Trying out for Navy SEALs out of the question?

Hi everyone. I want to start out by saying that I'm so glad that there's a place for us thals to communicate. Its comforting to know that other people can relate. All that i have are normal friends and they don't understand why I'm always so drained when we go on trips that involve lots of driving, the day after drinking or partying, studying for long hours, and when I don't get a full 8 hours of sleep.

In short, I would like to know peoples opinion on whether it would be possible to condition ones body to adapt to operating on lower levels of hhemoglobinn for long periods of time. I know that tennis star and that soccer star (forgot names) did great with thal at their sport, but bbecomming a special operator is a bit different. I'm seeing my doctor Thurs to find my exact hemoglobin count but from what i understand, its not just the HB count that matters, but the quality of HB. I have beta thal minor and I have felt symptoms throughout my life but I've rarely ever had a good, clean diet.

I'm not just some kid fantasizing about being a hero. I'm 24 and have neglected my health for the past 8yrs with a poor diet and a bit of smoking. But I had a change of heart within the past couple months and was disgusted by the way i was living. I believe that i had a self image disorder and am finally over it, but have wasted much time living in mediocrity.

Maturity has taught me that if we only live once, I want to spend a part of my life in strict discipline. I want to operate on the extreme levels of physical discomfort so that I can have a greater understanding of who I am and what I'm capable of.

I also want to eventually mentor children, cause I had a rough start in my childhood.. In addition to writing a book/memoir on the the power of having love for ones self and the humans potential to achieve meaningful goals. But to do this I need to do something that I consider great. And I'm not the type to sit behind a desk.

But I am presented with a dilemma. I am planning to train hard for 1.5-2 years, supplementing with vitamin d, wheatgrass, and folic acid, along with plenty of fruits and veggies, aiming for 2500 calories and up to 4000 on longer training days. My schedules pretty open, as I'm finishing school this spring and afterwards I will have plenty of time to spend rucking, swimming, runing , and mountain biking... In addition to regular calisthenics.

HOWEVER, if I drop out or get dropped for failing to perform, for every month I spend in the SEAL selection process, I will have to spend 3 more months as a regular enlist - working whatever job they have available. And they do not allow supplements so I can't really do much for my blood aside from eating whatever they have at the mess hall.

The selection process is 6 months, and warfare training lasts about 18 months after that. So for two years I'll be without supplements, sleeping about 5-7 hours a night and doing lots of physical stuff. After I've earned the trident, I believe I can begin to use whatever supplements.

I should have no problems with regular operations as a SEAL because ill have access to wheatgrass etc, and I'm naturally athletic but I just don't fare so well in endurance. I was born with way more type II (fast twitch / explosive) muscle fibers than type I (Endurance), so ill have to work exclusively on endurance. Missions are typically quick - 1-3 days in and out.

So in essentially what I'm asking is, if I train myself rigorously for the next two years and extend my body's capacity to workout with minimal amounts of oxygen, do you think my goal is plausible? And am I at a big disadvantage when it comes to holding my breath underwater or diving? I am planning to continue training regardless of what anyone tells me so please be honest and blunt. If, after months of training, I begin to feel like I ran head first into a brick wall prior to getting out of bed, I'll know being a SEAL is probably outside my reach. I don't need any encouragement to pursue my dream, though it is appreciated anyways.

I'll update with more data regarding my blood ahen i meet with the doc. Thanks for reading.

wow. I was in a similar situation 20 years ago. I was in the Navy and wanted to be a SEAL also. While I was in the navy, the seals wanted you to train with them. I was going to Gunners Mate school at the time. Regular work hours 8 am to 4pm. Well the seals wanted me to wake up at 4am run 3 miles to their facility, workout for 2 hours then run back to get ready for school. They wanted me to do this 7 days a week for 5 months. Well in the end, I could do hundreds of push ups, sit ups, and pull ups. I came in last in the run everytime (even with a seal phisically pushing me from behind). It was my doom. Unfortunately, Endurance is more important than heart or desire. Bottom line, if you cant to a 8 minute mile. it will be very hard.
lET ME ALSO ADD THIS. I knew 10 guys who went to BUDS. all 10 of these guys were super bad-asses. 10 of the toughest guys I ever knew. Surprisingly, not 1 of them made it through training.

The best test to see if you can compete in BUDS is this

Can you do 20 pullups in a row?
Can you run an 8 minute mile?
Can you do 500 pushups in 15 minutes?
Swimming, are you better than anyone else that you know in the water?
really think about this one, Are you affraid of anything? Snakes, sharks, bullets, disease, pain, hypothermia? When you are in buds. you are not allowed to be affraid of anything, they will weed you out. I cant express to you how difficult training is.
If indeed you do become a seal, you will most likely be divorced, you will be either shot stabbed or filled with shrappnel (every seal i knew was wounded and divorced)
Also severe mental problems after they get out.

I encourage you to try out, but most people have no clue how it is. i have even made it seem easy in my short discription.

Thanks for the response. Yeah I thought about what I wrote, and training for the past month has revealed that there is a difference between dreams and reality. I fullly understand what the selection process and training involves and the sacrifices that are necessary. I have the desire, but after reading through various posts on here, I dont think it'd be possible to make it through. I read a statement from an olympic triathlete that said he/she trains like everyone else, but takes much longer to recover after races. Well if you think about it, the selection process is like having day-long races every day, and I dont think my body can recover. Oh well i'll have to figure other ways to make it!

Definately try it buddy. I never thought it was my Thal that kept me from running long distances fast. I just realize it now. I always just thought i was sluggish. If it is what you want, do it. Also besides being a SO, there are SBO that are equally as interesting as being a SO

Alright. Got my blood test results and its nothing too far outside of normal range. My HB is 13.7. MCV is 65.7, MCH is 20.7, and RDW is 17.3.

Im only worried about the fact that i've fainted once while in high school, and I cant be fainting when the team is relying on me.  But that was when I was eating horrible junk foods and i've been fine ever since. And chances are that if I can get through the selection process (BUD/s), i'll be fine for missions. So i'll just keep training hard and assess whether I can hold up for the long run.