I'm in "decent" condition for my age (pushing 70) and took my LBT 6094 PC with Lvl 4 plates and soft-armor backers for a walk.  Made the entire walk at 120 steps per minute over level ground.

Conclusions: I need to reduce personal blubber to ideal weight, about 200#.  I'm currently 6'3" and currently 230#.  Muscle mass reduced from "prime" of life, as happens to us all.
I'm FAR form the condition of an 18-Yr-old soldier.  Personal condition can be improved, but will never be similar.

Reduction of personal blubber might allow carriage of additional items, such as ammo and firearms.

Suggestion:  Before you think about toting weight, whether a pack, body armor, or whatever, TEST your body beforehand. LOSE the blubber.

I got my first PC with RMA level 3+ plates and ran my usual 1.6 miles with three full 556 mags on it, wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. I'm 47 with a bulging disc. Total weight of the loaded PC was only about 15lbs though.

Can't imagine trying to run with loads of extra blubber.

It's something I'm working on as well. I've noticed a lot less pain and stiffness, ironically, when I stay on some variation of StrongLifts and actually work out every couple of days at minimum.

So, I'm making myself stronger and trying to lean out by adding in conditioning as well.

I ended up covering a little under 4mi yesterday on the range. It wasn't continuous running but bounding between positions with a few strides mixed in; worked out to roughly 8min/mi pace. For me, that's roughly my marathon pace, but I was pretty smoked after just 4 miles of movement with kit (carrier, belt, rifle, no helmet).

Just goes to show how taxing it is to have additional weight on your body. You have to deal with the weight itself, its unnatural distribution, and the constriction it places on your breathing. People spend thousands on life-saving kit but couldn't run 5k at jogging pace with a bear chasing them. That makes no sense to me if your goal is self-preservation.

Do cardio friends. Build your aerobic baseline.

I'm in the same boat. I have two 8 pound plates in my carrier. It feels heavy. I don't know how far I could double time it if I had to, but my guess is not very far before I was wheezing for breath.

I run around the desert like a moron with my PC and my rifle when we go shooting.  My friends think I'm an idiot.   PC's have Level 4 LAPG or L210's.  Don't have any issue with the hills.  In kinda OK shape.

Everyone is different.  Suggest knowing one's limitations before such limitations become tactical liabilities.

Check out a company called StrongerU, they can help you get to your ideal weight.

It’s not cheap, but it’s a good investment.

You can’t outrun or out lift a bad diet.

Nailed it. It all starts in the kitchen. Garbage in, garbage out.

Once you’ve ID’d those, you should be working to mitigate them. Solid nutrition, workout program, and recovery regimen can keep age at bat for a long time. My dad is a perfect example of that. He’s 60 and is probably in better shape than a lot of folks I know who are my age.

I wear an old nam era flak vest most of the time on my daily walk thru the woods. Not exactly the same but gets you used to the extra weight.

If you can’t run around in a PC (think OPSEC and your neighborhood Karen) … I ruck around with a goruck bag with a 30lb plate and 3L of water.

Walking around is pretty easy, up and down hills too… but running or double time would probably gas me.

Work your way up to that bc slow moving armored targets are still slow moving targets.

First off, cheers guys for doing some solid self assessment and committing to fixing a problem instead of buying a solution!

Second, when you look at fitness for this type of application, the most important aspect is your core.

What the army and marines are only now starting to realize is that your core is not your abs. Abs are the front of the core. Your core is also your obliques and your back. The second most important aspect to functional fitness is your hips and butt followed by legs and then shoulders. Then chest and upper back. Arms really only need to be functional for grip.

When you are looking at strength programs, find one that addresses all 4 aspects of your core and you’ll notice that you can bear weight much more readily AND you’ll likely notice that your back pain goes away as well (unless you suffered an actual injury to the spine at some point or have sciatica or something, back pain almost always resolves when the sufferer turns their weak core into a strong one)

Can't stress this enough.

*cough*

Yes.

To quote David Goggins:
“We get the body we need and the body we build, not the body we want.”

Good to see this talked about here.

Good advice from demomouse.  Heed.

I typically ruck with 75lb m-f for 3 miles.  While I'm used to a large amount of weight on my back I should probably get used to the way weight is distributed on a plate carrier.

As a former Tanker...I find suiting up in Armor and then driving around your block is a much better way to go....

Lol

6 miles pushing my 2yo in an hour(on dirt, 6 miles on pavement leaves my knees sore)
Attached File


Definitely don't jump right into pt with armor without having a solid foundation.

Agreed, rucking and marching with a plate carrier on or under weight is something that should be reserved for those who are already in a normal BMI range and should be done on soft ground (to save your shins and joints).  Your feet need to harden, your bones and joints need time to adjust to the impact.  I highly recommend those over 30 look into a collagen supplement and glucosamine.  

If you're over 40 or below that age, but obese (30 lbs. or more overweight) it wouldn't be a bad idea to get yourself into your doctor's office and see about doing a cardiac stress test to make sure your heart can stand the exercise you want to do.  

If you're over 40 not only is it important to get your overall calories and macronutrients in a good balance, but you need to really take care and get your micronutrients balanced correctly as well.  Some of you are probably low on certain key micronutrients and that isn't doing you any favors when it comes to recovery between exercising.  You may want to look into having your blood tested and evaluated to see what you need more of in terms of micronutrients.  

You can get into ridiculous shape when you're over 40, we have the science and technology now to do that.  You just have to be really, REALLY scientific about it now. You can't do what you did in your 20's or in high school and just hammer your body into shape through exercise.  Remember, your body is torn down when you exercise, it's in the rest periods between exercise sessions that muscles grow and that period of rest is ABSOLUTELY critical. Eight hours of sleep, lots of water, the right balanced diet, stretching, and even massage to help you recover.  Look into Yoga if you need to regain some flexibility and mobility (it's not gay there are UFC fighters that do it religiously).  The top athletes spend much of their time just getting the recover/rest periods right.  Good form when doing anything, running, weight lifting, swimming is all important as well.  If it's been awhile since you've done an exercise regiment don't be afraid to spend an hour with a paid certified reputable trainer so that they can critique your form and help you with it.  Good form is CRITICAL for all things athletic, because otherwise you will get injured and injuries will derail all your hard earned gains. That's another reason the micronutrients shouldn't be discounted, they help prevent injury as well.  

I know we're heading into Spring and Summer now, but don't forget about setting yourself up for Winter activities.  Now is the time when you can buy things like cross country skis and snow shoes for less money than you will if you buy in season.  Get it so that you get off the couch in the winter months and get outdoors, get the proper clothing and gear to do that now when it's cheap.  

On that note, if you guys are having a hard time recovering, it may pay to get your hormones checked too. There's a massive thread in GD about testosterone replacement therapy. I've been doing it since my early-mid 20's (testosterone levels were sub-200 with no medically diagnosable reason as for "why," even though I underwent every kind of test from bloodwork to MRI's over the course of a year) and it has made a world of difference in both my mental attitude and my physical ability when I stay on it properly.

(it will also make you feel like colossal shit if you do it half-assed or miss doses, so beware)

To add to the "fun" of training in armor, I ordered a Brute Force 25-75 pound sandbag in their 50% off sale a couple days ago that I plan on filling with play sand or rubber mulch (got some extra fill liners) for various weights, and utilizing it at the park with my fiancee or on the range, in addition to my armor.

I feel a post coming up soon about how I vomited all over the place. lmao

I'm definitely talking to my doctor at my next check-up about testosterone therapy.  

So much now we can do in terms of medical and technological advances. I can monitor my heart rate now, monitor by blood pressure at home, track my weight and body fat percentage via wifi weight scale, and through MyFitnessPal, and literally record every activity that I do now with nice graphs.  Blood tests, cardiac stress tests, high end body fat scans like a Dexa scan,  individual fitness plans through online coaches and nutrition coaches...it's amazing what you can do now. I'd just like for things to become more integrated than they currently are, right now I use different Apps that don't play well with one another.  

The U.S. military is WAY behind the civilian fitness sciences right now.  Hopefully in the future the nutrition of individual soldiers can be dialed in and their medical status is more carefully monitored and tracked with more personalized fitness training and goals designed to maximize each individual soldier's combat effectiveness. I'm not aware of any law enforcement agency doing anything remarkable for individual officer/agent fitness right now.  For as much as the government invest in machines, software, and facilities it does a poor job of investing in its more valuable resource which is its people. Of course, I'm not MIL or LEO so please correct me if I am mistake and have the wrong impression.

A class I took....and failed miserably in taught me I need to get in much better shape before attempting to  run  around in armor. Back to rucking the 2.5 mile trail I used to.

My nightly constitutional is with a loaded pack, about 15 pounds, and one of three kids on my shoulders for a few miles, so 45 to 60 pounds at the quickest pace I can possibly manage without rattling my kids off my back.  If you haven't been working on carrying a load for a few miles, you'll wake up shins and lats killing you, or your back if you get lazy and lose you posture and slouch through it.  That weight is easy to do couch to kitchen to taking a dump, but you'll get exhausted trying to keep up a quick pace further than that if your body isn't prepped.

That sounds phenomenal, but we’ll never see it on the scale you describe. Specific units have things like that, but it’s just far too expensive with today’s tech. I think as AI gets better you’ll be able to do more with it regarding tailored fitness (there are some efforts right now to bring an AI-enabled fitness app to scale in the AF that tailors workouts to you), but the nutrition piece is going to be the hardest nut to crack.

Nutrition in the DFACs is wayyy behind the science of today. Portion sizes are miniature food quality is generally low. There is a green/yellow/red card system that is supposed to tell people how healthy something is, but the metrics are outdated IMO. They need to step their game up if they want the kids to stop buying Tornados and soda for breakfast/lunch.

Fixing the DFACs only helps the folks that are allowed to eat there.  Once you live off base you’re pretty much on your own for food. As an occifer unless I’m TDY I’m generally not even allowed to eat in the DFAC regularly. I’m very into fitness/nutrition so I meal prep, track macros, calculate caloric needs, etc but for the most part that’s the exception and there are plenty of kids that are ordering pizza every night.

Right now I use four different Apps on my phone for fitness and unfortunately most of them don't integrate well with each other.  I have some great devices, but they use proprietary Apps or when they do feed into MyFitnessPal don't carry over all their data.  For example, I really like MyFitnessPal for tracking my nutrition, but it sucks at tracking my weight lifting sessions.  For my weight lifting sessions I use JEFIT and it's pretty good, but frankly could be better.  My dream would be all my devices (scale, heart rate monitor, BP cuff, etc.) all work together feeding into one perfect App. I'd also like to see an at home version of the Dexa Scan that would more accurately determine body fat distribution accurately than current electronic bathroom scales can do.  

I did purchase some non-ballistic training plates sold by Rogue Fitness strictly for fitness and they are not very comfortable as they're non-curved and have zero padding.  So you're basically just running around with a flat non-ballistic steel plate.  They do have a different plate developed by Crossfit, but they're only available in a few different weights, which sucks.  If someone came out with a wide range of training plates that were curved and padded for comfort in various cuts and weights that would be awesome. I don't like wearing my actual ballistic rated plates that cost over $1,000 for exercise stuff.  

With Rucking, I don't know why folks are paying big money for those Go-Ruck packs and their weights.  Pretty easy to just pack up your go-to Ruck and get the weight through a sand pill/bag in it.   ITS tactical has a good video on how to do that.

Oh, and everybody makes fun of the PT safety belts, but man there are some drivers who are about as blind as Mr. Magoo so stay safe and wear bright colors if you're out along a road maybe even look into slapping a V-Light, Spark Light, whatever light you can and slap it on your pack or carrier front and back.  I put a high-viz vest over my Multicam Ruck.

Reading all this as a fat old man, all I can say is, I will die valiantly...wheezing to my grave.
I DO really need to get into some sort of shape other than round...

If none of this has hit home yet, there is now my story.
I let myself go - it is all on my.
I made myself sick and never knew how sick I really was.

Obesity - at 6'1", I hid it well. At my worst I was 265 lbs, triglycerides 400, blood glucose 200, BP 140s over- upper 80s. My brother the doctor was really mad at me,.
Had to change and change fast.
My Fitness Pal has been a huge help.
We figured i was probably eating 4000 calories a day...of SHIT! Sugar coated sugar basically, plus carbs!
That had to change.
Grilled chicken is my friend, as is shrimp and salad, and salsa, cauliflower rice and cauliflower pizza....and hot tea! I do not drink coke or mt dew for a caffiene kick anymore.
I am not starving by any means. I used 2300 cals a day to lose 50 lbs in 5 months, and now i try to keep it to 2100 or under.
This morning I was 207 - down 58 lbs and 4 pants sizes (44 down to 36).
BP down to 110/70, glucose down to mid 90s (with meds being majorly cut back).

As my weight started coming down, I started wearing my PC and plates to Wednesday Night Steel and to MultiGun matches, because I could now, and the rest of the team was wearing them too. 2 weeks ago I wore for my 2 day rifle class/cert with the Sheriff's Office and I did OK - I survived and thrived. Wearing the PC is not such an out of sight thing anymore (I just can use a rifle with a fixed stock).
I can now hike the little mountain behind my house and ruck a small pack loaded with bottled water. Hell, the last time I went up, I even ran part of the way. I may only be 1 mile in length, but it climbs almost 400'. At least now if I stop, it may be because my legs are tired due to lack of conditioning and NOT because I am gassed!

Make changes - this can be done. In my case it had to be done.
Hell, I may just be inspired to wear my PC for my 2mi+ walk this evening in my desert neighborhood.

I'm 6' and 215lbs, work construction and lead a somewhat active lifestyle. For being 51, I'd say I'm in ok shape, but I'm a former four-sport athlete who played well-beyond college and know I'm no where near even what I was at 30. After researching and buying gear this winter, I settled on an Agilite K19 PC and Hesco 3810s for plates. With just a double mag pouch for CT legal mags, this arrangement gasses me pretty quickly if I'm exerting myself beyond just walking on level ground. I think it's the combination of the additional weight on my frame (12.5lbs) and the constricting of breathing due to it being cinched up around my chest.

If I can get down to 210 or under, it'll probably be better.

ETA: after reading sinister's post, I am compelled to agree with him and mention that I don't "exercise" with gear on and certainly would never go running with it on. In fact, my running days are long gone.

Dude, ditch those plates and get lighter ones. 3810s are half that.

Running or long-distance walking with armor and/or a ruck has done more to ruin infantry Soldiers and Marines than probably any other mode of physical activity.

I'm not sure why one would do it if you don't have to.  There are many, MANY other ways to become and stay aerobically and anaerobically fit without abusing your musculo-skeletal structure and risking heat stress and dehydration -- especially if no one's going to pay you disability later.

My tribe prides itself on rucking proficiency, measured in hours and pounds.  35 pounds is probably a good ruck target training weight without going ignorant and adding web gear, armor, helmet, and weapon.

There's a reason 800 milligrams of Motrin is called Ranger Candy, and why most of our spinal and hip x-rays look like 500 miles of bad road.

100% agree. Don't carry heavy loads unless you need to - if you're fit, you'll be able to move with the extra weight should the need arise. No reason to put your shoulders/back/hips/knees through unnecessary abuse.

If there are any runners here (or people who would like to get into it), I'm happy to pass along training plans I've used for 5k, 10k, half, and full marathon blocks. Obviously, paces can be adjusted as is needed.

This 100%