, my reserve unit went out to National Training Center- Fort Irwin in California to train in the Mojave Desert for a month. Despite my condition, I was strong enough again to join my unit even though I got to the field late due to some scheduling issues. After only ten days, I was walking with a pronounced limp, and the base doctors prescribed Vicadin to control the pain in my right hip and lower back. I was miserable.
When I returned home, I went back to the doctor for three more months of physical therapy.
Even when my doctor released me to begin running and working out again, I was gunshy of the pain, and I kept putting off my training routine. However, I began putting on more pounds, getting frequent headaches, and feeling physically drained constantly- always tired- always grumpy and irritable. I tried blaming it all on work stress or family stress, but the bottom line was that I WAS OUT OF SHAPE!... again.
With more training only 8 months away, I decided I needed to take personal responsibility and do as I was trained in Officer Candidate School- ---DUCERE EXEMPLO--- LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
The very day I decided to CHANGE, I went to a local YMCA and joined. I also bought some meal replacement shakes from GNC, and I began weight training 3 days a week and running 3 days a week. Other than meal replacement shakes or bars, I ate only simple, non-processed foods- as natural as I could get and/or afford. I also increased the frequency of my meals to 5 or 6 small meals per day, cut out coffee except for 2 cups a day while doubling my water intake.
Getting up in the morning is my toughest challenge. My schedule is very busy, and if I don¡¦t train early in the morning- then I don¡¦t train at all. So, I found a software program for my computer that will wake me up each morning. I can program it to any music or audio file I want. Each training day, I awake to inspirational and motivational music. The music engages my mind AND my emotions, and it wipes away the fuzzy comfort of my morning dreams and warm bed. At the end of the day, I forced myself to get to bed no later than 9:30pm during the training week. This insures proper REST!
Within six weeks, I was able to take a couple of inches off my waist and tighten/tone up my entire body. Amazingly, I am the same weight, but I am smaller, tighter and stronger!
Until BeachBody, I was alone. I would get myself to the gym and work out with a bunch of strangers in headphones. Now, I have the close accountability I need to be successful, and I can document my progress.
P90X has become program of choice, and it is better than any Army Physical Training that I have received yet, and that includes my training in Officer Candidate School.
I am currently working toward a goal of maxing out my PT Test, scoring at least a 300 or better. I want to be stronger and tighter than any of the other soldiers in my training platoon--- that includes the twenty-somethings!
My theme is Ducere Exemplo, and as we say at Ft. Benning,GA
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