How I Passed Basic Training at 235 Pounds
By
Donnie Kiernan
Before I get started here, I want to say that I am in no way, shape or form a
badass. I’m simply an average guy with a little better than average genetics,
and a good work ethic. I know a hundred guys that are tougher and more hardcore
than I am. They just haven’t written their stories down on paper yet.
Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll give you a little back story about
my situation. I was always a pudgy little fat kid. Actually, I’m lying. It
hasn’t always been like that. From birth, I was a relatively tall, skinny kid.
Then, a little after my 4th birthday, I was stricken with chickenpox.
From then on, it was pretty much downhill. Sure, I played sports in middle and
high school, which kept me decently healthy, but I was never, and still am not,
the model of perfect health and fitness.
When the September 11th, 2001 attacks occurred, I was a
19-year-old sophomore in college. Like most red-blooded Americans, I felt the
need to serve my country. Problem was, I was well over 250 pounds of mostly fat,
and had a medical history as long as Peter North’s “member.” Even the Coast
Guard took one look at me and wrote me off.
Four years later, I had turned my physical fitness life around and was in the
best shape of my life. While weighing in at a semi-hefty 235 pounds, I was raw
bench pressing 405 pounds, deadlifting 405, and squatting 435. Not too bad for a
meathead who had never heard of Westside, or Supertraining, or of any
other REAL training routines. My interest in the military was rekindled by a old
friend who was a sergeant up in Maryland. Seeing our country three years into a
war that had no end in sight, the military was happy to give me my medical
waivers, and off I went.
I shipped off to basic training relatively well-prepared for what was coming.
My family had several prior service members, and I had a recruiter who actually
gave a shit about her recruits. That said, the first week of training was the
worst week of my life! The reason? We did absolutely nothing. No running, no
“getting smoked,” no training, no NOTHING! The only thing worse than training on
minimal sleep is NOT training on minimal sleep. They call this the “in
processing” phase, and it’s enough to drive a sane man mad.
The first real week of training was brutal. I wont lie. It’s the time when
they separate the men from the boys. One of my drill sergeants made a list on
the first day of training with three people whom he knew would make it and three
whom he knew wouldn’t. I’m proud to say that out of 62 soldiers in my platoon, I
was one of the three on the “make it” list. After graduation, when I asked him
why I made the list, he just pointed at my chest, which could mean one of two
things: either he knew I was a bench pressing beast, or, more likely, he knew I
had HEART!
From then on, training gradually got easier as I became more accustomed to
life in the regiment. Still, some people just could not adapt. We had people who
wanted out and did everything humanly possible to get out. Last I heard, those
people had to stick around Fort Jackson for about two or three months after I
left to “out process.” Irony, I suppose. Most of the troops quickly realized
that the fastest way out of basic training was to complete it.
I was one of two big guys in my platoon, The other was a college guy who
spent most of the time in his dorm in the years prior. The two of us watched our
bodies transform over the next few months. Mine from huge to skinny and defined,
and his from fat to skinny.
In our free time, I would take old jugs of floor cleaner and fill them with
water to do exercises with. I did everything from curls to shoulder presses to
overhead triceps extensions, just trying to maintain some of my muscle mass.
We’d also push our bunks close together and do dips between the beds. Later in
the training cycle, we had spare time to do “PT on our own” in the courtyard. I
would run an extra mile or so, then head over to the pull-up and dip bars to
burn myself out. Unfortunately, as the weeks progressed, I realized that my
extra training was futile because of all the cardiovascular training that was
robbing me of my muscle mass.
There was no shortage of food, but we didn’t have time for anything. We had
three meals a day, and we weren’t limited to certain portions. I would load my
tray full of meat, potatoes, salad, yogurt, bread and anything else I could
find. Most of the time, I had about 4-5 minutes to eat my entire meal, which
meant that nothing was separated and it didn’t matter how it tasted. The problem
with this was that someone usually pissed off the drill sergeants before the
meal was over, so we would get our asses stomped with a full belly of food
sloshing around.
After all was said and done, I ended up losing 33 pounds in less than 10
weeks. My strength levels were down tremendously from not touching a bar in
three months. The upside was that I could run 4-5 miles without stopping, which
was a decent tradeoff, I guess. Four years later, I don’t run 5 miles anymore,
but I have regained my strength levels and then some. Thanks to websites
like www.elitefts.com, I’ve
surpassed any strength expectations that I’ve ever had for myself.
My time in basic training taught me the true meaning of camaraderie,
integrity, and, most importantly, Honor! Some of the greatest men and women I’ve
had the pleasure to know have served next to me in the United States Army. These
days, I take my experience in the military and the education I’ve received from
my mentors and help others with their training. My passion is training people
who share the same values and vision as I do. Through my website, products and
training camps, I strive to inject my passion into as many people as humanly
possible.
Donnie Kiernan is an amateur strongman competitor, strength and
conditioning coach and a member of the United States Army Reserves. Through his
website, training camps and products, he shares his knowledge and passion with
people who want to learn how to train and condition like the America’s finest.
You can view his training, videos, articles and more at
www.TraintoStandard.com
