I’m plan on joining the Air National Guard, but I just recently found out that they have a weight requirement that must be met. They require their men at 6’2" to be 214 lbs or less and 23% BF or less.
I’m as of now dieting down for a competition that will be next Saturday where I expect my weight to be between 215 and 220. The only possible way I could make the requirement would be to drop muscle, probably 20 lbs or so (to compensate for the weight gain after the competition), which is out of the question.
I’m sure since I’m asking this on a forum that is pretty heavy into bodybuilding that some of you can empathize with me. Now I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to the actual physical people or whoever decides who gets in and who doesn’t, so I am not sure if I’m worrying too much or not.
But will they seriously deny someone for being over their weight requirement simply because of muscle mass or will they take note of that person’s overall fitness, waiving the weight requirement? Hell, I"m sure some people here have had this issue that can chime in.
I just really can’t see how they would take a Hugh Grant over me.
Isn’t it either/or? I’ve been told that if you can pass the PT requirements, your weight isn’t an issue.
I’m not military, so this means squat.
Depending on how you are cutting for competition, you could try cutting like a wrestler or weight lifter. I can cut 7lbs easily in a week from my regular clean-eating weight.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Isn’t it either/or? I’ve been told that if you can pass the PT requirements, your weight isn’t an issue.
I’m not military, so this means squat.
Depending on how you are cutting for competition, you could try cutting like a wrestler or weight lifter. I can cut 7lbs easily in a week from my regular clean-eating weight.[/quote]
I hope it’s either or. I do have ADP (Auditory Processing Disorder) so I may have heard the guy wrong that I was talking to. He had a lot of information to go over, so we whizzed right past that part. As for the requirements, I am pretty sure that you have to maintain the fitness.
You could probably get a waiver…It’s not like you’re overweight due to extra fat…
And wouldn’t your body fat be lower than 23% especially coming off a competition?
How soon after your comp. is your physical?
[quote]LA wrote:
If that’s you in the pic, you will have no problems… assuming the ANG is similar to the AF.
In the Air Force, the BF is the man requirement. Bodyweight just makes you get caught up in some nasty BMI circle.
If you meet the BF and can bass the PT test (which uses waist measurement and/or BMI) your actual weight doesn’r matter.
When I retired 2 years ago, I was pushing 230 at 5’11". I could pass the PT with a “good” (waist measurement negatively affected the score).
I was/am nowhere near as lean as you in that pic.
What guard unit are you joining?
LA
[/quote]
Well that sounds like a relief. I guess I’ll be fine then. I’ll be joining the 179th Airlift Wing. You can google that yourself to find out where that is.
[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:
You could probably get a waiver…It’s not like you’re overweight due to extra fat…
And wouldn’t your body fat be lower than 23% especially coming off a competition?
How soon after your comp. is your physical?
GL!![/quote]
The physical is the day after my comp. I’m just under 4% right now for the comp and I haven’t even dropped my water yet. The doc is gonna have a surprise when they take a look at me. haha
[quote]LA wrote:
If that’s you in the pic, you will have no problems… assuming the ANG is similar to the AF.
In the Air Force, the BF is the main requirement. Bodyweight just makes you get caught up in some nasty BMI circle.
If you meet the BF and can pass the PT test (which uses waist measurement and/or BMI) your actual weight doesn’t matter.
When I retired 2 years ago, I was pushing 230 at 5’11". I could pass the PT with a “good” (waist measurement negatively affected the score).
I was/am nowhere near as lean as you in that pic.
What guard unit are you joining?
LA
[edited for typos][/quote]
The requirements to GET IN the military are often more strict than what it takes to STAY IN the military. I had to drop weight to get into the Air Force. They didn’t care what my body fat percentage was. They took one look at me and told me needed to drop weight. It depends on how big you are and, if that picture in the first post is of him, this poster has ZERO to worry about.
On a side note, if that is him in that first post, what kind of competition is he dieting for?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
LA wrote:
If that’s you in the pic, you will have no problems… assuming the ANG is similar to the AF.
In the Air Force, the BF is the main requirement. Bodyweight just makes you get caught up in some nasty BMI circle.
If you meet the BF and can pass the PT test (which uses waist measurement and/or BMI) your actual weight doesn’t matter.
When I retired 2 years ago, I was pushing 230 at 5’11". I could pass the PT with a “good” (waist measurement negatively affected the score).
I was/am nowhere near as lean as you in that pic.
What guard unit are you joining?
LA
[edited for typos]
The requirements to GET IN the military are often more strict than what it takes to STAY IN the military. I had to drop weight to get into the Air Force. They didn’t care what my body fat percentage was. They took one look at me and told me needed to drop weight. It depends on how big you are and, if that picture in the first post is of him, this poster has ZERO to worry about.
On a side note, if that is him in that first post, what kind of competition is he dieting for?[/quote]
As someone who is never going to meet the weight requirement, it’s the BF that I look at. Or actually, I don’t look at it, as most times, the leadership tape me as a formality only. I take my shirt off, and often times (when I’m in shape, that is…) they tell me to put my shirt back on and leave. The formality is a pain in the butt, but it’s typically easy to pass.
I’ve only had one person mess with me with tape tests, and she ended up wanting to sleep with me when I passed HER supposed standard. That and she kept bugging me to train her in the gym. Part of the reason I’m usually cynical when it comes to female leadership in the military. Oh well. Good luck to you.
The requirements to GET IN the military are often more strict than what it takes to STAY IN the military. I had to drop weight to get into the Air Force. They didn’t care what my body fat percentage was. They took one look at me and told me needed to drop weight. It depends on how big you are and, if that picture in the first post is of him, this poster has ZERO to worry about.
On a side note, if that is him in that first post, what kind of competition is he dieting for?[/quote]
Prof - you may be right. It was a long time ago and a lot of pounds since I joined. I do think that recruiters might use that weight requirement rather selectively… maybe to discourage someone, or to prove that another is really motivated.
Do you think you would have had to lose weight if you were a stud O lineman applying for the Academy?
Do you think you would have had to lose weight if you were a stud O lineman applying for the Academy?
[/quote]
Of course. I wasn’t out of shape to begin with and they needed doctors in my field. They just hadn’t seen too many people my height at 250lbs trying to join. I already looked like a lineman at the time.
