thedrifter
08-17-04, 07:37 PM
Issue Date: August 23, 2004
Building upper body, abs
Pull your weight
Five ways to build your upper-body strength for pull-ups or the flexed-arm hang:
1. Get a grip. All your strength goes to waste if you can’t stay on the bar. If you’re deskbound, squeeze a squeeze ball. In the gym, grab a dumbbell (or an ammo can in the field) and curl your hand toward your forearm; repeat until you hit muscle failure. You can do this palm-down as well.
2. Know how to row. On the rowing machine, alternate your pull. During the first, pull toward your chest, then pull toward your waist on the next. That’ll work muscles in your upper back and shoulders.
3. Bench with a buddy. Another partner exercise, this time on the bench press. Add about 30 percent more weight to the bar than your max and have someone help hold the bar. Crank out a few sets slowly, working your way up in reps. This is a quick route to high endurance.
4. Pull-up face-off. Round up a buddy and hit the pull-up bars for a quick contest. The first Marine does one pull-up, then waits for the other Marine to do one. Increase to two pull-ups, on up to 10 pull-ups, then work back down to one.
5. One more for the Corps. “Forced repetitions” is another one you can do at the pull-up bars. Do a maximum set of pull-ups, but don’t drop off the bar; have a partner hold your legs and keep knocking them until your muscles fail again. This also works for the flexed-arm hang.
Crunch time
Can’t max out the crunches? Here are five tips to work your abs:
1. Super-slow sets. Do some “30-second” crunch training. Take 10 seconds to raise your torso to the high point of your crunch, lower halfway and hold for 10 more seconds, then take 10 seconds to lower your torso back to the ground.
2. Pack on the pounds. When you reach the upright position of the crunch, have a partner hand you a 10-pound plate, then slowly lower yourself back down. Increase the amount of weight as you are able.
3. Pass the rock. While sitting upright and balanced on an inflatable “Swiss ball,” twist at the torso and pass a tennis ball to a partner behind you. Do several reps of this, then switch directions. This works your inner and outer obliques.
4. Pass the rock II. Got a medicine ball handy? Lay on a decline bench or sit on a Swiss ball and pass the medicine ball to your partner. Do two sets of 25 reps.
5. Crunch, break, repeat. Can’t hit 100 crunches in a row? Break up your set. Do 25 crunches as quickly as possible, then take a 10-second break. Use the same method until you reach 100 crunches. As you progress, shorten the break time or increase the number of crunches in each set until you can bang out 100 without stopping.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-304045.php
The Drifter's Wife
Ellie
thedrifter
08-18-04, 06:08 AM
Issue Date: August 23, 2004
PFT ace offers tips to keep you from running on empty
By Steven E. Hazlett
Special to the Times
The first half of the semiannual physical fitness test season is over, but it’s not time to take a break from your workout routine.
Instead, you should start preparing now for the second PFT that you will take sometime in the next six months — especially if you’re not happy with your current score.
I’ve compiled and tested a set of tips over the last 20 years of my career. Most are not scientific and some experts might not agree with them, but they help me. Over 20 years, I have scored a 300 on every PFT, in every place the Marine Corps has sent me. I have learned that as I have aged, since my physical ability has naturally decreased, I needed to get smarter about how I approach the PFT to get the results that I got as a private. If you put these tips into practice, you can add as much as 70 points to your score, if your current score is below 200 points. If your current score is above 260, these tips can be the keys to finally get the maximum of 300.
This assumes, by the way, that you’re already doing at least the minimum physical training outlined in the Marine Corps’ physical fitness order, MCO P6100.12.
Since Marines often struggle with the run, I will focus on that part of the test. My tips for success:
The writer, a master sergeant stationed on Okinawa, Japan, was an All-Marine Ironman Triathlon Team member for 2003, an All-Armed Forces Triathlon Team member for 2000 and is a three-time Olympic distance All-Marine Team member.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-272591.php
Ellie
thedrifter
08-19-04, 05:17 AM
Issue Date: August 23, 2004
300 or bust
Pump PFT scores with this workout wisdom
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
A perfect 300 on the PFT — how do the PT studs do it? Maybe you’re just not buff enough to crank out 20 dead-hang pull-ups or flexed-arm hang for 70 seconds. Or you’re coming up a few crunches short at that two-minute mark.
And then there’s the 3-mile run. Even the toughest leathernecks sometimes max out on the first two events, then have a tough time finishing the run in less than 18 minutes.
It’s easy to make excuses. “I was in the field all month.” “I work 16-hour days.” You’ve heard them all before — and maybe made a few yourself.
But when only a few more points on the physical fitness test can make the difference for your next promotion, isn’t it time to find the workout that will land you that 300 score?
It’s not easy, but we’re here to help. We went to the experts — fitness gurus in the Marine Corps ranks and beyond — and gathered some of their best tips to help you crack the code.
1. Change your grip. It’s tough to max out on the pull-ups or flexed-arm hang. You can vary your grip — palms facing toward you or palms away — and each method has its own group of faithful adherents.
You should stick to what works best for the test, of course, but fitness experts say switching up your grip while training can make a huge difference. So mix it up. Alternate a set of palm-out pull-ups with a set of palm-in pull-ups. Also, do some sets with your hands close together and some wide.
The point is to work a lot of different muscles in the hands, wrists and shoulders.
But don’t lose sight of what you’re really training for. Make sure you practice the pull-up technique you plan to use for the PFT, said Lisa Sexauer, fitness programs director at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
“Everything they choose to do needs to be specific to the activity they are going to be performing,” Sexauer said.
2. ‘Core’ values. To get those extra 15 crunches when your abs are burning, it’s time to think about the core. Strengthening the entire group of muscles in the abdomen and the back will help a Marine master the crunch, said Michelle Vukovich, physical fitness director with Semper Fit at Quantico, Va.
“One of the big things we’re focusing on now is ‘core’ strength,” she explained. “Focus on activities that put you on your back.”
It may look great at the beach, but don’t stop with your “six-pack” — think about building your obliques and back, too. Get those in shape and you’ll be ripping out sit-ups until dark.
Need a little inspiration? Look to retired Marine Maj. Gen. Wayne Rollings. The former II Marine Expeditionary Force commander set a world sit-up record back in April 1981, busting out 40,000 consecutive sit-ups in 16 hours.
3. Mix up your run. To break the 18-minute mark, don’t just train for the three-miler. Alternate a long-distance run with a day of sprints on a track and another day of short runs on hilly terrain. Shaking up your routine like this not only builds the cardiovascular endurance that makes the running test a snap, but it also tones your glutes, quads, calves and more.
“You gotta vary it up; you can’t just go out there and run three miles a day,” said Lance Cpl. Mike Jefferson, 22, a rifleman with 1st Platoon, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, who routinely scores a 300 on his PFT despite a high deployment pace that included months spent in Afghanistan.
A track star in his high school days, Jefferson adapted his track coach’s training program for his Corps workouts.
4. Don’t ‘over-train.’ That behemoth who bench-presses 350 pounds and practically lives in the gym sure looks great, but he may not be maxing out his PFT. There is such a thing as bulking up too much, the fitness gurus say, as it can make you less flexible and more prone to getting hurt.
“People at peak condition are kind of on a razor’s edge,” said Lt. Col. Brian McGuire, head of physical readiness programs at Training and Education Command at Quantico. “They can be prone to some of those overuse type of injuries.”
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t “feel the burn,” said Jim Bell, president of the International Fitness Professionals association.
The physical fitness test is an anaerobic workout. You’re tearing down muscle and rebuilding it, which causes that burning sensation. So when you’re working out, you should look for the burn, too.
5. Yoga works. Really. A Marine might never admit it to his buddies, but yoga can go a long way toward getting you into shape.
“It won’t give you strength to where you’re going to win a bodybuilding contest,” said Master Sgt. Steven E. Hazlett, a three-time All-Marine Triathlon Team member. “But it’s the kind of strength for carrying a backpack or two weapons.”
That goes for Pilates, “spin” and “step aerobics” classes. They may seem a little too “health club” for you, but they’re tough workouts. One other training tool to consider is the “Swiss Ball,” which resembles a big beach ball. It looks a little silly, sure, but doing exercises while sitting on one of those forces you to balance, which uses more muscle groups.
6. Diet counts. One thing to remember: Just because it’s in the chow hall or in your MRE doesn’t mean it’s good for you. When you’re in the field, you might want to ditch the high-fat items in that Meal, Ready-to-Eat.
Same goes for the chow hall; try to stick with foods that are lower in fat.
There are enough trendy diets out there for you to try a new one each week, but find the one that works for you and stick with it, even if it means skipping the potatoes au gratin at the chow hall.
7. Find your rhythm. “Kipping” may be long gone as a pull-up technique, but rhythm will see you through the crunches and pull-ups alike. Don’t just take a deep breath and jam out as many crunches as you can; you’ll almost never be able to sustain that kind of frenetic pace. Breathe evenly, find a rhythm and the crunches will follow. Same goes with the pull-ups. Pace yourself and think about numbers, not speed.
8. Weight watchers. When working with weights, experts recommend gradually increasing weight, repetitions and number of sets for each exercise. So over a 12-week workout plan, for instance, you could do 15 reps with light weights for four weeks, 10 reps with more weight for the next four weeks, then 6 reps with your maximum weight for the last four weeks. How much weight do you add each time? The fitness gurus say 5 percent increments is the right amount.
9. Take your workout to the field. It’s easy to make excuses when you’re in the field. There’s plenty of room to run, sure, but where’s the gym? And how do you find time amid the hectic pace of training — or wartime operations for that matter?
If you’re at a forward airbase, mark out a quarter-mile track around the airstrip, then use a Global Positioning System unit to set up waypoints, time and speed hacks. It’s a good way to set goals for each other and spur some impromptu competitions.
In some cases, fitness and diplomacy go hand-in-hand. In Afghanistan, grunts with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, organized pull-up contests with their Afghan militia counterparts at remote observation posts. Proving who’s the world’s toughest can be a heck of a motivator.
And OK, yeah, there are no weight sets around. Time to improvise. A steel rod and two bales of concertina wire make a heck of a bench-press bar. And that field gear you’re carting around can double as extra weight for a workout — do some agility exercises or run while wearing your pack.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=1-MARINEPAPER-297218.php
Ellie