If you are going to basic training in the near future, then this article is for you.  As someone who has written two best selling books on basic training, I know what the challenges are, but more importantly, I know how you can conquer them. Below are the top five most difficult tasks you will endure at basic training and how to overcome them.

5) No Snacking - Believe it or not, snacking is a habit. Most people don’t realize that snacking is a habit so they continue to snack all day long.  There is no snacking at basic training, just a quick three square meals a day. I have a challenge for you. I challenge you to go one week without eating anything but three square meals a day. It’s tough to do! You will realize your hooked on snacks the first few hours your at basic training. To overcome this habit, I strongly suggest you take the challenge I just mentioned.  The week before you leave for basic training, stop snacking. Doing this before you leave for basic training will accustom your body and mind for your eating only three meals a day. The first week you will go without snacking is the toughest, its better you overcome this at home than fight it at basic training in combination with all the other stress you have to deal with.

4) Homesickness - From 80 pound females to 300 pound men, everyone gets homesick.  It’s not a sign that you are mentally weak; it’s just a sign that you like your family and friends.  Although there is no magic pill you can take to completely get rid of homesickness, there are steps you can take before you leave for basic training to greatly reduce it.  Prepare a list of addresses of your friends and family. Write it out on paper because you won’t have your cell phone available.  Before you leave for basic training, fill out the addresses on envelopes, complete with stamps.  You will only have a short time to write letters at basic training, you don’t want to waist that precious time filling out envelopes and searching for stamps.  When you get to basic training, simply write letters to your friends and put them in the pre made envelopes. Always encourage a return correspondence in your letters. Mail call is often the best time of the day for recruits.

3) Dealing with Drill Sergeants - Unless you associate with very mean people on a daily basis, you will not be prepared for drill sergeants. Drill sergeants will be yelling at you for just about anything. If the sun is shining to bright that day, it’s your fault. If the drill sergeant has a stomach ache, it’s because of your ugly face. You have to be mentally prepared for what drill sergeants will throw at you. In my book, The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, I repeat numerous times that you have to be prepared for the mental “game” of basic training. If you start taking what drill sergeants say personally, basic training will seem like a never ending adventure.  Overcoming this obstacle is really a reflection of your attitude. Simply repeat in your head “no one hates me, the drill sergeants are trying to make me a better person and soldier” and based on how well you believe yourself, you should be fine.

2) Waking Up Early - Waking up early is never easy, especially if it’s as early as 4:00am. Usually when someone wakes up early in the civilian world it’s because they are preparing a fun day of skiing, fishing or camping. In basic training however, when you wake up early, you will be cleaning the barracks, going on road marches or doing a workout on a muddy lawn.  It’s not a motivation factor for waking up early. To overcome your hatred for waking up early, I would suggest preparing your body before you get to basic training. Three days before you leave, get on the same time zone as where you will be attending basic training. If you will be going to basic training on the east coast and you live on the west coast, you need to go to bed at 6:00 pm and wake up at 1:00 am at least three days before you leave for basic training. In basic training, you will probably hit your bunk around 9:00 pm and wake up at 4:00 am. With the time difference between the east and west coast, your body can’t be experiencing jet lag or you will be exhausted during your first few days at basic training.

1) Mental Fitness - Mental fitness is 95 percent of surviving basic training. That is why in the 19 chapters of the Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook, I devote one to physical fitness. Once you follow that one chapter in my book on physical fitness, you’ll be set physically for basic training; it’s the other 18 chapters that teach you how to really survive basic training. To overcome the mental portion of basic training, there are a number of preparations you can make, simply read The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook; it’s a huge return on your investment given the small price for the book.

For more tips like these, check out SGT Volkin’s book and website at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com And be sure check out the live Q&A with Soldiers on their Basic Training Experiences.

Don’t forget to enroll in Basic Training University!