When can I consider myself fit enough?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I sit in front of the computer or tv most of my time and I am really weak, until recently I was even slightly anorexic, but I started eating more and now I’m in the ideal BMI range, however I am still much weaker than I should be.

My goal is to be fit enough to join the army (Serbian, not American, we have some fat soldiers here, so I guess the rules aren’t as strict as there, but still…, also I’d join a more lenient direction, for example recon units and sabotage units have a lot of exercises, but mechanics, radar operators,etc. aren’t required to do as much physical stuff, but even they are required to do some of it of course)

Instead of some random unit, I can consider myself to be fit enough for an average 22 year old male when I can achieve:

x pushups without any stops and x pushups with occasional 30 seconds pauses
When I can run x meters without being breathless
x sit ups without pauses
x squats without pauses

Not sure about the other things, but I absolutely suck with running now, just some 10, 20 seconds of non-sprint running is enough to make me breath hard for a entire minute or two, by comparison, when I was in middle school, I could run for 2 or 3 minutes at full speed and I didn’t breath hard whatsoever, I remember we had a school race with 30-ish students and I was among the first three, so I really went down…

#2

The army may not care too much about your fitness level right now. If they care at all, they’d probably be more concerned if you’re really overweight rather than just weak. They likely have a boot camp that will get you to the level of fitness they want.

Can you look up the requirements and see if there are prerequisite fitness levels to join? Or if there is a local recruiter, go talk to them see what they say.

As for the running, try running at a slow enough pace that you can go for 30 minutes, even if that means you’re walking. Eventually you will get used to that pace and will be able to increase from there. If you were underweight, you may have lost some muscle. Going at a slow pace or walking will help your body build back up.

#3

I am an unfit older man who used to be fit when I was in my 20s. I was never in the military but in the United States they generally have a minimum you must be able to do in order to pass muster in the military. I would find out this for the Serbian military and set that as my minimum goal.
That being said, I would also check medically to see if there is something which causes you to have to take so long to recover after only running 10-20 seconds. I am in awful shape and have asthma, but I can jog for up to 5 minutes atya time and slow to a walk and I am not breathing as hard as you say.
Whatever you decide to do, you can’t let yourself get discouraged if you don’t improve as quickly as you may like. It may take longer than you plan but you are a young man.

#4

IMNA Trainer, but he’s my opinion:

20 good push-ups without stopping (chest to deck and back to full extension, back flat)
40 good push-ups with some stops
40 good sit-ups
40 good body-weight squats
10 pull-ups
Running is subjective. A hard sprint should make you breathless within 50 metres even if you’re fit. You should be able to comfortably jog and carry on a conversation for something like 5K if you’re fit.

Those numbers should be ballpark for a fit 22 year-old. I can do them all and I’m a pretty fit 45 year old.

#5

What I remember from US Army basic training back in 1990- 40 sit ups in 2 minutes, 40 pushups in 2 minutes, and run a mile in under 25 minutes. I may be slightly off.

#6

Yea, that running thing is gonna be the problem. Walk fast and see what you can do. If you are really out of breath after a few minutes, at your age, I would see a doctor.
Start slow and work up to longer and longer runs. It’s gonna take time.

#7

This pdf might help a little.

#8

I think you’re a little off there – a brisk walk would have you go a mile in about 20 minutes or less.

#9

Are these the same thing?
In any case, I would agree with Beckdawrek that needing a minute or more to recover from a 10 to 20 second not sprint run is concerning, concerning enough to consider medical evaluation. Maybe exercise induced asthma, I dunno.

Assuming no medical condition the good news is that initial gains are fairly fast. Start a regular program (and many ere can offer good advice on what that would look like) with good nutrition to back it up and you can get up to average, even somewhat above average, for your gender and age pretty fast. Especially since average now is pretty unfit.

Anyway, American requirements are:

Finding potential recruits who can pass is, as a result of rising obesity rates, a real problem especially in some Southern states.

#10

I can cite the US Army standards but I don’t know anything about Serbian requirements. Speaking generally, if you can do 30 push-ups with no pauses, 50 sit-ups with no pauses, and run a mile in less than 8 minutes, you are doing well. (Calisthenics squats aren’t hard. Even a minimally fit person can do squats all day.)

If you can’t even come close to this, you are probably not healthy enough to train without injury. For example, if you can’t get more than 20 correct push-ups without a break, or you can’t run a mile in less than 9 minutes, I’d reconsider it until your health and fitness improve. You might struggle to keep up or risk suffering an injury.

Your running does sound like a problem. I can’t really assess it over the internet, but I will offer some advice. Try running on a treadmill or a known-distance track where you can measure your pace. 6 mph / 9.5 kph pace is a decent pace for an untrained beginner. At this pace your breathing and heart rate will definitely increase, but you should still be able to talk to your running partner. You should be able to keep this pace for 2-3 miles without stopping. If you can’t even complete single mile at this pace, I recommend you see a doctor before continuing. Breathing hard is okay, but breathing so hard that you have to stop running before the first mile is a bad sign.

If you can consistently run a 7 mph / 11 kph pace, you are probably ready for military training. An 8 mph / 13 kph pace is your goal. If you can run 2 miles at this pace you are doing very well.

#11

It actually doesn’t initially matter if you are looking at the «less physical» trades in the military. Everyone has to pass basic training and that includes you. The more physically fit you are going in, the less awful basic training is.