Category: Fitness

Fitness, OCS Tips & Training

Tale of the Tape: A Cheap, Easy Way To Prevent Blisters

The most common injuries at OCS which derail candidates’ performance are shin splints and foot blisters. A combination of excessive running and marching, sweaty or wet feet, and adjusting to combat boots lead to the perfect storm for blisters. Luckily there seems to be real progress made by science on solving this issue–pioneered by Standford scientists who work with runners covering over a marathon per … Continue reading Tale of the Tape: A Cheap, Easy Way To Prevent Blisters

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Fitness, OCS Preparation Workouts

The Armstrong 360 Workout: A Whole-Body Fitness Routine

Many thanks to ArmstrongPullupProgram.com for the below workout, which may in fact be a worthy competitor of the Ultimate OCS Preparation Workout. Armstrong has excellent pullup programs for any experience level, and now with Armstrong 360, a legitimately comprehensive military fitness workout. “Lots of people exercise but aren’t really fit for much.” What does that mean? Well, runners have good cardiovascular endurance but are often … Continue reading The Armstrong 360 Workout: A Whole-Body Fitness Routine

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Fitness

Updated: How to Choose Running Shoes Infographic

Courtesy of Walk Like a Butterfly, this infographic should be very helpful for new runners, such as many candidates. Whether you are newcomer to running, an occasional weekend warrior who wants to complete his first 5K road race, or a veteran marathon runner seeking to break the 10K barrier in 40 minutes, or anywhere in between, you got to have the right pair of running shoes … Continue reading Updated: How to Choose Running Shoes Infographic

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Fitness, Q&A

What’s the Best OCS Workout for Me?

Candidate Question I’m a rising sophomore in the NROTC program in addition to being an applicant for PLC as well (not currently on scholarship). This summer, one of my goals has been to gain around five pounds, while not losing any cardio. I’ve been doing a powerlifting program 3x per week and am just starting to use creatine. With this being said, I also want … Continue reading What’s the Best OCS Workout for Me?

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Fitness, Q&A

Specific OCS Physical Fitness Goals for the Overachiever

Candidate Question I’m looking for specific goals to train for OCS. Not the minimum benchmarks  or averages, but high goals which would prepare me fully for the physical challenges at OCS. Specifically things like How many pull-ups should I be able to do to excel and not worry? Push-ups? Planks? Run 3 miles? 1 mile? CFT score? Bench? Curl? And any other areas you feel … Continue reading Specific OCS Physical Fitness Goals for the Overachiever

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Fitness

How to Choose Running Shoes Infographic

Courtesy of REI, this infographic should be very helpful for new runners, like many candidates. Much of OCS running is on trails, but they are almost paved they are so flat and beaten down. No need to go for heavy “trail running” shoes just for OCS. Much of the running is now in boots, anyhow. Obviously, running shoes are still important to your own PT … Continue reading How to Choose Running Shoes Infographic

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Fitness, OCS Preparation Workouts

PPPA (Push, Pull, Press, Abs) Home Gym Alternative

This is a recommended modification for a female friend just looking to lose some weight for her wedding by using Marine Corps-style PT. Get some! Instead of PPPA, do a circuit of sets of pushups, crunches, overhead presses, and lastly pullups or curls. So try doing 10 (girl) pushups, 30 seconds rest, 20 crunches, rest, 10 overhead presses, and finishing with pullups or curls, just some … Continue reading PPPA (Push, Pull, Press, Abs) Home Gym Alternative

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Fitness, OCS Tips & Training, PFT

USMC PFT Video: Pull-up Rules

EXECUTION OF THE PFT Individual performance on each PFT event will be executed as follows: Pull-up The goal of the pull-up event is for the Marine to execute as many accurate and complete pull-ups before dropping off the bar. The procedures are: (1) This is not a timed event. (2) Sweatshirts will be removed during the conduct of the pull-up event in order to observe the lockout … Continue reading USMC PFT Video: Pull-up Rules

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Fitness

Guest Post: What You Need To Know About Combat Fitness

Thanks to Lt Hee at USMCofficer.com for his great work and this guest post! Check out the most up-to-date information about his OCS and TBS experiences on his site. The most stressful aspect of preparing for OCS is doubting your ability to perform physically. Yes, there are a lot of physical events where you will be required to perform to a certain standard. The PFT and … Continue reading Guest Post: What You Need To Know About Combat Fitness

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Fitness, OCS Tips & Training

The Endurance Course: What You Need to Know

The Endurance Course is a 2.5 mile obstacle course through the beautiful woods of Quantico. And passing it in a time limit is a mandatory requirement for completing OCS. Check out this superb run-through of the OCS Obstacle Course and Endurance Course by our good friend and fellow Marine Tyler: Here’s how it works: First, candidates run the Obstacle Course (O-Course) in boots and utes … Continue reading The Endurance Course: What You Need to Know

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