Me and a friend (who is also a co-worker) are enlisting this week in the Marines. He is joining because he is sick of working a job where he's going nowhere. I'm enlisting because its something I've wanted to do ever since I was young.  
I'm 18 and just graduated high school , he's 19 and graduated a year ago. We are both in excellent physical shape. We both run and workout everyday. Can someone throw up a link to some work out routines that would help us get better prepared for the incoming ass kicking?


Anything we should know or be aware of before signing the final papers?

Thanks,
Joe

Your recruiter should have given you some info on that, if not just ask him about it.

From my brother who just got out of boot camp I'd say be prepared to run. He was told to get use to running in boots before going in as that would help.

Don't be first or last in anything, blend in with the general population, and be low profile.
Do this and you'll still get thrashed but to a slightly lesser degree.

Don't worry about PT unless you're a fatbody.

Mark and bag all of your stuff in basic. DI's will open up everyone's footlocker, pour everything in a big pile, mix it up, call it Mt. Suribachi,
and have you stow your stuff back in your possesion in a very limited time.Pretend your stuff  fell out the back of a truck going down
the interstate and tumbled into a landfill. Make your stuff easy and quick to retrieve, also it needs to be quickly deployed or used.

I still have some Corpfram shoes (shiney ones) that were issued to someone else. The shoes were only a 1/2 size too small but, when you stand in them at parade rest for 2 hours without moving it makes life hell. It took my feet about 1 yr to feel right again.

Doesn't matter what you do. It will never be good enough. Good luck.

USMC 2000-2005
USAR (currently)

Well said... although on occasion it does pay off to be first and do everything "the best" (although its never good enough) ... you will gain attention you will regret during... but later on it will pay off.

2006-2010.... good luck recruit! Oh btw... your name will be recruit for 3 months...

Pullups and running. These are the main things you get points for . I went in to boot camp in good shape and it paid off. It was alot easier for me and I got platoon high pft with a 297.  Your pft and shooting score are a huge part of your promotion points.  The forced marches were hard even being in good shape. I am short and the pace they keep is very fast. Doing this while your arms are going numb from your heavy ass pack is a miserable thing indeed. Your mind is the most important thing and the will not to give up.

A few things, work on Cardio, any cross fit workouts will help. It really doesn't matter if your already in shape, you'll get in better shape during boot. Get used to being hungry, tired, and wanting to punch slackers in the throat < you'll pay for their mistakes. Bootcamp is hard, but not that hard. if you go into it knowing that your recruiter lied (probably a lot) and that your Drill Instructors get paid to make your life hell (it's generally not personal, unless your a terd, then it is).

Also, know that the first year or two in the Corps will probably suck, no rank sucks and unless your a lifer, choose an MOS that will offer your some options after you get out.

Aug 1995 - Present, Feel free to hit me anytime, I'll help anyway I can. Also, check out the flick "Ears open, Eyeballs Click" way different then when I was at Boot, but pretty entertaining nonetheless.

Stay Motivated,
-Gunny B.

Forgot. Just like Paul said above - Pull Ups, do them a lot! Also, find a youtube vid of the CFT. Looks easy...It's not, but I'm old too (I do have a 1st class though )

pretty much everyone covered it. good luck !!

sorry not a work out routine, but some sound advice for you is to

memorize marine corps general orders now if you can.

Many recruits have problems with pull ups.

Here are some suggestions on how to max out the dead hang (no kipping) pull ups.
If you can do 10-12 proper pull ups before you ship you will be ahead of most but shoot for the max of 20 if there is time.

Crunches just require practice. Make sure that you work out with the 2 minute time frame in mind and be sure to train your hip flexors as well.
I prefer to use a partner to hold my feel when I practice or I place my feet under some thing heavy so that my practice mimics the PFT.

Check with your recruiter for running programs to get your 3 mile run time down.
If they don't have any then google for 5K running plans or check out Stu Smith for some good info on USMC PFT training.

Good luck.

Monk

They will work on your conditioning, so you don't need to enter boot camp as a PT stud.  Work on the three basics, pull ups, sit ups, and running.  Especially the running.  They will do an initial PFT on you guys the first week you get to your training platoon (you are in a receiving platoon the first two weeks of boot camp).  For the initial PFT you will have to at least do the bare minimum which is something like 80 situps, 3 pull ups, and a 3 mile run in 20 minutes or so.  That most likely has changed though since it's been a while for me.  What you can do now is work on your upper body strength.  I can tell you that when you are going for points on your PFT, the pull ups can be a killer.  At 100 points for the event, each pull up is worth 5 points.  So if you only do 10 pull ups out of 20, you are going to have to haul ass on your run to make up the points.  When you get the upper body good, run.  When you are done running, run some more.  Then run more before you start again.  Don't worry about breaking in a new pair of sneakers as they will issue you new ones that you will wear in receiving platoon to break them in.  By the time you run your initial PFT, they will feel good.  Best of luck and Semper Fi recruit.

Good Luck! Thanks for joining.

lol have fun and thanks for joining. Id chime in but it seems like ill just be repeating everything said above. That said, dont be the one. Dont be the shitbag in the Platoon. Trust me it will haunt you for the entire time your in Boot

i thought i was in good shape when i went to mcrd san diego. sure didnt enjoy those pretty red roofs of mcrd while playing in the sand pits......good luck to you and and remember enjoy the memories cause you wont want to to it again.

jason
cpl ,87-,91
pamama and desert shield/storm

Thanks for the advice guys. I enlisted today after I got off work. I took the 25 minute practice asvab and scored a 68.

He told me that was a pretty good score for the practice test and that would help me get the job I wanted hopefully. I turn in the rest of my paper work tomorrow and take my physical and real asvab next week.

Joe, go get a study guide and study the fuck out of it for the asvab. 68 is OK but it is not high speed. Try to get above an 80.

Yeah I'm already looking for a good study guide. He also told me that they see an average increase of 10-15 points on the real asvab as opposed to the 25 minute practice test.
Idk if that just a load of bull or what but im going to study any way. I'll go to the book store tomorrow and buy a study guide to prepare myself.

thanks for putting your hand up (even if it is a bunch of jarheads)
I guess like everybody else, this would be your best work out to prep for basic.

Get drunk
get laid.

for best results, multiple iterations.

As stated by most...
Work on your run time, pull-ups, and general knowledge. This will set you ahead of the rest and help minimize your time on the QD

Thats awsome

www.terminallance.com

So damn true.
I have listened to divorces live while down range.

Thank you to you and your friend for your service.  Particularly admirable that you joined the USMC, the only 100% military service this country has.

Memorize the following and you'll be ahead of the game:

General orders
Rifleman's Creed
MC Hymn in its entirety
USMC and USN rank structure
M16 characteristics
M16 components
USMC core values
11/10/1775 TT and lots of other MC history
Naval terminology

My son arrived at MCRD SD on 08/09/10 - very proud dad here.

Association is the key to remembering things - here's how I helped (maybe) my son with flag rank structure, for example.  Why a Lt Gen is above a Maj Gen - I have no idea - a question for GD someday, I guess...

brigadier gen - lowest - you're in the brig - one star
major gen - major - two syllables - just like titties - which a guy likes in a major way - two stars
lieutenant gen - three syllables - three stars
general - I don't need another word in front of my rank - I'm a fucking general - four stars

rear adm lower half/commodore - sailors are fags - lower half admiral is the "bottom" - takes it in the ass - one star
rear admiral upper half - upper half is the "top" - fucks the lower half - two stars
vice adm - sex/drugs/rock n roll - three vices - three stars
admiral - I don't need another word in front of my rank - I'm a fucking admiral - four stars
wartime - fleet adm - 5 stars - - five stars - your fucked - we're at war

I was a sailor, so don't give me any shit about bad mouthing the USN.  

I remember the following from USN boot camp in 1986:
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 75 U.N.T.S. 135, entered into force Oct. 21, 1950
article 26 proper food = 26 fish heads
article 27 proper clothing = 27 rags

Association is the key to memory.

Do a metric shitload of chin/pullups and lat pulldowns - run, run, run - squats to get ready for humps  - I'll shut up - you know what to do.  Salute.

Before signing, think about what you want to do.  There are a lot of interesting MOSs out there.  If you want to blow shit up, you can certainly do that.  If you have the aptitude for Arabic translator, for example, and a background that will allow for a clearance, you could have a well paying job after your enlistment. Lots of other interesting jobs too; air traffic control, etc.  Consider what you want in the service and beyond, and go for it.  Thanks for your service and good luck.

Major General stems from the old European rank system in which, you had Col Generals, LtCol Generals and Maj Generals.  Brigadier comes from a Brigadier General was a Brigade Commander.

Thanks for the info, RON.  Any updates from LazyJoe?

Just remember that no matter how hard something seems thousands of guys have done it before and the drill instructors aren't paid to make people fail, they are there to help you succeed.  Never quit at anything - you can do it.

A big OOH-RAH to you and your friend.  When they finally give you your Eagle, Globe, and Anchor devices it will be the proudest moment of your life.  I remember lying in my bunk staring at my new dog tags that included my name and the letters USMC... I stared at them for a long time.

Be sure to give your MCRD mailing address to everyone that you know that was in the USMC