Physical Conditioning Platoon

[zackmerc]

Hello

I'd like to ask any Marine who has been through PCP or has known others who have been through it.
Beside being miserable, do you just simply run all day and night? I also heard not much boot camp instruction goes on and the DI's are are just cramming PT down your throat.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

You can't PT all the time in PCP. If you did you would be getting weaker, not stronger. Your body actually gets stronger in the recovery phase, not when you're doing the work.

You will PT a good bit, with exercises aimed at making you strong enough to begin training. But, there will be a lot of down time as well. Just being bored is a part of life in MRP/PCP.

[zackmerc]

I thought boot camp was about PAIN and SUFFERING to earn the right to become a Marine. Several former Marines and my recruiters told me that they get no time for recovery and PT is everyday. I thought the only recovery time you are allowed is PHASE II when hiking and field training was the emphasis. And then after the Crucible, your Drill Instructor thinks you've slackened off and will be extra hard on you.

[SkilletsUSMC]

I thought boot camp was about PAIN and SUFFERING to earn the right to become a Marine. Several former Marines and my recruiters told me that they get no time for recovery and PT is everyday. I thought the only recovery time you are allowed is PHASE II when hiking and field training was the emphasis. And then after the Crucible, your Drill Instructor thinks you've slackened off and will be extra hard on you.

Yeah.... BOOTCAMP is about pain and suffering, but your question was about PCP. that is they place you have to go to get READY for a training company.

[zackmerc]

So, PCP is much less stressful boot camp? Are they much different? Drill Instructors are still yelling at you.

Is it embarrassing to go to PCP? The reason I bring it up is because I am not naturally fit. Most of you were already more or less fit for the IST well before you decided to go to the Marines. I have to work on it.

[SkilletsUSMC]

Youre going to be hurting then... The IST becomes a joke once you pick up with a training company. Im sure I could walk fast and pass an IST.

What are the problems you are having? Running? pullups? Please dont tell me crunches... Anyway, I never went to PCP, and had I been forces to I may have tried to kill my self... yes it is looked DOWN upon.

[zackmerc]

My problem is running
I can run a mile straight and not get tired but cannot go any further. my body just won't. I feel no burns and I am breathing heavily. Everyone around me, even those that stay on the couch watching television all day, can do this except me. I still got several weeks but running is HARD!

Crunches I can do 80 in about a minute and thirty seconds.
Pull-ups, I can do more or less three dead-hang pull ups. I went from zero to three in two months. Not that impressive but it shows hope.

[davblay]

So, PCP is much less stressful boot camp? Are they much different? Drill Instructors are still yelling at you.

Is it embarrassing to go to PCP? The reason I bring it up is because I am not naturally fit. Most of you were already more or less fit for the IST well before you decided to go to the Marines. I have to work on it.

Zackmerc, PCP is exactly what it's name implies! It is a physical conditioning platoon! They get a recruit ready to meet the physical aspects of Boot Camp. If you are over weight, under weight, under strength, they will snap you into shape in a minimal time, hence the time will be filled with PT, whatever it takes to get your body ready for what faces you.

IT AIN'T PRETTY!!Yes it is embarrassing, in that they point out your short falls in front of the entire platoon. How long you stay is up to you really, when your body is ready, they will move you back to a platoon, maybe not the same platoon, but back into the cycle for training.

Use whatever time you have left to try to condition yourself, ask your recruiter to help, and other poolees/DEPs.

Good luck man

[zackmerc]

Thanks man

[davblay]

My problem is running
I can run a mile straight and not get tired but cannot go any further. my body just won't. I feel no burns and I am breathing heavily. Everyone around me, even those that stay on the couch watching television all day, can do this except me. I still got several weeks but running is HARD!

Crunches I can do 80 in about a minute and thirty seconds.
Pull-ups, I can do more or less three dead-hang pull ups. I went from zero to three in two months. Not that impressive but it shows hope.

Zack, it's mind over matter! MIND OVER MATTER! Condition your mind that you are running one mile evry time you think about it, the next thing you know, you will be running the three miles with energy to spare! Remember, MIND OVER MATTER!

[yellowwing]

Listen, Do Not Even Think of PCP as a fall back position. I've been there done that, do not depend on it. As follows (http://www.leatherneck.com/ezine/articles/35/1/Is-There-Any-Quit-In-You/Is-There-Any-Quit-In-You.html).

Just get a hard on and be determined to be a Marine! :usmc:

[zackmerc]

Thank you. Mind over matter is a powerful thing

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Zack, it seems that you're wanting to hear what you think will happen. PT is not every day in boot camp. (IT or IPT can be though) There is time for your body to recover. As for your comments about second phase, the humps aren't like a hike through a local park, they are physically demanding and take more out of me than any other events in boot camp. If you're expecting that to be the easy part you will be surprised.

Honestly, I hadn't run over 50 yards in the year and a half before I decided to enlist. I wasn't in great shape either, so I know where you're coming from. You just have to force yourself to get better. You can go over the mile you think you can run now. You just have to force your body to do it. Unless your body shuts down and you collapse/pass out you still have some left in the tank. It is just a matter of running through the pain.

Going to PCP may embarass you, but once you leave boot camp it won't be an issue. In the fleet I never once asked a Marine if they had been in PCP in boot camp. So, don't worry about that part. It would be better if you avoided it, but plenty of Marines have had longer routes through boot camp than is normal.

[zackmerc]

Thank you