I just got accepted to West Point...

Spawnbroker

Well, the title says it. I am freaking out about it, honestly. I am currently Active Duty as a PFC in the Army, and I've been in the application process to West Point since November. All of my paperwork just went through, and I find I will be going there starting July 1st.

I'm freaking out a little bit about this because I already went to college once, and fucked it up. I dropped out due to being lazy, lack of motivation, depression, all combining into the end result of joining the Army. So here we are.

My question to you, fellow H/A peoples: what can I do to prepare for this in terms of the physical aspect? Got any good exercises to help me do more pullups (besides pullups)? How do I get my mind off the anticipation of a major life-changing event such as this? Any other good advice related to this, and why do I feel like I will fail like I did last time?

Sorry if my questions seem random, I'm just freaking out and need some people to help me think of things to get my mind off of the enormity of this.

Thanatos

Pullups are about the best exercise to get better at pullups. :P

Deadlifts will help, too, and do some curls, too, to beef up your biceps.

Ice-Nine

Congrats, man.

But I'm curious, how old are you? How long have you been in the army and why did they select you to go to west point?

My friend was pretty weak when he went in, yet he did fine. I'd be concerned with the academics, not the physical part.

Limp moose

they keep you so regimented at the academy's that you wont have time to be lazy or anything. In fact the first year will be like redoing boot camp with classes in between. They will probably go a little easier on you since you are a prior but it will still suck.

Just try to keep up with the class load and do your best to get on an athletic team. The dudes that play sports get out of a lot of the shit work because they have to practice. Plus the more extra curricular stuff you have the less bullshit watch you will pull. And there is A LOT of bull shit watch to be had for the unmotivated.

best of luck man. Those academies are tough as hell but they are a great place to be from once you are done.

Spawnbroker

Ice-Nine wrote: »

How old are you? How long have you been in the army and why did they select you to go to west point?

I'm 21 years old. I've been in the Army for a year now, and they asked me to apply to West Point because I scored in the 99th percentile on the ASVAB.

Thanks for the advice on pullup exercises Than, I'll definitely look into those (as well as do more pullups heh)

Ice-Nine

Oh man, I envy you. I'm 20, and I got a 99, maybe I'd have a shot at it, too. Joining marines this summer.

the wook

congratulations. that's no small feat.

as previously mentioned, don't fret too much about the physical side of things. keep in mind that you're a PFC in the army and most of your classmates are currently high school kids. you have a pretty big advantage already.

if i had to focus on one thing physically, it would be running. life will be much easier on you if you can go into the academy with the ability to pass the running portion of the PFT.

however, if you really want to focus on pullups, good exercises can be found here. The bolded exercises are compound exercises that are great at building strength. Any of them (with the possible exception of shrugs) should help build pulling strength.

Judge-Z

Congrats on the accept. Two classmates from high school and two of my former students have attended or are attending West Point. You'll quickly find that it is totally unlike your other college experience - as was said earlier, your time will be so occupied you won't have the opportunity to be lazy! Unless things have changed, expect to do a LOT of laundry in what little "free time" you have during your plebe year. I'm not sure, but you may take some extra grief from having been accepted as an enlisted man as opposed to the post-HS route. You made it through boot, though, so I'm guessing you're better prepared than you think.

Again, kudos on the admission! It's quite the distinction!

GameHat

Can't say I know anything about physical conditioning, but congrats meng!

Pheezer

Like Than said, the two good exercises other than pullups are deadlifts and bicep curls. You could also do military or Arnold presses if your shoulders aren't strong enough, too.