What does SHSIP stand for? The SoldierHawk Self-Improvement Plan, of course!

(Warning, long and possibly boring post ahead. Just sayin'.)

So when I left for LDAC, I was in pretty awesome shape. Was in even better shape when I got back. Since then I've rather...well, fallen off the wagon, to put it kindly. Part of it is that the extreme pressure of LDAC is over, but the other part of it is just time and stress. I get up so fucking early, and go til so fucking late often 7 days a week doing multiple, highly stressful things, and I feel like I have neither the time nor the energy to exercise or eat properly anymore. (This isn't me whining--at least not much--I'm just trying to lay out the situation.) Also, since I'm a senior cadet now, we don't actually DO PT during PT time--we're in charge of running it, so no real workout there either. This is an unacceptable state of affairs, for three reasons:

1. I still have to take PT tests at regular intervals. I do NOT want to show badly on those. If I had to take one right now, I'd pass, but it wouldn't be pretty.

2. My pipe-dream goal is to meet the standards for the Physical Fitness Excellence patch by May (when I commission.) The standards are as follows for a 27 year old female: 42 push-ups, 73 sit-ups, and a 17:00 run time. I feel that these are more than achievable in this amount of time.

3. I feel like shit. I had this moment of clarity today while eating two Big Macs...this stuff makes me feel like crap. I don't need that feeling right now, when I need to be at my best energywise and healthwise.

Why do I say all this? Because you guys are my (virtual) buddies, and I need someone to give me a hand if this is going to work. Nothing major, I'm just giving you permission to hold me accountable if and when you catch me in the chat (or in this thread). You'll probably also see my updating on my progress here as a tool for myself as much as anything else.

This is the way I plan to achieve my goals:

- Actually work out. Like, fer srsly work out. Six days a week (Sunday is a rest day) regardless of time or energy level. Cardio every day, with a long run on at least two. Push ups and sit ups should be incorporated every day, regardless of the rest of the workout plan.

- Eat right. I know myself from that ill advised "kick fast food" attempt last year. Completely stopping will not happen I think. However, limiting it to say, once a week is very doable. Part of the issue here--beyond the whole "it tastes great and I love eating it" thing--is that it's so damn fast and convenient. To that end, if anyone has suggestions for easily and quickly prepared healthful snacks/lunches for someone constantly moving around, I'll take all I can get.

- Do some things that involve neither work nor school nor the Army for the sake of my mental health. Must read books for fun. Keep up with my comic reading too. Do not ignore friends, either IRL or on the forums here. Do not shut myself in doing nothing but lesson planning and homework and Army publicity stuff all weekend. Also: sun and fresh air is a requirement.

That's about it. Like I said, mostly for my benefit, but feel free to throw in your two cents and any advice or admonishments you may have.

Noted. Must also actually create content for blog and YouTube. Got it.

Thanks for the info Jack! Great stuff.

So I haven't been intentionally ignoring this thread, just haven't been posting much (@*#~^& computer.)

I've done a very good job of sticking to my workout schedule. Diet...still a bit of an issue, but I have managed to limit my fast food intake to something approaching reasonable. (Last couple weeks its been twice a week, on days where I go straight through PT and classes from 5am-10:30pm.)

I took a diagnostic PT test last weekend while I was at drill, and was quite pleased with myself. I ran my fasted two miles of all time--17:07, which is very close to my goal. I have no idea where that run came from, and I didn't even realize I was on that kind of a pace until I crossed the finish.

My overall score wasn't as high as I wanted because I think I've been so focused on running--my weakest event--that I let my push ups and sit ups slide. Not terribly, I only lost like 10 sit ups and maybe 5 push ups, but that's a difference of 10-15 overall points. So the challenge now is to balance keeping up that run score while balancing keeping the others up as well.

Still, that run as a big confidence booster for me. At least I know I'm capable. (Which I did anyway, but seeing it official feels damn good.)