April 9
40 Days Till Boot Camp
No PT Today
Today a Future Marine and myself spent the day recruiting. We also spent some time with two PFCs who gave us alot of advice and told us about all the hilarious shit they saw at Boot Camp and MCT.
April 11
38 Days Till Boot Camp
Today I went Skydiving. I did what is called Accelerated Free Fall. I took a 4 hour class and then they let me throw my self out of a plane. Once I walked up to the door and jumped out it was like a whole different world.
I jumped from 12,000 feet and I didn’t have alot of time after I did my checks before I hit 7000ft and had to start my main chute deployment. It was unbelievable and I can’t wait to do it again.
I dont understand why most of your running is in the 1.5 to 2 mile range. Maybe I missed it but I dont think ive seen a post where you ran more than 3 miles. It seems logical that if you could blaze 5 miles in the 32-33 range 3 in 18 would be a walk in the park.
This seems about equivalent to training for the NFL combine and never benching more than 225. I think most people’s prep for 225 for reps would include putting much more wieght on the bar than 225.
Putting that aside you have made good progress and im sure you can pass the PFT right now if you had to. Nice work, and best of luck.
illbill22
Well lately my running has only been with the Pool and depending on the Marine leading it we run different distances. Last Tuesday for example we ran 1.5 Miles but usually for example we run 3-4 Miles on Wednesday. This is no excuse.
I also firm believe that for my body type and running style it would be a huge mistake for me to run a lot of miles to train for the 3 mile. I am 5’7 and built to run short distances. When I run long distances my strength drops off the chart and I adapt to that style of running. So I believe the best way to train for a 3 mile for me is to run long sprints and quick 1 miles etc. Basically I believe speed work will be the most beneficial thing for my 3 mile time.
Pass a PFT if I had to? No disrespect but I would do a little better than pass illbill22. If I were to use my current IST as a template I would have a First Class PFT. I’m not banging my own drum here but I’m not going to let you shit on my performance because I would do pretty fucking well. I still have along way to go but I am way past the minimums.
congrats on the soon to be first class PFT.
Good log, Good work. You’re obviously really motivated, and I have no doubt, barring some sort of freak injury or something, you’ll do very well in basic and beyond. HOWEVER, until you’ve earned that EGA you should probably change that avatar to “Poolee Autry” My instructors liked to use the term “You aint on the bus yet” thoughout training, meaning no matter how well we’d done, or far we’d come, graduation was still a long way away and anything could happen. You haven’t even gotten on the bus to the airport yet.
illbill22
Look I didn’t mean any disrespect or to come off like an arrogant prick. So please don’t think I’m some asshole kid. I’m just saying I would do better than the minimums. I appreciate your advice so keep coming with it.
irish20cb
Good Point.
I created this account right before I DEP’d in when I was an over zealous Future Marine. I can’t wait till I earn my title of Marine so that all my talk can have some validity.
Well I can’t change my User Name unfortunately. I do understand though that I do not rate to be called Devil Dog so your comment is well understood.
My only course of action now is to hurry up and get down to Parris Island.
well yeah you know yourself better than some internet forum hack named illbill. If you have made good progress with the current training load/intensity then, of course… stick with the program.
I was just tryin to toss something out there to possibly help with one of your stated goals. Again, you know yourself and how you respond.
I didnt literally mean “Pass” the PFT. Im sure your numbers right now are better than most. I dont recall the minimums but if I remmeber right they are painfully easy.
[quote]Devil Dog Autry wrote:
11 December
157 Days Till Boot Camp
To start this log off I’m going to go to sleep.
I need to develop a pattern of healthy sleep and it’s 10:20 here so I’m hitting the hay.[/quote]
Not quite following through on this post eh? haha
Have you noticed any lower back tightness from the crunches?
Are you using a pronated or supinated grip on the pull-ups (over hand or underhand)?
For the runs… have you thought about training with lots of gear on, including a backpack and something in the hands or strapped across your chest?
Do you do runs in boots at all?
In a bit over a year I’ll be going to OCS and I’m just wondering about a few of these things that you are training on.
April 15
33 Days Till Boot Camp
Poolee PT
Ran 2 Miles and once again Ssgt tried to break us the fuck off and once again I just bowed my head and kept within 30 yards of him.
2 Circuits of:
Lunges
Planks
KB Swings
Squat Thrusters
Fireman Carries
Buddy Drags
Pullup 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Good PT tonight. My running is slowly getting better. I stay about 3rd or 4th guy in the run and try to keep up with those 150lb bastards in the front.
TheBigV
Seriously of all the things I’ve improved on since I DEP’d my sleeping schedule has had no progression and lately regressed.
Pullups make my lower back tight for some reason and then we do crunches right after during an IST so my lower back is rigid by the end of the test. If you scoot your ass right against your heels then it will minimize your lower back strain. Even if you do that you will still scoot back and start straining the back during a max set especially during the PFT. It just happens when you’re putting out going for 100.
I do my pullups with a pronated grip and I do this for 3 reasons.
- I train how I think I will use it. If I ever have to pull myself through a window or climb something it will be with a pronated grip so that is what I use.
- Biceps are a small muscle group and most people tend to be bicep dominated in pulling movements anyway so they are limited when doing their chinups. I think alot of people choose chinups because they come easy at first because of their tendency to over use their biceps. What happens though is those small muscles burn out and then they can’t progress as quickly. Pullups get your back involved more and the back has more staying power and ability to progress than the biceps.
- I like pullups because they are generally considered harder than chinups and well I joined the Marine Corps so I want to do and be good at whats hard not what is easy.
I’ve done some running with a 20lb vest which is similar to a flak jacket. Running with that really doesn’t change anything and you can just truck through it. I’ve also done some running with two bricks held like a rifle and that totally fucks you up. Once you lose the arm swing then running becomes a chore rather than a natural movement. I’ve been told to not run in boots because it will fuck up your knees and that since I’m infantry I will get enough of that and there is no rush.
From my pre Boot Camp training I’ve basically learned this. You need to be good at running and bodyweight exercises but don’t give up your weight training or strength. I know some Poolees who can do things like pushups and crunches all day but they only weigh 150lbs so their ability to adapt to changing physical demands it low. I weigh 200lbs and have a decent strength base in addition to my bodyweight abilities so I can adapt and succeed at the ever changing demands palced upon me.
For example during buddy drags some of these light guys just can’t do it. I can pull them all day long and I can poolees who weigh more because I have that strength foundation.
So running and bodyweight endurance stuff might hurt your weight training but don’t give it up because it will pay off in the long run.
I hope my book I just wrote answered some of your questions.
Hell yah it did, I really appreciate the insight. I totally agree with your stance on pull-ups vs. chin-ups. The boot running makes sense to me as well, though I may devote 2-3 days a month to this, just to get used to it. I’m very much used to running barefoot or in my vibram fivefingers (shoes that simulate running barefoot).
Any other info you feel like dishing out, I’m all ears.
Well I’ll dish out how fucking cool Vibram Five Fingers are. I just bought a pair and my shin splints problem has disappeared. I’ve been running in Nike Frees up to this point and I like those as well. It kinda sucks to get used to running in such awesome shoes and then at Boot they are just going to give me a pair of New Balances.
I will say this. I did a hump a few months ago at the advice of some Army guys. I decided to drop them due to some advice from a Marine but it was a good learning experience. I got to get the feel for marching with 60lbs on my back and in boots which I’m sure was better to do the first time by myself than at Boot with Kill Hats going nuts all around me. So yeah I’d say go for it to get the feel and to know what to expect in the future.
So I guess you’re a Junior in College and thats why you have to wait a year?
What MOS or job do you want to pursue once you get into the Corps?
I’m thinking Infantry, Armor, or MP. My grandfather was an Mp.
Infantry interests me the most though. Being on the front lines has always had an appeal to me.
I’m a sophmore right now, soon to be a junior. I may take 6 weeks the summer coming up and 6 weeks after. I have gotten feedback from other marines that have gone this and the other route, and apparently the 2 six week PLC course is the best route.
I have a meeting with one of the officers from my area, and he said he’d help me get together with other future marines for training. Hopefully it’ll be as awesome as I think it will.
Just to further contemplate on illbill’s comment. Before my senior year of high school I ran one mile every day. no more, no less, and without stopping, for three months. I simply improved my mile time, and that was my only goal. By the end I could run a sub 6 minute mile, closer to 5.5 weighing 195 at 5.10… I did on one circumstance run to a friend’s house that was 4 miles away. I did that without stopping. I also was the fastest I had ever been at sprinting because of this, and my footwork for DB in football was excellent.
Just because you’re not training 5 plus miles a day doesn’t mean that you can’t do it. I think that it would actually be detrimental to go above 1.5 on a continual basis, seeing as how we have the same body type, and to add onto that yours is even more exaggerated than mine, for I am a little taller and lankier than you.
So keep truckin’. You’ll be fine in the 5 mile. marathon runners don’t run a marathon every day. That would be ridiculous.
Well, you wanted to improve your mile time so you ran a bunch of miles. You wanted to get better at something so you did that thing. You got better; saw good results.
For the most part it looks like this guy is running signifigantly less than the testing distance.
sorry if I wasnt clear. I wasnt suggesting that he should run himself into oblivion/injury. I just just think that he has a much better shot at his stated goal if he ups his mileage from ~10 miles a week to maybe 15-20. No where close to a marathoner’s mileage. I agree, for his purposes, that would be ridiculous.
Given his training load/intensity it would be surprising if he broke 20 let alone 18. I could be very wrong, just my two cents.
Either way, he will probably get the 20 pull-ups no problem.
just a guess - 22:35, 21, and 110 is a lineup that most people would/should be proud of. No shame in that for sure. nice work
Are you still alive?
Yah I was wondering the same thing
April 21
28 Days Till Boot Camp
I met you half way today illbill and ran 4 miles. 2 at a constant pace and 2 with sprints and walks.
April 23
26 Days Till Boot Camp
Poolee PT
Ran 4 Miles in formation with some Indian running.
Circuit of
BW Squats
Crunches
Ball Slams
Lunges
KB Swings
Pullups
The more people that show up on Wednesday the lower our intensity gets. When my Ssgt first came to my recruiting office we maybe had 5 guys during Poolee PT and now we have around 18-20. I’m an old rusty Poolee and have been in the DEP since Oct so I’ve seen this progression from high intensity PT to basically light workouts that accommodate the size of attendees. I’ve brainstormed with my Ssgt about it seems like there is no a way around it. The obvious answer is ability groups but unfortunately the quality and intensity of the slower groups drops off because Ssgt just can’t delegate his authority enough to the Poolee put in charge and I don’t have rank and some of the Poolees do not respond well to being lead by another Poolee. This just pisses me off and I thought I’d rant alittle. I want to motivate these guys but really they have to motivate themselves. A good leader is someone who makes people want to do things and not someone who just orders people around. I’m trying to get there but its just frustrating. TheBigV You’ll probably deal with this a ton as an officer.
I’m still alive. The ironic thing is that my Marine Corps stuff is what is keeping me so busy that I never have time to come here and talk about the Marine Corps. I’ve been hanging out with other future Marines lately and they keep me out basically every night of the week now. I have about 5-7 guys I really hang out with and like and every chance we get we invite other Poolees out so our tight group is getting larger and my time at home I used to use to post on here is getting smaller and smaller. I think so far this week I’ve been home for about 7 hours on average a day. I’m not complaining because I love that crap. Shooting the shit, PTing, shooting more shit, and looking for potential recruits is a good time.
We’ll see about all that upping the mileage. I have less than a month and I’ll give some long distance running a go to maybe help with my stamina.
My overall physical fitness is still coming along so that’s good. It’s starting to settle in that I leave in less than a month. I have a buddy who ships on Sunday and he is almost high on anticipation and nervousness. My Ssgt does say though that if Boot Camp is the hardest thing you do in the Corps then you’re a loser. He tells us that Boot Camp isn’t that bad and we’ll go through alot more difficult training later on. I don’t think he should really be telling us that because as Poolees Boot Camp is what we dream about but in spite of what he says I’m really excited to go and be tested. I’m sure I’ll see it like he does later on but right now I’m ready to rock and ready to leave.
[quote]illbill22 wrote:
just a guess - 22:35, 21, and 110 is a lineup that most people would/should be proud of. No shame in that for sure. nice work
[/quote]
I hope my PFT spread will be alittle more like:
Pullups 22
Crunches 110
3 Mile 21:00
I run like an old lady with a short stride and I have the endurance of a virgin on prom night so I’ll really have to up my game and probably totally overhaul the way I think and perform running.
I’m 5’7 and my stride just straight up sucks. If I could open it up more then I think that alone would kill a minute off my time.
Running for you at 6’ is a lot different than it is for me but I should be able to keep up with you or beat you in a run. I just need to work on my stride and leg speed.
God running sucks a big one but I need to and shall embrace it as a huge part of my life for the next 4 years.