Any advice would be appreciated.

[Gustafson]

I am a poolee set to ship 20070730 and I have a problem with my pullups. I have been working hard to get my run time and crunches up to par, as well as working my upperbody, but I don't seem to see that much of a result. I can run my 1.5 in 13:00, I know that isn't stellar, but if you keep in mind I am 71" tall and weigh in at 205... It isn't terrible. I also can do approximately 65 crunches, but my main problem is my pullups. I am somewhat double jointed, so everytime I hang, my shoulder dislocates. So in addition to pulling up from locked-arm position, I also have to pullup to pop that back in. I went from being unable to do ANY pullups at all to being able to do 2.

I don't claim to be in the best shape, but I am working my hardest and I will continue to do so until, and while I am(hopefully) a Marine.

I went from being a completely unmotivated, lazy college student, to being a highly motivated Poolee.

Once again, any information would be helpful... Also If I could get a list from somebody of what I might need to know before I ship(e.g. 11 General Orders of a Sentry, Military alphabet, Marines jargon) it would be greatly appreciated.

[Phantom Blooper]

Read the Poolee Hall of Fame and you will get all the lists you need.

And you better let the recruiter know of your shoulder problem, before you ship. You may get stuck on the bar and the drill instructers may use you for a pinata.....:evilgrin:

[Kurby494]

The only way to increase your pullups is to continue doing pull ups. Also if your shoulder is that bad you might want to work on some shoulder work outs and push ups to strengthen your entire rotator cuff. When you dead hang you want the strain to be on your muscles not your joints.

[SnowPaint078]

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49177

Do pyramid Pull-Ups, Its in the link I sent you. It should be on the 3rd or 4th page. In your case go up to two, back down to 1 then repeat with the push-ups inbetween, you'll know what I mean when you read the link & the Post. You should be able to increase your pull-ups by at least 1 or 2, If you keep doing the same thing every day & increase at your max you will see results. Oh and as for your arm try both grips, Palms in & Palms out. My arm is the same way, I cant go all the way down palms in, thats why I changed to Palms out so I dont get bit*hed at by DI's for not going all the way down.

[SnowPaint078]

Its on page 3 but you should continue to read to page 4 from that point, a lot of the posts should help you. & also try the negatives every once in awhile, they should help too.

[Motorola07]

Make sure you let your recruiter know about that shoulder. Because if you did that on your own and don't tell MEPS. You will not like it if they find out at MCRD. They will most likely get you on fraud even if you didnt do it on your own. I am living proof that you dont want to lie at MEPS

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

I am double jointed and have some issues myself. My shoulder was injured and dislocated- it took a surgery to correct the situation. While I was in the Marines it started happening again. We thought the first surgery had failed- but it was actually a new injury along side the original.

Your shoulder coming out of joint does a great deal of damage to the joint. You can rupture the capsul inside your shoulder (which I did) and then your shoulder will have no stability. You will also stress and stretch the ligaments every time you do it- a tear is always a very real possibility.

If your shoulder coming out of joint that isn't normal, no matter how double jointed you may be. You need to get to an orthopedic and get that checked out. Now, if the joint is just moving and not holding as firm as you would like- that is a different story- but it isn't a dislocation either.

Either way, you're probably too close to your ship date to make much progress with your PT. I'm not going to lie, boot camp is going to be tough on you. Being over weight and out of shape will have you in the cross hairs of the DIs from day one. Expect to spend a great deal of time on the quarter deck working to correct those problems.

[jungholee90]

For the pull-ups you just got to keep on doing it. Pyramid pull-ups do work, so keep using that method. I am also on my way to get the pull-ups up using that. But with your situation about the shoulder, make sure you tell your recruiter. I mean if your shoulder does that for every single pull-up, that might lead to a big problem. As for the knowledge, there are some great posts with lots of information, way more that the booklet you get in the "welcome aboard" package. Here are the links:

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49232
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28850

[killerinstinct]

also dont forget to rest your muscles man you dont want to work your arms everyday you need to let them rest and heal. But see if you can totally exhaust urself and still manage to do 3 pullups at least if you perform well in all other events you will be fine for your IST.

And as time goes by just keep working on them the easiest is to do palms in so you are using your biceps as wells and if you max your pull ups get a buddy to hold your ankles or get a chair by the bar so you can get extra reps in.

also im not sure about your wieght since im not fammiliar with what you got to be for 6' im 72 and 208 is my max. But anyways id start running when you wake up(best time to burn weight off since its stored fat and not what you ate recently). Just to be on the safe side dude just because even if you can pass with a perfect PFT if you are overweight you'll go to PCP dude.. Just things to work on man.

Best of luck

[TrevelyanInc]

Try negatives, try switching from forward to reverse grip, and try to keep your head screwed on straight because you're gonna be a MARINE! Get some!

[Gustafson]

Thank you, and I have told my recruiter and had somebody look at it... It isn't actually dislocating, just moving. It isn't terrible, but I appreciate the advice. And MEPS definitely knows about this. I wouldn't want to hold anything back from them.

[HurricaneRJ]

I'm 71.5, and I wish I was 205 (237). I'll probably weigh that much If i get the chance to graduate Boot Camp. I've been busting my ass day-in and day-out trying to 6lbs by monday.

[Gustafson]

I'm 71.5, and I wish I was 205 (237). I'll probably weigh that much If i get the chance to graduate Boot Camp. I've been busting my ass day-in and day-out trying to 6lbs by monday.Kepp at it, the harder you work, the bigger the pay-off. There is nothing somebody with strong will cannot accomplish, just keep to it...