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Day 26
Take the Marine Corps Fitness Test
During the 30 Days to a Better Man project, we’ve been doing a lot exercises
for our mind and character, but it’s equally important to exercise our bodies.
A man’s health is his most important asset. If you suffer from chronic
health problems, it can take a toll on your job, on your bank account, on
your family, and on your psyche. And being out of shape and unhealthy
saps one’s manly confidence and spirit. Unfortunately, for the past few decades,
the fitness level of men, particularly American men, has been going
down hill. With cars replacing walking as the primary mode of transportation
and desk jobs replacing manual labor, men have become more and
more sedentary.
There may have been a time when you were in pretty good shape. Maybe
it was in high school or college. But since then, you’ve gotten a job, a mortgage,
a wife, and 2.5 kids. But in your mind’s eye, you still think you’re
the guy who could bench press 300 lbs and run the 40 yard dash in 4.5
seconds. You might be a bit softer, but overall you feel good. But the mind
can play tricks on you. Slowly through the years the body adjusts itself to
a less active lifestyle. The change happens so gradually, that you don’t even
notice it. That is until you try to lift a big bag of dirt for your garden or
play a pick-up game of basketball. And all of a sudden you’re hit with the
realization that you’re not the strapping lad you once were.
While humbling moments like the ones mentioned above can give you
somewhat of an idea of your fitness level, an actual fitness test can do a better
job because numbers don’t lie. So today we’re going to give ourselves a
gut check by taking a physical fitness test. And not just any physical fitness
test. We’re taking the U.S. Marine Corps Fitness Test.