When I decided to join the infantry to increase my qualifications to reach my goal of being in law enforcement I knew I needed to start working with a trainer and fast. I hadn’t been active and my final testing was in four weeks!
Running was my biggest fear. I couldn’t do a single mile consecutively and within my first minute of running, I had sharp shooting pain in my legs and had to stop, I could only push through it so much. In order to qualify for infantry enlistment, I needed to be able to run two miles consecutively in 16 minutes.
I could do 15 pushups with not very good form and only 23 situps out of the required 40. There was a long jump test that I completely failed, a shuttle test (out of the required 44 rounds required I couldn’t move after 20) and a 225lb deadlift test. I passed the deadlift in early stages of testing but spent the weekend with severe back pain because I didn’t have the proper form or strength.
Between the pain and the lack of training, I needed many things to change in four weeks for my final testing. There was no way for me to even train running with the sharp shooting pain in my legs that started almost immediately whenever I started running. After several rounds of interviews, my Dad and I decided to work with Isaac and Beometry, doubtful about what kind of shape we would be able to get in with the four weeks we had.
I had worked with several trainers before, some that just gave me programs and a few others in person. One that worked with my dad and was decent but whenever it came to opening up the body or stretching he just said, ” Go Foam Roll for Ten Minutes”. He didn’t give me specific, just said ” Go Knock Yourself Out” which wasn’t helpful.
What was ESSENTIAL about working with Beometry and Isaac is there is coordination. When I was identified as having a pain that was actually not just muscle overuse they knew what was going on. My Coach called Isaac and brought him in for treatment. I’ve been in pain before and been referred to a stupid third party person to fix an issue. In that scenario, there was no communication with the therapist continually and my trainer. I didn’t have any follow-up stretches or strengthening, things I needed to do or avoid, no modifications of my programming and I didn’t get better. With Isaac and Beometry there was actual coordination. They knew what they were doing, which was different than the trainers I’d worked with before.
When Isaac first came in for my treatment evaluation I thought it was witchcraft because he started at my head. I wasn’t sure what to think but it really worked. I kept asking him what he was doing. I noticed immediately I was able to run easily due to my leg pain going away. I was able to run further because I could actually breathe deeply and get more oxygen. My shoulder and neck pain went away so I could relax and position my shoulders and spine in the right position to do squats and deadlifts for the first time.
It not only helped me with my pain but my range of motion. Then he showed me stretches and I learned for the first time in my life working with trainers that stretching is useful if you know what you’re stretching. He created a plan with my coach based off of treatment for stretches and modified the training program from the treatment updates.
They also taught me about how bad food can cause pain. I had no back pain after treatment and one day my back felt weird. It didn’t hurt when I bent down but if I tried to lift anything or use my abs I had this incredible super pain. Isaac came in, treated it, and was able to track it back to Taco’s I ate at a local restaurant. My mom was violently ill after eating there with me and I thought I was fine because I wasn’t throwing up like her. I didn’t realize that you could not have indigestion but have strain into your stomach that created back pain. After he treated me I could immediately lift again with no pain. Isaac taught me about nutrition that can actually cause you pain and what foods to avoid.
After four weeks I passed all my tests! I can now do 40 pushups instead of 15 and 40 situps instead of 23. I lost body fat while gaining seven pounds of weight in 4 weeks. I gained more than seven pounds of lean body mass! I can run 2 miles in 18 minutes and I don’t have any leg pain until 1.4 miles in. I was able to do 60 shuttle rounds when I only needed 44 to pass. I passed my long jump test and redid my 225-pound deadlift test with zero back pain.
My advice to you is not to wait until you don’t have any time left to get in shape. I can’t imagine the shape I would have gotten in if I had four more weeks to train, I wish I had started earlier. If you have any kind of pain or limited range of motion don’t just get the training make sure you get the therapy to get the range of motion, it makes everything easier.
Working out was good but I don’t feel like any of this would have been possible without the therapy. We had to change the way my body worked for me to be able to do the things I did and pass the test. Anyone who does active duty needs to move 24/7 not just 2 days a month and you need your body to be fully addressed not just workout.
I’ve passed my tests! I’m going to basic, infantry and then the police academy. I plan to make lifestyle to eat properly and take care of my body. When I return I’ll be working with the team to focus continually on developing my body completely from correct nutrition, to the movement work to therapy. My dad lives in Seattle and said he’s tempted to drive down and train at Beometry as well. Start now and focus on the whole package not just working out.