Can someone help me with Improving Fitness?

[Anonymous]

So, I want to join the Army, But, I need to Overhaul my fitness first.

Last September, I was Obese, (235lb), And now im down to 175lb, So, I got like 20lb to loose yet, But, Not that much more to go.

But, When i started, I struggled really hard to even run for a Minute, And, Now i can run for like 7 or 8 Minutes (Ive never fully pushed myself to the Limit though, So, It would probably be longer then that, But I've never tried, I will tomorrow though :D).

Anyway, To join the Army, You obviously need to meet fitness requirements, And, Im not worried about the Strength ones, because, i already know i can do all of them, But its the Fitness ones, I need to be able to run 1.5 Miles (2.4Km) in less than 13 minutes, But, Obviously 13 minutes is the limit, So, it needs to be like 10 minutes or less.

Anyway, has anyone got any advice for increasing my fitness as quick as possible?

What im doing right now, Is just like run for 2 or 3 minutes, Then walk for 1 minute, And keep repeating that for like 45 mins - 1 hour.

Is there a better way of doing it though?

Cheers.

[sweetone13]

Keep a food journal and record your food intake and mood. Try to watch your portion sizes and drinking lots of water. Eat slower to savor your food so you can trick your stomach into thinking it's full sooner. Try to get in some cardio 30 min a day and add in some weight training to build muscle cuz muscles is what burns fat. Intervals are good but pick up the pace. say you sprint to every other house or tree (idk where you fun haha) on the recovery part, jog lightly n try to not walk. Steadily increase speed. You sound like you have a good base for endurance. Now just work speed into it. I'm a runner. Speed takes time. You still have a few years tho.
Anywho, Keep a positive attitude. Message me if ya want more help as you progress! I've helped friends lose +10 lbs and gain muscle and Reach their goals  you can do it!

[Ygritte_snow]

That technique is good. Interval training is great to make progress. What you can do is start out by walking for one minute, then speed walk for the next, then run easy for the next and finally run hard for 1 minute and repeat the other way around until you walk again. Jump rope does wonders for cardio too, but don't push yourself too hard as it can be dangerous for your heart

[UnremarkableDay]

I was in the same position you were. I was 210 now I'm 145, and have gained a lot of muscle. Like you I could barely run at all in the beginning, now I could run for hours if I had to. when I run, one day I'll run at the same pace for an hour or more. The next day I'll sprint as fast as I can for as long as I can, then catch my breath by walking and then repeat. ill do this for about 40 minutes then do about 20 minutes of jogging at the end. and then the cycle starts over with the next day. Most importantly you need to keep pushing yourself, forcing your body to get better bit by bit.

[EarthToKepler]

Look up on YouTube 'Elliott Hulse 300 push up challenge ' (got some really cool tips and that and similar to your question)

The only tip I could give you is drink coffee, i've read coffee is really good for your cardiovascular system :)

Anyway bro your routine seems pretty damm badass.. I think if you try hard enough you'll reach those goals and smash the shi* out of those fitness requirements

Goodluck but remember to rest

[Asker]

Cheers man i Appreciate it, And, Those Biceps are pretty fucking Monster dude!, How long did those bad boys take to grow? xD

[EarthToKepler]

It's justt the way the picture was taken bro ahaha but 4 years ;)

[Asker]

Dont be modest man, Theyre Beast! xD. Well, Congrats ;)

[EarthToKepler]

Thankyou man and congrats to you too for what you've achieved fitness wise and what you're about to achieve!

[Rob81]

The best thing you can do is just time yourself and make sure you push yourself to reach the time limit. Also to stay properly hydrated. Do it probably 2-3 times a week because you would need rest after pushing your body that hard, until it becomes a lot easier.

[Phoenix98]

Build strong powerful legs, lungs and good breath control, if you have those two then you can do it, also each time you train your cardio try increasing the speed and intensity. You also have to remember that if you get in you will be doing your tests (running) with a 100+ pounds of equipment on your back.

[Anonymous]

Run a mile on the treadmill everyday. Just go at whatever pace you can handle and see how much time it takes. After a month you should definitely see an improvement.

FYI 15 minutes is about how long the average person can walk a mile, so 13 minutes to RUN a mile and a half is no problem.

[Asker]

Walk a Mile and a Half in 15 minutes? i dont know a single human who can physically walk at 6mph. Considering i run at 7.5mph.

Walking speed is like 3-4mph, 5.5 - 6.5 is a jog :D.

To run 1.5 miles in 11 minutes and 30 seconds would mean running non stop at 8Mph. Which, You know, Is pretty tough.

[Opinion Owner]

You read my comment wrong I said you can WALK a SINGLE mile in 15 minutes, so by that logic you can RUN a mile and a half easily in that time. In my high school days I ran a single mile in 5 min 21 sec. So by that logic an extra half mile would easily be under 10 minutes.

[therussianconcussion]

a tip from me is get a vitamix its those blenders that jamba juice sells.
it helped me replace that sugar addiction from sugary drinks. once i did that i dropped 25 pounds without even working out.
as my doc says its 95% diet, 5% exercise.

[Asker]

No, Im not trying to loose weight here, Im already doing that and doing pretty well at it.

I want to build up my Cardio so i can run faster for longer ;).

[therussianconcussion]

oh ha well thats not my specialty

[Anonymous]

Start with fat burning and work from there. What you're doing at the moment is interval training which is better for cardio fitness. What you need to do is moderate level exercise for long periods of time - go for a jog an hour a day and keep the level of exercise so you're a bit out of breath but so you can keep going for a while.

[emerald77]

I think that's fine. Just keep doing that and you will gradually get better and eventually not even wave to walk at all.

[Consultant]

Go to Bodybuilding. com, read everything and apply it

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about being quick right away, worry about your endurance first