When I completed Basic Training I was surprised to discover
that much of what I recently learned I could have taught myself
before I left. Life would have been a lot easier these past
couple months had I known that.
The following tips
in this article outline some of the things you can do to prepare
yourself for Basic Training. Start thinking and acting like
a soldier. before you go.
Bad Habits are
a Bad Start
If you arrive at
basic training with a tobacco addiction or worse a drug addiction,
you will put your mind and body under an unnecessary amount
of stress. Believe me, extra stress is not needed at Basic
Training. Tobacco products are not allowed at Basic Training.
Every company has a few soldiers that stop smoking or using
chewing tobacco cold turkey when they start Basic Training.
You don't want to be one of those soldiers. These soldiers
go through a variety of withdrawal symptoms. The biggest withdrawal
symptom is irritability. You don't need to be irritable when
trying to satisfy a drill sergeant and make new friends. You
need to establish good relationships with your fellow recruits
and help each other make it through Basic Training, and of
course, when you're irritable you tend not to be too friendly.
Bad habits don't
just stop at tobacco and drugs. Snacks and sweets are also
bad habits. There are no between meal snacks or desserts during
basic training. Therefore, if you need sugary substances throughout
the day try to cut down before arrive at Basic Training. The
same goes for coffee. You don't have time to sip coffee with
your fellow recruits over By SGT Michael Volkin When I completed
Basic Training I was surprised to discover that much of what
I recently learned I could have taught myself before I left.
Life would have been a lot easier these past couple months
had I known that.The following tips in this article outline
some of the things you can do to prepare yourself for Basic
Training. Start thinking and acting like a soldier before
you go.Bad Habits are a Bad StartIf you arrive at basic training
with a tobacco addiction or worse a drug addiction, you will
put your mind and body under an unnecessary amount of stress.
Believe me, extra stress is not needed at Basic Training.
Tobacco products are not allowed at Basic Training. Every
company has a few soldiers that stop smoking or using chewing
tobacco cold turkey when they start Basic Training. You don't
want to be one of those soldiers. These soldiers go through
a variety of withdrawal symptoms. The biggest withdrawal symptom
is irritability. You don't need to be irritable when trying
to satisfy a drill sergeant and make new friends. You need
to establish good relationships with your fellow recruits
and help each other make it through Basic Training, and of
course, when you're irritable you tend not to be too friendly.
Bad habits don't just stop at tobacco and drugs. Snacks and
sweets are also bad habits. There are no between meal snacks
or desserts during basic training. Therefore, if you need
sugary substances throughout the day try to cut down before
arrive at Basic Training. The same goes for coffee. You don't
have time to sip coffee with your fellow recruits over a leisurely
breakfast. If your lucky, you will get about 5 minutes (3
minutes drill sergeant time) to eat your breakfast. So to
prepare yourself for basic training, stop eating sugar and
drinking caffeine before you arrive. Contrary to popular belief,
sugar is addicting. To get technical, sugar triggers production
of the brain's natural endorphins, much like drugs, but on
a less intense scale. If you don't think you're addicted to
sugar, stop eating it completely for 3 days, and note any
mood swings. You might be surprised.
Run Like the
Wind
You will undoubtedly
be challenged physically in Basic Training, so why not prepare
yourself early? Spend a few minutes every other day running
around your neighborhood. In my book, The Ultimate Basic Training
Guidebook, I designed a customized fitness program (complete
with workout logs) to prepare you physically for basic training.
I have received much praise for this program and suggest you
take advantage of it. It would be a good idea for you to run
in the mornings, since that is when you will be working out
in basic training. If you are one of those fitness gurus,
don't be fooled -- military fitness is different than civilian
fitness, and being able to bench press 300 pounds isn't going
to get you far in Basic Training. So if you adopt a workout
program before Basic Training, make sure the exercises you
are doing compliment your future Basic Training workouts.
Your Not the
Only One
Don't be discouraged,
or even encouraged by that matter, from one person's opinion
about Basic Training. Bottom line, Basic Training is challenging.
With proper preparation Basic Training can be a lot easier
for you. To properly prepare yourself, you should be educated
on exactly what your training schedule will entail. A small
amount of informed preparation will give you an enormous edge
in Basic Training.
SGT Michael Volkin
is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, available
in both paperback and e-book format at www.ultimatebasictrainingguidebook.com.
