I am planning on going into the U.S. Marines in a couple of years. I am looking for a good workout routine to somewhat prepare me for the United States Marines physically. Please only respond if you know what your talking about or have been or currently are Marine. Thanks
Comments:
Firstly congratulations on the choice to join the marines, I always think it is an honorable thing to serve your country in the military.
Down to business. There are 2 types of exercises out there, compound and isolation exercises, isolation exercises target one muscle at a time, conversely compound exercises target multiple muscle groups at a single time. The single biggest way to put on mass and a LOT of strength is to perform compound exercises.
You can bet your life that the kind of training you’ll get in the marines will be 90% compound exercises, because these build strength and mass the quickest, so the sooner you get used to them the better.
Step 1: Buy a good supply of high quality whey proteins, this is all you’ll need in terms of supplements. You’ll need a protein boost to accomplish this workout to the best quality. Make sure you eat a lot of calories and drink a protein shake BEFORE and AFTER working out, this aids in muscle building greatly.
What weight should you lift on upper body? simple. If you can only lift 4-5 reps, its way too heavy and you’ll snap a tendon down the line, if you can lift 15+ it’s too light, if you can ONLY lift 8 – 12 reps the weight is perfect. Depending on your current strength and size you may need to work your way up with lighter weight though. But certainly when you kick start your proper workout, use a weight you can rep 8 – 12 times MAX with proper form.
Below are two workout routines, alternate between each on, and make sure you rest 2 days between each weight session:
Workout Type #1
-Flat Bench Press, 10 reps (3x set)
-Incline Bench Press, 10 reps (3x set)
-Dips (body weight), 8 – 10 reps (3x set)
-Pull ups, as many as you can (3x set)
Workout Type #2
-Flat Dumbbell Bench Press, 10 reps (3x set)
-Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, 10 reps (3x set)
-Bicep curls/Hammer curls (isolation), 10 reps, (2x set)
-Barbell or Dumbbell squats, 15 – 20 reps (3x sets) — With any leg exercise, reduce the weight so you can do 15 – 20 reps per set. This is important.
These compound training will add great mass to your chest, triceps, quads, abs, lats, shoulders. e.t.c essentially you’ll put on muscle everywhere and build massive strength, and you’ll need that in the marines.
As I said, after every workout day, make sure you have 2 rest days in between, you need really strong and healthy muscles when you join the marines so you need to rest to make sure you grow. However on your rest days cardio is very key.
-20 min moderately intense cardio run in the morning on an empty stomach will burn fat without losing muscle, if you want to be certain calculate your max heart rate and run to 75% of that. This calculation 220 – ‘your age’ = your max heart rate. If you are 18 for example, your max HR is likely 202. Run to 75% of this, or 151 beats per minute (bpm) on a treadmill, for 20 mins and you’ll burn fat without losing muscle gains. Do this in the morning on an empty stomach and I guarantee you’ll burn just fat.
-High intensity interval training (HIIT) should also be done, but limit this to once a week. You don’t want to tire yourself out too much, to do HIIT, run as fast as you can for 10 – 30 seconds, rest however long you need to recover, then sprint again, repeat 10 times. You’ll burn fat throughout the day.
Here’s my routine for you in a nutshell:
Monday: 1 protein shake, Workout #1, 1 protein shake and food
Tuesday (rest day); morning 20min mild intensity cardio
Wednesday(rest day); morning 20min mild intensity cardio + 10-15mins HIIT
Thursday: 1 protein shake, Workout #2, 1 protein shake and food
Friday (rest day): morning 20min mild intensity cardio
Saturday(rest day): morning 20min mild intensity cardio
Sunday: Close grip push ups, spartan push ups, wide arm push ups. 10 reps each. Done.
You’ll look absolutely incredible, you’ll have built mass and strength and you’ll be ready for anything thrown at you when you sign up for the marines 😉
