[.ca] The United States Marine Corps Workout (ISBN 1578261589)

Semper fit!:
I got this book in the hopes of finding challenging but do-able workout. There are many books that capitalise on the idea of Marine Corps training, for good reason - Marines are tough! Fair warning -- this book is not by Marines. The author Andrew Flach is a fitness expert, joined by a well-known freelance photographer (Peter Field Peck). This book is part of the Five Star Fitness Series that looks at the kinds of workouts of all the branches of the military. My father was in the military, as are many close friends, and I have always admired their fitness achievements - thus it makes sense I might opt for a military-inspired fitness programme. This book is not simply a workout book. It is an introduction to the Marine Corps. There is more to Corps fitness than just doing push-ups and log drills. When you are in boot camp the mind is shaped as much as the body. To help with this history and mindset, the authors consulted (according to the credits) officers from the Pentagon, Parris Island, Quantico, and a corporal from San Diego. The reader is introduced to the Mission of the Marine Corps. In addition to the workouts listed here, there are pictures and essay snapshots of what recruits actually endure in training. This book also gives some basic history of the Marines, and also walks through arrival at boot camp, either Parris Island, South Carolina or San Diego, California, the two Marine Corps Recruit Depots (boot camps). Just like recruit training, the book starts with an Initial Strength Test: for men, Pull-ups - at least 2 ; Situps - at least 35 in two minutes; 1.5 mile run - in at least 13:30 minutes. For women, Flex-arm hang - at least 17 seconds; Situps - at least 35 in two minutes; 1 mile run - in at least 10:30 minutes. The book talks about basic Recruit Physical Training, detailing formation runs, squad ability runs, rifle PT, log drills and like activities. The Circuit Course is shown here including steps with boxes, ropes, chin-ups, weight training. It isn't until half-way through the book that the reader actually gets to some exercises you can do. This section begins with the Daily 16, a combination of stretches and exercises. These are organized by cards, that are actual laminated cards the Drill Instructors carry around for leading. There is one warmup card, two stretching cards, and three exercise cards. These should be rotated over time for use. The exercises on the cards are described in words and pictures for the next 40 pages, and then there is an additional section on rifle PT. Readers without a rifle can use any longish bar or object. One of the points of interest in this book are the highlights of individual Marines. Marines work as a team, but rarely shy from the limelight as individuals. Sergeants Joseph Simpson, Baldemar Benavidez, and Charles Rollins, Warrant Officer Andrew Burns of the British Royal Marines, Lieutenant Commander Dennis Rocheford of the US Navy (a Navy chaplain serving with the Marines), and Captain Gary Gonthier are all held up as examples of leadership, fitness and training. The book has a section on nutrition (as every fitness book seems incomplete without at least a gloss of this topic), but this is rather thin here. The book even includes principles of leadership and a glossary of terms, some of the letter abbreviations Marines need to know, and also the sea-based language (windows are portholes, etc.). Near the conclusion of the book is a specific plan for those the Delayed Entry Program, to get people ready to pass these tests - they have crash courses or more reasonable courses of up to 6-months. These, of course, are just the beginning level of fitness. The authors include the list of a 64-Day Boot Camp Workout, with each training day laid out. These are not all things that you can do at home (combat skills and obstacle courses are hard to come by). The photographs are utilitarian and useful - black and white, not glossy and colourful; the point here is the exercise, not the subject exercising. According to the authors, part of the proceeds from this book goes to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Semper Fit!:
I got this book in the hopes of finding challenging but do-able workout. There are many books that capitalise on the idea of Marine Corps training, for good reason - Marines are tough! Fair warning -- this book is not by Marines. The author Andrew Flach is a fitness expert, joined by a well-known freelance photographer (Peter Field Peck). This book is part of the Five Star Fitness Series that looks at the kinds of workouts of all the branches of the military. My father was in the military, as are many close friends, and I have always admired their fitness achievements - thus it makes sense I might opt for a military-inspired fitness programme. This book is not simply a workout book. It is an introduction to the Marine Corps. There is more to Corps fitness than just doing push-ups and log drills. When you are in boot camp the mind is shaped as much as the body. To help with this history and mindset, the authors consulted (according to the credits) officers from the Pentagon, Parris Island, Quantico, and a corporal from San Diego. The reader is introduced to the Mission of the Marine Corps. In addition to the workouts listed here, there are pictures and essay snapshots of what recruits actually endure in training. This book also gives some basic history of the Marines, and also walks through arrival at boot camp, either Parris Island, South Carolina or San Diego, California, the two Marine Corps Recruit Depots (boot camps). Just like recruit training, the book starts with an Initial Strength Test: for men, Pull-ups - at least 2 ; Situps - at least 35 in two minutes; 1.5 mile run - in at least 13:30 minutes. For women, Flex-arm hang - at least 17 seconds; Situps - at least 35 in two minutes; 1 mile run - in at least 10:30 minutes. The book talks about basic Recruit Physical Training, detailing formation runs, squad ability runs, rifle PT, log drills and like activities. The Circuit Course is shown here including steps with boxes, ropes, chin-ups, weight training. It isn't until half-way through the book that the reader actually gets to some exercises you can do. This section begins with the Daily 16, a combination of stretches and exercises. These are organized by cards, that are actual laminated cards the Drill Instructors carry around for leading. There is one warmup card, two stretching cards, and three exercise cards. These should be rotated over time for use. The exercises on the cards are described in words and pictures for the next 40 pages, and then there is an additional section on rifle PT. Readers without a rifle can use any longish bar or object. One of the points of interest in this book are the highlights of individual Marines. Marines work as a team, but rarely shy from the limelight as individuals. Sergeants Joseph Simpson, Baldemar Benavidez, and Charles Rollins, Warrant Officer Andrew Burns of the British Royal Marines, Lieutenant Commander Dennis Rocheford of the US Navy (a Navy chaplain serving with the Marines), and Captain Gary Gonthier are all held up as examples of leadership, fitness and training. The book has a section on nutrition (as every fitness book seems incomplete without at least a gloss of this topic), but this is rather thin here. The book even includes principles of leadership and a glossary of terms, some of the letter abbreviations Marines need to know, and also the sea-based language (windows are portholes, etc.). Near the conclusion of the book is a specific plan for those the Delayed Entry Program, to get people ready to pass these tests - they have crash courses or more reasonable courses of up to 6-months. These, of course, are just the beginning level of fitness. The authors include the list of a 64-Day Boot Camp Workout, with each training day laid out. These are not all things that you can do at home (combat skills and obstacle courses are hard to come by). The photographs are utilitarian and useful - black and white, not glossy and colourful; the point here is the exercise, not the subject exercising. According to the authors, part of the proceeds from this book goes to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Not a bad guide to the Daily 16:
I'm a former Infantry Marine myself (1990-1994), though the Daily 16 was adopted by the USMC after I left. I think the book is an excellent printed guide to material you can find on the Internet for free. There's a lot of "rah rah" fluff in it, and information that most people probably won't find applicable to the civilian world. The obstacle course for example -- unless you live on a military installation you won't have access to it. There's the confidence course -- the only time I did that was in boot camp. The rifle PT -- good if you have access to an M16A2 Service Rifle, most people don't. Most of the workouts in the Daily 16 remind me of the type of things that were just done in boot camp. When I got to my Infantry unit, we did more "mission specific" workouts, martial arts, and a lot of gym workouts if we weren't in the field. Even aboard ship there's always a weight room with machines and treadmills, so that always seemed like a good workout. I hate to admit it, but a closer guide to the type of PT I did in the Marines is "Maximum Fitness" by Stewart Smith. He describes the Navy SEAL workouts, and they incorporate weight training and swimming. I was a scout/safety swimmer, and I can't begin to describe the amount of swimming that we did, and "Maximum Fitness" covers a lot of the swimming aspect with fins. It goes over "Pyramid" training, and instead of swinging a rifle around your home or apartment, it has similar exercises with dumbbells. I use both books, but I think the SEAL one (one of the contributors is former USMC Force Recon, if you absolutely detest the Navy) is more approachable to civilians and more representative of the types of workouts I did as a grunt in the US Marines.

Great book for beginners:
I am currently a high school student hoping to become a Marine when I graduate high school. This book gave me all the info I needed about joining the marines, plus a great workout. I reccomend this book to both future marines and those who do not plan on joining the marines for the workout program. What I liked most about the workout program that is unique to most other programs that it is tailored to your specific needs and the RUNNING part is great. This book has a 4 week program that starts you out Jogging for 1 minute/walking for 4 minutes and you do that 4 times. 4 weeks later, it has you running for 30 minutes and it works up progressivly, this is a GREAT workout and I was really impressed with my results.

Cheap way to stay in shape:
I checked this book out from my library about a week ago. I like how no equipment is needed for the daily 16, but the section on obstacle courses is useless to me. For the section on working out with an M-16, you could buy a weighted stick at a sporting good store to use.