General chit chat...

[KS-USMC]

When I first found this website, I spent LOTS of time reading through TONS of past posts but I've noticed the website doesn't get too much traffic unless it's in the form of poolie's asking questions and things like that.

I thought I'd just post on here to get a conversation going cause talking to other Marine females is fun and encouraging :)

I'm shipping to PI on February 21st to begin my new Marine Corps way of life and I couldn't be happier about my decision to join. It's been hard to tell people and deal with their reactions but in time, I'm sure everyone will come around.

Anyone else shipping at that same time?

We just did our Wednesday night PT session with the recruiters and it was tons of fun, per usual. We got to watch the first half of Full Metal Jacket first, so as we all know...that's enough to get your adrenaline going and make you beg for pushups and a good a$$ kickin.

For all those ladies out there who have posted about situps...when I first DEP'd in, I only did 43 and I was sore for 3 days straight. I was shocked because I have been working my abs for years and knew I had the strength but my form was AWFUL...my shoulder blades would smack the ground while I'd arch my lower back...yuck! So once I got my form down, I am up to 70 situps in the alloted two minutes and it's only been 3 weeks. I just wanted to share that for those who feel like they may never make progress...do them every night and before you work on quantity/time, work on form and technique and you'll move up in no time. I'll be at 100 before I ship out for sure :)

Alright...just trying to get a conversation going and see if I can get some OORAH spirit stirred up amongst the silent!

Have a great day ladies!

[usa/usar13]

Dear KS,
Although being an Army/USAR vet ('78 - '98), I'd just like to say Congratulations and that I wish nothing but the very best in your new adventure in life! Take full advantage of the opportunities that await for you (eg: educational, correspondence courses, travel, etc.). While at PI, listen to everything that is being taught to you and ask questions if you are ever unsure of anything (and that goes not just during boot, and your schooling, but through out your career as well). Again, enjoy, be healthy and safe.
Esta

p.s. make sure to keep any and all copies of your military records (eg: personnel and medical) with you. Oh, and you may want to get some pre-stamped postcards so when you know what your address will be at boot, etc, it'll be an easy way to let friends and family know how to keep in touch, etc.

[GIJane]

Hey KS,
I too am leaving for boot, but not until August. I cant wait. I was hoping you could answere some questions for me, concerning push ups, well I kind of cant do any. LOL. I was wondering what you do to help your push ups. And how many do you think a female should be able to do before she leaves for boot?

Good Luck

[KS-USMC]

Hi GIJane -

I'm sure others who have been through boot camp already can speak better on this topic, however I will tell you what I know. First off, as you may or may not already know, push ups are not a required part of your PFT (ie: technicaly you don't HAVE to be able to do any push ups in order to be accepted into the Marines). However, push ups are a form of IT (incentive training) when you do something stupid, which you inevitably will often :)

I can do 20 push ups before I have to stop and take a breather. However, this number grows when I am working with my recruiters who are acting as drill instructors. There is a number of reasons for this...one is you are typically singing or counting off as you go up and down, which takes your mind off of the pain of what you are doing. And two, you are at fear of being the first one to drop down, thus you push yourself further than you normally would.

If you can do push ups with your knees on the ground instead of a full push up, that'd be a good place to start. Just do them until you fatigue, rest, and do them until you fatigue again. This will get you strong fast...but I have found it's much better to do things like this every other day when you are not in boot camp seeing as how there will be plenty of time to do them everyday once you get there :shock: You will get stronger in boot camp very quickly...

I find that when I do full body push ups (not the cheating ones), my abs and lower back tend to fatigue before my arms and shoulders do. Because of that, another exercise you can work on that will help strengthen your lower back and abs is to plank your body (face first) almost like you are going to do a push up, however you will rest your forearms on the ground, straighten your back and squeeze your glutes and abs tight and just hold your body there for as long as you can. This will strengthen those other areas that you need to gain strength in for push ups.

Hope this helps some! Congrats on the boot camp decision...you have PLENTY of time to be over prepared for boot camp by August so USE this time wisely while you are still in control of how much you do and when you do it :) It can only help you!

[GIJane]

KS

Thank you so much, you have helped me out alot. I cant wait to go to bootcamp, it is the best decision I have ever made! You're leaving soon, i'm nervous for you! LOL. I had another question, sorry if im a pain, its about running, I cant seem to run 1.5 miles without stopping, is there anything you suggest I do? I can run 1.5 miles in under 12:30 minutes, but with stopping. I know that in boot you arent allowed to stop.

Thank you so much, and Good Luck with everything.

[KS-USMC]

You aren't a pain at all silly!!! I think it's pretty safe to say that everyone who takes the time to post on this forum enjoys topics like this and enjoys talking Marine stuff and helping others or learning from others. You could ask me 100 questions and I'd answer them all if I have the knowledge :) Now keep in mind, I have not gone to boot camp yet so I'm speaking just based on the information I know...I've learned a lot just from being an athletic person by nature and being an overachiever by nature so here goes:

As far as running...12:30 for 1.5 miles is a pretty good time. Why are you stopping is the important question to ask?

If you are stopping because you can't breathe and can't catch your breath unless you stop, you are probably going too fast and need to learn to maintain a slightly slower pace until you get comfortable there and then you can start to move up.

If you are stopping because you get side cramps, that typically happens for one of two reasons. Either A) you are dehydrated and need to drink more water or B) you started the run too fast...this is typically a problem for those who are competitive...they start REALLY fast and don't allow for a slow buildup/warmup before putting 110% effort into it. If you start a little slower and then pick up the pace after 2 minutes or so, you'll do better with the cramps. And unless you are one of the few sprinters with an incredibly high tolerance for pain, I prefer my runs to usually be right on the cusp of comfortably challenging and borderline painful :) That is to be decided by you however ;)

If you are stopping because you feel like you are going to puke (or because you ARE puking), then either you are running slightly too fast or your diet is poor or you ate too soon before the run, etc. It's AMAZING how much faster my runs are when I eat clean foods and stay hydrated at all times. And by clean foods, I mean a complex carb and protein at every meal, limited (or no) refined sugars and partially hydrogenated oils.

We ran our PT last week and I am NOT a fast runner, however I came in third (with a time of 13 minutes) and was 15 seconds behind the two boys in front of me. The rest were walking, throwing up, or had just flat out quit. Most of them live on diets of McDonalds and Dr. Pepper and your body doesn't have the fuel it needs in order to get through the vigorous run like that if you have eaten like crap.

For people who are non-runners, they typically advise you to do something along the lines of run a minute, walk a minute to build your endurance. Or even more, run a half mile, walk a minute, etc. but based on your run time, if you can walk in between running and still finish in a 12:30 time, than you have the ability to be a rabbit if you just train properly for it.

For you, I'd suggest a slower run...jog at a 9 minute mile pace for a mile and a half and see how you feel after that. If you feel good and can do it without stopping, than next time go for a 8:30 mile pace and go for 1.5 miles. Just continue to get faster and find the point at which you can run it without stopping but still be fast. When you find that point, stay there for a short time and then start slowly pushing it as you see necessary. You shouldn't do all out sprints very often like that...maybe once or twice a week for conditioning, but you need to build endurance too. I do this through 5-8 mile runs once a week at a slow easy pace (maybe a 9:30 mile pace). That'll just help you be a stronger runner in general.

Any other questions, just ask!

[GIJane]

KS

You're awesome, thank you for taking the time to answere my questions. I dont have any more questions as of right now. LOL. Those are the two main things I needed to concentrate on now, running and push ups. My flex arm hang is at about 63 seconds and improving, and my crunches not that good, only 55, but I have time. I want this snow to melt away so I can go out and run! It's really nice to "talk" with other female poolee's. I'm the only female poolee at our recruiting station, which has about 30 guys! We do have a recruiter who is female, but she is mean. :D

And thank you again.

[KS-USMC]

No problem.

Sounds like you'll be at a 300 on the PT in no time!

I am the only female in my poolee group too but I have found that most of the boys I PT with aren't all that strong or in shape so it's not too bad.

Have a great day!!!