thedrifter
05-24-08, 09:12 AM
Company M recruits tackle circuit course, build their bodies the Marine Corps way
5/22/2008 By Cpl. James Green , Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO — Reveille rang through the stone enclosing of the depot signifying the start of another day here aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
As the recruits raced to the chow hall, Company M drill instructors were already out on the physical training field preparing several stations with rubber cones designed to physically and mentally take a toll on the bodies of their recruits.
As morning colors played through the depot’s loud speakers and Old Glory was raised, Company M recruits stood by awaiting the whistle blast that would begin their first station of their circuit course.
The recruits were faced with agility and shuttle runs, sprints, and a variety of abdominal exercises in the first half of their workout.
The circuit course is one of the first physical training events the recruits do, said Sgt. Christopher Boelzner, drill instructor, Company M.
“The recruits will do it many times throughout recruit training and it usually is difficult the first time they do it,” said Boelzner. “But after a while their endurance builds and it becomes much easier.”
These calisthenics were followed by a trip to the sand pit where their horizons were broadened when the recruits were introduced to free weights, dip bars, jump ropes and monkey and pull up bars.
“The dips and the pull-up station were the hardest for me, because although I consider myself physically fit, I lacked the endurance to lift my own body weight numerous times,” said Recruit Ryan Vollemaere, Platoon 3265.
The purpose of the course is to physically build the bodies of the young men in recruit training here and mentally train them to push to give 100 percent of their effort even when their bodies want to quit.
Drill instructors are assigned to a group of recruits to attend each station of the course to provide instructions on how to correctly complete each obstacle as well as give extra motivation to those recruits who need it.
“We yell at them throughout the course not only to keep their stress level up, but also to encourage them to put forth max effort,” said Boelzner.
Recruit Carl Hanson, Platoon 3265, said that it really helped having his drill instructors there to motivate him.
“When the drill instructors yelled at me, I used it as a source of motivation. It pushed me not to quit, even when I wanted to give up on myself,” said Hanson, a Seattle, Wash., native.
The circuit course was just one of many obstacles of which Marine Corps recruit training is comprised. During the grueling 13-week training cycle, Company M recruits tackled many events that many of them believed to be impossible before their arrival.
Vollemaere, a Houston native, said the circuit course was difficult the first couple times he went through it, but it got easier with time and now he doesn’t find it challenging at all.
As the new Marines of Company M graduate today, with the training that Marines before them completed and the Marines who will soon follow in their footsteps complete, the nation can rest assured that the 356 men of Company M crossing Shepherd Memorial Drill Field have been properly trained to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Ellie
5/22/2008 By Cpl. James Green , Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego
MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO — Reveille rang through the stone enclosing of the depot signifying the start of another day here aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
As the recruits raced to the chow hall, Company M drill instructors were already out on the physical training field preparing several stations with rubber cones designed to physically and mentally take a toll on the bodies of their recruits.
As morning colors played through the depot’s loud speakers and Old Glory was raised, Company M recruits stood by awaiting the whistle blast that would begin their first station of their circuit course.
The recruits were faced with agility and shuttle runs, sprints, and a variety of abdominal exercises in the first half of their workout.
The circuit course is one of the first physical training events the recruits do, said Sgt. Christopher Boelzner, drill instructor, Company M.
“The recruits will do it many times throughout recruit training and it usually is difficult the first time they do it,” said Boelzner. “But after a while their endurance builds and it becomes much easier.”
These calisthenics were followed by a trip to the sand pit where their horizons were broadened when the recruits were introduced to free weights, dip bars, jump ropes and monkey and pull up bars.
“The dips and the pull-up station were the hardest for me, because although I consider myself physically fit, I lacked the endurance to lift my own body weight numerous times,” said Recruit Ryan Vollemaere, Platoon 3265.
The purpose of the course is to physically build the bodies of the young men in recruit training here and mentally train them to push to give 100 percent of their effort even when their bodies want to quit.
Drill instructors are assigned to a group of recruits to attend each station of the course to provide instructions on how to correctly complete each obstacle as well as give extra motivation to those recruits who need it.
“We yell at them throughout the course not only to keep their stress level up, but also to encourage them to put forth max effort,” said Boelzner.
Recruit Carl Hanson, Platoon 3265, said that it really helped having his drill instructors there to motivate him.
“When the drill instructors yelled at me, I used it as a source of motivation. It pushed me not to quit, even when I wanted to give up on myself,” said Hanson, a Seattle, Wash., native.
The circuit course was just one of many obstacles of which Marine Corps recruit training is comprised. During the grueling 13-week training cycle, Company M recruits tackled many events that many of them believed to be impossible before their arrival.
Vollemaere, a Houston native, said the circuit course was difficult the first couple times he went through it, but it got easier with time and now he doesn’t find it challenging at all.
As the new Marines of Company M graduate today, with the training that Marines before them completed and the Marines who will soon follow in their footsteps complete, the nation can rest assured that the 356 men of Company M crossing Shepherd Memorial Drill Field have been properly trained to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.
Ellie