The Wu Army Fitness Program [Task]

[Boydie]

Huang Gai nailed up an announcement on the billboard in the Jian An military barracks at first flush of morning. Small groups of troops gathered around has Gai applied his finishing touches to it. They leaned over and were terrified to read "The Wu Army Fitness Program" Gai turned around and told the highest ranking soldier:

"Sergeant Major, Have the troop's ready in the barracks courtyard in one hour. I will lead the first day of the program!"

"Ofcouse General Huang Gai"

He bowed low has Gai walked away. The troops gathered there leaned over to read the announcement.

It read:

An Announcement To All Soldier's of Wu.

From this day onward for the next sixteen weeks ALL soldiers of Sun Ce's force's must partake in the "The Wu Army Fitness Program" for the up and coming war effort.

Any soldier who fails to partake in ANY part of the program will report to Vanguard General Huang Gai to explain there absents.

The fitness program will consist of:

Week 1 Phase One

Day 1
• Walk-jog for 20 minutes (jog for 2min, walk for 2min, etc)
• 1 x press-up max score
• 2 x 5 dorsal raises
• 2 x 5 tricep dips
• 1 x sit-up max score
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-minute warm-up
• Run fast for 30sec, rest for 2 minutes, repeat 5 times
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• Walk-jog for 20 minutes (walk for 1min, jog for 3min, repeat 5 times)
• 1 x press-up max
• 1 x 5 dorsal raises
• 1 x 5 tricep dips
• 1 x sit-up max

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 20-30 minutes or go swimming for 15-20min

Week 2

Day 1
• Walk-jog for 20 minutes (walk for 1min, jog for 3min, etc)
• 2 x press-up max
• 2 x 6 dorsal raises
• 2 x 6 tricep dips
• 2 x sit-up max
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-minute warm-up
• Run fast for 40 sec, rest for 2 minutes, repeat 5 times
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• Walk-jog for 20 minutes (jog for 4min, walk for 1min, repeat 4 times)
• 2 x press-up max
• 2 x 6 dorsal raises
• 2 x 6 tricep dips
• 2 x sit-up max

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 20-30 minutes or go swimming for 15-20min

Week 3

Day 1
• Jog for 20 minutes (jog for 5min, rest for 1min, etc)
• 3 x 1/4 press-up max
• 2 x 7 dorsal raises
• 2 x 7 tricep dips
• 3 x 1/2 sit-up max
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-minute warm-up
• Run fast for 1 minute, run slowly for 2min, repeat 5 times
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• Walk-jog for 15 minutes
• 3 x press-up max
• 2 x 7 dorsal raises
• 2 x 7 tricep dips
• 3 x sit-up max

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 25-35 minutes or go swimming for 15-25min

Week 4

Day 1
• Jog for 15 minutes
• 3 x 1/3 press-up max
• 2 x 8 dorsal raises
• 2 x 8 tricep dips
• 3 x 1/3 sit-up max
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-minute warm-up
• Run fast for 1 minutes, run slowly for 1min, repeat 5 times
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• Brisk walk for 25-35 minutes or go swimming for 15-25min

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7: fitness assessment
• Press-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
• Sit-ups for 2min to establish new max score
• 1.5-mile timed run
Level 2

Week 5

Day 1
• Steady run for 18 minutes
• 3 x press-up max
• 3 x 8 squats
• 3 x sit-up max
• 3 x 8 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, repeat for 10min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 2 x 12 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 15-20min

Week 6

Day 1
• Steady run for 20 minutes
• 3 x press-up max
• 3 x 10 lunges
• 3 x sit-up max
• 3 x 8 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 10min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 2 x 12 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 20-25min

Week 7

Day 1
• Steady run for 20 minutes
• 3 x press-up max
• 3 x 12 squats
• 3 x sit-up max
• 3 x 12 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 12min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 3 x 12 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 20-25min

Week 8

Day 1
• Steady run for 25-30 minutes
• 3 x press-up max
• 3 x14 lunges
• 3 x sit-up max
• 3 x 14 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 12min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Brisk walk-run for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 30-40min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7: fitness assessment
• Press-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
• Sit-ups for 2min to establish new max score
• 1.5-mile timed run
Level 3

Week 9 Phase Two

Day 1
• Steady run for 25-30 minutes
• 4 x press-up max
• 4 x 12 squats
• 4 x sit-up max
• 4 x 12 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 14min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 3 x 15 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 20-25min

Week 10

Day 1
• Steady run for 25-30 minutes
• 4 x press-up max
• 4 x 14 lunges
• 4 x sit-up max
• 4 x 14 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 14min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 3 x 15 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 25-30min
Week 11

Day 1
• Steady run for 25-30 minutes
• 4 x 20 chin-ups
• 4 x 16 squats
• 4 x sit-up max
• 4 x 16 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up

• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 16min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 3 x 20 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 20-25min

Week 12

Day 1
• Steady run for 25-30 minutes
• 4 x press-up max
• 4 x 18 lunges
• 4 x sit-up max
• 4 x 18 dorsal raises
• 4 x 12 triceps dips
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Run hard for 1 minute, recover for 1 min, continue for 16min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Brisk walk/run for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 30-40min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7: fitness assessment
• Press-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
• Sit-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
• 1.5-mile timed run
Level 4

Week 13

Day 1
• Steady run for 30-40 minutes
• 2 x press-ups for 45sec
• 4 x 15 squats
• 2 x sit-ups for 45sec
• 4 x 15 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
•Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Alternate running hard, then recovering, for intervals of 1,2 and 3 minutes (12min in total)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 4 x 15-20 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 25-35min

Week 14

Day 1
• Steady run for 30-40 minutes
• 2 x press-ups for 45sec
• 4 x 15 lunges
• 2 x sit-ups for 45sec
• 4 x 15 dorsal raises
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Alternate running hard, then recovering, for intervals of 1,2 and 3 minutes
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 4 x 15-20 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 30-35min

Week 15

Day 1
• Steady run for 30-40 minutes
• 2 x press-ups for 1min
• 4 x 20 squats
• 2 x sit-ups for 1min
• 4 x 20 dorsal raises
• 4 x 12 triceps dips
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Alternate running hard, then recovering, for intervals of 1,2,3,2 and 1 minute (18min in total)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Circuit training: 4 x 15-20 of each exercise (see below for list)
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7
• Brisk walk for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 30-40min

Week 16

Day 1
• Steady run for 30-40 minutes
• 2 x press-ups for 1min
• 4 x 20 squats
• 2 x sit-ups for 1min
• 4 x 20 dorsal raises
• 4 x 12 chin-ups
• Rest 30-90sec between sets

Day 2
• Rest day

Day 3
• 10-15 minute warm-up
• Alternate running hard, then recovering, for intervals of 1,2,3,2 and 1 minute
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 4
• Rest day

Day 5
• 10-minute warm-up
• Brisk walk/run for 30-40 minutes or go swimming for 30-40min
• 10-minute cool-down

Day 6
• Rest day

Day 7: fitness assessment
• Press-ups for 2 minutes to establish new max score
• Sit-ups for 2min to establish new max score
• 1.5-mile timed run[/center]

Circuit training exercises

Do the number of repetitions of each exercise advised by the 16-week planner, without a break and in order. Once you've completed one circuit, rest for 2-3 minutes before starting the next.

1 Press-up
2 Twist sit-up
3 Step-up with knee raise
4 Triceps dip
5 Walking lunge
6 Sit-up
7 One-legged squat
8 Dorsal raise

Note: If "level 1, week 1" of the programme seems too easy for you, feel free to skip a week or even a level. Equally, if a week ever feels too challenging, simply do what you can and repeat the week, rather than moving on to the next one.

OOC: Phase 1 being the first diplomacy phase and the second phase for the second diplomacy phase

[Boydie]

One hour had passed and Gai made his way back to the courtyard. Row upon row of royal troops were standing at attention, not moving a muscle. The Vanguard General trotted towards the stand were eager eye's could look upon him. Huang Gai faced the troops and roared out:

"We are here today to prepare for battle! And for the next sixteen weeks you are to become the fittest troops in the land! After I'm done improving your fitness! You WILL be fitter than the enemy! You WILL out outmaneuver the enemy! You WILL out fight the enemy! You WILL defeat the enemy!"

Gai removed his armor and an attendant took the armor back to his quarters. He spoke again.

"Today I will take the first day of 'The Wu Army Fitness Program'!"

Another attendant gave him a scroll with the program writing on it, Gai looked closely at the first day of week one. Gai shouted

"Break formation and make and make ten battalion's!"

[OT: (500 troops in each, Only regiment (5000 troops) was present due to other troops on duty, But they will swap around when today's session is compete.]

The troops moved swiftly to create 10 battalion's and stood at attention again. Gai was impressed on how quickly his troops had done it, he roared again.

"You will now walk-jog for 20 minutes, 2 minutes jog then 2 minutes walk and repeat! I DO NOT WANT ANYONE SLOWING DOWN!" Gai pointed to the gate captian "Guard open the barrack's gate's! Troops follow on my lead and keep in formation!"

Gai stepped down from the stand and jogged over to the opened gate's and jogged into the open streets of Jian An, his troops followed suit. It was an impressive sight from a birds eye view, 10 battalion's equally spaced out jogging and slowing down to a walking pace every two minutes and speeding back up again, it was just like a red wave sweeping though the city. But from the ground the local people were bewildered, for them it was like watching a red dragon sweep though there streets.

The developed general was loving every second of it, he could hear the sound of thunderous footsteps of five thousand men behind him. In his head he was charging into battle but in a walk-jogging sense of-course.

Gai and his men made there way back to the barracks after 20 minutes, he had found the was quite easy and wasn't out breath, like most of his men too, there was a couple out of breath but that was expected. He maneuvered himself onto the stand again as the troops created formation and stood at attention.

"Troop's you have preformed well, sadly I have other matters to attend to in court. But I will leave you with the Lieutenant to finish off the program for today, I will return and train with you at later date's. Other generals may join the training program to help out with your training but for now you will report to a Lieutenant for 'The Wu Army Fitness Program' for now."

Huang Gai left the barracks to attend other matters.

[Liu Feng]

On the seventh day of the training session, the young mystic Ulayne decided to train with the soldiers. This was the day during which the soldiers were supposed to swim, and the lieutenant in charge of the training had set up buoyant marker to determine how far out the soldiers were to swim before returning. Many of the dozens of soldiers removed their tunics and swam in short pants, so as to not soak their uniforms. Ulayne herself wore a tighter-fitting cloth shirt that she had specifically tailored for use in swimming, though she also wore short blue pants. She was a very skilled swimmer, as was necessary for any woman growing up on ships along the Chang Jiang.

"Hey buddy," said one of the soldiers, "let's race today. I grew up here in Lu Jiang and I'm the best swimmer in Lord Sun's army."

The other soldiers exchanged boasts, and the lieutenant decided that the competition would spark more effort on the parts of the soldiers, and so he allowed it. Ulayne smiled, as she had clearly had much more swimming experience than the young soldiers, even if they were male and stronger.

"Ready?" the lieutenant prepared and then screamed: "Go!"

All of the soldiers lept into the water, some of the flailing in poor attempts to swim forward, while others had fairly impressive breast-strokes and swam quite quickly. Ulayne didn't quite have the physical strength needed to out-swim these young soldiers, but none of them were quite as experienced, and each made a larger splash than the other when they completed their strokes. Ulayne's hands seemed to dart in and out of the water, creating ripples rather than splashes, as she swam with the utmost efficiency.

It soon became clear that the young soldier who had first proposed the challenge was the only swimmer in Ulayne's league. When Ulayne noticed that she was losing, she sped up and gave all of her effort to dart through the water. In the end, the soldier and Ulayne reached the marker at nearly the exact same moment. No one knew who had truly won, but every soldier was shocked that a woman had beaten all but one of the soldiers.

Upon Ulayne's return to the shoreline, the soldiers all congratulated her on her performance. She took a good ten minutes to catch her breath and rest, before addressing the soldiers present.

"If you wish to call yourselves -Men- of Wu, you will each have to defeat me in a swimming race before this training program is over. Your first lesson will begin in an hour, so everyone take the necessary rest."

A few of the soldiers were a little annoyed by the belittlement, but most of them felt as if they deserved it. They rested for an hour and returned for their first swimming lesson.

"Swimming is not about brute strength," Ulayne began, "but it is about achieving a synergy with the water so that it allows you through, rather than you forcing your way through. Think of it like a locked gate, there are two ways to open it - find the key, or bash it down. When you make your strokes, you should not splash about. All the water you displace when a splash is made is force that you are wasting, force that would otherwise be propelling you through the water. The spirits of this river will not reward those who thrash about."

"The key to swimming is to respect the water, think of it not as an enemy to conquer, but as a friend that is aiding you along. Think of it as a horse, if you are not kind to your horse, you will not be able to travel long."

Ulayne continued to lecture the soldiers on the proper art of swimming, eventually going into the physical details of each stroke. Some of the better swimmers helped her teach the other soldiers the basic breaststroke, and after about an hour of work, it seemed that most of the soldiers at least understood the basic elements of how to move their arms correctly. Ulayne addressed the gathered soldiers once more.

"Reflect upon what I have said, and we will meet here again next week."

Ulayne left to return home and dry off, lamenting that she had been able to teach only the few score soldiers that were present at that specific swimming demonstration. Perhaps these soldiers would at least instruct their friends, she prayed, as the Wu army -must- be the best swimmers in the land.

[Boydie]

It was now week eight, day seven of The Wu Army 'Fitness Program' and Lieutenant Gan was preparing a fitness assessment for the well worked troop's. In the courtyard he set four marker flag's roughly fifty meter's apart from each flag in a square, the total distance was a total of two hundred meter's.

The General of the Vanguard entered the courtyard and Lieutenant Gan greeted the heavyweight and bowed to show his rank.

"General Huang Gai, I am ecstatic that you can join us in the first fitness assessment of the program to date."

Gai gave the Lieutenant a firm handshake, Almost making Gan curse under his breath due to hardy shake. Gai thought of the first day of the program he took and reminded himself how much he had enjoyed it too. Only other duty's had stopped him from taking the program every day.

"It's no problem Lieutenant. I would like to see how much my boy's have progressed!" Gai laughed "I will take part in the fitness assessment, I would like to see how my fitness compares to my fittest troop's! So tell me Lieutenant what do I have to do in this assessment?"

Lieutenant Gan pointed to the flag's

"You see the flag's General?" "Yes..." "They the spaced out equally fifty meter's apart in a shape of a square." "Go on..." "You and the soldier's will be running as fast as you can in around and around it for twelve minutes, you will count how many time's you run the whole square. I will time the twelve minutes" "Hmm... I see you get the easy job Lieutenant Gan!" Gai laughed and patted Gan on the back. "Good job! This will be a challenge!"

Gai stretched his colossal muscles so he wouldn't pull any of them during the fitness assessment. He waited to see if any other officer would join in the assessment...

[Ma Chao]

Just about the time Gan was about to signal for the men to start, he noticed Sun Ce approaching the training grounds. Immediately he stopped and bowed to his lord. Some of the other soldiers did not realize that Ce had arrived and they continued to talk trash to one another, making bets as well.

Soon though, they realized who was present and they quickly acknowledged by bowing.

Ce walked over to Huang Gai and did not really care about being shown the normal respects. He knew the men respected him and did not need to be reassured, but that was the standard protocol.

"Gai" he said, nodding to his famed general.

Ce started to take his breastplate off and also removed his helmet. The soldiers looked at one another and started to grow increasingly excited. Their lord was going to train with them!

"Take it easy on me, boys."

The soldiers started laughing, but it would be Ce who had the last laugh. His word overruled all others and he used his pull as an advantage by yelling for everyone to start before they were ready.

The young lord took off, right after pushing one of the soldiers near to him into Gai; trying to slow him down. He now had the lead and he would not let it up without a fight. Literally, he was going to punch someone if they tried to take first from him.

No, he would not mind. As a matter of fact, it was only about three laps in that he started to get passed and his paced slowed dramatically. It must have been his lack of training as of late. With all the official business inside the government office, he was not able to train as much as before.

Gai was probably laughing, as the elder burned by his leader, but Ce was too ashamed to look. He was huffing and puffing for air, but was approaching the final laps.

No wonder he was struggling to hold his own in the forest a night prior. When in the prime of his fighting shape, he would have bested all six men single-handed.

[Boydie]

The aging General was impressed with his young Lord's competitiveness. Ce was leading, but Gai knew not for long, he was trying too hard, starting to struggle due to the physical demand of the task in hand and his lead was narrowing and many troop's took the opportunity to pass him, so did Gai. He tried to hid his delight passing his Lord due to Ce pushing a soldier in front of him right at the the word go. But he couldn't disguise his cheesy grin as he passed Ce. "Surely Ce saw it?" Gai thought as Ce looked away.

The final two minutes were approaching and even Gai was starting to feel the burn; his calf muscle's were tightening with every step, his thigh's felt they were on fire, his pace slowed and his running technique became sluggish. Gai had never been in the lead. If he was ten year's younger, even five years younger he would be far-flung in front, Gai was feeling his age. But Ce was gaining on Gai.....

[Ma Chao]

Sun Ce had finally caught up to Huang Gai when the workout ended and both of them hunched over a little, trying to catch their breath. Ce was only twenty one years of age, so Gai was keeping in good shape to match someone much younger.

"I will be secretly training just to beat you, Gongfu" he said, laughing as much as possible while still trying to gain his composure.

Some of the other soldiers walked over and acted as if they were not even winded. Deep down Ce wanted to smack them, but he just shot an angry gaze and the soldiers quickly moved on to other tasks.

"Hmph. Well, I am done for now. Will you not join me later for some food and wine?"

Ce wiped the sweat from his brow and looked to his elder general for a response.

[Boydie]

"Of course my Lord, a feast would be appropriate after competing the first phase of the fitness program." Gai laughed as some of the soldier's were showing how fit they were. "As you can see my Lord the troop's are now fitter than us! The first phase as been a total success! We surely have the fittest troop's in the land"

With that Gai and Ce left the courtyard knowing that first phase the program had paid off and his troop's could out fight Liu Yong's troop's.

[Task compete until phase two start's in the program (next diplomacy phase)]

[Mikey]

It is very impressive to see almost the entire Wu force collaborate on a task and interact. And that is a very detailed training regiment! That being said, it was hardly exciting to read. I need more conflict and creativity. The soldiers weren't disciplined as well. Gai threatened very clearly that if anyone missed a day they would have to report to him. I wanted to see Gai turn a stubborn recruit into a model soldier! Or... something else. Anyway, I'm glad that there was participation from 3 officers.

Rewards

Wu Army:

For the following military phase only, Wu Soldiers will have a decreased fatigue penalty in losses.

Huang Gai:

+ 60 Reputation Points.

Ulayne Umi:

+ 30 Reputation Points.

Sun Ce:

+ 15 Reputation Points.


Note: A new thread will have to made for phase two. I prefer that there are no new posts after rewards are given.