Training Queries any help greatly appreciated........

[trotter9]

At the Moment I'm 16 years old and in college and I've been thinking of joining the Marines for about 2 years now, I was going to try and join after leaving school but reading posts on this forum opened my eyes as to how hard it is and I don't think I was developed enough for it at the time. So reluctantly I've decided to stay on at college for 2 years and make the most of it but I want to get in asap so I do not know whether to work on strength in the gym for the next year and a half then throw running into it half a year before I attempt to join or, to work on all round fitness from the start. I'm just bothered about knackering my knees before I even get a shot at it or if half a year isn't enough to get to the right level of CV fitness
cheers for taking the time to read this.......... cheers for any responses

[Stokey_14]

Hey there mate, good call on collage, I plan on doing he same.

As for the running question, defiantly start now, with a proper warm up/ not over doing it straight away you shouldn't (un-less you're unlucky) do any damage to your knees.

I'm 15 (last year of school) and have been running since I was 13 now run 4-5 times a week started at 3 times a week. Apart from sore knees from time to time after really tough run's I have no joint problems.

I have also used a cod liver oil and fish oil supplement since I was 12 (2000mg of fish oil/ 1000mg of cod liver oil each morning after breakfast) which I believe has done my joints the world of good.

Practice makes perfect so get out running as often as your body will allow you too.

Finally try and run, if you can, on grass/softer surfaces (sand is brilliant, sadly most of us, my self included, live no where nere a beach ) this is harder work for your muscles as there is more resistance but also less impact on your joints.

Two years of running and you should be fit as a fiddle, look into a collage track team in the summer, I love competitive racing (gives me some more motivation and aim in my training) and am hoping to run for my school/county and then if I’m very lucky and training all goes to plan get in the district team (Midlands)

All the best


Stokey

[jay999]

You still have a long time to go, I presume your going to be going for PRMC? As has always been said all you need to do is run, pressups pullups and situps. However having so much time on your hands it would not hurt to be doing a bit of everything. I think runnning should be a major focus, distances 3 miles upwards. Also get used to busting sprint type circuits.There really is so much you can do. Have a quick search there are quite a few training programmes on here.

[eagleeye]

A lot of people on this site will tell you weight training is useless but everybody is different and it helped me.

What I'm saying is that you've got shed loads of time to make a training program and perfect it to your bodies needs, try everything;swimming, weights, circuts but you must run, being in the Royal Marines depends on being able to run and they will test you on that more than anything else onn PRMC.

Take your time fella.

[Greg The Great]

Crack on with the running buddy. You won't knacker your knees in two years (providing you're sensible about your training), in fact you'll iron out any niggles that would otherwise affect you in recruit training.

Work on all round fitness. Visit your careers office and get a copy of the pre-PRMC fitness guide. The plan only caters for a couple of months at most so you'll find you quickly develop your own needs. The tests on the PRMC are obviously directly related to requirments in recruit training. Stay focused on the exercises in the leaflet and you will be on the right track.

Upperbody strength is a necessity, it will get you through when technique falters, but don't bulk up too much. You'll only lose it during your 32 weeks anyway so spend your time training wisely.

Always aim one step ahead of your next goal - relate that to all you do (not just in training) and you won't go wrong. You appear switched on so common sense should prevail.

All the best,
Greg.

[Chris Gray]

Have you thought about joining your local running club Trotter9. Clubs are cheap to join plus you have people there who can advise you and your fitness will advance faster.

[trotter9]

Cheers for all the replies lads
1 quick question out of curiosity: i've heard in the paratroopers one of the "initiiations" is milling where you have to punch your mate in the head non stop for one minute do they do this or anything like it in the marines?
cheers and merry christmas for tomorrow

[degrees of passion]

i thought milling was just where you fight flat out for a minute or so,usually with gloves on so its like an all out amature boxing fight?and im sure i also read that this was usually done in training like sparring at the end of a session(not sure who or where).Again,like others have said,i wouldnt worry about these initiation stories its a bit like joining a new school,people always try to frighten the new kids with stories of heads dunked in toilets and atomic wedgies etc

[lukeyluke]

Just in a agreement with everyone else on this one really, having recently taken PRMC myself I would definitely say that running is one of the most important parts of training. It's imperative to everything that is done on PRMC, all of the tests involve either running or sprinting so train for both. Obviously it will also be a huge part of a career in the RM.

To help prevent any joint damage or other training injuries get yourself a descent pair of running shoes and try to do at least some of your training off road, I do my sprint work on the local park for example. Also I try to do some of my longer runs cross country. Training on a softer surface helps reduce the stress on your joints and muscles.

Cheers,

Luke

[Stacka83]

On the running note.

Make sure you get the right running shoes, or you will really mess your knees and joints up forever.

Go to Decathalon, ask to speak to a running specialist. Your foot rolls from either the outside to the inside or inside to out.,

You need a running shoe that balances this motion. It's imperitive that you do this....and Decathlon will check this for you and sell you the best shoe for you. Without ripping you off.

[ramz56]

hi
i@m the same age as you and i have been training for about a year an a half, around the end of the summer my fitness had started to plateau, because training on your own is difficult and pushing yourself no matter how disciplined is next to impossible so i decided to stop training for long distance because i found i could run for 45 minutes at a reasonably fast pace but had no explosiveness needed for a very fast 3 mile time. my next step was to join a running club and focus on the 400m. in 5 short months my 5k pb had improved from 18:22 to 16:54 which i ran in a race tonight. tha is an improvement of 1:28 which considering the longest sets we have done is 500m reps. my splits from the race wer 5:40 for the first mile 11:30 after 2 miles so i ran the last adrenaline filled mile in 5 minutes!! therefore the best advice i could give yopu is to get down to either your local road runners club but better still your local athletics track and train for either the 400m or the 800m
good luck
ramsey

Please remember to use the shift key where appropriate, for example when using the word 'I' and at the start of sentences, and check your spelling before posting in future.
T_T

[hardcorps]

wow ramz56, i dont know about anyone else but 3 miles in 16.54 is almost unbelieveable! i'm impressed. i'm 17, never been a particularly strong runner, an i can only do it in just under 21 mins. averaging 5.37 minutes per mile is incredable.

[Artist]

How not to knacker knees. Simple really.

1. Do not run with weight on your back.

2. Don't try and prove yourself to other people by overdoing it.

3. Keep within the guidelines given to you by the RM's on fitness requirements prior to PRMC and Recruit training.

Far to many young lads seem to think it's a good idea to go one more hill than is asked resulting in a variety of ailments ranging from shinsplints to totally knackered backs.

Artist

[Stacka83]

wow ramz56, i dont know about anyone else but 3 miles in 16.54 is almost unbelieveable! i'm impressed. i'm 17, never been a particularly strong runner, an i can only do it in just under 21 mins. averaging 5.37 minutes per mile is incredable.

Thats a pretty standard time, im doing 3 miles in 16:08. You really need to start pressing on just a indication....i regulary do the following.

1.5 Miles : 8min 32Sec
3 Miles : 16:08
6 Miles : 30:00 Dead

At 17, you should be running rings round me at 24. Iv had a few more years of body abuse than you.

[Stokey_14]

At 17, you should be running rings round me at 24. Iv had a few more years of body abuse than you.

Work both ways also, you've had 7 years more training than him... look at professional athlete, they certainly don't reach there prime at 17...mid to late twenties/early thirties are when a lot 'peek'.

So he shouldn't necessarily be running rings around you, 24 isn't old at all if you where 35+ I’d understand.

All the best

Stokey