Losing weight and building muscle...

usmcnas
usmcnas Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello i am 18 years old i joined the United States marine corps in November and been training ever since. Bootcamp is in August and i still dont see myself in the right place i want to be with my body. I am struggling with losing stubborn body fats on my stomach and chest. I do a lot of cardio running miles every week and i stay perfectly on my calorie level i just need some tips on what to do to help this process should i be in a deficit? Should i work out on cardio still and lift weights? And if you were in this situation what did you focus on either eating or exercise to get to where you are?

Replies

  • usmcnas
    usmcnas Posts: 27 Member
    Thank you I appreciate every input i can get sir! I haven’t had anyone to reach out to about this until i found this section of the app.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    edited May 2020
    Good choice -Thank you - I would work on your running, cardio, body weight stuff, push up , pull ups. I wouldn't worry about getting real lean - boot camp should take care of that. If you are real overweight , then that's a different story. Wear good running shoes - don't injure yourself , be smart, don't over do it.
  • usmcnas
    usmcnas Posts: 27 Member
    Thank you. I do those basic workouts everyday because thats all we’ll be doing so that is my practice.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    You will be fine then - you look like you are in shape - you will want to score high on your PT test. It's fine if you want to lift, it's good to keep your strength up. - Semper Fi
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
    My brother was in the Canadian Army. His bootcamp was pretty hard core. You're going to be burning tons of calories so a little extra body fat might not be such a bad thing.

    It really depends on what you want. If you want to get rid of the fat, a calorie deficit. If you want to add muscle eat at maintenance and lift, but get a structured progressive overload program.

    Depends how much time you have as well. Endurance and conditioning is what I would focus on. And build up gradually so that you can avoid injuries. The shear amount of physical activity is incredible.

    Do some more research, there has to be a Reddit or posts online about how to prepare for boot camp. There's some good books on it as well.
  • usmcnas
    usmcnas Posts: 27 Member
    Yeah we train every week in boot camp style and ive been to summer camps like that before i know what i need to do i guess im just debating on getting lean or getting more muscle because they say you should go in fit and its not much upper body strength you need its endurance and moving your feet.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    one more thing you can do is hike with a ruck, maybe once a week to get used to it. Gradually increase the weight or distance.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,304 Member
    ecjim wrote: »
    one more thing you can do is hike with a ruck, maybe once a week to get used to it. Gradually increase the weight or distance.

    Extra weight (ruck, vest) can contribute to strength, burn, etc.

    However it can also create issues for people with knee problems. It can also negatively affect our ability to recover from a slip.

    For sure worth considering and exploring... carefully.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,304 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    ecjim wrote: »
    one more thing you can do is hike with a ruck, maybe once a week to get used to it. Gradually increase the weight or distance.

    Extra weight (ruck, vest) can contribute to strength, burn, etc.
    However it can also create issues for people with knee problems. It can also negatively affect our ability to recover from a slip.
    For sure worth considering and exploring... carefully.

    I have to :lol: at myself, as I obviously did NOT realize which thread I was posting in!

    Yup. As a 50 something who HAS wiped out because he was wearing a weighted backpack (and for a majority of MFP users)... maybe VERY carefully.

    As an aspiring Marine... hmmm, I suspect ruck marches are in your future... so, yeah!

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