So ive enlisted in the marines (poolee) , and my recruiting office holds workouts 3 times per week , usually tuesday , thursday , saturday. Workouts include a lot of calisthenic type movements , and a fuck load of running / sprints. Saturdays we usually do an IST or a CFT , along with a cadence run. I was wondering if anyone has experience with this type of schedule (i lift 3x a week , mon , wed , fri / full body) Would this be sustainable and could i still make gains if eating accordingly? or is too much going on to fully recover? Give me your thoughts! Thank you!
Depends on your age and how hard you hit the weights. If you keep the weights at moderate intensity and more dynamic in nature (50-70% loaded on bar moving fast and explosive). I can only see where it would assist you in the other areas of training. Sleep will be critical (8-10 hrs), and eat to recover. No real difference in what you are doing and a football athleteā¦
As long as you are eating and resting sufficient to cover the metabolic load, you should be fine. You will have trouble putting muscle on due to the heavy cardio component, but when you get to MCRD or PI you will definitely want that cardio. If you are trying to put on some muscle, just eat for size (while keeping your diet clean) - with this training schedule that will mean a lot of calories. For now, I would focus on increasing strength (stronger is pretty much always better) while maximizing your āfitnessā under the Corpsā definition. PT scores are a big thing in the Corps (from talking to numerous Marines, both combat arms and other), so the better shape you show up in, the easier it is to stay in that condition. If you are around 18yo, you should have no problem recovering and progressing with this regimen. Get as close to scoring 300s as you can while improving your overall strength (mainly posterior chain and core - be able to move some weight and keep going), with more emphasis on the 300s.
Also depends on how far you are from your ship date. The closer it gets, the more you focus on what you need to improve to be an all-around beast at boot camp and forget about āmaking gainsā (at least as far as muscle is concerned) - no one there will care how you look with your shirt off and once you get to your first unit you can figure out how to get where you want physique wise while staying where you need to be Corps wise.
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Whatās your MOS?
This makes a big difference. Nothing youāre doing as a poolee has any real semblance to actual training in the Marines. This is because the Marines are fucking retarded with their training. We would do 20+ mile ruck marches with 80 pounds on our back. At school for designated marksman we did daily 6 mile runs on the beach in boots. On deployment our Captain would decide randomly to climb over mountains instead of going around them. I was infantry, and with this type of training, your body breaks down and what little time you have to hit the gym is largely counteracted by the horrible stress put on your joints daily.
If youāre an admin clerk, or some other non infantry job, you should be jacked. Your housing and food is paid for, so your shitty salary can literally all go towards extra food and supplements, and you have time after 5 pm every day to lift, with conditioning in The morning. There are jacked infantry guys, but itās way easier when youāre a POG.
Iām just saying, when I was a poolee we did runs and sprints and it was hard and you sweat, but in boot camp we had to use a scuzz brush (little bristle brush for floors) in the push-up position and run it around the squad bay in circles while drill instructors poured hot water, bleach, and aftershave on our heads, for over an hour at a time, until people threw up or passed out. They filled up the shower room with towels and wet them til they weighed a ton and had people push them in the steam. And the crucible at the end is 54 miles in about 54 hours with constant obstacles and carrying other people half the time. Being bulky is not advantageous when you have to walk through a third world country in full gear and get shot at.
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UZ , Recon Contract
I ship june 17th , 2019 so i have about a year. I have a 275 PFT right now , but id like to get around a 300 PFT to increase my success at BRC
I do think you should pay attention to your dead lifts and good mornings. When I was taking boxing classes and the coach had us run around the room to warm up, I was the oldest, heaviest, slowest guy in the class, but then one day the coach had us run around the room taking turns carrying each other on our backs. As it turned out, having a 350 pound dead lift meant I was jogging along at the same speed carrying someone on my back as I did without someone, making me suddenly the fastest guy in the class. Iāve also noticed that walking up hill hits the same muscles āback there,ā too. So if you want to train for going on long hikes with combat gear on your back, the posterior chain is more important than the showier muscles up front.