# What's the hardest thing you've done?



## Blind Theory (Jul 25, 2011)

Throughout your exercising careers, what has been the hardest part of it or the hardest thing you've done? I think this could be cool to see who struggled with what and if they have any tips for getting past that. 

For me, it is just pushing the limit. I recently enlisted in the Marine Corps which made PT (physical training) on Tuesdays and Thursdays mandatory to prepare you for the monthly Poole Function. Well, through this I have been pushed further than I'd ever thought I could go. I went from not running at all to running over 4 miles. It was a HUGE shock to do that. I'm still being introduced to new exercises and team building skills so I'm sure I'll get my ass kicked plenty more. 

MY TIP: For anyone who goes out and joins the Corps (because none of the other branches do what the Corps does for PT) all I can tell you is don't give up. It may suck unbelievable amounts of ass while you are going through it but when it is over, you will be very proud of the accomplishment and you will be a better person for it. If nothing else just keep telling yourself, "I'm not going to be that guy!" because NO ONE wants to be THAT guy that stops in the middle of the run. "Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body" It's true.


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## AySay (Jul 25, 2011)

I had to kill a hobo when he got caught in the doggy door to our house. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, having to look him in the eyes while using the teaspoon to...oh...wait...you mean hardest thing exercise-wise? Never mind...


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## Infamous Impact (Jul 25, 2011)

Go through 15 minutes straight of sparring for my black belt test in Taekwondo without a mouthguard. I was dehydrated the whole time...


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## Chickenhawk (Jul 26, 2011)

Blind Theory said:


> (because none of the other branches do what the Corps does for PT)



 Typical Marine. 

Hardest thing I ever did (exercise wise) was PT with Special Forces recruiters while I was putting my packet together for SFAS, when I had a badly damaged knee, before the doctor said I was ultimately unfit to continue Military service.


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## Uncreative123 (Jul 26, 2011)

Having to stop lifting heavy due to an ongoing shoulder injury. Incredibly hard to cope with for me. I also had to stop flat BB benching, dips, and squats altogether because of it. I'm doing all I can to rehab it, but I really need to see a Physiotherapist to get a proper diagnosis. I saw a doctor (when I thought I was actually seeing a sports medicine doctor) and all he did was take x-rays and say 'there's nothing wrong'. 

All of the e-diagnosis' I have gotten have been far more helpful and far cheaper. I've gotten my shoulder back to about 90% strength, but it's still rolled forward and has trouble staying in place. 

My right knee is busted too....so same thing applies, just with the lower body though.


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## MFB (Jul 26, 2011)

10:26 mile at my current weight of 270, which kept my strides per minute hovering around 190, so 3 strides for every 1 second


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 26, 2011)

Stopping smoking kicked my ass.

No, seriously......I found that to be extremely hard. 

I've trained at National-Level Martial Arts in the past (I was pretty good in my late teens) kept up with some guys going for Selection (for the most part at least - I was never fit enough to actually keep up all the way I admit) and I found that dredging together the willpower to stop....and_ stay_ stopped to be more demanding. 

Not to belittle any of the other endeavors in the slightest (I have the utmost respect for those that serve in the armed forces or compete nationally) but I was able to handle the training......become a drop-out in my mid to late 20's was a much harder hurdle to overcome.

Personal demons > me certainly


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## icos211 (Jul 26, 2011)

When I finally get my tornado kick down, I will be able to say that that was the hardest thing I have done.

While I am really quite good at Tae Kwon Do, best forms and flexibility in my school, and as good at sparring as just about anyone I have met, I just can not seem to get my fat ass in the air.


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## ShadyDavey (Jul 26, 2011)

icos211 said:


> When I finally get my tornado kick down, I will be able to say that that was the hardest thing I have done.
> 
> While I am really quite good at Tae Kwon Do, best forms and flexibility in my school, and as good at sparring as just about anyone I have met, I just can not seem to get my fat ass in the air.



Studied TKD but didn't bother doing much grading as the forms bored me, I could already spar and merely wanted to polish up my technique/train with friends. That said even when I was younger that was still a tricky kick to learn. I probably never had it 100% so good luck with that - vids when you get it right?


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## chronocide (Jul 26, 2011)

Back when I was playing rugby as a youngster, I did a long weekend's training with the Royal Marines (only under extreme duress from our coaches, I didn't want to go and associate with people who were soldiers at the time - which the Marines instructors got wind of, which made it all the harder) and it was absurdly difficult. 72 hours of hell, with maybe 12 hours sleep over the course of it.


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## Triple-J (Jul 26, 2011)

The hardest thing for me was getting started training in the first place as I was in very bad shape back when I began training and had a completely insane mental complex about being in the company of others who were in much better shape than me.


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## Guamskyy (Jul 26, 2011)

icos211 said:


> When I finally get my tornado kick down, I will be able to say that that was the hardest thing I have done.



I think I almost got that kick down, not mastering it, but able to pull it off. I'm 5'8" and 234 lbs., so yeah I'm over weight, but whenever I want to do something, I do it

Once I get the strength to jump higher, I want to learn 540 roundhouse kicks and 720 cheat hook kicks. Also, in the mosh pit, I can get my tornado kicks pretty high up, I've had people compliment me for it... I guess it gets me pumped


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## Anton (Jul 26, 2011)

Stepping into the ring, not physically that hardest thing but mentally.
Im a Muay Thai fighter, the first fight was like death in my brain, I remember my first live show playing I was excited got stressed, but whats the worst that can happen? you'll miss a few notes? the ring is a different game, you can get knocked the fuck out...
I train with the national team, first fight against a heavy weight champion that was about 10 pounds heavier than me...after the fight a felt amazing..but going into the fight...that hallway walk was one fucking long walk.

Weird thing is that today, i can stand in front of an audience with my guitar have fun and be completely relaxed, but stepping into the ring still got that little of a "holy shit its about to happen" feeling.


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## fwd0120 (Jul 26, 2011)

inb4 twss


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## Blind Theory (Jul 26, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> Typical Marine.




I figured someone might say something about that. And while there may be recruiters for other branches that require this absolutely NONE of the ones in my town and surrounding areas do it. I've seen the Army guys playing video games, the Navy guys talking for ever and ever and the Air Force guys...well, I've only actually seen their office open once. So I'm not trying to take anything away from any other branches, they just haven't shown me anything else to base my opinions on. 

ON TOPIC: A lot of you guys seem to be fairly well versed in Martial Arts. Always wanted to get into that but never had the money.


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## Chickenhawk (Jul 27, 2011)

Blind Theory said:


> I figured someone might say something about that. And while there may be recruiters for other branches that require this absolutely NONE of the ones in my town and surrounding areas do it. I've seen the Army guys playing video games, the Navy guys talking for ever and ever and the Air Force guys...well, I've only actually seen their office open once. So I'm not trying to take anything away from any other branches, they just haven't shown me anything else to base my opinions on.
> 
> ON TOPIC: A lot of you guys seem to be fairly well versed in Martial Arts. Always wanted to get into that but never had the money.




Don't base anything whatsoever on what you see before you actually serve in the fleet. I mentioned the SF recruiters because they're not actually recruiters, but guys that are actual Special Forces.

Just remember one thing: U.S. Army Ranger > Marine Infantry > Army Infantry.

You'll hear a LOT of Marines say they are the equivalent to a Ranger...but they'll never say that TO a Ranger  

Congrats on enlisting though  Best thing I ever did in my life was joining the Military. Keep your head out of your ass and you'll do just fine (not saying your head is in your ass now, btw).

And we need a martial arts thread. I did 14 years TKD, 5 years BJJ, and some number of years doing the MMA thing alongside BJJ and the Army.


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## icos211 (Jul 27, 2011)

> Studied TKD but didn't bother doing much grading as the forms bored me



Everyone always says that. I, however, have always found forms enthralling. When I am doing something that is not particularly interesting, I will go over my forms in my head, and will practice them just as much as any technique. It's a good thing, too, as I have to have every Tae Geuk form down for Black belt test. Learning the forms has to be the easiest exercise related thing I have ever done.

Really wanting to get the Tornado kick down by the Black test so I can pull it off for all the family while sparring.


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## Blind Theory (Jul 27, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> Don't base anything whatsoever on what you see before you actually serve in the fleet. I mentioned the SF recruiters because they're not actually recruiters, but guys that are actual Special Forces.
> 
> Just remember one thing: U.S. Army Ranger > Marine Infantry > Army Infantry.
> 
> ...



I'm not saying anything about special forces. I know for a fact that special forces is a notch above the Marine Corps. That is to be expected. I'm just talking about the regular infantry/whatever aspect of things. Even after boot I wouldn't go find an Army Ranger or Navy Seal or Marine Recon guy and talk shit I'd get my ass kicked. I know the order of things for the most part.


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## Chickenhawk (Jul 27, 2011)

Blind Theory said:


> I'm not saying anything about special forces. I know for a fact that special forces is a notch above the Marine Corps. That is to be expected. I'm just talking about the regular infantry/whatever aspect of things. Even after boot I wouldn't go find an Army Ranger or Navy Seal or Marine Recon guy and talk shit I'd get my ass kicked. I know the order of things for the most part.



Just don't talk shit, and you'll never have a problem.

A lot of service members seem to think they can brag. Nobody that's served should have to brag...all you should ever have to do is admit that you've served, but only if asked, or if it comes up in conversation.

Once it's mentioned, you'll get praise. But you should have been getting praise from your every day demeanor anyways. 

Doesn't matter if someone is a tier above you, respect those in tiers below you just as much (support, etc). They keep the wheels turning.

Trust me, I know. My Primary MOS was Combat Support (Ammunition). Just got lucky enough to work with some amazing Tier 2 units, who loved Support and Sustainment guys that actually did their job, because that meant the warfighters could do their job.


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 27, 2011)

But seriously I think the hardest part for me with exercise is mental... Keeping motivated. Very easy to quit.


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## jon66 (Jul 29, 2011)

Dunno if it was THE hardest thing, but i know something that thinking back could very well have been...

Id been lifting weights off and on since college (6 yrs approx) and had held a gym membership once finishing school (no longer having access to campus facilities and needing a place to continue training)

At the time my now-fiancé was working at that gym, so I was there pretty much everyday working out until she'd finish her shift and id drive us home. Everyone there knew me, including all the staff and most of the members.

Long story short, her boss played some pretty brutal head games with her, to the point of threatening her job for basically no reason, etc. So she told him to stick it and quit, which I supported. I stopped going to the gym (which btw is pretty much the only good gym imo in this town) since I didnt want to support a club with a manager at that level of douchebaggery.

A year passes by. I gain 40 lbs, taking by bf% from 10% up to around 25%, and gaining 6 inches on my waist alone. By this time, I've hit rock bottom emotionally, just disgusted at how far down the slope Ive let myself slip. I realize that this was only hurting myself, but at the time I let my stubborn anger justify the "slight" gain of weight I perceived.

Walking back into that gym, sitting down with a trainer, filling out all the paperwork again, and making what i call the walk-of-shame in front of everybody in the gym for that first time was probably the hardest thing Ive done. In my mind I was expecting a lot of "wow, what happened to you? man you gained so much weight! jeez look at your gut" but once I got back there and seen everybody I was met with "its glad to see you back, it wont take long until youre back where u were" etc. I LOOOOVE living the lifestyle of going to the gym and just how positive of an environment it is. Never once have I walked out of the gym and thought to myself "man I shouldnt have came today"...


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## thepylestory (Sep 6, 2011)

the hardest thing for me? kicking my way out of my ma's vag! it was so tight!!!


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## TRENCHLORD (Sep 6, 2011)

thepylestory said:


> the hardest thing for me? kicking my way out of my ma's vag! it was so tight!!!


 
Yes, indeed it is!!! (joking of coarse)(huhuhuh)


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## Bevo (Sep 11, 2011)

My trail run yesterday is now the official hardest thing i ever did, total mental and physical challange that left me pretty much unable to walk and dehydrated to the point of collapse.

An awsome experience to be sure, you just don't know what your capable of until you have to face these challenges. It makes some of my other problems look like childs play!

I have grown stronger mentally in the last 24 hours than I have in the last 20 years!


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## Maniacal (Sep 12, 2011)

I did a 100 mile mountain bike ride for charity when I was 9/10. Took all day from 07.00 until 21.00 and I hated every second of it.


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## that short guy (Sep 12, 2011)

Blind Theory said:


> I'm not saying anything about special forces. I know for a fact that special forces is a notch above the Marine Corps. That is to be expected. I'm just talking about the regular infantry/whatever aspect of things. Even after boot I wouldn't go find an Army Ranger or Navy Seal or Marine Recon guy and talk shit I'd get my ass kicked. I know the order of things for the most part.


 


Chickenhawk said:


> Just don't talk shit, and you'll never have a problem.
> 
> A lot of service members seem to think they can brag. Nobody that's served should have to brag...all you should ever have to do is admit that you've served, but only if asked, or if it comes up in conversation.
> 
> ...


 
You two will appreciate this one. Army dive corse, having to know you're about to be forcefully drowned, drown, be brought back and then have to get back in the water and keep swimming. on average i had to swim over 4 miles a day. It's the hardest course the army has to offer last i checked it had a 96% droppout rate. i unfortunately dropped out after drowning 2 more times. but nothing i've done since then has even phased me.


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 12, 2011)

that short guy said:


> You two will appreciate this one. Army dive corse, having to know you're about to be forcefully drowned, drown, be brought back and then have to get back in the water and keep swimming. on average i had to swim over 4 miles a day. It's the hardest course the army has to offer last i checked it had a 96% droppout rate. i unfortunately dropped out after drowning 2 more times. but nothing i've done since then has even phased me.


 
Good god...


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## that short guy (Sep 12, 2011)

Konfyouzd said:


> Good god...


 lol i'm not sure if you're saying that as in "that midgets got a set of balls" or in the "that midgets f'n retarded for it having to take him even 1 drowning experince to quit let alone 3".... both would be accurate though


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## Konfyouzd (Sep 12, 2011)

That's just an intense fuckin' story.


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## that short guy (Sep 12, 2011)

what can i say i'm stuborn and don't like to run away from a challenge/fight. it's why i do what i do. but yeah it was the worst/hardest 5 months of my life lol. being deployed is way easier compared to it. 

that being said i think my experience has taken up enough attention lol i want to hear from more people this thread inspires me


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## BrianUV777BK (Sep 14, 2011)

Marine Corps Bootcamp


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## holland1945 (Sep 14, 2011)

Bench pressing 385lbs was most likely the hardest physical thing I have done. Mentally I would say getting up at 530 in the morning to a 30 mile bike ride 3 times a week. My life isn't over yet. I am sure I will set new challenges for myself. Cool thread.


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## neozeP (Sep 15, 2011)

hardest for me was to lose 5 ponds in a week for my interview.,that was really a challenge


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## Ancestor (Sep 17, 2011)

stage teching. 24 25 or even 26 hr days. drive, unload, setup, eat, strike (tear down 

very physical. lots of lifting. by the end of the day i would start seeing things. do a couple of those days in a row and... wow.

second was door installation. these industrial doors weigh 200-300 pounds. my friend made it look easy, but i struggled. demoing... holy crap. ok, so i'm gonna lift this thing into the dumpster x 70? 

i'm better for the experience, because now everything seems easier by comparison. i don't really do that stuff anymore. it's for young guys.


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## lava (Sep 25, 2011)

Hardest thing I ever did was go 4,600 feet deep in a cave in Croatia. This was only a few weeks ago, actually. We carried 37 lb dive tanks down rope after rope, very few horizontal spots where you could even stand. Then we waited on the bottom for the divers to explore a submerged passage, then hauled the tanks back up to camp at 3,000 feet deep after 34 hours of being awake. We slept for 17 hours, woke up and hauled the tanks (still mostly full) the rest of the way out in 13 hours. Oh, and the cave temperature was 1 degree C/35 degrees F. It was pretty tough - like, freezing cold/hungry/dehydrated/hallucinating-tired kind of tough. Here's the map:


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## Winspear (Sep 25, 2011)

^ Holy shit that's awesome


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## ShadyDavey (Sep 27, 2011)

As exhausting as that sounds, it also looks AWESOME on paper at least


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## Murmel (Sep 27, 2011)

Dude, that is insane. And just by seeing that drawing of the cave I got totally blown away


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## lava (Sep 27, 2011)

It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, for sure. Also the most difficult physically. It's the 15th deepest cave on earth. Only a handful of people ever go that deep in a natural cave, so I count myself as lucky to have done it. I will say that when you are at the bottom and you know you have to come out all that way, the thought is oppressive. And when it comes to your mind you instantly have a whole bunch of physiological reactions. Sweating, increased heart rate, your intestines churn, etc. Heck, it's happening to me right now just thinking about it. Not to mention 95% of the time you're in there you're basically on a rope on a vertical wall with blackness below you and above you.


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## Murmel (Sep 27, 2011)

Yeah man, it's definitely not for the faint of heart. You need some serious titanium balls to do that


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## USMarine75 (Sep 27, 2011)

Chickenhawk said:


> Don't base anything whatsoever on what you see before you actually serve in the fleet. I mentioned the SF recruiters because they're not actually recruiters, but guys that are actual Special Forces.


 
Exactly... recruiters (especially Marine recruiters) are used car salesmen. Especially when it comes to what MOS you're going to have and where you will be stationed... *but it is what you make of it*... and that holds true for all branches... they all have unique things to offer. 



> Just remember one thing: U.S. Army Ranger > Marine Infantry > Army Infantry. You'll hear a LOT of Marines say they are the equivalent to a Ranger...but they'll never say that TO a Ranger


 
8541. 

I haven't ever met a Marine that wouldn't talk shit on an Army dog... regardless of whether he has jump wings and a fancy beret, or not... 

That being said... a lot of my best friends are military types and I work with a bunch of active/retired JSOC guys... 

and I'll take 1-SFOD-D > SEAL > PJs > USMC FR > Army SF > USMC Infantry > USMC POGs >>> _everything else_...


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## ddtonfire (Sep 27, 2011)

^ That looks about right, according to my highly inaccurate, nonexpert, noob civilian opinion that I've only derived from books. I'd put DEVGRU pretty high on those rungs because they essentially have to go through both BUD/S and Delta selection.

And lava, that is pretty friggin' awesome!


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## USMarine75 (Sep 27, 2011)

lava said:


> It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, for sure. Also the most difficult physically. It's the 15th deepest cave on earth. Only a handful of people ever go that deep in a natural cave, so I count myself as lucky to have done it. I will say that when you are at the bottom and you know you have to come out all that way, the thought is oppressive. And when it comes to your mind you instantly have a whole bunch of physiological reactions. Sweating, increased heart rate, your intestines churn, etc. Heck, it's happening to me right now just thinking about it. Not to mention 95% of the time you're in there you're basically on a rope on a vertical wall with blackness below you and above you.


 
I've done some f'd up hardcore shit and I think my right testicle shriveled a lil bit when I read your two posts above... nice.



Was this for work or just '_fun'_?


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## lava (Sep 27, 2011)

I paid a couple thousand bucks to subject myself to it, so it must have been for fun!


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## UnderTheSign (Oct 5, 2011)

Actually stepping into the gym and making an appointment... Pushing your physical limits is easy, the mind is the hardest barrier to break down.


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