The Wall: A Distance Runner’s Perspective on Mental Toughness

By Kristen Schafer Let’s talk about Mental Toughness and running. If you’ve ever trained for a running event then you have probably heard of it before. At the Boston Marathon it is known as “heartbreak hill”, at the 25k national road racing championships it’s called “the green monster”, at the biggest road race in the U.S., Bloomsday, it’s called “Doomsday hill”, but most runners just … Continue reading The Wall: A Distance Runner’s Perspective on Mental Toughness

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

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

Why You Will Leave the Marine Corps (After One Tour)

A 2011 study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government of young officers who had left the military found that their top reasons for doing so were not the high operating tempo or the chance of being maimed but rather two other factors: “limited ability to control their own careers” and “frustration with military bureaucracy.” –Thomas Ricks, The Generals You’re going to enter the Marine Corps … Continue reading Why You Will Leave the Marine Corps (After One Tour)

The Ultimate OCS Preparation Workout

Candidates, this is my recommended pre-OCS workout. I would do you a disservice if I only laid out a formula to follow. Instead, I’m going to show the process I worked through to generate this plan, so that you can copy the process and get a personalized workout for yourself. First: Rank Your Goals First, I ranked my workout goals: OCS-specific type activities Run for … Continue reading The Ultimate OCS Preparation Workout

Marine Corps Leadership Traits: Endurance

Candidates, this is a post in a series of leadership posts relating specifically to the Marine Corps Leadership traits–the most basic introduction to the Corps’ philosophies that you will learn about at OCS. Study the leadership traits and other lessons ahead of time on our academics page. Endurance Definition Endurance is the mental and physical stamina that is measured by your ability to withstand pain, … Continue reading Marine Corps Leadership Traits: Endurance

Quick N Easy PFT Crunches

To do a correct Marine Corps crunch, lay on your back with your feet flat on the deck, and your butt close to your heels.  Your arms should be crossed on your chest or your stomach.  They cannot come off of your chest/stomach during the PFT. To do a correct crunch, raise your upper body off of the deck until your forearms touch your thighs.  Go back down … Continue reading Quick N Easy PFT Crunches