When exactly does one need to meet weight/body fat standards for HPSP?

[xmsr3]

So I am applying for Army HPSP and due to high grades and a good MCAT score I am eligible for automatic acceptance. However I am a bit worried about meeting the weight/body fat standards in time for my physical, which is Sep 3.

For my height I would need to be 212 lbs or 22% body fat. I am training hard and have already lost over 35 lbs and have no doubt I will be at 212 and below by the time I would do OBLC, but my concern is with getting the HPSP scholarship in the first place.

Does anyone know if they test % body fat at the physical (with the tape measurer around the abdomen and neck method)? I believe I heard from either theGoose or SirGecko that they send you to your family doctor for that, but can't be sure.

By what date do you have to meet the %body fat standards to get the scholarship?

I know that the new fiscal year starts Oct 1, when the scholarships for the class of 2014 start getting handed out.

So what is the absolute deadline? Sep 3, (army physical) Oct 1, some later date?

If anyone could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it.

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[DoctaJMa]

As far as I know you just have to meet them by the time you go to OBC. If I understand you right you were wondering if you had to meet the standards for your MEPS physical to get in.

From what they told me when I went to my MEPS physical is that I just needed to be at the standards for when I go to OBC. So dont kill yourself. There were alot of people in my tour to BAMC that were not at standard. They just want to make sure that you have not MAJOR issues that would DQ you.

I hope that helps!

 

[TheGoose]

For USUHS, you get height/weight checked at your physical. The USUHS physical is not MEPS so it might be a different story for HPSP. No tape test at the physical - you just "fail" and go meet a recruiter for a tape test later (I did). If you don't pass it then it's no big deal you just need to lose the weight or go to a recruiter for a tape test at some point to make the standards. (the recruiters might help you out a little). You can't get medically qualified until you meet it, so you couldn't get unconditionally accepted until then. I assume it's along the same lines for HPSP (aka you can get everything squared away but not finalize until you meet the standard)

p.s. for USUHS, you need to meet ARMY standards regardless of what branch you want to go into. I believe it was <23% after the tape test. Also, I didn't say that they sent you to a family doc for that. For USUHS they send you to a DoD contracted physician in your area. I just went over to a local recruiter's office a couple weeks later for the tape test, sent it into the office, and it was all set. Not sure about HPSP physicals and MEPS, but I know that USUHS medical clearance carries over for HPSP (I am almost positive that this is not the case in reverse...so even if you do HPSP physical you'll still need to deal with DoDmerb for USUHS)

 

[xmsr3]

For USUHS, you get height/weight checked at your physical. The USUHS physical is not MEPS so it might be a different story for HPSP. No tape test at the physical - you just "fail" and go meet a recruiter for a tape test later (I did). If you don't pass it then it's no big deal you just need to lose the weight or go to a recruiter for a tape test at some point to make the standards. (the recruiters might help you out a little). You can't get medically qualified until you meet it, so you couldn't get unconditionally accepted until then. I assume it's along the same lines for HPSP (aka you can get everything squared away but not finalize until you meet the standard)

p.s. for USUHS, you need to meet ARMY standards regardless of what branch you want to go into. I believe it was <23% after the tape test. Also, I didn't say that they sent you to a family doc for that. For USUHS they send you to a DoD contracted physician in your area. I just went over to a local recruiter's office a couple weeks later for the tape test, sent it into the office, and it was all set. Not sure about HPSP physicals and MEPS, but I know that USUHS medical clearance carries over for HPSP (I am almost positive that this is not the case in reverse...so even if you do HPSP physical you'll still need to deal with DoDmerb for USUHS)

This is very intersting, when is the USUHS physical? Is it during the interview? Or is the interview a seperate event altogether and if you get accepted, then they give you the physical, at which point you must meet the weight standard?

Also, if I am lucky enough to get accepted and don't meet the weight requirement at the physical, then I get a conditional acceptance? Does this mean that my spot at USUHS is secure as long as I eventually lose the weight? Or does it mean that they will give my spot away to someone who does meet standards, in which case I would have to make weight quickly or lose my spot?

 

[SirGecko]

This is very intersting, when is the USUHS physical? Is it during the interview? Or is the interview a seperate event altogether and if you get accepted, then they give you the physical, at which point you must meet the weight standard?

Also, if I am lucky enough to get accepted and don't meet the weight requirement at the physical, then I get a conditional acceptance? Does this mean that my spot at USUHS is secure as long as I eventually lose the weight? Or does it mean that they will give my spot away to someone who does meet standards, in which case I would have to make weight quickly or lose my spot?

The USUHS physical is an independently scheduled DODMERB physical. (it isn't part of the interview) They send you the appointment information for the DOD contracted office and you schedule a physical with them. You can be conditionally accepted before completing the physical but in order to get an unconditional acceptance you have to be physically qualified and pass the security clearance.

Conditional acceptance means you have a spot you just aren't cleared yet. I imagine they would wait till May to make you drop if you haven't secured unconditional acceptance. (not sure though) They aren't going to bump someone though unless they aren't going to get cleared. (unwaiverable medical condition, can't get a clearance, etc)

 

[xmsr3]

The USUHS physical is an independently scheduled DODMERB physical. (it isn't part of the interview) They send you the appointment information for the DOD contracted office and you schedule a physical with them. You can be conditionally accepted before completing the physical but in order to get an unconditional acceptance you have to be physically qualified and pass the security clearance.

Conditional acceptance means you have a spot you just aren't cleared yet. I imagine they would wait till May to make you drop if you haven't secured unconditional acceptance. (not sure though) They aren't going to bump someone though unless they aren't going to get cleared. (unwaiverable medical condition, can't get a clearance, etc)

Typically is the DODMERB physical conducted before or after the interview? If you have a choice is there some benefit to having it before,(ie it is looked favorably upon and thus your odds of getting accepted increase slightly)?

Thanks everyone for the great info.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

Does anyone know if they test % body fat at the physical (with the tape measurer around the abdomen and neck method)?

Yes. I'm a big guy (defensive tackle in college) and they taped me. One guy got taped and didn't make it. He failed his physical. They gave him a chance to come back like 2 weeks later, but he failed until he met standards.

 

[TheGoose]

Typically is the DODMERB physical conducted before or after the interview? If you have a choice is there some benefit to having it before,(ie it is looked favorably upon and thus your odds of getting accepted increase slightly)?

Thanks everyone for the great info.

It doesn't matter and there's no benefit one way or the other. you'll need to wait until you are offered an interview and then they will give additional medical information for you to contact the local DoD contracted physician's office. As sirgecko said, they will wait until may to drop your spot if you haven't gotten your clearances. Again, they do NOT tape at the physical (for usuhs) - they will fail you and you'll worry about the tape later (no big deal compared to dealing with waivers)

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

It doesn't matter and there's no benefit one way or the other. you'll need to wait until you are offered an interview and then they will give additional medical information for you to contact the local DoD contracted physician's office. As sirgecko said, they will wait until may to drop your spot if you haven't gotten your clearances. Again, they do NOT tape at the physical (for usuhs) - they will fail you and you'll worry about the tape later (no big deal compared to dealing with waivers)

At the HPSP MEPS physical they taped me. I didn't interview at USUHS so I don't know their procedures

 

[xmsr3]

At the HPSP MEPS physical they taped me. I didn't interview at USUHS so I don't know their procedures

So what is the procedure if they tape at the MEPS physical and you fail the tape test? Do you have a certain deadline to pass the test or do you just wait until you meet the standards and then go to the recruiter's to verify you now pass?

 

[TheGoose]

So what is the procedure if they tape at the MEPS physical and you fail the tape test? Do you have a certain deadline to pass the test or do you just wait until you meet the standards and then go to the recruiter's to verify you now pass?

One guy got taped and didn't make it. He failed his physical. They gave him a chance to come back like 2 weeks later, but he failed until he met standards.

.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

.

 

[krwhite]

When I went for my AF HPSP physical, that's when I had to meet my height/weight requirement. From what I understood, if I was at or over my weight limit, then they would have done a tape measurement, sort of like BMI.

I understand your worry, though, cause I was really close to the limit when I found out about it! I worked REALLY hard that last week. Lol. Good luck!

 

[silverhorse84]

For USUHS, you get height/weight checked at your physical. The USUHS physical is not MEPS so it might be a different story for HPSP. No tape test at the physical - you just "fail" and go meet a recruiter for a tape test later (I did). If you don't pass it then it's no big deal you just need to lose the weight or go to a recruiter for a tape test at some point to make the standards. (the recruiters might help you out a little). You can't get medically qualified until you meet it, so you couldn't get unconditionally accepted until then. I assume it's along the same lines for HPSP (aka you can get everything squared away but not finalize until you meet the standard)

p.s. for USUHS, you need to meet ARMY standards regardless of what branch you want to go into. I believe it was <23% after the tape test. Also, I didn't say that they sent you to a family doc for that. For USUHS they send you to a DoD contracted physician in your area. I just went over to a local recruiter's office a couple weeks later for the tape test, sent it into the office, and it was all set. Not sure about HPSP physicals and MEPS, but I know that USUHS medical clearance carries over for HPSP (I am almost positive that this is not the case in reverse...so even if you do HPSP physical you'll still need to deal with DoDmerb for USUHS)

This is a little off topic, but I just want to clarify something here: This is NO longer the case! I was told that the USUHS physical would work for HPSP, and then found out this last spring that it doesn't. I was told that it used to, and apparently my recruiter wasn't updated about the change. 🙄

So, for anyone applying to both USUHS and HPSP, be prepared to do two physicials and if you're disqualified for anything, be prepared to do whatever extra exams they need twice. It sucks, but that's the way it is now. Don't trust the recruiter if they tell you it carries over, they may not be informed. I chose USUHS so in the end I dropped HPSP, but it was pretty frustrating being told it would be impossible to do ODS this past summer because I wasn't medically cleared (even though DoDMERB cleared me). If I had known, I would have started the HPSP medical stuff a lot earlier! 🙄

 

[xmsr3]

Thanks for the heads up silverhorse, I was kind of hoping I could use my DODMER to cover HPSP so that I would have more time to train and get in shape but I guess Sep 3 is my do or die date.

I am training twice per day, (2.5 hours/day) and each time I train I walk out of the gym about ready to pass out. Everything is sore but I guess that means I am pushing myself to my limits. I am very close to maxing out on the weight machines at the gym and have done an army run in 16:29. I know that I am fit as I just had a physical and the doc was amazed that my BP was 120/64 with pulse 63. Now I just need to get down to 22.5 inches difference on the tape test and I have a feeling it will come right down to the mm for me.

Thanks everyone for the great info.

 

[teacherman84]

If youre trying to lose weight maxing out isnt helpful...muscle mass weighs more than fat. Stick with varying cardio and low resistance, high repetition weight training (push ups and sit ups since youve got to do them anyway)

 

[TheGoose]

This is a little off topic, but I just want to clarify something here: This is NO longer the case! I was told that the USUHS physical would work for HPSP, and then found out this last spring that it doesn't. I was told that it used to, and apparently my recruiter wasn't updated about the change. 🙄

my recruiter told me it was legit as recently as 2 weeks ago (Army...not sure if that matters since you were talking navy). I'll give him a call and confirm and get to the bottom of it

 

[xmsr3]

If youre trying to lose weight maxing out isnt helpful...muscle mass weighs more than fat. Stick with varying cardio and low resistance, high repetition weight training (push ups and sit ups since youve got to do them anyway)

Really? I thought that muscle increased your metabolism, 50 cal/day for each additonal pound of muscle.

Does lower resistance higher reps take that into account? I know they say you need to do weight training to lose weight but the specifics as to how much resistance is lacking.

How many reps do you think is a high number? I have been doing 25 up to know, (I try to do them in as few sets as possible).

Should I bump the resistance down and increase the rep count to 50?100?

In terms of pushups and situps I am at 60 in a row and hoping to get to 100 eventually.

 

[teacherman84]

I dont know the details...thats for a trainer to tell you.
Ive heard numbers closer to 10 cal/lb. And that is per day...is it worth it? You can burn more than that chewing gum.
I am just saying if your end goal is to lose weight, why spend hours in the gym building muscle. If I had the luxury of 2.5 hours/day to work out, I would spend that time either running or in the pool. If youre in a gym, mix it up between the cardio, treadmil for 1/2 an hour, then do the row machine, then bike, etc.
Cardio will always burn more calories than weight training

 

[silverhorse84]

my recruiter told me it was legit as recently as 2 weeks ago (Army...not sure if that matters since you were talking navy). I'll give him a call and confirm and get to the bottom of it

hmmm, good point. I'm Navy, so it could be different for the Army - I didn't think of that. I'd still not trust the recruiters though, mine told me several times that it would be okay, and when it came down to it it wasn't. I'd check with MEPS, because they're the ones with the final word. When I went to my MEPS physical I was under the impression from my recruiter all I had to do was hearing and vision and then they told me I had to do the whole thing, so my recruiter was wrong all the way up to me showing up at MEPS.

 

[xmsr3]

Teacherman thanks for the advice. I will talk to my trainer today and find out how I should incorporate weight training into my overall excercise regimen.

To be fair I only do it 3 times/week and then only 1 hour/session, I do 11 cardio sessions/week so I am mostly focused on that.

 

[Galo]

So I am applying for Army HPSP and due to high grades and a good MCAT score I am eligible for automatic acceptance. However I am a bit worried about meeting the weight/body fat standards in time for my physical, which is Sep 3.

For my height I would need to be 212 lbs or 22% body fat. I am training hard and have already lost over 35 lbs and have no doubt I will be at 212 and below by the time I would do OBLC, but my concern is with getting the HPSP scholarship in the first place.

Does anyone know if they test % body fat at the physical (with the tape measurer around the abdomen and neck method)? I believe I heard from either theGoose or SirGecko that they send you to your family doctor for that, but can't be sure.

By what date do you have to meet the %body fat standards to get the scholarship?

I know that the new fiscal year starts Oct 1, when the scholarships for the class of 2014 start getting handed out.

So what is the absolute deadline? Sep 3, (army physical) Oct 1, some later date?

If anyone could answer these questions I would greatly appreciate it.

If you've had to loose more than 35 lbs just to meet the standard, you are potentially setting yourself up for future big problems.

Unless you're terrible in your academics, the scholarship is no longer competitive. If you have not read the forums thoroughly, you should for all the potential problmes you may face.

As far as weight. You have to be realistic and see how long you can keep more than 35 lbs off. There is a 95% long term failure at keeping a significant amount of weight off. Once you are trained, if you are unable to keep up your daily exercise schedule, and likely gain weight, you will be indoctrinated into the draconian weight management program, possible be denied bonuses, and certainly not be eligible for increase in rank and pay.

Think hard about military medicine. The weight issue is just another of the massive headaches you will experience.

 

[TheGoose]

my recruiter told me it was legit as recently as 2 weeks ago (Army...not sure if that matters since you were talking navy). I'll give him a call and confirm and get to the bottom of it

hmmm, good point. I'm Navy, so it could be different for the Army - I didn't think of that. I'd still not trust the recruiters though, mine told me several times that it would be okay, and when it came down to it it wasn't. I'd check with MEPS, because they're the ones with the final word. When I went to my MEPS physical I was under the impression from my recruiter all I had to do was hearing and vision and then they told me I had to do the whole thing, so my recruiter was wrong all the way up to me showing up at MEPS.

Got told today that I am good for medical (army hpsp) based on the USUHS clearance (DoDmerb) after asking for confirmation due to our discussion. So, maybe it's different for the services, maybe it's a new policy since you went through, or maybe my guy is wrong and I'll have to go through it all again...I'll give an update when the board goes through

 

[silverhorse84]

Got told today that I am good for medical (army hpsp) based on the USUHS clearance (DoDmerb) after asking for confirmation due to our discussion. So, maybe it's different for the services, maybe it's a new policy since you went through, or maybe my guy is wrong and I'll have to go through it all again...I'll give an update when the board goes through

Good luck! I hope it is different for you - it was a really annoying realization for me last year!

 

[xmsr3]

I too contacted my Army HPSP recruiter and he told me that the DODMER physical from USUHS can be used in place of a seperate HPSP physical.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

If you've had to loose more than 35 lbs just to meet the standard, you are potentially setting yourself up for future big problems.

Unless you're terrible in your academics, the scholarship is no longer competitive. If you have not read the forums thoroughly, you should for all the potential problmes you may face.

As far as weight. You have to be realistic and see how long you can keep more than 35 lbs off. There is a 95% long term failure at keeping a significant amount of weight off. Once you are trained, if you are unable to keep up your daily exercise schedule, and likely gain weight, you will be indoctrinated into the draconian weight management program, possible be denied bonuses, and certainly not be eligible for increase in rank and pay.

Think hard about military medicine. The weight issue is just another of the massive headaches you will experience.

+1.

If you're having trouble maintaining a healthy weight as a college student you will find it to be very difficult as a medical student/resident/staff doc. I mean, you don't put on an extra 50 lbs by accident. Congratulations on the motivation to lose it, but make for darn sure that motivation isn't going to go away any time in the next 15 years before signing up with the military.

 

[TopSecret]

The odds of keeping the weight off are not good.

"Although lifestyle-based programs for treatment of obesity are generally associated with weight loss of about 10%,1 avoiding weight regain is a major challenge.2 Most patients regain about 30% of the weight lost in the year following treatment and typically return to their baseline weight in 3&#8211;5 years.2"

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2679815

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-10-16-weight-war-remedies_x.htm