Word From A Reader
Gentlemen,
I know that you have been pushing PT for a long time in both of your blogs, and who knows, I may be the only one this stupid. After back surgery in January, I was finally able to start jogging again at the end of April/beginning of May, and to date, have made good progress, being able to jog 2-4 miles straight, with an additional 2-4 miles of walking.
Today, I put my ALICE pack on for the first time in over a decade. I loaded it with about 20-30 lbs. After 3 miles, it had worn me out. Please try to drum it into people's heads that they won't be able to slap on 60+ lbs of gear (20 lbs if you just have a rifle, ammo, and water) and go easily, even if they have been jogging and exercising on a regular basis, if they haven't practiced carrying loads as well. Like I said, I may be the only one this stupid/arrogant enough to think that I could cover this distance easily, but somehow I think that there are others who are as dumb as I am.
On an unrelated subject, can you remind your readers to check the GM angles on their topographic maps and keep checking them every 6 months? The GM angle is shifting quickly and so most maps' GM angles are out of date.
Thanks again to both of you for having such useful sites.
Thanks,
A Reader
posted by Concerned American | 4:48 AM
3 Comments:
Very good note from "A Reader"! That's why we deal with 'conditioning' marches with fully loaded rucks, gear, and rifles (where ever and whenever possible).
Core strength is what will take you down the road!
53y/o former Navy Corpman dealing with scyatica. I will take your advise.
After a bad front-end/head-on car wreck a few years ago, I'm a poster-child for the benefits of movement and focused exercise to keep the parts working and to accept mild muscle pain instead of debilitating nerve and joint pain. It makes you strong and hungry (which makes food taste better) to work out regularly.
If you are over 30 and not in good shape or injured, a few visits to a professional physical therapist to investigate your condition and design a program of conditioning might be a good investment of time and a few dollars. You may be covered under work or private medical insurance, and insurers like to spend on PT because it's so cheap compared to surgical or hospitalization (post-injury) medical intervention.
Start slow. Don't push it and get hurt. Hot spots mean blisters soon: stop and fix. Wear good socks and boots. Listen to your feet, muscles and lungs. Get home believing that you could have gone 20% more (in the morning, you will be glad that you didn't).
Drink water.
Drink water.
Drink water.
Quarts per hour should be consumed when moving.
Stop-drink-breathe-move.
You don't have to let them know that your objective is to carry a 40 pound pack and a rifle 6 miles in 3 hours (up hill both ways over broken terrain).
Nice side effect of exercise is that lung capacity goes up, making hands and eyes steadier, and intentional breathing pauses can be comfortably longer. Your groups will tighten.
Talk to your doctor and pharmacist about what med's can be safely dropped and how. Blood Pressure, blood sugar, E.D., attention span while reading, and other annoying troubles of getting older can only be improved by conditioning. This alone is worth the time and effort.
You are going to live longer, too.
Cheers.
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