Joshua Kelly is a 13-year United States Navy Veteran.  Joshua holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural Science and Math.   Along with several military decorations, Joshua was certified as a Community College of the Air Force Instructor.  Joshua is currently self-employed with Dakota Weather Consultants.

“I am passionate about the military way of life and also the self-employed way of the future, and of course, the weather.  You will find me, every day, running my weather consulting firm when I am not spending time with my family. I enjoy sharing information by writing to help others prepare themselves and learn from my experiences”. 

Today, we will look at those men and women who are thinking of joining the military, especially seniors in high school or graduates just out of school – the younger generation.  So as you finish your senior year of high school, what are some things that you should be doing to prepare yourself if the military is your next step?

ASVAB

First, make sure that you sit down with a counselor at your school and let them know that you are serious about taking the military route after graduation.  This will allow your guidance counselor to prepare you for the ASVAB test, which you will be required to take during the school year.  The counselor can both get you signed up and also provide you with insight on where to study and what type of information you will want to focus on for the test preparation.

Physical Preparation

Next, you will want to start preparing yourself physically, such as getting out and running along the track after school or hitting the weight room and getting your body in shape.  This is by far one of the hardest steps for new members of the military – to get into proper shape in order to serve professionally.

Here is just one example that you could look at to help yourself.  I actually used this myself during my senior year of high school to prepare for the military.

Day 1: I would run around the track in intervals.  This means run 200 meters (m), then walk 200m, run 300m, then walk 100m, run 400m and then walk 800m to cool down.  This would take me pretty close to 45 minutes to complete this exercise.

Day 2: I would go for a short distance run.  I would run 1-2 miles for the day and then stretch out after completion.  This workout day would also include ladders of pushups and sit-ups, starting with 20 pushups and then 20 sit-ups.  Then go down by 5 for the next set, and continue to decrease by 5.

Day 3: I would give myself a break, allowing my body to relax and not get overworked.

Day 4: I would hit the swimming pool and swim laps.  Then after getting out, I would do ladders of sit-ups and pushups again, starting at 25 and working down in intervals of 5.

Day 5: This day would consist of lifting weights.  I would work on the hip sled, which exercised my calves, then I would move to arm curls and usually finish with pullups.

This is just one type of workout that can help you get ready for the basic training in the military.  You will have to alter your workout schedule to fit your daily needs and also adjust to your ability.

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Healthy Eating and Sleeping

Now that you got the test and fitness preparations ready, another item you should be working on during your senior year is getting into a healthy eating and sleeping routine.  Cut your fast food consumption down.  If you like to go out late, start making changes to your schedule, and make sure that you are not going out until the wee hours of the night, each and every night.

There are a few other things that you could do to prepare yourself.  Look at establishing a set eating routine.  Meaning, try to make sure you consume a nutritional, well-rounded breakfast each morning, then make time in your day to get a balanced lunch/dinner, and finish the day with a third great evening course.

These three meals can also weave into your workout schedule.  For instance, the night before you are going to be running a lot, work with your parents in letting them load your evening meal with pastas, as these are great pre-running foods.   Then on the days you are looking at hitting the weights, try and stack your evening meal with more meats and potatoes, as they will help balance out the muscle groups that you will be working out in the gym.

Lastly, if you feel the need to have an afternoon or morning snack, take a look at getting granola bars and even protein bars, both of these will provide you with ample energy to help get you through school and to your next meal.  Additionally, make sure to keep yourself hydrated with plenty of water before your exercise workout routine and then some Gatorade afterwards to help re-energize.

These steps are hard to do.  But if you are really serious about joining the military, these steps noted above will get you on the right path and possibly even give you the edge once you arrive to basic training.

SSGT NICHOLS: Serve Your Country.