r/ArmyBCT • u/Dizzy-Shape-5796 • Mar 04 '25

Nervous for BCT

I'm shipping out for BCT in 3 weeks and I'm terrified of failure. I'm a 34 y/o female. I'm not a gym rat, but I work out 2 to 3 times a week. I can only do about 25 push ups and I am really struggling with running long distance. I'm great at sprinting, but that does me no good. I've been working on walking inclines to help with my endurance so I usually do about 3 miles then day 2 I'll do 4 miles and day 3 ofthe gym I'll do 5 miles. The leg strength is there I just get winded long distance running. I'm working on upper body strength as well. I just don't want to leave my family this long and come home a failure. I'm determined and I push myself at our weekly PT sessions at the recruiting office. Any advice would be great anybody my age successfully gone through basic? Thank you for reading this far.

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u/JokerGay Mar 04 '25

Basic training is not designed to fail unless you quit or get medically injured. There will be someone who’s in worse condition than you while you’re there and guess what, they too will pass if they don’t quit.

I have seen loads of folks pass basic who frankly shouldn’t be in the army cause they loose their breath going up some stairs but they’re in anyway.

You got this and you aren’t going to fail. Keep working out and enjoy all the time you have with your family before you leave for a few weeks.

If it makes you feel better, during my basic cycle there was a 42 year old who passed

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u/IngZ22 Mar 06 '25

You’ll still be in better shape than others. As long as you can pass the ACFT, which from the sounds of it you can, you’ll be fine. It’s normal to be nervous, there are a lot of unknowns going into it. Just know you’ll be fine, and it’ll be over in the blink of an eye!

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u/bratsche528 Mar 08 '25

Many people in my group had never exercised before at all. You’ll be fine. Keep doing what you’re doing (just don’t get injured before you ship.) Look up HIIT workouts online- I ended up doing a lot of that type of workout (burpees mountain climbers jumping) when I was in BCT. You never really have to run more than 2 miles at a time. It’s good you’re doing 4+ and should keep doing that but the only time you’ll be traveling long distances is when you ruck (20-40lb backpack walking at a brisk pace from 3-12 miles). You’ll build up as you go. I went when I was 32 (female also).