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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Will losing weight help me do more push-ups?
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Question
Forgive me If I am asking the wrong expert.
I am joining the Air Force and will be leaving for BMT in early 2010. I am having trouble with my push-up reps. Right now I can only do 15, at most, in one set. Also, I need to lose about 30 pounds to make weight(which I am currently working on).
That said, how much will losing 20-30 pounds affect the number of push-ups I can do?
Thanks
Hi Lee,
The Air Force likes males to be able to do at least 34 pushups (21 for females) upon arrival. See: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/a/afbmtintfitness.htm
Push-ups are designed to measure your upper-body strength. If you weigh less, your arms and chest muscles will have to "push-up" less weight. Exactly how many more you will be able to do is anyone's guess, but it should be more than you are able to do now.
The best way to increase the number of push-ups you can do is (surprise!) do push-ups. That's the way they do it in basic training. If you have problems with push-ups upon arrival, your T.I. will be dropping you for push-ups every chance he/she gets.
Do the same thing yourself! Drop and do 15 when you wake up. Drop and do another 15 after you shower. Drop and do 15 before you pee....before you watch TV....before you eat.....well, you get the picture...
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my US Military information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com
Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
About.com US Military Guide
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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