“The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”
—General Dwight D. Eisenhower, addressing his men before D-Day, 1944
To give yourself a major advantage before you depart for basic training, it is imperative that you start thinking and acting like someone who belongs in the military. This chapter will help you begin that journey.
First, start exercising early in the morning. During basic training, your organized physical training sessions will be conducted in the morning before breakfast. Therefore, a couple weeks before you start basic training, make it a habit to get up at 4:30 a.m. Don’t just get up and watch television! Get up and follow the workouts described in this book or my fitness program “Working out with the Volkinator.” I want to emphasize what a tremendous advantage this will give you.
Stop munching on chips and cookies. During basic training, there is no snacking. By training your body early to stop snacking, you will help reduce your hunger urges during basic training.
If you smoke or use chewing tobacco, I highly recommend you begin a program to quit immediately. There will be no tobacco products allowed at basic training. It is better to develop a plan to quit on your own terms, rather than the military’s terms. Too many recruits come to basic training and experience a variety of withdrawal symptoms. This only makes the already tough weeks of vigorous and challenging basic training tougher for you.
Did You Know?
Why do recruits in the military workout so early in the morning?
One reason is that if you workout before breakfast, your body uses stored fat as fuel instead of carbs. Thus, you burn more fat by working out before breakfast!
Put down and step away from those boil-and-eat noodles you are picking up at the market, ten packs for a buck. Throw away the bologna. Instead, cook yourself lean beef, chicken, fish, and pasta dishes. Your body will appreciate the consumption of healthier foods, and this nourishment will compliment the workout plans described in Chapter 2.
During basic training you will rarely get eight hours of sleep—five to seven hours is normal. Train your body to go to bed about 9:00 p.m. This way, when you get to basic training you won’t be lying in bed awake when everyone else is sleeping. Here is another tip: consider the time zone where your basic training will be conducted. If you are on the West coast and you will be training on the East coast, there is a three-hour time difference. Training yourself to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time means going to bed at 6:00 p.m. on the West coast. Likewise, waking up at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time means waking up at 1:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Everyone is different, but it generally takes four to seven days to adjust to a new sleep schedule. Will this change be uncomfortable and even frustrating? Yes. But you know that already, and you will adjust and survive—and basic training will be that much easier.