Staying Motivated: Immersion

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

            -Jim Ryuh

These immortal words spoken by Mr. Jim Ryuh embody the entire philosophy of finding within oneself motivation. The problem isn’t taking that first step, it is discovering the desire to keep going, and creating the habits that will help you persevere.

Staying motivated can be a very difficult task, whether you are like me and are trying to pursue a career in the Special Forces community, or like my cousin who is working hard through nursing school, maybe even a writer struggling to sit down and find that inspiration or create that outline for your next work. It is difficult. Regardless of your dreams, goals, accomplishments, status, race, sex, IT IS DIFFICULT! So why do it?

The answer is simple, “why not?” We are (for all intensive purposes) only given this life. This moment, the right here, the now, it is the only thing that you have guaranteed. Nothing is promised in your future, your life could end. It may seem depressing or morose but it is a fact. Ask yourself, “If it does end tonight as I lay in bed closing my eyes to sleep, will I be happy with what I’ve accomplished and how I have lived my life? Will I be proud of what I left behind?”

Seriously contemplating this question can create a profound sense of self and reality. I had a night like this once and I couldn’t sleep, the question haunted me the entire week.

I was in a low place at this time and knew that I had to do something. I found within myself that motivation and desire to better myself. Not because of the way I felt I had to look or to fit in, but because I knew it would better myself. I am of course referring to my switch from being physically inactive to being proactive to the point that I am working out twice a day and lifting weights in between.

Mentally, it is up to you to figure out what it is you want and how you go about breaking it to yourself in order to make that change and find the drive.

Once you have mentally made the commitment all that is left is following through with it. And why wouldn’t you!? You told yourself that you were going to do something, you (most likely) told others the same, until you do it or follow through with your words, you are nothing more than a liar and your word means nothing. Your word is naught but hot air at that point.

For me, once I decided on my career path I made the commitment to join a gym, I sought out a peer with a similar goal to train with. I began reading anything I could find relevant to Pararescue. I’ve seen every documentary made about it (links below, some are in video bar), scoured every website, created motivational posters with quotes from PJ “Bob” and words of wisdom from my father. I surrounded myself with it. I immersed myself in it. I made a plan stuck with it and ate, slept, and dreamt Pararescue. I went so far as meditating to mentally train myself and started memorizing human anatomy.

To make a long post short, find what it is that makes you want to be great, to go further in life, or make you happy. Then do it.

Forbidden Places: USAF Pararescue/Combat Controller

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chWciBDYokc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRrUYU3lToM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv0Wfe8bU9Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X07-xQ_YajI

Surviving the Cut: USAF Pararescue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3UlAzD5d0E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWXCp_fgl3Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQdYJv4Mebk

Hurry Up And Wait

“Hurry up and wait,” it’s the official unofficial motto of the United States Military. “Why?” you ask. Well one can’t simply walk into a recruiter’s office and declare that they want to go off and serve their country and one scene later you’re in basic. No that would be too easy. At least my experience wasn’t like that. After meeting with my new recruiter a few times and deciding to go the enlisted route as a Pararescue Jumper, I began the arduous process of compiling my packet. Providing my SS card, High School Diploma, College Transcripts, Driver’s License, my previous traffic accidents, prior hospital visits, etc, etc.

After that was done all that remained was getting my background check and credit check to come back clear. As if it would be that easy. My credit came back in a way to bite me in the… leg. Needless to say that stalled my processing and took a month to clear up. But eventually it did in fact clear up and I got the ball rolling again, except Special Forces candidates are held to a higher standard than other careers in the military. You have to physically qualify. The Air Force mandates that all Special Forces job candidates (Pararescue “PJ,” Combat Controller “CCT,” Tactical Air Control Party Specialist “TACP,” and Special Operations Weather Team Specialist “SOWT.”), must complete a Physical Ability and Stamina Test or PAST, with satisfactory scores in order to even qualify for their job.

Originally, this didn’t pose an issue for me except with regards to the swimming. I’m not a swimmer. I never have been and sincerely regret it. So with all the zeal I could muster I dove into the pool and began practicing and swimming lap, after lap, after lap. About three laps into my first pool session and I was dead in the water. I couldn’t believe the pain I was experiencing. If only I had gone out for the swim team in high school. All turned out well however, I ended up partnering up with another PJ candidate who soon after our countless training sessions became a close friend of mine.

With the countless hours of swimming 5 days a week and the motivation and support of another like-minded individual I was able to push through the pain and start swimming seriously.

My recruiter wished to administer a practice PAST test to the both of us and a couple other individuals who were interested in Pararescue. After a couple months of preparation we met our recruiter at the local YMCA and began the practice test, (To the few of us taking it, it felt like the real thing. We knew if we passed it that we were ready for the real thing and one step closer to getting our contract).

It got even better though, because accompanying our recruiter was an actual PJ fresh off the “pipeline,” (The pipeline, is the nickname for the two year training regimen PJ’s go through upon completing Indoctrination). Seeing this man and talking to him only served to boost my adrenaline and make me want to perform to a higher degree, and on a certain level it made me want to prove to him that I was worthy of accomplishing what he did.

After about an hour of waiting around in the lobby of the YMCA we were finally able to get enough open lanes in the swimming pool. The wait didn’t bother me at all, for the entire time I sat there picking the brain of PJ… (lets call him “Bob”) of PJ Bob. Every word he said I committed to memory, the stories he told the advice he gave I seared into my brain eager to hear more, to imagine these scenes in my head. Perhaps I will dedicate a future post solely to the stories he told me, and the advice he gave.

Needless to say it was time for the practice PAST to begin. Now for those of you who don’t know the PAST consists of six elements: two 25 meter underwater swims, a 500 meter surface swim, a 1.5 mile run, followed by pull-ups, sit-ups and concluding with push-ups. All of these evolutions have a minimum standard in which you must achieve a certain time or a set number of repetitions in order to pass with the exception of the underwater swim, which is entirely pass/fail.

I’m not going to go into detail about the actual results and how I tested because it isn’t important, I passed. However, it was just the practice test but I knew I was ready for the real deal. Looming on the horizon I knew lay the first official PAST followed by my visit to MEPS, (or Military Entrance Processing Command).

Unfortunately, some bad news did immediately follow, my training partner had just received word that his vision wasn’t on par with the qualifications of the job. Normally, that would be that for somebody but this 19-year old kid didn’t let that stop him. He immediately got a job and scheduled an appointment for eye corrective surgery. Now he has to wait for an entire year from the date of his surgery which was this past July, before he can even start his processing.

Hurry up and wait.

Training

             Deciding to go the Special Forces career path can seem sort of daunting to others. Odds are it doesn't seem so hard to those with the dream to go on and become Air Force PJ's, Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, etc. Those willing to become candidates think that they have what it physically takes to succeed. Most do. However, many train only on the body, leaving the mind weak. That weakness can and will lead to your failure unless you do something about it, unless you mentally prepare yourself. The following consists of a few different training regimes I do that have helped me prepare for my future as a Pararescue candidate.

            The following workout regime was given to me by my recruiter and was composed by a USAF Combat Controller. Combat Controller's are a Special Forces group that tactically deploy friendly aircraft and call in air strikes in hostile enemy territories. They used to train side by side with PJ's on Lackland AFB, but now have their own training class. The workout is as follows:

Monday-Friday: Complete 10 sets of 50 push-ups (500), complete 5 sets of 10 pull-ups (50), complete 6 sets of 50 sit-ups (300), complete 6 sets of 50 (4-count) flutter kicks (300).

Monday: Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

Tuesday: Swim 1000 yards and complete 500 yards using a kick board. For kick board exercises complete 100-yard flutter kick, 100-yard frog kick, 100-yard dolphin kick, 200-yard flutter kick.

Wednesday: Intervals! Using a 1/4 mile track complete the following (without stopping!):

1-mile warm-up,

Sprint 1/4 of track--jog 3/4 of track

Sprint 1/2 of track--jog 1/2 of track

Sprint 3/4 of track--jog 3/4 of track

Sprint 1 lap--jog 1 lap

(((Pyramid back up; starting with the 1 lap sprint until you finish with the 1/4 lap sprint and 3/4 jog.)))

Thursday: 500-yard swim. Intervals! Complete 10 sets of sprinting 25 yards followed by 25 cool down (500 yards). Keep the rests to a minimum. Finish with 200-yard flutter kick with kick board.

Friday: 10 mile run! Hooyah!

Saturday: Cross-train, do something fun and different that you enjoy but gives you some sort of physical benefit i.e.: kayaking, yoga, etc.

Sunday: Take a day off. Rest, hydrate, and get your head right.

As you can see the workout regime itself is pretty demanding and intense; however, I find it lacking personally. I know what my weaknesses are going into this training and that is swimming. Because of this I have modified and revised the regime taking away certain aspects and incorporating some of my own. I do this because I do not have access to a quarter mile track so set interval training is hard to do and because swimming is my weakness so I do much more of it. You will notice that I run and swim everyday as opposed to every other day in the previous regime. I’ve always been of the mindset that running 3 miles a day keeps the calories at bay. Once I started this regimen I was close to my ship date so it was time to buckle down anyways.

Monday-Friday: Complete 10 sets of 50 push-ups (500), complete 5 sets of 10 pull-ups (50), complete 6 sets of 50 sit-ups (300), complete 6 sets of 50 (4-count) flutter kicks (300).

Monday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

(I kept this workout because it is really easy to get in your car and mark out a 1-mile track for yourself, which is exactly what I did. Because of this you can still work toward your goal of crushing runs with this pace training).

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Tuesday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

Swim 1000 yards and complete 500 yards using a kick board. For kick board exercises complete 100-yard flutter kick, 100-yard frog kick, 100-yard dolphin kick, 200-yard flutter kick.

Wednesday:

Run 5 miles, with intervals!!! No track? No problem! Set you 1 mile run course for yourself and tell yourself that for a set distance on a certain corner that you will sprint ~100yds. Do this multiple times per mile and SPRINT! By the end you should feel as if your sprint is slower than your jog because you’re so exhausted. Push yourself, No pain = No gain.

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Thursday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

500-yard swim. Intervals! Complete 10 sets of sprinting 25 yards followed by 25 cool down (500 yards). Keep the rests to a minimum. Finish with 200-yard flutter kick with kick board.

Friday:

Run 3 miles at a 6-minute pace. Once this pace can be maintained for 3 miles, increase the distance to 4 miles at the same pace, and subsequently increase to 5 miles once this can be accomplished.

(I took out the 10-mile run because to me it didn’t seem practical. Yes running longer distances at a moderate pace can be good for training and you may enjoy it, however I couldn’t deal with the blisters I accumulated afterwards which just made it harder on my runs the following weeks as they only got worse. There are products you can buy to help prevent blisters to get over that hurdle. This workout just elevates your conditioning but if you continue to push yourself with your intervals and pace runs conditioning will be no problem I promise you. I still do the 10-mile run on a whim or every other week but not weekly.)

Swim 1000 yards. Break up the laps if you have to, but work towards completing a full 40 lengths without stopping.

Saturday: Cross-train, do something fun and different that you enjoy but give you some sort of physical benefit i.e.: kayaking, yoga, etc.

Sunday: Take a day off. Rest, hydrate, and get your head right.

            There are a handful of other exercises or ways of cross training I participated in that I have not mentioned yet. In South Florida triathlons are a popular sport many people do just for fun and to get into shape while pushing themselves. Because of this I was able to get in with a group of people who twice a week would all go for a 2 mile run, followed by a 15 minute swim, followed by another 2 mile run. This was a great way to train! It was different, broke up the monotonous grind of routines I had become accustomed to, and best of all I was doing it with a group of people. I highly recommend finding like-minded individuals to train with, whether it is for the military or just a bunch of fitness freaks that meet up at On Your Mark Bike Shop twice a week. It helps!

            Secondly, I started cycling. Luckily for me my father is a cyclist and had an extra bike for me to use, as I will, which helps when dealing with this sport. Riding a bike for 30+ miles definitely worked my legs in a different way and like I mentioned before riding with a group of people made it a fun way of training. This was the one day of training I looked forward to the most! I love it!

            Lastly, I started practicing yoga. My mother is a yoga instructor and loved doing it. I must say I was hesitant to begin doing this but it does help. What changed my mind about it was the consistent factor I heard about in Pararescue training: injuries. A lot of guys are dropped from the program or recycled back to start anew due to injuries they suffered while trying to perform under the highly stressful and demanding rigors the instructors impose on them. So, I decided to start training in the art of yoga to help improve my fitness in yet another way but primarily to increase my flexibility so that I could possibly prevent future injuries. I will say I didn’t stick with yoga very long, but I wish I had.

Now this may seem like a lot of exercising every week and it is, the average American doesn’t even run once a week. But it is necessary if you wish to survive the training that you know you will endure if you’ve embarked on this path. However, on top of all of this you should weight lift. Now I don’t mean go to the gym and become some meathead that is built like a tank and completely cut and jacked up.

Fun fact #1: Muscle sinks.

Fun fact #2: If you want to become a PJ or SEAL you will be swimming, a lot.

Fun fact #3: Not only will you be swimming but you will be put through drown proofing exercises that require you to float and remain buoyant.

I’m no personal trainer I just know what I like and how it works for me. It took me a while to come up with what regime I liked and what exercises and routines to go through at the gym but I do know when you lift don’t go for heavy weight. Go with lightweight and high repetitions. You won’t get jacked, but you will get toned and cut, but most importantly you get your muscles used to functioning and performing under stress. It helps, I recommend it.

To Go Beyond

Initially, Pararescue wasn't my first choice. As a kid I always had a fascination with airplanes; I wanted to fly. During my first couple of years at Florida Atlantic University in addition to my classes, fraternity obligations, and part-time job I enrolled into a flight program through Lynn University.

Flying was fun! But with so much on my plate it was too much to focus on. I just didn't have the time. Unfortunately, enlisted men (and women) can't be pilots in the USAF. A college degree is required if you wish to fly. In the situation I found myself in I could have easily walked right back into the recruiter's office and began the paperwork for a commission. However, personally I have had my fill of college and classes irrelevant to what I want to do. Now granted perhaps that is my fault for not going to an institution with majors I would be interested in, but thousands of kids do the same thing, going from major to major trying to find what suits them. Some may find what they were look for, I think most don't. Most college students probably just end up going along with one thing or another until they get a degree in it. Then go figure, upon graduating no jobs are to be found and they end up rallying against the government and marching on Wall Street.

No thanks!

Suffice it to say that I've had my fill of school and I think I've already established why I was convinced of going the enlisted route. But why Pararescue? Granted, it wasn't my only choice. The recruiter's make you list multiple careers, anywhere from 4-8 I believe. It kind of sucks, odds are there are only two maybe three careers one person would actually be interested in. Anyways, I'll get into the details of that and my experience with MEPS at a later date.

Moreover, in high school during my Navy JROTC days I was infatuated with the idea of becoming a Navy SEAL. SEALs for those of you that don't know are the Navy's elite special combat warfare group. Essentially they are the go to guys. Odds are if you're reading this or if you have even turned on the news recently you've heard the stories and followed the headlines, you have heard of the SEALs. Well like any kid pumped full of arrogance and testosterone I wanted to be one. Do things people couldn't fathom, go places people have never dreamed of, carry out tasks only kids accomplished in their video games. Needless to say this line of thinking didn't stay with me. It wasn't that I didn't want to do these things but I wanted something more, I wanted to help people.

A Pararescueman goes beyond the call of duty and saves lives, they rescue those in danger and in need of assistance and bring them back home. Navy SEALs help protect our borders but do so through violence. I am not a violent person and I don't want my mission to be solely the elimination of a "target." I want to help people. Granted PJ's carry rifles and must and will retaliate if necessary but it isn't the core of their mission. The purpose of a PJ and the work involved resonate with who I am on a more profound level than other military career. I will become the best of the best and be there for others when they have no one else to call upon. I will save lives.

The Recruiter's Office

   Sitting down at my desk I quickly Google searched where I could find the closest Air Force recruiter. One quick phone call later and I had an appointment scheduled. Now by this point my mom had already mentioned Pararescue to me but I was clueless as to what it was and what it really encompassed. I decided to take her advice and did a little research. From what I found it looks like PJs (Pararescue Jumpers) are all enlisted man and that there is a similar job called CRO or combat Rescue Officer for officers of the Air Force. Upon calling the recruiter for the first time he asked me for my information: name, education, what my interest was, etc. Upon hearing that I almost had a completed college degree he thought I would make a good officer candidate. I say candidate because according to what I was told the Air Force is 300% over staffed. Because of this they can choose to be as selective as they wish in whom they allow to become their Officers and Airmen.

   Now I don’t know if any of you have ever had an experience with a recruiter be it any branch of the military, but it is an arduous process. As I walked into the recruiter’s office I promptly introduce myself and shook his hand. I brought my mother along with me to keep me company and perhaps give me some more insight as she spent her life in service to the Air Force. The recruiter whom I had spoken to on the phone forgot my name. He forgot what it was I said I was interested in. He had failed to prepare any thing to give to me other than his general spiel. This was red flag number one. To his credit however, he did pull up a website and tell me that the information I was looking for and requirements for the CRO position were listed somewhere on there. The funny thing is I had already scoured that website, bookmarked and printed out that information for later use.

   During my first meeting with a recruiter he made it apparent to me that he was the officer recruiter and told me of the long approval process I would have to go through in order to become an officer. I had to compile a packet filled with letters of recommendation, awards I had received, and extracurricular activities I had participated in. Dear God! It was a college application all over again! This was red flag number two.

   It gets even better though! My mom, who enlisted in the Air Force and retired as a Master Sergeant (E-7), started small talk with my recruiter who likewise was an E-7. I wasn’t paying attention at first as I was going through the packet I was handed, but as I started listening they were talking about how great their enlisted careers were, how much more fulfilling it was to take the hands on approach in their careers as apposed to the managerial officer position. Red flag number three!

   At that moment in time I had it settled in my mind. I walked out of that office sure of one thing, I am not going to join the Air Force as an officer but I will enlist and become a Pararescue Jumper, using the skills I am taught and develop to save lives!

The Decision To Join

I always knew I was going to join the military, however, I never knew exactly what branch or job I would choose. I was born on Tyndall Air Force Base, located in Panama City, Florida. I grew up a military brat moving fairly frequently due to my mother's assignments. A couple of years later my parents divorced and my father retired from the Air Force.

As a kid growing up on a military base and in that sort of environment it becomes all you know. Military life has with it its own culture and lifestyle. It isn't uncommon to grow up going to 4 or more different grade schools, always being the "new kid" experiencing that isolation of starting over anew.

Eventually, I made the decision to move in with my father in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I loved my mom as every kid does, but the persistent moving wasn't best for me. As a kid consistency is key. I needed a stable environment.

Before I knew it I found myself on my way to high school as a freshman! I was excited because school wasn't just plain old and boring anymore, because I joined the Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Palm Beach Gardens High School. I finally found myself in a program with kids of a like mind or who had grown up in a similar environment and who desired a military career sometime in their future. It felt good.

My NJROTC experience was fun, yet flawed. I took away with it memories and friends that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Four years later though and it was over and I was to attend college at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Looking back it seems like it went by so quickly yet at the time damn did it feel like an eternity!

In college I lost myself. I found another lifestyle, a different environment that was seductive, fun, and irresponsible. I fell into the Greek life on campus and found that I had changed. I went to college because I was told I had to. I was told as a kid growing up that going to college was just what people did after high school and I went with it, I never argued or went against my parents, and I gave in. I wish I hadn't.

College was fun; there were girls, parties, girls, clubs, girls, and even beer! Did I mention girls? Needless to say I got so caught up in my fraternity and campus life that I lost sight of what it is I really wanted to accomplish and do with my life. I suffered through three years of college before I realized this. I say suffer because I was taking classes irrelevant to my major, enrolled in a program that was irrelevant to my interests, and socializing with people who most certainly will contribute nothing to society.

I felt like a zombie, a shell of my former self. I began smoking profusely; I ceased being physically active at all, and often found myself lacking the will or motivation to even get out of bed. I was depressed.

Then I made a change. I moved. Cleared my head. I rediscovered what it was I was meant to do, join the service. A college degree and nine to five desk job isn't for me; I wish to live my life differently. So I scheduled my appointment and planned on visiting an Air Force recruiter.