Regular exercise is an essential ingredient of a healthy lifestyle. Medical professionals have discovered that exercise has several benefits. It relieves stress and anxiety. In our modern world, stress and anxiety can be caused by anything or anyone. Most people have a hard time managing their stress. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress.

Exercise strengthens your immune system and increases your performance and productivity. There are so many exercises that you can perform to improve your levels of health and fitness. Most of these exercises originate from the military. For thousands of years, armed forces have been engaging in, specializing and improving exercise routines. Soldiers exercise regularly to strengthen their bodies and prepare to be called upon any time.

Fortunately, you don’t have to join the military to be as fit as they are. By combining field exercises and physical training, you will become a military fit. If you are thinking of joining the army, you’ll have to do strength training and cardiovascular exercises regularly to enhance your stability and flexibility. Here are five proven tips that will help you achieve this goal.

#1 Lose weight if needed

Before joining the army or getting military fit, you may have to burn some weight. Carrying excess weight is not good for your health because it tends to slow you down thus making basic exercises too much to handle.

According to Navy Seal Stew Smith, excess weight can also prevent you from being accepted by the military. Whether you’re trying to improve your lifestyle or get fit for the military, you’ll have to increase your activity levels while consuming nutritious foods. Resistance training and running are some of the best ways to burn calories. Nutrition plays a critical role. Therefore, be conscious of your diet.

#2 Hit the road regularly

According to paper writing service, Running is part of basic training. To pass the Army’s Basic Physical Fitness Test, you’ll have to complete three events among them, a 2- mile run. Male recruits between the ages 17 to 21 must reach the finish point in sixteen minutes or less while female recruits must complete in nineteen minutes or less.

So, not only will you be required to run two miles but you’ll also need to cover at least an eight to ten-minute mile. If you can do that now, things will be easier for you. If you can’t, it’s time to start preparing. Even if you meet the set standards, it’s important to increase your endurance mark so that you can perform better in field exercises and physical training. By having a running routine in place, you’ll easily achieve your goals.

I appreciate that running can be stressful on the knees, so you could opt to run on softer surfaces such as grass, or a curve treadmill. You can also boost your cardio fitness by doing other forms of fitness training such as: biking, rowing, and using cardio machines at the gym: cross trainer, ski erg, assault bike, etc. Doing a mixture of HIIT and LISS workouts can do wonders for your military fitness prep.

#3 Workout to get in shape

Another element of military training is building strength and muscle endurance. Regardless of the military branch, you want to join, you’ll have to prove to the seniors that your upper body and abdominal muscles are strong. You can strengthen your core muscles by using a Civilized Health sit-up bench alongside doing exercises such as: planks, sit ups, crunches, reverse crunches, hanging leg raises.

The army’s physical fitness test includes doing two minutes each of pushups, sit-ups, crunches, and pull-ups. If you want to get good at pull ups here are 8 different variations you can try in the gym:

It’s important to know what the physical fitness test of the military in your country and then create a program that will help you exceed the set targets. While the majority of these moves will feature in your training program, you’ll need to build body strength, flexibility, and agility. Some of the workouts in the U.S Army physical fitness test include stability training, bodyweight exercises, flexibility training and running.

#4 Build body strength

Navy Seal Stew Smith advises those wishing to get military fit to train five or six days a week. They should do lower body exercises on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and upper-body and core exercises on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some of the exercises that you should so include pushups, rows, pulldowns, plank, bench press, and crunches. 

According to professional writing services, other conditioning exercises recommended by the U.S Army include single-leg pushups, high jumps, sit-ups, mountain climbers and v-ups. Consider arranging these exercises in a circuit. You should also do all these exercises without resting between sets. After completing a set, rest for one or two minutes then repeat the cycle three to five times.

You could also perform TRX exercises, here are 7 TRX exercises to try…

#5 Flexibility and Hip Stability

To become a military fit, the U.S Army highlights the flexibility and hip stability as critical components of a workout. These exercises play a critical role in developing strength and ease of movement. Some of the exercises that improve hip stability include lateral bent leg raise, squats, lunges, lateral leg raise, and lateral medial leg raise.

Although flexibility is not a part of the U.S Army’s physical training test, senior army officials stress the importance of including flexibility exercises in a training program. Stretching is one of the best ways to enhance flexibility. It also prevents injury during training. An injury can stall your progress and prevent you from achieving your goals.

The U.S Army recommends including a ten to fifteen-minute stretching program every day. Do stretches for all major muscle groups such as your chest, back, lower body and abs. Some of the exercises to include in your program are side stretch, hip flexor lunge, doorway chest stretch, standing thigh stretch, seated forward fold and overhead triceps stretch.

Bonus Tip: Nutrition and hydration

To achieve your health and fitness goals, you’ll need to consume nutritious wholesome foods. The food you consume plays a critical role in how you look and feel. Healthy food intake should be part of fitness goals. 

Eating right will help you manage weight, build strength and flexibility while reducing the risk of injuries and illness. You should consume carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins every day to increase your metabolism and endurance levels.

While exercising drink a lot of water because your body tends to lose so much through sweat. Remember, a large percentage of your body is made up of water. Drinking water after exercising will improve digestion and strengthen your immunity.

Conclusion

Regular exercise is essential if you want to be healthy and fit. Even if you don’t plan to join the military, it’s important to live an active life. Exercising not only improves your physical health but also your mental health. If you haven’t exercised for a long time, take baby steps. Don’t push yourself too hard to avoid injuries. With the tips listed above, you should be ready to start your health and fitness journey.