I’m leaving March for airforce basic training. Wondering if there are any vets with any advice. My push-up game is strong as heck. I need ab and cardio work.
Ab training in any military boot is a joke (tons of sit-ups, Hello Dollys, flutter kicks, etc.). Follow the guidelines on T-Nation for having strong abs (Waterbury is good, any gymnastics/pullup work) and your abs should be plenty strong enough for boot.
Test is a 1.5 mile run, so intersperse longer runs with speed work. For example:
Day 1 - 5K run, 8:00 pace
Day 2 - 1 mile warm-up, 2X800 @ 6:30 pace, 4x400 @ 6:00 pace, .5 mile cooldown
Day 3 - off
Day 4 - 5K run, 7:45 pace
Basic running guidelines:
- Watch your mileage. Running is the easiest type of training to injure yourself doing. Increase mileage by no more than 10% every week.
- When doing interval work, rest double the time of exertion. So if you run a 3:00 half mile, rest 6:00.
- Don’t use a treadmill. Way easier than real running, and if you have a shitty gait you’ll probably wind up injured.
- Train as you fight: Run through the PFT once a month or so.
- Try increasing mileage one week, and paces the next, in a stair-step method, to increase intensity and get faster.
- Minor: get ready to lose all your muscle. You’ll gain it back, but the food is shit and you’ll have little access to weights in boot.
I didn’t know they did PT in the Air Force … 
Bad jokes aside - I don’t think you need to stress over it … The fitness emphasis in USAF is well below the army or Marines - they are looking for more brains than brawn … The running advice from cjbuhagr is solid, and you have 4 + months to work on it …
You’ll be fine dude
I went into BMT with a 13:00 1.5 mile time and left with a 10:25. They’ll prepare you, so dont stress about it. Plus i was a pack and a half a day smoker when i went in. My push ups actually went down, i went from 73 to 65 by the end. Don’t freak out too much.
I went into BMT with a 13:00 1.5 mile time and left with a 10:25. They’ll prepare you, so dont stress about it. Plus i was a pack and a half a day smoker when i went in. My push ups actually went down, i went from 73 to 65 by the end. Don’t freak out too much.
I’m not too sure what the USAF does for thier PFT, but I’d focus on the run portion. In the Marines we did pullups, situps, and a 3 mile run, so I just focused on my pullups and run time.
Going on my 11th year in the Armed Forces and first off… Thanks for making the decision not many can embrace…
…even if it is the USAF.
Ok, just kidding. Sorta. Follow the running outlined above. For abs, start pushing yourself on the Air Forces standards for sit ups. An the routines in the world all can help, but take it from vets who realized that their way is the only way. So once a week when you can, rack em out. In the Army we got a standard min and max in 2 minutes. I on Sunday’s do 3min to standard morning and night. Just to maintain the dampened muscle memory. And only cause I hate plain sit ups.
Muscle will decrease while in boot. Some. But you guys have better meals served than we have and all the training installations I have traveled to, I did see airmen in the gyms… Freaking passes during basic… Give me a break. But, the time you have now, keep lifting too. Strengthen that Damn core!!! Focus on that also during your lifts. Breathing… And I’m done. It’s just air force…
Oops, I made another. Good luck bro