Dealing with the heat and humidity at SFT
- Thread starter Jbow1221
- Start date
For all the cadets going to SFT this year, ya'll better laundry mark the cotton out of your underwear and socks. After repeated washes, it washes out and you are probably going to end up with socks you have no clue whose they are. Well, actually, you'll probably end up with a lot of stuff from random people so all I can say is embrace the love. Oh, and beating the heat was real simple for me at FT. You just have to drink "1/2 - 1 quartz per hour" right? Well, easier said than done, most people don't habitually drink that much normally, especially college students lol. That's two bottles of water per hour and the since its for no more than 12 quartz a day thats 24 water bottles a day equivalence to a standard 16.9 flt oz bottle. Who is used to drinking 24 water bottles a day?! Not many. Plus, you are drinking 3 cups of water/gatorade with every meal too so thats an extra 24 oz per meal so thats technically another 72 oz = 4 more bottles of water.
So a day you should be drinking, in perspective, 24-28 bottles of water equivalence. Why do you have to drink so much water? Because you will sweat it all out. Guaranteed.
So my tip is actually more specific, how to keep up with your hydration if you're not someone who is used to hydrating consistently every few minutes?
Hydrate by taking small gulps, every few minutes. Especially when marching, hydrate every "10-15 steps" was my way of doing it. If that is too "technical" than just hydrate everytime you think to yourself, "wow it's hot." And you will be thinking that A LOT! Do not worry, you won't have to go pee that much because you'll be sweating it all out.
If you keep up with this hydration, you'll do just fine like I did!
So a day you should be drinking, in perspective, 24-28 bottles of water equivalence. Why do you have to drink so much water? Because you will sweat it all out. Guaranteed.
So my tip is actually more specific, how to keep up with your hydration if you're not someone who is used to hydrating consistently every few minutes?
Hydrate by taking small gulps, every few minutes. Especially when marching, hydrate every "10-15 steps" was my way of doing it. If that is too "technical" than just hydrate everytime you think to yourself, "wow it's hot." And you will be thinking that A LOT! Do not worry, you won't have to go pee that much because you'll be sweating it all out.
If you keep up with this hydration, you'll do just fine like I did!
ERAUMattmom
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Hdgyde -
Did you have any trouble with the time change coming from the west coast?
My DS is in Florida now....but I've got him headed home to California for a visit the minute finals are over at ERAU.
NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANTED...But hypothetically if he gets an EA and assigned to Max 1 he will have been back on CA time for 3 weeks.
Did you do anything to prepare your body for the time change before going to Maxwell?
Did you have any trouble with the time change coming from the west coast?
My DS is in Florida now....but I've got him headed home to California for a visit the minute finals are over at ERAU.
NOT TAKING ANYTHING FOR GRANTED...But hypothetically if he gets an EA and assigned to Max 1 he will have been back on CA time for 3 weeks.
Did you do anything to prepare your body for the time change before going to Maxwell?
Hi! No I didn't or I might have been but didn't really notice with all the stuff going on during the first several days lol. In terms of jet lag, its probably hard for a lot of cadets to sleep the first night there from being antsy and nervous but eventually, being so tired everyday, it felt normal since everyone else was exhausted as much as you. Also, getting to sleep the day after and the rest of field training was pretty easy since I was exhausted when I finally laid down at the end of the day. Not much to worry because when all cadets get to suffer together, its not that bad knowing it isn't just you 
@ ERAU ~ I'm in Cali and experienced the time change (or so it felt...)
It seemed to feel pretty nonexistent since we are so "go-go-go" with no real breaks to gather thoughts/realize what time it is "back home" if that makes sense. CA is usually the last to fly in/drive to Maxwell so by the time cadets get there, it'll be close to lights out.
I've read plenty on suggestions about waking up early/running early/hydrating/etc... It might help, it might not. I didn't change anything about when I was waking up/going to sleep (other than not being able to sleep the night before >:| ) The only thing I did was drink a couple of liters of water a day. I averaged drinking 15-18 liters (4-6 camelbak refills) of water/day at FT. As soon as the stress hits, all those days of waking up early to prepare won't really matter TBQH. That's my personal opinion though -- everyone is different...
As long as they're (your DS/DD/whoever) is in good shape, they should have no problem adjusting.
It seemed to feel pretty nonexistent since we are so "go-go-go" with no real breaks to gather thoughts/realize what time it is "back home" if that makes sense. CA is usually the last to fly in/drive to Maxwell so by the time cadets get there, it'll be close to lights out.
I've read plenty on suggestions about waking up early/running early/hydrating/etc... It might help, it might not. I didn't change anything about when I was waking up/going to sleep (other than not being able to sleep the night before >:| ) The only thing I did was drink a couple of liters of water a day. I averaged drinking 15-18 liters (4-6 camelbak refills) of water/day at FT. As soon as the stress hits, all those days of waking up early to prepare won't really matter TBQH. That's my personal opinion though -- everyone is different...
As long as they're (your DS/DD/whoever) is in good shape, they should have no problem adjusting.
ERAUMattmom
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Gee -
Somebody suggested taking a spinning class in a sauna to get ready for Maxwell.....
Were they just pulling my leg??
Somebody suggested taking a spinning class in a sauna to get ready for Maxwell.....
Were they just pulling my leg??
Gee -
Somebody suggested taking a spinning class in a sauna to get ready for Maxwell.....
Were they just pulling my leg??
Not really, it won't be too bad for the first couple of sessions - but when the summer gets going around here - it's got to be felt to be believed. 110 -115 heat index with 100% humidity. Why do we all wear baseball caps down here? Cause WE HAVE TO. It gets "burn your brain bucket" hot. Folks need to take the advice of all of the posters who are talking hydration. Drink water and drink it often. Football players collapsing from heat exhaustion (and worse) during summer practice is a regular occurence in our region - Caveat - most schools practice in the early MORNING. Please don't look upon this as a dire warning - look upon it as a realistic assessment from someone who lives not far from MAFB and experiences this year after year.
V/R
Pima
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Actually I would think that idea is smart.
As Romad stated it is hot and humid. I recall one year that it was 105 plus without the index for something like 3 weeks.Add in the humidity and coming from a state like Maine and if not use to it, not hydrating properly may become a medical issue too.
The ABUs wearing the boots and heavy socks aren't shorts and tee shirts with flip flops either.
I remember moving from NJ to NC in June and I was sweating in the car with air on as we drove into town. Meanwhile I am watching kids playing outside and thinking their folks are nuts. Two weeks later my kids were the ones people thought we were nuts...you get accustomed to it quickly, but by the time your kids are accustomed to it, it will be almost over.
We have lived ever climate zone, and I can tell you only in the South can it rain for 3 hours, and have the pavement dry fifteen minutes later. Only in the south does the humidity and air temp feel worse after it rains. Only in the south do you have more dew on your car in the a.m. than you would in the fall.
Romad,
I thought the baseball caps were worn to absorb all of the sweat. All of Bullet's ball caps have a clear distinct sweat line.
OBTW,
I also learned why riding lawn mowers have lights. It is because in the South it is so hot that you mow either at 8 a.m. before it is too hot or wait until dusk.
The south is also the only place that I have ever been to where nobody goes to the pool by mid-July (except me) because the water is bath temp.
Back on topic.
Hydrate, exercise in the hottest part of the day for you, and do it a little bit longer so you can acclimate faster. Otherwise, like the release of EA assignments, it will be what it will be. You have no control over the weather.
As Romad stated it is hot and humid. I recall one year that it was 105 plus without the index for something like 3 weeks.Add in the humidity and coming from a state like Maine and if not use to it, not hydrating properly may become a medical issue too.
The ABUs wearing the boots and heavy socks aren't shorts and tee shirts with flip flops either.
I remember moving from NJ to NC in June and I was sweating in the car with air on as we drove into town. Meanwhile I am watching kids playing outside and thinking their folks are nuts. Two weeks later my kids were the ones people thought we were nuts...you get accustomed to it quickly, but by the time your kids are accustomed to it, it will be almost over.
We have lived ever climate zone, and I can tell you only in the South can it rain for 3 hours, and have the pavement dry fifteen minutes later. Only in the south does the humidity and air temp feel worse after it rains. Only in the south do you have more dew on your car in the a.m. than you would in the fall.
Romad,
I thought the baseball caps were worn to absorb all of the sweat. All of Bullet's ball caps have a clear distinct sweat line.
OBTW,
I also learned why riding lawn mowers have lights. It is because in the South it is so hot that you mow either at 8 a.m. before it is too hot or wait until dusk.
The south is also the only place that I have ever been to where nobody goes to the pool by mid-July (except me) because the water is bath temp.
Back on topic.
Hydrate, exercise in the hottest part of the day for you, and do it a little bit longer so you can acclimate faster. Otherwise, like the release of EA assignments, it will be what it will be. You have no control over the weather.
I saw that somebody said something about riding an exercise bike in a sauna, if you have a place that you can do that I believe that's about the best simulated environment to prepare to come down here. Also, get your body used to drinking more water than you might normally have to while still being safe about it don't over do it and get water poisoning, but if you aren't from here you are most likely going to be drinking more water than I might be so just work at that. Also if you have a chance to get a source of potassium then do it because the heat can make you cramp up pretty bad. Sorry if I misspelled anything or have poor grammar lol I'm a science major not English.