Training for the Army is a physically demanding process designed to produce strong, capable soldiers. If you are thinking about joining, practicing some exercises that are commonly performed in boot camp can help your transition into military life. For those seeking to increase their physical fitness at home, adopting some boot camp exercises into a regular fitness routine will help improve overall fitness and health. Try alternating muscle building and endurance exercises for a balanced workout.
Arm Muscle Workouts
Boot camp exercises involve several moves designed to strengthen and work out the arm muscles. This includes pullups and pushups. In order to perform a pushup that is up to army standards, lie on your stomach and place your hands just outside your shoulders. Slowly raise your body off the floor and keep your stomach sucked in. In this position, you spread the work over your chest, shoulders and triceps muscles. Slowly lower yourself down to the ground and then back up again.
Abdominal Workouts
The most common abdominal muscle exercise is the curl up, otherwise known as the sit up. To perform a sit up, lie flat on the floor with your knees bent. Put your hands behind your head and using your abdominal muscles, raise your upper body into an upright position roughly 6 to 12 inches from the floor. Gently lower yourself back down. The key to sit ups is to pace yourself. While it may be easy to whip through several sit ups quickly, this will only exhaust you.
Cardio
Cardio exercises that are performed in boot camp include running and swimming. SSG Sarvis, the winner of the 2011 U.S. Army Drill Sergeant of the Year Ward recommends a 30/60 or a 60/120 method of running. Sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then walk for 60 seconds or sprint for 60 seconds, and walk for 120 seconds. This will help build your strength and endurance for longer runs.
Special Skills
In army boot camp, some training revolves around developing special skills. This includes marksmanship and team building exercises. Recruits will receive basic rifle marksmanship training and will participate in rappelling exercises.
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