Joining the Marines and need help.
deleonjoshua
Posts: 4 Member
I'm kinda new to this but, I am joining the marines come July and I am looking to lose weight but also get muscle. I am 5'9" and weigh about 180lbs. I'm on the "chubby-ish" side but I am also active. I work about 30hrs. a week and play soccer every weekend. How could I go about losing weight but gaining muscle? I've been thinking about using protein powder/shakes. & I also am going to join a gym. Tips?
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Look up HIIT. Perform HIIT 3-4 times a week in addition to your soccer; it doesn't take much time and can be performed with a jump rope.
Look up Mark Rippletoes Starting Strength and do it.
If you join a gym, join one with more than 1 squat rack if possible.
Eat something like a 45/30/25 diet where the breakdown is 45 percent of your calories come from carbs (skewed earlier in the day), 30 percent come from protein (shakes are great for post workouts), and 25 percent comes from fats bc they taste good and make your testosterone flow lol.
That is my advice....google can take it from here.
Thank you for your service by the way!
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Zaxx1953 Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.0
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P90X. Great program. Cut your calories so you are at a deficit but not a large one.0
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You need to eat less.
And...it already is July. Are you talking about being ready in two weeks, or 12 months?0 -
Calorie deficit, running and pull ups (you'll need those to pass the fitness test). You can get a waiver to go in if you are overweight, but you have to be able to pass the fitness tests.0
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21 year retired military (Army) here. If you're trying to get ready for boot camp then I strongly suggest you focus on pull ups, crunches, and 3 mile run - End of story. They are the only things that will matter. Weight training does not help with these events significantly enough to build endurance to pass your APFT. If you can knock out 12 "correct" pull ups and 60 crunches in under 2 mins each and run 3 miles below 24 mins, you'll be in good shape for Boot. I would also suggest you be able to knock out 60 "correct" push ups in 2 mins. The Marines will take the weight off you Haha, don't you worry about that (evil snicker)! Who you trying to impress in boot anyway? There are no females and your Drill instructors see 300 kids just like you every 12 weeks. Trust me, drawing attention in boot is a very bad idea.0
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I'm going to give you a warning here: My brother-in-law is in the Marines and has struggled with his weight the entire time. I don't have his stats, but I can say that he does not seem to have an inch of fat on him. He is very fit and easily completes all the physical challenges Marines are put through--carrying a hundred pounds of gear, regular weightlifting, speedy miles. He has struggled his entire year with his weight. Even though he is a healthy BMI and not at all fat, he can't make weight. Apparently in the last two or three years weight restrictions have tightened significantly.
He isn't the only one to struggle. Marines and other service members often struggle to make weight, and they do some horrifying things to come in at the right mark during weigh-ins. He has told me about friends who have starved themselves a few days ahead of weigh-ins. Others spend hours in the sauna to become dehydrated and take off water weight. He knows of some men who are bulimic. I told this story to some coworkers and one said she has a nephew in the Marines going through the same thing--he prefers the sauna.
Finally, my brother-in-law ended up paying five grand to have liposuction to make weight. Liposuction. Trust me, the kid ain't fat; I honestly have no idea what they were able to get out of him. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Just what we should ask of our service members--starve yourselves, become dehydrated, develop an eating disorder, just because your body fat percentage is .3 percent too high.
If you have weight troubles and you want to go into the Marines--I really would advise against it.0 -
21 year retired military (Army) here. If you're trying to get ready for boot camp then I strongly suggest you focus on pull ups, crunches, and 3 mile run - End of story. They are the only things that will matter. Weight training does not help with these events significantly enough to build endurance to pass your APFT. If you can knock out 12 "correct" pull ups and 60 crunches in under 2 mins each and run 3 miles below 24 mins, you'll be in good shape for Boot. I would also suggest you be able to knock out 60 "correct" push ups in 2 mins. The Marines will take the weight off you Haha, don't you worry about that (evil snicker)! Who you trying to impress in boot anyway? There are no females and your Drill instructors see 300 kids just like you every 12 weeks. Trust me, drawing attention in boot is a very bad idea.
Former Air Force and I second this.
I also recommend practicing getting up really early and folding your clothes properly.
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firstly, Thank you.
Second I'm with the other two folks here saying you don't need hiit to lose weight. My husband is in DEP for the Navy right now and all he does is jogging, pullups and curlups. He also does swimming but that's very rare because he's such a good swimmer. Jogging won't give you a ripped 6 pack of abs, but it WILL give you good stamina/endurance over time and is a great starting point.
It also comes down to calories, you may think you know what you're eating, but maybe you don't. buy a DIGITAL kitchen scale and start weighing out your food and watch the salt intake. Eating high salt alone I could gain 5 pounds overnight, no joke. My husband is currently counting calories to STOP losing weight because he just wasn't eating enough ( I wish I had that problem) and as soon as he started using mfp, boom, weight back on and stable.
oh and protein shakes have calories too ya know, they aren't a magical drink that makes you swol.0 -
kthompson601 wrote: »I'm going to give you a warning here: My brother-in-law is in the Marines and has struggled with his weight the entire time. I don't have his stats, but I can say that he does not seem to have an inch of fat on him. He is very fit and easily completes all the physical challenges Marines are put through--carrying a hundred pounds of gear, regular weightlifting, speedy miles. He has struggled his entire year with his weight. Even though he is a healthy BMI and not at all fat, he can't make weight. Apparently in the last two or three years weight restrictions have tightened significantly.
He isn't the only one to struggle. Marines and other service members often struggle to make weight, and they do some horrifying things to come in at the right mark during weigh-ins. He has told me about friends who have starved themselves a few days ahead of weigh-ins. Others spend hours in the sauna to become dehydrated and take off water weight. He knows of some men who are bulimic. I told this story to some coworkers and one said she has a nephew in the Marines going through the same thing--he prefers the sauna.
Finally, my brother-in-law ended up paying five grand to have liposuction to make weight. Liposuction. Trust me, the kid ain't fat; I honestly have no idea what they were able to get out of him. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Just what we should ask of our service members--starve yourselves, become dehydrated, develop an eating disorder, just because your body fat percentage is .3 percent too high.
If you have weight troubles and you want to go into the Marines--I really would advise against it.
When I was in the USAF (which was not recently) the guys who lifted a lot and were overweight according to the scale due to high muscle mass were able to get an exception via body fat measurement.
Everyone I knew who went to extreme measures such as you described were in fact overweight and instead of doing something sustainable to correct it, waited until the last moment for a quick fix.
I'm not up on body fat standards for men. Is 18-21%, depending on age, unreasonable?
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/a/weightmale.htm
The Marine is weighed, and the weight compared to the below chart. Only if the Marine exceeds the allowable weight on the chart, they are measured for body-fat. If they exceed the body-fat allowance, then the Marine is enrolled in the Body Composition Program - formerlly known as the "Weight Control Program." If the Marine is over the weight on the chart, but meets the body-fat standard, they are considered to be within the required standards, and no further action is taken.
The Marine Corps changed their body-fat standards, effective August 11, 2008: The new standards are:
MALE
AGE 17-26: 18%
AGE 27-39: 19%
AGE 40-45: 20%
AGE 46+ :21%
FEMALE
AGE 17-26: 26%
AGE 27-39: 27%
AGE 40-45: 28%
AGE 46+: 29%0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kthompson601 wrote: »I'm going to give you a warning here: My brother-in-law is in the Marines and has struggled with his weight the entire time. I don't have his stats, but I can say that he does not seem to have an inch of fat on him. He is very fit and easily completes all the physical challenges Marines are put through--carrying a hundred pounds of gear, regular weightlifting, speedy miles. He has struggled his entire year with his weight. Even though he is a healthy BMI and not at all fat, he can't make weight. Apparently in the last two or three years weight restrictions have tightened significantly.
He isn't the only one to struggle. Marines and other service members often struggle to make weight, and they do some horrifying things to come in at the right mark during weigh-ins. He has told me about friends who have starved themselves a few days ahead of weigh-ins. Others spend hours in the sauna to become dehydrated and take off water weight. He knows of some men who are bulimic. I told this story to some coworkers and one said she has a nephew in the Marines going through the same thing--he prefers the sauna.
Finally, my brother-in-law ended up paying five grand to have liposuction to make weight. Liposuction. Trust me, the kid ain't fat; I honestly have no idea what they were able to get out of him. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Just what we should ask of our service members--starve yourselves, become dehydrated, develop an eating disorder, just because your body fat percentage is .3 percent too high.
If you have weight troubles and you want to go into the Marines--I really would advise against it.
When I was in the USAF (which was not recently) the guys who lifted a lot and were overweight according to the scale due to high muscle mass were able to get an exception via body fat measurement.
Everyone I knew who went to extreme measures such as you described were in fact overweight and instead of doing something sustainable to correct it, waited until the last moment for a quick fix.
I'm not up on body fat standards for men. Is 18-21%, depending on age, unreasonable?
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marines/a/weightmale.htm
The Marine is weighed, and the weight compared to the below chart. Only if the Marine exceeds the allowable weight on the chart, they are measured for body-fat. If they exceed the body-fat allowance, then the Marine is enrolled in the Body Composition Program - formerlly known as the "Weight Control Program." If the Marine is over the weight on the chart, but meets the body-fat standard, they are considered to be within the required standards, and no further action is taken.
The Marine Corps changed their body-fat standards, effective August 11, 2008: The new standards are:
MALE
AGE 17-26: 18%
AGE 27-39: 19%
AGE 40-45: 20%
AGE 46+ :21%
FEMALE
AGE 17-26: 26%
AGE 27-39: 27%
AGE 40-45: 28%
AGE 46+: 29%
Not even close to unreasonable. And I saw the same thing when I was in the AF.0 -
If you see me at the poker room next to Camp Pendleton, go sit at another table if you want to keep your money
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kshama2001 wrote: »The Marine Corps changed their body-fat standards, effective August 11, 2008: The new standards are:
MALE
AGE 17-26: 18%
AGE 27-39: 19%
AGE 40-45: 20%
AGE 46+ :21%
FEMALE
AGE 17-26: 26%
AGE 27-39: 27%
AGE 40-45: 28%
AGE 46+: 29%
Not a thing wrong with that. It's a lot tighter than it used to be - and my understanding is they're quite a bit stricter about actually applying the standard now, as well (lots of nudge nudge wink wink in the old days).
Anyone doing liposuction to get down to 20% is just plain doing it wrong.0 -
Speaking of nudge nudge wink wink - ya, we used to just tell the guy doing the weighing what we wanted him to put down. We were busted when someone else got that job who took it seriously.0
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Do you love running? If you do not love running you need to learn to love running or give up on the idea of becoming a United States Marine. We run almost daily. In boot camp you will run for PT after breakfast almost every day. You will have formation runs and Indian runs and hill runs and short sprints and long distance runs and boots with utes runs and of course fitness test runs. You'll also get the pleasure of running in and out of your squad bay at least 1,000 times every day.
If you hate running and you join the Marine Corps you're gonna have a bad time.0 -
kthompson601 wrote: »I'm going to give you a warning here: My brother-in-law is in the Marines and has struggled with his weight the entire time. I don't have his stats, but I can say that he does not seem to have an inch of fat on him. He is very fit and easily completes all the physical challenges Marines are put through--carrying a hundred pounds of gear, regular weightlifting, speedy miles. He has struggled his entire year with his weight. Even though he is a healthy BMI and not at all fat, he can't make weight. Apparently in the last two or three years weight restrictions have tightened significantly.
He isn't the only one to struggle. Marines and other service members often struggle to make weight, and they do some horrifying things to come in at the right mark during weigh-ins. He has told me about friends who have starved themselves a few days ahead of weigh-ins. Others spend hours in the sauna to become dehydrated and take off water weight. He knows of some men who are bulimic. I told this story to some coworkers and one said she has a nephew in the Marines going through the same thing--he prefers the sauna.
Finally, my brother-in-law ended up paying five grand to have liposuction to make weight. Liposuction. Trust me, the kid ain't fat; I honestly have no idea what they were able to get out of him. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Just what we should ask of our service members--starve yourselves, become dehydrated, develop an eating disorder, just because your body fat percentage is .3 percent too high.
If you have weight troubles and you want to go into the Marines--I really would advise against it.
Than what seems to be the problem? They understand that they don't have to make weight if you make tape....right? I don't think I made weight once in 8 years, I just made tape.
Wait....If he had lipo, I mean a Dr. that would do it, he did have way more than an inch of fat on him.0 -
After tech school, we only ran 1.5 miles once per year in the USAF. Does not look like that's changed, but I can't tell for sure: http://www.afpc.af.mil/affitnessprogram/0
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Do you love running? If you do not love running you need to learn to love running or give up on the idea of becoming a United States Marine. We run almost daily. In boot camp you will run for PT after breakfast almost every day. You will have formation runs and Indian runs and hill runs and short sprints and long distance runs and boots with utes runs and of course fitness test runs. You'll also get the pleasure of running in and out of your squad bay at least 1,000 times every day.
If you hate running and you join the Marine Corps you're gonna have a bad time.
this.
My thought was "disregard who ever said do HIIT"
HIIT isnt' going to help you in the list for boot camp. Run- run with boots on- run when you're wet- run when you're tired. Then do some burpees- then run some more. Sing while you're running- sprint while you're running.
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Lose weight.
Gain muscle.
Choose ONE.
We (mere mortals) can't do both at the same time.0 -
deleonjoshua wrote: »I'm kinda new to this but, I am joining the marines come July and I am looking to lose weight but also get muscle. I am 5'9" and weigh about 180lbs. I'm on the "chubby-ish" side but I am also active. I work about 30hrs. a week and play soccer every weekend. How could I go about losing weight but gaining muscle? I've been thinking about using protein powder/shakes. & I also am going to join a gym. Tips?
focus on losing fat, you can't really do both simultaneously. I am a former Marine...start working on the things you will need to do in boot camp...i.e. focus on running, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups....more running, and more push-ups...and more running...and more push-ups...and throw in a few more pull-ups and sit-ups in there for good measure...and more push-ups and more running.0 -
Former Air Force (and aircrew, so doubly not taken seriously re:exercise) but I'm a weighted vest and medicine ball kind of girl for running and weight loss.
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