I really hope there will be someone here that's able to give me some advice I desperately need.

I am currently a nurse, but am in the process of making a career change as a paramedic. I have been accepted on conditions that I pass the fitness test which is graded equally, regardless of gender and age. I'm not old by any means; I'll be 32 in a couple of weeks, but I will be essentially competing against much younger people, prodominently male. So passing just isn't enough, I have to blow some people out of the water.

I have sucessfully lost the weight I wanted, but in doing so, I have lost a lot of muscle and strength too. For the testing, I will need to do a series of activities to a metronome with >2 seconds between each exercise, ie. push-ups and curl-ups as well as shuttle run and flexibility testing.

I got my papers today and my testing date is Feb. 17, only 10 weeks away! Yikes!

My question is where do I start? Would there be a program/video someone could suggest? I'm sure I'll need some sort of boot camp style work out. I thought I could do the basics of weight lifting every or every other day, I do own a Bowflex that has everything on it. I could begin running every or every other day. Should I alternate the two or could I weight train daily, but work different parts? I'm more afraid I'll hurt myself since weights are not my forte. What about diet? I imagine I will have to increase my carb level.

Any advice would be appreciated.

The NYBP has a really intense workout plan. You can probably add whatever eating plan you want to the workouts. There's a thread here somewhere, you can search for New York Body Plan. I did the plan for 2 weeks and enjoyed the workouts for awhile but I don't want to do a 2 hour workout everday.

Thank you Misdbobby.

I will definately check it out. I am lucky to only work 1 or 2 days a week, so I'm able to dedicate at least 5 days a week and a few hours daily to working out. I really want to be able to pass this test; if I don't pass, I won't get another opportunity for another 14 months.

Off to find the thread. Thanks again!

Here's the link if you haven't already found the thread, good luck. I actually lost 10 lbs in 6 days but the eating plan was too restrictive for me.
Ultimate New York Body Plan

Forgot to add, I got the book on ebay for a really good price.

Thanks for the link. I'm reading through it now. I does look very intense! I think I'll see if I can pick up the DVD and book on ebay.

Thanks again for your help.

While getting a full body workout is great, the best exercise for a specific physical test is to do what the test requires. This is the principle of specificity.

To quickly develop the muscles to do pushups, you have to do pushups. To get good at curl-ups, you have to do curl-ups. Do everything at the same rate that the test requires.

The other major factor is to give your muscles sufficient recovery time. Doing the exercise damages the muscles used. During rest time, the muscles recover and grow.

Very sound and sensible advice Mike, thank you!