Introduction

Cato the Younger · December 10th, 2007, 6:37 pm

Hello Rangers,
My name is Jonathan. I'm 18 years old and I've wanted to be a soldier since I was a little kid. You guys have always been my heroes.

I went to college for a short time to appease my parents, but it wasn't for me. I'm actually glad I went there because it helped me to realize just how much I wanted to be a soldier.

Unfortunately, I'm a little over 200 pounds at 5'10". My PT is crap, but I'm willing to do anything to be a Ranger. I'll take any advice you guys are willing to give me. I've already started training on my own. Running and doing the APFT Improvement workout.

Thank you for your service to our country.

RTO · Post by **RTO** » December 10th, 2007, 6:42 pm

Welcome to the site. You hit the duece at 5'10"? Run, run, run, run, and then run some more. More advice to follow after I read your next one or two posts.

Ranger Bill · Post by **Ranger Bill** » December 10th, 2007, 6:49 pm

Welcome and thanks for your interest in enlisting in the Army. You are at the right place to get help in reaching your goals, if you display the right attitude and are willing to do whatever it takes. Be sure to read the ROE PM I have sent you.

Bravo57 · Post by **Bravo57** » December 10th, 2007, 6:52 pm

Welcome to the site.

Copperhead · Post by **Copperhead** » December 10th, 2007, 7:07 pm

Welcome Jonathan,

PM inbound.

-Caleb

Ranger Ron · Post by **Ranger Ron** » December 10th, 2007, 7:09 pm

Welcome!

Steadfast · Post by **Steadfast** » December 10th, 2007, 7:23 pm

Welcome young man, you've come to the right place to learn/get fit.

rgrking · Post by **rgrking** » December 10th, 2007, 7:30 pm

Welcome to the site! Now do some pushups and flutter kicks.

Cato the Younger · December 11th, 2007, 6:15 pm

Rangers,
Thank you for the welcome and advice.

Ranger RTO,
I run every other day. I will increase my running to everyday now.

Ranger rgrking,
I will be doing those tonight.

rgrking · Post by **rgrking** » December 11th, 2007, 6:49 pm

If you have a treadmill it will work great on those days that you can't go out and run. You're not the only one that has weight issues. I'm working on mine right now.

Just remember that running will knock it off faster than anything. Situps and situps with your legs elevated will help on that belly.

DRM · Post by **DRM** » December 11th, 2007, 7:07 pm

Welcome. PM inbound.

-DRM

RTO · Post by **RTO** » December 11th, 2007, 9:06 pm

Cato the Younger wrote:Rangers,
Thank you for the welcome and advice.

Ranger RTO,
I run every other day. I will increase my running to everyday now.

Ranger rgrking,
I will be doing those tonight.

Finally, a young man that knows how to spell and punctuate properly. :D

You are off to a good start and well ahead of some of your peers as of late in that respect. There are several hours of PT threads on this forum that will give you excellent running and general PT advice. My little .02Â¢ is to just make sure you have a new or fairly new (less than 3 months old) pair of running shoes to avoid the chance of shin splints as you ramp up your running program.

Just of curiosity, why did you choose your user name? Can you share with the audience who Cato the younger is and how you knew of him?

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » December 11th, 2007, 9:47 pm

Cato the Younger wrote: Ranger RTO,
I run every other day. I will increase my running to everyday now.

Do NOT run every day. You will break yourself more than likely. Every other day is fine. On your off-days from running, stretch and give your legs some rest or go hit a pool and swim laps on two of those days.

200 at 5'10 isn't a problem to work with. You can lose those extra 20lbs over the course of 3 months if you work out properly.

Do a search on PT (physical training) and you'll find yourself with quite a bit of reading material.

Welcome to ArmyRanger.com!

Cato the Younger · December 11th, 2007, 9:59 pm

Ranger RTO,
Thank you. I always try to use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Poor use is one thing that bothers me a lot.

My shoes are rather old and I'm currently working on obtaining new ones. I should have them by Friday. I'll makes sure to wear them in a bit before really run in them.

To explain my name I'm going to have to do a little background. My father is a big military history buff and he got me into it when I was twelve. I have a subscription to Military History Magazine and that is where I first read about Cato the Younger. There was an article in the summer, roughly two years ago, about the Roman Civil War. Specifically, it was about the campaign to take out some support Pompeii had in North Africa. It was after the defeat of Pompeii's allies in North Africa that Cato committed suicide to prevent Caesar from pardoning him and therefore gaining more power with the masses.

After reading about Cato the Younger I did a little research on my own. He was a statesman and a leading spokesman for the republican cause. He was follower of the Stoic philosophy. Stoics believe that self-control prevents one from being overcome by destructive emotions. Cato was also known for his moral integrity and immunity to bribes. Interestingly enough, he hated the corruption of the time. It was actually something he and Caesar had in common.

After discovering more about Cato the Younger and his character I started using his name online. His character was something I wanted to emulate.

I hope that is a sufficient explanation.

42L5V · Post by **42L5V** » December 12th, 2007, 6:28 am

Johnathan -

You sound like an articulate young man with a fairly decent head on your shoulders.

200 lbs is not too far off from where you should be. The max weight for your age and height is 180 lbs (according to the Army) with 20% body fat.

If you're the typical teenager, your diet has a whole lot more to do with your weight than your exercise habits. There's lots of diet/nutrition advice on the site if you search for it. For example, cut soda/coke out completely. Drink water, gatorade, milk and fruit jucies.

Welcome here and good luck.