Preparing for Marine boot camp

[No_Joke]

Hey all,

in 6 months I'll be shipping out to MCRD, and my body needs to be both strong & fit by then!

Currently I weigh 157lbs, am 6' tall, and have a RAW total of around 600lbs.
(DL 265, BP 165, 175 SQ)

My goal is to weigh around 168lbs, and have a RAW of 885lbs (405 DL, 215 BP, 265 SQ).

In addition to body weight/strength scores, I need to maximize my fitness.

Currently, 30 pushups/10 pullups max, goal 50-80 pushups/20+ pullups.
I'll be following a 6 week 5k routine for running, followed by a 16 week advanced routine, then taper off so I can do well for the PFT.

My questions are 1) are these goals attainable in the time-frame I have, and 2) can I increase fitness, and gain 10lbs of lean muscle mass, and improve strength all at the same time? (or cycle between focuses every 6 weeks or whatever?) And if it is possible, what routine(s) would you guys recommend?

Boot camp is going to kick ass, so I'm motivated to do whatever it takes to be prepared

[nutsy54]

Focus on the Marine Corps PT requirements - 3 mile run, pullups, crunches. Plus pushups to balance it out, and since you'll be doing them in boot camp anyway. Having a strong deadlift and squat is great - but not if it detracts from your actual requirements (in other words, be able to nail the PFT, then add to your other goals).

Lookup up either Recon Ron or Armstrong pullup programs. Either one will give solid gains if you stick with it.

[ironwill2008]

Boot camp is going to kick ass, so I'm motivated to do whatever it takes to be prepared

Start here:

http://www.military.com/military-fit...-for-boot-camp

On training days, if you feel you have anything left with which to lift weights, then go ahead. Just be sure to put the actual Boot Camp work as your primary directive. I can assure you that the DI's won't give a rat's patoot about your raw total, but will be totally on your case if you're out of condition.

[jalamb86]

You will never be fully 100% prepared for Parris Island. But you can do yourself a HUGE favor by getting your 3-mile run time to 20:00 or under and being able to do 20 pullups and 100 crunches. Every Senior DI is different, but mine had a serious hard-on for the guys with perfect PT scores.

[No_Joke]

I'm currently on the Armstrong program - I'm a big fan of it and Stew Smith's articles/books as well (doing the Pushup Push program & 12 Weeks to BUD/S abs routine as well)

My biggest concern is actually running & lower back (minor injury when I was 13), and curl strength [e.g. carrying a SAW around all day as I'm volunteering for 0331]. Probably will get stuck with an M-16 for the first two years if I don't get my scores/body weight up.

Any workouts for being able to haul a 60-130lb pack and a 30lb rifle all day?

[jalamb86]

I'm currently on the Armstrong program - I'm a big fan of it and Stew Smith's articles/books as well (doing the Pushup Push program & 12 Weeks to BUD/S abs routine as well)

My biggest concern is actually running & lower back (minor injury when I was 13), and curl strength [e.g. carrying a SAW around all day as I'm volunteering for 0331]. Probably will get stuck with an M-16 for the first two years if I don't get my scores/body weight up.

Any workouts for being able to haul a 60-130lb pack and a 30lb rifle all day?

Aside from loading up a backpack and carrying a rifle around, no. You'll build up endurance on the hikes, though. They start out small...I can't remember if the first hike was 3 miles or 5. Regardless, by the time the crucible rolls around, youll be conditioned for long hikes with heavy gear. The hikes suck, but your body can handle it.

[No_Joke]

Aside from loading up a backpack and carrying a rifle around, no.

That's not quite out of the question. lol

I don't have a 30lb gun, but I live right by the 29 palms base and can hike in the desert all day. Backpack can be purchased. Or I could just carry my weighted* barbell on my back... yeah, maybe I'll do that

[illmaticmindsta]

That's not quite out of the question. lol

I don't have a 30lb gun, but I live right by the 29 palms base and can hike in the desert all day. Backpack can be purchased. Or I could just carry my weighted* barbell on my back... yeah, maybe I'll do that

The only gun that weighs over 30 pounds is the .50cal and if you're carrying that around something went ****ing seriously wrong, like, your entire convoy got blown up or something.

It wouldnt hurt to do some ruck marches though. At any rate - in the Army at least - we did progressive ruck marches in BCT. 2 miles on week, 4 the next and so on until the last one which was about 18 miles. At that point strength and endurance come less into play compared to making sure your clothing and gear is conducive to a relative comfortable ruck. If your ruck sack is flapping all over the place or if your boots are loose its going to make for a very uncomfortable march. I'd recommend wearing about 4 pairs of socks on the marches over 10 miles and especially the ones that are like 18 miles. I didn't and ended up with a blister on the bottom of my foot that literally went about 1/2 an inch into the muscle tissue. Also make sure your clothing is tight to prevent chaf***e. The tighter it is on the skin generally the better I think but you'll figure it out.

Since you have time I'd recommend going on some kind of diet (nothing extreme) but just enough to make sure you don't arrive at boot camp overweight. They'll zero in onto you the very first day if you're overweight and that's not a very pleasant experience. The whole thing wasn't a very pleasant experience but anything you can do to lessen the misery is something you should strive for.

Just a basic beginner strength program might be in order for total body strength. Combine this with running (don't waste your time on a bike as this basically accomplishes nothing) for about 30 minutes every other day or 3 times a week and you should be good. Every few weeks or so give yourself a PT test to measure your progress. HIIT can help with endurance and increasing your run time.

Remember above all to stand at parade rest whenever you're talking to a drill sergeant. If you can learn to do that before hand you'll be miles ahead of everyone else.

[feetontheboard]

OP - First off, good on you for signing up.

I've been in the Corps for 4 years and was a SAW gunner as well.

Biggest thing I want to harp on is body weight conditioning. IE - pull ups, push ups, strong core. Making sure you're able to endure long workouts involving little more than your body weight.
and also
FLEXIBILITYYY
make sure your muscles can stretch. you don't want to be stiff as a board.
Functional strength is key. I've seen guys that can bench 315 for reps fail a CFT, and I've seen guys that barely weigh 150# do 30 pull ups. You have to be able to handle your own bodyweight, esp if you plan to put on more weight, which I advise against.

DO NOT 'bulk up' before boot. 1- you don't need all that weight on your frame, and 2. you're going to lose it all anyways and become a lean mean fighting machine.

You do however want to get some explosive strength. And overall strength. For instance you need to be able to throw a buddy on your shoulders and take off for 100m dash. etc.

Endurance endurance endurance.
Boot will give you endurance anyways, but it helps to have some already. As said previously boot is designed to step you up in increments so you have time to get used to it. First run will be about 1.5miles and then you'll be doing 5+ miles, working your way up.

Some key areas you need to focus on are:
Core - esp lower back. Your flak/ammo/gear is going to weigh anywhere from 75-125+# depending on the mission and load. Your lower back will suffer

Shoulders - all that weight rests on those shoulder straps. your traps will hurt like hell and eventually go numb but they need to be able to carry that weight for hours. Also your rotator cuffs need to be flexible and strong.

Legs- obviously the legs will carry ALL that weight. and on deployment you'll be climbing over sht and going from prone to standing all the time. Make sure your legs can take it.
And flexibility counts here too, I cant tell you how many times I rolled my ankles walking through fields or whatever. The sand will give out and you have tons of extra weight to roll em really hard. Make sure this doesn't take you out of the fight.

There's plenty more but I'd say those are the 3 biggest areas for injury prevention.

I would advise finding a good crossfit style program. get used to bodyweight excercise. And you'll need strength and endurance. You need it all. Again, I highly suggest not bulking up as you dont want to carry that weight of fluffy muscle around. plus it will be frustrating as hell to see that work lost.
boot camp i went in 170#, graduated 160#
Afghanistan i left 175#, came home 155#
now I'm up to 185
you have tons of field ops, long duty, deployments, training, girlfriends etc etc to keep you from doing 'arm day' and all that bull. just concentrate on bodyweight/endurance.

ill post more later.

Semper Fi !

[feetontheboard]

PS -
Boot camp is all a mind game. So just play along. Don't be a noise maker like I was or it will bite you in the arse. You can't beat the system.

Keep your head up and focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. And remember you're DI's are there to build you to be the best Marine you can be, sure they're hardasses but they're professionals and their mission is to prepare you for war, and they will complete that mission no matter what it seems like.

Eventually you will look back and see bootcamp as one of the easiest things you've done in your career. So have fun with it and learn everything you can. And help out your buddies.

[spartan127]

>_< love how when i posted about this a few months ago myself i got similar answers but not the in depth help as to why.

serious note though good job on signing up, i leave in 3 months myself. Make sure you work on both pullups and chinups though as you are allowed to switch grips, long as you dont hit the side bars while switching, and its possible that if you switch you could get a few more reps in for ISTs and PFTs. Also perfect PFT is 20pullups 100crunches(in 2 mins) and an 18:00 3mile (saw someone say 20:00). i myself started out at a 31:00min 3mile back in january and havent ran it since but im sure ive improved.

other wise follow what everyone said, BW work is key and running/endurance training. dont worry too much about liftinf and lifting HEAVY as 13 weeks from weights will cause you to loose a bit on your lifts anyway. use weights if you want but just to gain some strength and more muscular endurance

[runtocatch]

Run, pullups, situps, and pushups. Boot camp is not easy but it damn sure aint hard. You will be fine.

[dimmupelto]

The key thing i saw is it's all mind games, they'll mess with you whether you're fit, unfit, tall, short, dark, light, nerdy, or a jock... They'll do whatever they can to find your limit and push you past it. I went into it stupidly and out of shape and i paid for it, but i was mentally tough enough for it and made it through. Since crossfit is becoming more and more popular military-wide i'd definitely give that a shot, and it wouldn't hurt to do some mma-type training as well. Just be prepared to throw and be thrown.

[illmaticmindsta]

Eventually you will look back and see bootcamp as one of the easiest things you've done in your career. So have fun with it and learn everything you can. And help out your buddies.

Yep, you'll get about 80% more sleep in basic than you do on deployment. I remember thinking 5 hours a night was difficult.