Making Marines - Get Ready For Marine Boot Camp

By slinkies on Jul 12, 2009 | Reply

my BF was a marine … from his description of boot camp, I would suggest you start long distance running, some pack-hiking, push-ups and sit-ups galore, and some light strength training …

each day … i would recommend you get to the point you can run for an hour w/o stopping to walk … I would suggest 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups/crunches as a starting goal as well … (you will, of course, have to pace yourself and take off a day or 2 here or there to build up to this point …)

By chuckie3003 on Jul 15, 2009 | Reply

there’s no exercise you can do for what you are facing ahead… marine boot camp will break you down on all sides… you can train for years but the marine workout is one of a kind…

By Gabe on Jul 15, 2009 | Reply

My grandfather was a Marine in Vietnam. From his exp, and the exp of my Marine Corps friends, and from my exp Enlisting and being honorably discharged, there is NOTHING you can do to prepare. Of course it will be best to be in shape, but everything you have ever known about exercise is going to be changed from the minute you step off that bus.

By Julie J on Jul 16, 2009 | Reply

Here’s what I found, and it sounds about right to me.
Marine workouts are not done in a gym – this is very important if you are expecting to be fit like a Marine. Instead of going to the gym and building huge upper and lower body muscles, you should focus on what Marines focus on. You can get an awesome workout without using any equipment.
Marine workouts are not an option – Marines don’t get to say, “oh, I just don’t feel like doing PT today.” If you don’t feel like it, too bad. You have to suck it up and do it anyway. This means that you should have a workout plan and stick to it no matter what.
Marines don’t always PT in comfort – We don’t always PT with the latest high performance gear. You have to be able to achieve the same fitness results whether you are wearing combat boots and uniform or comfy PT gear, whether its raining, snowing or hot as hell.
These things may not mean anything to you if you don’t plan on becoming a Marine but if you are, they are very important. With that being said, you can achieve a great workout using the following exercises.

Pull-ups – this exercise is great for building upper body strength such as in back and arm muscles. You should train often on these and be able to do 15 to 20 at one time without swinging or touching the ground.
Crunches – this exercise replaced the old fashioned sit-ups after the Marine Corps realized that sit-ups are not very effective for the abdominal muscles. You should be able to do 80 to 100 in 2 minutes in order to be competitive as a Marine.
3 Mile Run – probably the toughest part of the Marine PFT, this run is a great endurance builder. You should be able to complete this in less than 20 minutes in PT gear or in uniform with boots.
If you want to be as fit as a Marine, you should exercise like one. Marines typically exercise daily in some way.