Yard work = good aerobic exercise

This evening when my dad got home from work, he was so excited to mow the lawn because it was nice outside. He asked me to pick up sticks... ahhh, memories of the 21 years growing up in this house... my brothers and I used to do that all the time. I never realized how much of an aerobic work out, and abdominal work out you get from constantly bending down to pick up sticks around the yard, granted my yard is about 3 acres! I got the big sticks, tree branches, and bits of wood loaded into the wagon and either dumped into our "bonfire" burn pile or heaved into the area by the tree line at the back of our yard near the fire pit and the thicket. When I had finished after about a couple of hours, I could feel the tightness in my abs and I was sweating a little... it was time to down some water. Not bad considering I was sick all day yesterday and have been slacking a little bit on my PT lately... oops! Time to play catch up.

This just in... the Navy doesn't PT when it rains?! Huh?

This morning I texted my recruiter to see if she wanted me to come in early this afternoon for PT since I scheduled a meeting with her for my 30-day follow up.

Here's how the conversation went:

Recruiter: Don't think the weather is going to hold out for PT today.
Me: What? I just checked the weather forecast on www.weather.com and it said that Janesville only has a 15% chance of rain all day and it's supposed to be overcast, windy, and 60 degrees.
Recruiter: It's been raining on and off all day.
Me: No PT in the rain?!
Recruiter: No, no PT in the rain.
Me: Hmm... should I bring my stuff with me to our meeting just in case we do PT?
Recruiter: Nope, I just sent out the text to all the DEP people saying that PT is cancelled today.
Me: Really? We don't PT in the rain? Why not? Do we PT in the rain at boot camp?
Recruiter: Nope, we don't PT in the rain. And at boot camp all PT is inside. Unless you get a really gung-ho RDC (Recruit Division Commander aka drill sergeant of sorts for the Navy) who wants you to PT no matter what, you still won't PT if it's too hot or too cold outside.
Me: Do we work in the rain?
Recruiter: Yes, we work in the rain.
Me: So, we work in the rain, but don't PT in the rain... this so reminds me of the movie Rain Man, "This is a good one. We don't go out when it rains, this is a real good one...mystifying."

So, this really baffled me, oh well... ha ha ha.

My 30-day follow-up meeting went well today. I had my pee-in-a-cup drug/alcohol test. Then, I was quizzed on my PQS (Pre-qualification Standards) to see how well I am doing with my memorization of everything that is in the START Guide. I think that recording all of the things that I have to memorize and putting them on my mp3 player has helped because I did well, and she signed off on everything. I was also taught and "quizzed" on my military facings and etiquette. I still have to practice those and work a little bit more on my memorization, but things are moving along well.

I am still working on my PT and am now able to do at least 50 sit-ups and 25 push-ups. My run time, which is about 18 minutes, and swimming need a little bit of work. As of today, 29 days left to go! Then I am off to boot camp... so many things to get done, and I'm running out of days!

Popular Questions That People Are Asking Me

Everyone asks me so many questions when I tell them that I am going to boot camp soon for the Navy. Here is a list of a few questions that I am asked on a regular basis.

Where is boot camp?
How long will you be there?
Will you have access to e-mail?
Do you know what you do after that?
Where is your technical training?
How long is that?
How's your exercise/PT going?
How's your swimming coming along?
Will you be on a boat?
How strict are they on liberties?

So here's the scoop...

Boot camp is at Great Lakes Navy base near Chicago for 9 weeks. I will not have access to the phone or e-mail the entire time that I am at boot camp. I will have a few very quick calls home to tell my immediate family important information, but that's it. After boot camp, I will go to Florida for my technical training aka A school... and the amount of time that I spend there depends on the jobs that I qualify for after the first 4 weeks.  My PT is gradually getting easier, and I have not had much time to work on my swimming, but hope to really soon. Whether or not I am stationed on a boat, an aircraft carrier, depends on the job that I get after A school.

And... it's the military. It's a regimented lifestyle and there are going to be a lot of rules about everything. They are going to be strict on curfew, fraternization, etc. etc.

All or Nothing...

I was looking up videos today to watch part of one of my favorite movies online and heard this song. The words are so poignant--as in profoundly moving and touching-- the words really hit home and are so inspiring. 


All or Nothing by Athena Cage:


It's the chance of life, get ready, set, fly high.
Above the fear of your mind, go for it.
It's hit or miss, too late for you to quit.
You gotta show 'em how bad you really want this, so...

Live your dreams, it's not as hard as it may seem.
You gotta work to get the green, on your hopes you must lean
From your fears, you have to wean yourself.
It's all or nothing, give your everything...

Are what you believe, you got to bring the dreams.
Set the pace, competitions take the lead.
This is it, all eyes on you.
So stay on point and prove,
that you deserve whats long overdue.

Live your dreams, it's not as hard as it may seem.
You gotta work to get the green, on your hopes you must lean
From your fears, you have to wean yourself.
It's all or nothing, give your everything...

My heart is still recovering,
From the heartbreak of another kind,
I'm still drying my tears.
Getting over my own fears in my life.
So I wanna make sure this time that I'm strong enough,
To give it my all...

Live your dreams, it's not as hard as it may seem.
You gotta work to get the green, on your hopes you must lean
From your fears, you have to wean yourself.
It's all or nothing, give your everything...

Live your dreams, it's not as hard as it may seem.
You gotta work to get the green, on your hopes you must lean
From your fears, you have to wean yourself.
It's all or nothing, give your everything...

Live your dreams, it's not as hard as it may seem.
You gotta work to get the green, on your hopes you must lean
From your fears, you have to wean yourself.
It's all or nothing, give your everything...

So you gotta live your dreams,
So don't you be afraid.
Just set the pace, and take the lead,
It's your time to shine.
Please believe 


Here is the link to the video I was watching with the song:


All or Nothing- Athena Cage (Save the Last Dance)

Insanity and DEP PT

Oh man, both times I have been to my DEP workouts with my recruiters and my Future Sailors we have done Insanity workouts. I think they are created by the guy that does Tae Bo. I have read that the same person who directs the workout DVDs for Insanity also does P90X and Beach Bodies.  The last time I did one of these cardio workouts, I really was feeling it the next day. Either I am more out of shape than I think or the workout is really intense... probably a little of both. PT is getting easier. I can't believe it's only a little more than 30 days before I leave... 34 days and counting. Soon I will have my 30 day check-up with my recruiter to check my progress.

Making my walk interesting with Jake

Today I took my family's dog, Jake, out for our afternoon walk. I would love to go jogging with him, but it always seems to turn into a walk with intermittent sprinting.  He tends to get excited and then weaves in front of me, almost tripping me, and the whole time holding part of his leash in his mouth. This is why I usually keep the routine that I do. Today I decided to add some skipping. So I would walk for 30 seconds to a minute, then skip for 10-30 seconds, walk again, then sprint for 30 seconds and repeat for our 30 minute walk. Skipping brought my mindset back to grade school days, and helped to switch up my routine.

After my run I also did 20 push-ups, some jumping jacks, and jumped rope a bit... guess I got my cardio fix today.

I keep hearing different fitness tips that are supposed to help. Yesterday my recruiters said to run with higher knees, and how to do Navy sit-ups. It sounded interesting the way that they told us to do sit-ups: they said to touch your elbows to your knees, then touch your shoulder blades to the floor, but don't go all the way down because it wastes more energy... hmmm. My dad said to run on the balls of your feet and that running backwards both help to cut running times. A friend of mine told me to do sprints. I guess I shall see what works and what doesn't.

Kickball! Brings back memories of grade school

I had my April DEP meeting today with the other future sailors and the recruiters. Since it was a day we normally have PT we also did that. All of the DEP people were there, so we played a game of kickball against the Army recruits.... and tied the game (despite the Army recruiter making up his own rules and calls). We were all relieved because we were told before the game that if we lost, we would have to run 3 miles. It would've been no big deal, but after some fun, it would've been a little bit of a let-down. We still had to do push-ups and sit-ups when we got done with the game, but that's okay.

Our meeting that followed the PT mostly focused on learning how to perform an about face, reciting the Sailor's Creed, and choosing the Recruit Chain of Command. They wanted to see how well we can follow directions and work as a team. For example, when we did our warm-up stretches we had to follow the recruiter's lead and he counted out of order to see if we were following his lead. (This was the second in command guy who works under my recruiter.)

When we chose the chain of command, it was based not only on responsibility and ability but also on our ship dates for basic training. I was chosen for an important position. I am now the Chief Recruit Petty Officer for the purposes of our DEP and PT meetings with our Future Sailors group. Basically, I am the first in command following the recruiters themselves. If the recruits have a simple problem that can be solved without involving the recruiters, they come to me. I will ensure that the meetings run smoothly and keep people on task. The reason I was chosen was because they said that they "trust" me more than the other recruits (they said this in front of everyone)... and I have heard them compliment me frequently on my attention to detail and organizational skills. Also whenever I talk to my recruiters, they are impressed with how thorough and precise I am with my questions and research-gathering skills... that I make informed decisions. One other thing is that I am one of the couple, and possibly only recruit in this group with a college degree. I am confident with their decision and I am sure I will do well. Here we go...

Starting to pack my life away

I started packing this week. I am starting off slowly, and we shall see how long it takes...and how many boxes, tote bags, suitcases, and bins. My Precious Moments cabinet is all packed away and so are the dishes that I got about 2 years ago. I found my suitcases and am going to try to fit all of my clothes in there if I can.  Onto more packing tonight, I think.

Exercising with the Dogs

Well this week has been very productive, and only took one day off from PT so far.  Tuesday I went out with Jake and Casey. Casey and I walked for a half mile, then I came back home to get Jake. He and I went jogging and walking for a mile and a half. He was carrying his leash in his mouth most of the way... even though I still had a firm hold on it.  When we got back, as a reward, I threw Jake's ball for him for 10 minutes. Afterwards both dogs were exhausted. The total time spent in my warm up, stretches, cool down, and exercising with the dogs was about an hour.

This morning I had PT with my Future Sailors group at my recruiter's office. When I was getting ready to leave Jake was all excited because I had on the same Adidas jogging windbreaker pants and jacket on with my tennis shoes. I think he hears the swishing sound the pants and jacket make as I move. He was jumping up at me and whining. He thought we were going for a jog. Then as I left, I saw his pitiful face. He barked at me as I got in the car.

At my recruiter's office we did our cardio to some video that I think was by the same guy who does the TaeBo videos. It was intense, and definitely a good hour workout. Got done and I could feel it. I drove an hour home and recouped with the dogs. After lunch, we went outside and I threw Jake's deflated, folded basketball for him for a while. Now they are both resting underneath the table. Although we did not go for our daily exercise together I think the dogs are happy. Tomorrow is another day, and I think I may take the dogs out then.

Productive PT day

It has been gorgeous outside the past couple of days minus the tornado threats last night. This morning I popped right out of bed at 9:30, and was energized to start my day. I love mornings like that.  After my morning stretches and breakfast, I decided it was a fine morning for a run.  Well, it turned out to be noon before I headed out. Better late than never for my motivation to kick in. I continued my warm up with more stretching, light weight training, jump roping, plank exercise, and sit-ups. It was warm when I headed outside, and the thermometer by the house read 40 degrees... not bad weather for running. I walked down the driveway and began running with a good momentum and pace. Running seemed easier than previous times that I have gone out, and that made me feel good. As the distance increased from my house and I entered the treeless open road, I felt the cold air hitting my face. I noticed that with the wind chill it felt more like 30 degrees or less than the 40 degrees that I had originally thought. I got about a quarter mile away from my house and started to become very cold since my layers and hatband were not enough to keep me warm. Although I strongly desired to venture on, the wind was biting and the skies signaled rain, so I decided to cut my run short. My total distance this afternoon was a half mile and I completed it in 4 or 5 minutes... I wasn't really keeping close watch to the time. So, that means my mile and a half would be 15 minutes at that pace. That being said, I need to decrease my time. I think my requirement for basic is like 11 or 12 minutes.  When I returned, I did cool down stretches and some push-ups. Overall, I think that my total time for exercise today was about 30-45 minutes. Hey, it's better than not exercising at all.

Oh, and I received a text from my recruiter about the weekly Future Sailor PT schedule. One of the days is permanently switched. Still three days a week planned, but now they are the middle three days instead of the beginning few. So, I will be starting PT in Janesville with my DEP group within the next few days.