Just don't puke on my deck!

We used to run religiously 3x's a week on the beach ~5mi when I was stationed w/3AABN. Soft sand, in camis w/jungle boots...

jamzwayne (and other Marines), have registered over @ marines.togetherweserved dot com? I can send you an invite if you cannot register. Let me know, will just need ur first, last and email.

 

Yeah, well- Marines are cool in my book, but..

I can't just give up the crown where PT is concerned. We used to run 3 times a week (2-mile minimum, 3 on average), every Mon, Wed & Fri, PT day. Most Tuesdays were light, usually basketball, or some other squad level activity, sometimes we got screwed out of that in favor of regular PT. Thursday was Sergeant's time training...

But, on Friday. Dude, you never know what the hell was gonna happen on Friday. It could be a candy-*** 2, 3, or 4 mile run. But, if the CO got a wild hair up his ****, it could be 6, 8, or 10.

There were times they said, "Double-time, march!" At 6:05 AM, and you didn't hear "Quick-time, March!" until 08:30. 2h:25m of jogging... Honestly, I don't know how far we ran on those days- but at an 8-9 minute mile pace, it could have been upwards of 14 miles.

When I was in my best shape (Age 18-20 or age 25) I think I could hang with Marine PT.

I still don't know why you guys do a 3-mile run on your PT test. That's crazy as hell.

Last I heard, AF guys ride stationary bikes for PT tests now.

I'd still be in, if it was like that for us!

Nah, there's only one aspect of Marine PT that would give me pause... The Pull-ups.

Our PT test was:

Minimum to pass @ age 18: (180 pts.)

• 42- push-ups
• 52- sit-ups
• 2-mile run in 15:54

Maximum: (300 pts.)

• 82 push ups
• 92 sit ups
• 2-mile run in 11:54

Had to pass each event, to pass the test.

My best time in the 2-mile: 12:05 @ age 18.

Average: 14:48

Worse: Censored

PS: Oh yes, running in sand is a b!tch! We had a deep sand track at Fort Gordon... That's a physical and psychological ***-kicker.

PS(2): If you've never served, then your idea of what a "push-up" is, is pobably incorrect, and would not be counted. At times (even knowing what you're doing) you had to do 55 push-ups to make 42...

 

the AF has a pt test now. they got rid of the bike test a few years ago, lol.

push ups, sit ups, 1.5 mile run and waist measurement.

 

Marines' PT being hardcore? I never saw it when we trained with them and its certainly not reflected in the Marines' PT standards.

50 crunches in 2min and they don't even have to break the vertical plane. With knees bent, arms crossed on the abdomen a crunch is completed when the abdomen is lifted until the elbows touch the thighs and then lowers the upper body until the shoulder blades touch the ground.

3miles in 28 minutes (9.5min/mile). In the Army we have a term for that, Slow Group

Marines Minimum Fitness Requirments for Each PFT Event - Males
Age........Pull-Ups..........Crunches.......3-Mile Run
17-26.....3................... 50................28:00
27-39.....3................... 45................29:00
40-45.....3................... 45................30:00
46+........3................... 40................33:00
Marine Corps Order (MCO) P6100-12
http://www.unl.edu/nrotc/reference/M...W%20CH%201.pdf

 

Pull ups are a little daunting at first, esp if you've never even attempted one in your life. i honestly yanked out one when I frist got to PI, and was doing 12 fairly easily 3 months later when I graduated.

As for our push-ups, you were actually doing 81 to make 42. Starting from the 'up' position, down being 1, up being 2, down being 3 and the 2nd up being the # of the push up.

I was doing the 3mi in ~20min or so. The key for me, was calling cadence to myself.

Maybe that's now, but when I was in, we did hands behind the head, ALL the way up til your chest hit your knees, and were NOT allowed to touch ur shoulder blades to the ground. In my unit, if your shoulder blades touched the ground, your count was restarted!

 

I was at Ft. Gordon myself. The big grassy area inside the sand track was a great place for airing differences, too.


In Basic Training, at Ft. Jackson, we had to be able to do 6 pull-ups before we could get into the mess-hall. If not, you had to go to the end of the line and try again before entry.


Best PT scores: 19 years old

Push-ups: 107 (2 min.)
Sit-ups: 99 (2 min.)
2 mile run: 10:39

The scores didn't drop much by the time I ETSed (Army word) 3 years later.

 

I heard this on NPR last week. The Army has kinder gentler DI's now.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=12476699






Yes Raoul and Kobi, I listen to left wing radio.

 

That makes sense. When we were training together in the early 90's they weren't doing crunches. They were doing a lot of pull ups though. In fact we used to joke about soldiers pushing earth down and marines pulling it back up.

When I went through Air Assault we were required to do the "Five and Dime" (5 pull ups and 10 push ups with gear) every time we unassed the training area. By the end of the 2 week course everyone was easily able to do the pull ups. Probably the result from upper body development and the 15lbs weight loss due to the hot Kentucky summer.

 

OK, Odin, it sounds like you and I went to the same battalion for basic. We had to do five pull ups to get in the chow hall. Five was fairly easy for me. I stopped at 82 push-ups. When I got good, I could crank out 80 in 75-90 seconds. I'd get up to conserve energy, since points over 100 didn't count unless you maxed all three events. We had folks getting 330 on the PT test, on the overscale, although 300 was the max.

I thought the Marines had to do 12 pull ups just to pass, and 3 miles in 21 minutes (for the men)... I didn't know thier PT test was that easy. 9.5 minute miles... Jeez. I was running 21-minute 3-milers at 255 lbs. They probably went to crunches after so many neck injuries from doing sit-ups (Probably another reason why my neck hurts so bad today).

Anyhoo: I went to Basic at: (1987) 5 Drill Sergeants in my platoon. (DS: Partlow, Hensley, Gurat, LaGronge, and Beasley)

Fort Jackson, SC: 2/28 Inf. Regiment, Charlie Company, 4th PLT. (8 weeks)

AIT: (1987) 31L: Wire Systems Installer -aka- (Cable Dog) (DS Russell) (8 weeks)

Fort Gordon, GA:
Echo Company, 369th SIG BN

*******************
Re-enlisted during Desert Storm (1990) for new MOS: 31F (16-weeks)

Fort Gordon:
AIT: (Dec. 1990 - April 1991) (DS: Madden)
Delta Company, 369th SIG BN

** By the time I went back to AIT, prior-service members no longer had a cake walk. I got my **** kicked 8 of those 16 weeks, before I finally got back in AIT shape. All those Drill Sergeants were crazy. Madden & Mack were cool, but the rest of those jokers...

 

Yeah, they started the candyassification of Army Basic Training circa 1996 with "stress cards".

 

You've a better memory for names and such than I do, apparently. I do remember my DI at Jackson was Chabeau. A skinny middleaged fella that all the other DI's deferred to.

I was in better shape going into Basic, than I was leaving. I did my own PT before I got there, so that I wouldn't have too much trouble. Basic was a cakewalk compared to what I put myself through to prepare for it. LOL


I really liked being in the Army. If the money had been better, I would have stayed in. I was crazy poor for those 3 years.

 

I heard rumors about that in Corps boot camp too. Don't think it lasted very long though.

"Sir, this recruit would like permission to hand the Drill Instructor a stress card. This recruit is experiencing sand in his *****, and would like to take a time out"

And off to the pit and/or quater deck they'd go!

 

Me too. I exercised all that summer before basic, I even did two-a-days with the football team before I left for basic.

The only thing I had to learn was the "Army" way of doing push ups...

But, when it came to running, sit-ups, drills getting in your face, etc... Anyone who's played HS football (sports), can handle basic- once you get used to 4:30 AM wake-ups. That is, if you can bear to leave your family behind...

 

HS sports helped a lot. 2 hrs of sprints and defensive drills on a basketball court was even harder than 2 a days for football were for me. The wrestlers had it the worst though. Good gosh those guys worked hard.

Basic was easy for the most part... If you were ready for it. We had guys show up that couldn't put 10 good pushups together before they gave out. Basic was hell for those guys.