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Hailey Dean
Ms. Bennett
12th Lit/Comp
7 September 2011
Making Greatness
The United States Marine Corps is currently the most sparsely populated branch of
military service, with only 202,786 active-duty Marines and 309 reservists who served three of
the past four years on duty (Lamothe). Of these Marines, 182,147 were enlisted troops and only
20,639 of them were ranking noncommissioned officers (NCO). This low number of active
Marines is primarily due to the hardest basic training of any branch of military. Marine recruits
endure sixteen weeks of intensely demandingphysical and mental training to become one of the
Few and the Proud. A recruit must master drill, marksmanship, geographical education and
physical prowess before he can be called a Marine. The recruit must then take further specialized
training courses depending on his chosen MOS (Military Occupational Specialty), or job. In
short, it takes an incredible amount of dedication, determination, and sheer strength of character,
as well as an extraordinary amount of leadership, to become a Marine. To prepare for a military
future, a recruit will need to strengthen his mind and tone his body to a very specific standard set
by the Military after over 200 years of successful training.
Getting in top physical condition and being properly prepared for a future in the military
takes dedication, perseverance, and iron leadership. One of the most well-known and
intimidating elements of any Marine Corps boot camp is the ferocity of the tough as nails Drill
Instructors, or DIs. A DI is trained to be tough, ruthless, loud and very strict. In fact, a DI finds it

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in his job description to make a recruit stressed and miserable.However, these coarse men and
women are responsible for every step of a recruit’s training, and it is also the duty of a DI to
know a recruit’s physical breaking point. A good leader knows when to stop, how far is too far
and when the training is not hard enough for improvement. There is no substitute for a valid DI
and boot camp environment; however, knowing some of the information an instructor uses
during boot camp can help a recruit prepare for his experience there (Dept. of the Army).
In order to achieve a higher standard of physical fitness, the recruit must understand the
physiology pertinent to the body’s muscular and cardiorespiratory condition. In order to properly
condition the heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory system) for performance at a high level, a simple
calculation is done to configure both a Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and a Training Heart Rate
(THR). A person’s MHR is needed to figure his or her THR. To get the Maximum Heart Rate a
recruit must subtract his age from 220. For example, a person at 20 years of age does more harm
than good by exercising at or above a heart rate of 200 Beats Per Minute (BPM). Body systems
attempting to function above the maximum heart rate produce less muscle during the time of
training and spend more time trying to recover after a training period. Thus a recruit in good
physical condition should train at approximately 80% of the individual’s estimated MHR for
maximum improvement. In order to calculate the proper percent heart rate, the MHR is simply
multiplied by .80 (“FITT Factors”). Using the earlier example, a healthy 20 year old with a
maximum heart rate of 200 has a training heart rate of 160 BPM.
Another important factor of being in shape is a healthy diet. A lot of people hear the word
diet and think only about cutting calories and counting carbohydrates. However, a certain
amount of exercise can increase the body’s metabolism, or ability to burn calories. Age, gender,
and muscle mass can all affectthe body’s metabolic rate, which is the rate at whichitmetabolizes

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calories (Bouchez). If a recruit is not mindful of diet during the training period, his or her body
runs the risk of becoming undernourished.Such an enervated state will result in possible body
failure during or after workouts, as well as prohibiting the greatest amount of body function. It is
also possible that too many calories will prevent the body from losing fat to create a proper
muscle/fat ratio. In order to compensate for a change in this ratio, as a recruit begins training and
creating a more lean body structure, he should eat more often, in smaller portions. Eating with
this method will allow the recruit’s metabolism to remain at a steady rate of calorie consumption,
allowing the recruit to burn fat and build muscle at a quicker pace (Bouchez). A recruit will also
have only three minutes for meals during boot camp, and becoming accustomed to eating small
amounts rather quickly can help a recruit once he enters boot camp as well as the following
combat environment.
In addition to cardiorespiratory fitness and diet, overall muscle development is crucial to
preparing for boot camp and the ensuing lifestyle. There are three styles of muscle motion that
contribute to the formation of healthy muscle fibers: isotonic, isokinetic, and isometric. Isometric
muscle movements consist of a muscle conditioning exercise in which the muscle contracts but
the joints do not move. Examples of isometric muscle movement include body planks, wall
squats, and calf raises; essentially any exercise in which the muscle belly lengthens without
movement in the joints (“Isometric Exercises…”).Isokinetic muscle movement is the
conditioning of your muscles with a constant range of motion and speed of movement. Examples
of isokinetic training generally include a type of weighted equipment and/or stationary exercise
bike (FitDay). Isotonic muscle movement is muscle contraction accompanied by joint
movement, such as bicep curls and tricep dips. Both isotonic and isokinetic muscle movements
have a concentric and eccentric phase. During the concentric phase, the muscle belly shortens to

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lift and support weight.During the eccentric phase, the muscle belly lengthens as to distribute and
stabilize the weight without changing the position of the load (“Muscular Fitness”). In order to
properly develop a healthy and strong muscle system, all three muscle movements must be
exercised.
At the beginning of every workout, the body should be warmed up with a muscle strength
exercise, or Conditioning Drill. Limbering up helps loosen muscles for cardio as well as
contribute to muscle formation. It is important to focus on exercises that enhance muscle focus
by using the three muscle movements, as well as push the lower back and hamstrings to more
flexible positions. Workouts like the rower and windmill are used by the military as warm-ups
for just this reason. Other efficient warm-ups include pushups, sit ups, lunges both forward and
backward, and any variety of squats.
Once a recruit has been properly warmed up, he should begin working on his
cardiorespiratory fitness. Cardiorespiratory involves the strength of the heart and lungs;
especially involving any activities that increase the heart rate and require the heart and lungs to
function for an increased interval of time at a heightened state of operation. In order to have the
stamina necessary to perform in combat situations, a recruit must improve his or her cardio
strength. The most efficient way to improve is to drill using exercises that cause a recruit to
sustain his recommended THR. Events that raise the heart rate and can be considered proficient
for training include: laterals, verticals, jump-roping, jogging, and running in cadence.
A third, equally important factor in maintaining muscle health is a proper cool-down
technique. In order to sustain muscle growth and proper body function, as well as prevent
cramping and muscular fatigue, this third step cannot be skipped. Without properly cooling

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down, the body will take twice as long to recover, causing physical pain as well as mental
apprehension towards future workouts. To begin cooling down, a recruit should repeat the
conditioning drill followed by a stretch drill. The conditioning drill consists of the same activities
as the warm-up drill and should be relatively equal in intensity. The most excellent time for
stretching is after the second phase of conditioning while the muscles are still hot. Women tend
to have less trouble with flexibility but men in particular need to focus on suppleness in the
lower back and hamstring region for optimum performance and to prevent injuries (US Dept. of
Military Services). Stretches such as the groin stretch, thigh stretch, overhead arm pull, and the
bend and reach are considered as efficient for progress by all branches of US Military.
To be a Marine is to be a warrior and defender of the constitution and American way of
life. It is a strong calling, but a difficult one indeed. It takes an extraordinary quantity of
leadership and an unparalleled balance of diet, cardiorespiratory fitness, conditioning drills, and
understanding of basic physiology to accomplish the task and become one of the Few. Washout
rates in the Marine Corps are up to 11% males and 20% females failing before completion
(PetzMarine), proving the first phase of boot camp alone is often enough to have many recruits
writing home that they have made the wrong decision (Anna). In order to prevent failure and
ease the difficulty of phasing in, a recruit should already be in peak physical condition. Strength
of mind and body before boot camp can determine a recruit’s success overall. This success is not
anaffairto be saved for the last minute or left to fate. Every recruit with a hope of rank and
success needs to put service before self and do what needs to be done in preparation for a
military life.

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Works Cited
Anna. “USMC Boot Camp.” Marine Wives 101. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.marinewives101.com/faqflex/faq.php?answer=33&cat_name=C: USMC
Boot Camp, by Anna&category_id=7#33>..
Bouchez, Colette. “Make the Most of Your Metabolism.” Health & Fitness. Ed. Louise Chang.
WebMD, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2011.
FitDay. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/
what-is-isokinetic-exercise.html>.
“FITT Factors.” Fitness Training. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. <http://www.fitness-training.net/
cardiorespiratory_fitness/17/>.
“Isometric Exercises and Static Strength Training.” Sports Fitness Advisor. N.p., n.d. Web. 12
Sept. 2011. <http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/isometric-exercises.html>.
Lamothe, Dan. Marine Corps Times. N.p., 16 Oct. 2009. Web. 1 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2009/10/marine_202Kreached_101609w/>.
“Muscular Fitness.” Muscular Endurance and Strength. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011.
<http://www.emunix.emich.edu/~bogle/muscle_strength_and_endura.htm>.
PetzMarine, and ArmyMP. Weblog comment. Marine Boot Camp Dropouts. N.p., Apr. 2009.
Web. 1 Sept. 2011. <http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8282.
United States. Dept. of Military Services. Pocket Physical Training Guide. N.p.: n.p., 2007.
Print.
Dept. of the Army. “Physical Fitness Training.” FM 21-20. Washington DC: n.p., 1998. 1-5 &
11. Physical Fitness Training, FM 21-20. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. <http://www.usma.edu/
dpe/testing/fm21_20.pdf>.