OT: Weightlifting
Hell, even chocolate milk is a great alternative and probably more accessible to teenagers. Just have mom stock up on that and drink a few glasses within a half hour of your workout.
According to a nutrition seminar I attended a couple years ago, the optimal time for a post-workout shake/snack is 15 minutes after your workout, with diminishing returns up to 60 minutes. If you eat an hour or more after your workout, it has no more effect than eating a snack 10 hours later.
Exactly. A tip I read online that I use now is to bring your shaker with protein powder to the gym and leave it in your car. Fill your water bottle up on your way out of the gym, mix your protein before you pull out of your parking spot and drink it on the way home. That way you get it as soon as possible and when you get home you're ready to go on to your next thing (in my case, get ready for work).
Thats exactly my routine, but I feel like if youre a high school kid and the easiest/most affordable option is chocolate milk when you get home, youre doing just fine. Way better than nothing.
Forgot to mention, we have a Wolverine currently crushing the competition in the Crossfit games for the ladies. Julie Foucher. She is in the medical school and works out at Crossfit Ann Arbor.
Check her out when the games are on ESPN 2 or at the games website. They live stream on ESPN 3.
Go Blue!
to train for a half marathon. If you can run even a bit and get a good schedule you can do it. I've run 8 miles twice now, and the race isn't until september. Most I'd run previously was 3 miles.
I wish I was young(er) again so that I could actually have time to workout, in HS it was so easy to just blow off working out and I've honestly tried to develop a routine (before work, after work, before/after dinner etc) but somehow I only ever stick with it for a couple weeks than its back to sitting on the couch.
I understand. I'm turning 40 this year so I started taking better care of myself in anticipation of that. Currently, I do 100 push-ups a day at my desk (4 sets of 25). Its been 8 weeks and the difference in my arms and chest is noticeable. It takes very little extra time and I certainly feel good doing it. Just a thought...
I bet you look pretty funny doing push ups at your desk
You broke parallel! Nice work! I'm 6'4" 200lb and have a similar squat max but I can't break parallel like that without getting stuck. My legs might be too long, or I'm just a big puss.
You need to keep your head up and your back tight. try looking at the ceiling when you squat by keeping your eyes up you keep you back in better position to not hurt yourself. Trust me Im 6'3" about 225 and i squat 315 around 20 times so i know it will be harder but you will feel it more in your legs and not so much in your back
Don't act like you're not impressed.
That's what I was freshman year of college. Unfortunately I grew more horizontally than vertically after that.
Okay. I'll act like I'm impressed instead.
1. You can improve your bench press by bouncing the bar off of your sternum, letting its natural springiness do some of the work for you.
2. Red meat helps build bulk, but to really build bulk you should kill a bear and eat its liver raw as a sign of stealing its strength.
3. Curls are just for attracting girls, which is why you should do at least 250 every other day.
4. Plyometrics and squats should be done with your back as much as possible. It's the strongest part of your body, after all.
5. Nothing is more appreciated in a weight room than a towel fight.
Important final note: All of this should be ignored. Do not under any circumstances follow the advice above (to the extent that it is advice). Except maybe the part about the bear.
Thank you for that! I like the bouncing the bar off your sternum bit; great bit of advice! (Though we all know we've all done it!)
Avid lifter checking in. my bench is depressingly weak, however. Slowly and steadily adding a bit of weight to it.
Back in my hay-day playing hockey I was about 5'10" 160 lbs. with a squat max of 350. Speed was my thang, yo.
i`ll be a senior in high school this year, 6 foot, 250. workouts are 2 hours a day 5 days a week. workouts are mostly olympic lifts and dumbell crap (also a lot of 40 oz curls post workout) Bench is 260 Squat is 420 Deadlift is 350
Hah, I'm 5'6", 130lbs. I have to be the smallest male member on this blog.
I only lift on the machines (and also plenty of dips, pullups, and chinups); I alter weeks with 5 / 10 / 15 reps so that my muscles get hit in different ways. I'm too old for free weights alone. I used to have this distant, far-off goal of being able to bench 200lbs, but now I wouldn't dream of maxing out (I'm in my mid-thirties).
I also do HIIT, jump rope, and running on elliptical machines. I highly recommend not ever running on concrete. It'll mess your knees.
Free weights are better than machines at any age. Just learn proper form and don't go too heavy to start.
Please no one else take any of his advice.
Dear everyone else: Please take all of my advice.
Everything I said is pure myth, or just the part about not running on concrete? Go ahead and do so, but there are many people with supposedly proper form and excellent running shoes who corroborate what I said about running on concrete. It's high risk, that's all. If you Google running and sore knees the Internet basically explodes with horror stories.
Concerning free weights: I just meant that I usually don't feel like doing it alone or bothering some dude at the gym to spot me. I have incredible form, though, rest assured.
Nobody is too old for free weights. With a proper cage or squat rack with catch bars you can bench/squat with no spotter with heavy weights like a real man.
You should worry about reps more than weights cause that is what is important. if you are working out with the football team then you should know that you should work more on your lower body by doing some hang cleans, lunges, leg extensions and leg curls. power comes from the ground up and that works well when it comes to playing sports. just some frendly words of advice and Im only a few years older than you but when i was your age my max bench was around 240 but squat was way high like 400. so just work on your legs and not as much upper body as you want and then your core as well
I'm glad for all the benefits they give fitness wise, but that's the area of the PFT I'm terrified of, especially when hearing some stories of Officer Selection Officers not being very (at all) forgiving on form.
I do pushups in the morning as part of my pullup program; I'm certainly not great at them but I'd much rather be tested on pushups then pullups.
Justin, don't just focus on the PFT for OCS. Seriously. Once you break 275 or so, which is easy if you get your 20 pullups, you'll be in the top half of the class and have no problems.
OCS is designed to stress you out and then force you to perform. That's it. Everything else is for show. The people who fail OCS do so because they get hurt, which happens for the following reasons:
- Rolling an ankle / knee on a trail run
- Shin splints for people who refused to run in their OCS training routine
- Back injuries
Everyone else, for the most part, passes. They all want to be Officers, so the common things that would hamper most people, like flat-out quitting, typically aren't a problem--which happens to be the fourth reason people fail OCS.
I recommend the following things to succeed at OCS:
- Keep up the focus on pullups. They also happen to be a great core workout and are the biggest point gainer on the PFT.
- Put some miles on your legs. Three miles won't cut it. Try running about 25 miles per week if you are already able to run comfortably.
- Buy a pair of Marine Corps boots online and run in them. Don't buy the Bates Lites, buy the standard issue. Gradually build up your distance over a couple of months if you have time. Start with hiking in the boots, then add weight in a backback, and then start running 1-2 miles and gradually build up to several miles at a time. "Boots and utes" runs are what tear peoples' shins up early on.
- Functional training. Read: Crossfit. Scale however much you need to scale and focus on form, but it will build stamina, strength, and endurance like nothing else you can do. The only exception here is keep your pullups strict until after TBS.
- Get a good OCS candidate knowledge guide and learn the material early. Don't memorize the General Orders, Marine Corps history, or proper nomenclature at OCS. Do it early and be less stressed during OCS.
- Don't spend the last month getting drunk and not exercising. The first three or so days at OCS are spent sitting in a classroom, getting gear, and eating high calorie chow hall meals.
- Learn how to climb a rope, if possible.
- Don't ask a question. EVER! There is nothing whatsoever to be gained at OCS by opening your mouth and asking questions of the Sergeant Instructors. The best candidates are physical gods who keep their mouths shut. The worst candidates open their mouths on day one and ask about immaterial things like how payday procedures work and what time graduation will be in 10 weeks. The ultimate success at OCS is having one of your Sergeant Instructors ask you what your name is over halfway through the class.
I did this all this stuff on the advice of others, except the rope climb, and OCS was pretty easy except for the constant yelling and the general insanity your fellow candidates will put you through once they start getting leadership positions. Seriously, your fellow candidates will drive you crazy. The Sergeant Instructors are playing a role and know how to do their job.
By the way, the only time I ever got yelled at was for failing the rope climb on our Obstacle Course test.
The time to stand out is TBS, when you're competing for your MOS (assuming you're not an aviation contract). If you are an aviation contract, start studying the T-6 in TBS, choose Corpus Christi for flight school if you don't want helicopters (it's cheaper to keep people in Pensacola / Whiting Field) and have fun with the suck. TBS was really, really painful and boring for most aviation contracts.
I know where I'll be going for advice when I'm ready to ship. Right now, my focus is on getting the PFT done* (along with finishing up a medical waiver), my package completed, and graduating college with as many "green weights" as possible. Being pretty optimistic, I hope to have a ship date in early 2013, hopefully with plenty of time to prepare just as you've suggested.
As a side note to all this, I won't be aviation. I'll (again, hopefully, though the signs seem positive) be a ground contract with a few MOS's in mind, but nothing I'm deadset on.
*I'm sitting around sixteen pullups, I'm maintaning as a runner until my pullups are better and know where I need to be as a former cross country runner, and my crunches are good.
Justin,
The advice you've just received is spot on and you will do well to heed it.
1) While I agree that keeping the focus on pull-ups is key for the PFT score, everything else you do athletically will focus on endurance. Squad runs, individual runs, the obstacle course, Fartleks, Upper-Body Development et al will all value endurance over pure strength. The only time you will be doing 20 pull-ups is on the PFT.
2) Not much to add. Find some hills. Quantico is not flat. Once you hit Da Nang, you'll know it if you've only been training on a track. Focus on all the other stuff first, but know that on squad runs, you won't be running with your natural stride. If you are tall, this may take some getting used to, I know for me it took awhile for me to adjust.
3) Nothing to add. I don't know if it's changed, but they'll issue ICB and Jungle boots, each have a different feel. Get used to one of them before you go.
4) COSIGN! Many of the CrossFit affiliates are owned / operated by former service members and will likely support your training at a significant discount. The UBDs and Fartlek runs are fairly analagous to CrossFit workouts. Also, it's probably one of the only places you'll find a rope. You'll have a 30 ft rope climb on the confidence / obstacle course. (Charlie Company, Third Platoon!)
5) Do as much studying as you can before hand. 25% of your "score" is athletic, 25% academic, and 50% leadership. Don't forget the Code of Conduct as well, don't even think about showing up without knowing the rank insignia. Call your Platoon Sergeant "Staff Sergeant" (He'll most likely be a Gunnery Sergeant) and you will be a marked man from day one. "Good Morning Platoon Sergeant Gunnery Sargeant Blaine!". All of your others are to be addressed as "Sergeant Instructor - Rank - Name". Do this right on the first day.
6) Obv.
7) Again, most CrossFit gyms will be outfitted with one. Also get used to doing knee-ups on a rope.
8) My interpretation of the Sergeant Instructors is that it is their job to place you under as much stress as humanly possible to evaluate your potential as a leader of Marines. There are three of them and ~60 candidates in the platoon (to start). They have rotate their focus through select candidates to accomplish this. If you stand up to the scrutiny, they will move on. If you don't, they will try to make you DOR. As zone left suggests, you want to stick out for leadership and nothing else. Also, when you're filling billets, they will get on you more for indecision than imperfection. Remember "80% solution implemented swiftly and aggressively".
Also
9) You will mess-up and be writing essays. "Failure to Follow Simple Instructions" is a favorite to hand out. Be smart and pick a theme from whatever you're being taught in the courses. It will help you study while you are completing the mundane task.
10) Stay up late with your squad / platoon. The most common problem will be close order drill. If you're OCC you will have enlisted Marines, find one to help you. Get on this the first three days when you aren't doing anything.
11) It's probably cheating, but a couple items that will help...
a)Bring extra 1" stencils and build a jig for your name. You will be making thousands of name tags on athletic tape. Start making them the first few days and just tape them in the back of your OCS binder. In everything you do, get you're shit together and then help the rest of your squad / fire team do the same.
b) Get used to calling yourself "candidate".
c) I'm having second thoughts about the rest of these, because coming up with them really helps the team building, but remember they're looking for team cohesiveness / uniformity rather than adherence to some OCS manual.
I still have the OCS candidate course materials and can mail them to you, if you think they'd be of help / have time to review. But again, out of all the advice given, I'd say Zone Lefts #2,3 &4 are the most important. Best of luck!
I didn't do the officer thing, but as a former Marine I can cosign on the crossfit stuff. Between the CFT and the PFT, crossift will get you rocking it. As a now avid crossfitter, I wish I knew about it while I was still in.
I'm 38 and lifted on and off for the last 20 years. I didn't realize how much time I was wasting till I read Lou Schuler's New Rules of Lifting
Don't waste your time with curls or any other isolation exercise, they do nothing for real strength. Instead work on a program that focuses on natural movements like deadlifts, squats, chinups, pushups, bench/shoulder presses. Don't use machines if you can avoid it, always use free weights as these will work many more secondary muscles.
Read Schuler's book and see if you can do one of his 52 week programs. The strength gains I've made in the last year have been amazing, I can only imagine how well I would have done if I was a teenager.
Pick your head up Mr kid.
For post workout whole milk is better than nothing but if you have the money use whey protien isolate (not concentrate) and waxey maize. The best whey for your money is Optimum Nutrition but if your rich Species Nutrition is great. Supplement Warehouse or Bodybuilding.com usually have the best prices.
Second on the Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein...it doesn't give me explosive diarrhea like the cheap shiat you get at Meijer and doesn't contain a lot of weird stuff that you have no idea what it does to your body.
I'm not sure if you're allowed to use it yet, but creatine is also a very effective way to add strength and size. Maybe talk to your coach (and parents) about it first and if you start taking it get the micronized powder version.
Focus less on the numbers and more on the functional lifts. Crossfitfootball.com is a great resource for you. All of the best strength coaches today are focusing on those types of movements. LSU, for example, has what is generally regarded as one of the best strength programs out there and it focuses almost exclusively on olympic lifts to build explosive power. Read this for a good pep talk.
Football players need explosive power in really short bursts, which exactly mirrors olympic lifting and classic strength movements like the squat, bench press, and deadlift. If you get strong at those, using proper technique, you'll be in great shape.
to be lifting like that. significant free weights usage causes muscular growth that inhibits the bone growth they are attached to in young people. you're basically going to stunt your growth. right now you should focus more on cardio and some of the classical excercises such as push ups, pull ups (the real kind, no b.s. cheaters), maybe some squats. the suggestion about 'Crossfit' or a similar system is a good one, but only if you stay agile and don't bulk up.
my first training camp at michigan (hockey) i was the youngest guy on the team and probably one of the lightest. my strength though, in many of the areas they tested us, was at or near the top. i took alot of good-natured crap for that, but the fact remains that i followed the advice that i'm giving you now and it worked. i finally started to grow too, and was the only one that actually gained weight in camp freshman year. yes, i took crap for that as well.
after grad school i got back to playing real football and played until my early 40's. that workout routine, which i still use but with less weight, has 3 days of weights alternating with 3 days of cardio, and a then rest day. weight days are leg day (my favorite), back/stomach/occasional bicep reps, and then chest/shoulders/triceps. this time of year i also swim a mile a day out front of my office during work days and that would be very good off-season addition for your workouts.
leg day - squats are the most important excercise. still do 10-12 sets when its squat time, with 5 sets at 315, reps vary from 10 up to 25. all else leads to squats.
back day - pull ups are the key excercise. still do 10-12 sets of pull-ups, both wide-grip and close grip, starting out with sets of 15 reps but as you can imagine i'm struggling to get 8-10 by those last sets. before i forget, always, always excercise your neck. i have never stopped doing bridges/rolls/stretching that we did for wrestling when i was your age, and have never had a neck problem.
chest day - bench press is the main excercise. still do ~10 sets, with 5 sets usually done at 225 lbs. again, starting with 12-15 reps, but hustling to get 8-10 on the last couple of sets.
eat right. don't cheat yourself on sleep either. there's more to it all, but hopefully from the many posts you pick some things up that work for you.
December 3rd, 2012 at 5:30 AM ^
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