Im 5’9 and weigh 125-130 lbs I feel like im too small and would feel intimidated by other recruits even though im in shape. the question is am i going to noticebally gain weight when i get out of 13 weeks of hell? lol I certainly hope so. also I leave august 3rd, is there any way of gaining 5 to 10 lbs before i leave?
13 Responses to “A question about the Marine Corps Boot Camp?”
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Don’t worry about it! My son was 5′ 11" and weighed 137 when he went in. At the end of phase 1 he was down to 126… They put him on "double rations" (which it really isn’t, but that’s what they called it…) and when he graduated boot camp, 8 weeks later, he was at 159, 6′ tall, and his stomach was as hard as a cement wall. The changes were unbelievable. Do not try to gain weight before you leave. Let the weight come in muscle mass. If you try to pack it on before you go, that’s just extra weight you’ll have to carry around the first month or so, when you’re trying to adjust to being in boot. Focus, instead, on building endurance and flexibility in your legs. Most Phase I injuries are hip, leg, knee, shin, ankle, and foot injuries. The stronger your legs are, the more flexibility you have in them, the better off you’ll be for the first gruelling weeks on the grinder!
By the way, if they haven’t already, have your loved-ones check out marineparents.com It’s the best online resource for anything and everything USMC… and absolutely THE best place for recruit parents to connect while their kids are in boot camp. Check out the RECRUIT MESSAGE BOARDS. It’s free to register, and teh support and help your folks will get while you’re gone will last a lifetime!
Best of luck to you!
im almost the same 5’8 140lbs and im goin to marine bootcamp soon, my friend who went through it said he gained weight , built alot of muscle
o btw about the itimidation thing, you guys are all in it together, all for the same thing and if you succed, theyll be the ones sticking up for you and having your back
They will tear you down, then build you up. Just keep your head in the game…you will be fine. I would seriously try to run 30 minutes two or three times a day, do a lot of push ups, and sit ups. The tougher you are to start, the less stressful the total package will be for you. Good luck .
PS …when you get out, no one will intimidate you.
I don’t know about you putting onn 5 to 15 pounds, but, you certainly wont be putting on any weight in USMC boot camp.You’ll lose weight, if anything. Especially marines. The U.S. armys training structure is a little different, and i fortunately gained 15 lb’s of muscle, during army BCT, or OSUT, since i completed Infantryman training, at Fort Benning, "Home of the Infantry." Great place! even, if just to visit. Outstanding, and great history. I am mighty pleased.
-USMC bootcamp is more activious, in a sense, compared to army BCT. Meaning, you will run more, and sweat alot. During breakfast, lunch, and dinner, DI’s…, don’t permit, or allow marines, to get enough food, in my opinion. Plus all that exercise, leads to more thin or slender built troops. So, you may have a greater chance of losing weight, rather than gaining, in the corps. The army, vise-versa. You’ll have a greater chance of gaining muscle, weight, rather than losing. .
Do you know how lean mass works?
Bodybuilders eat THOUSANDS of calories a day, tons of protein and a lot of healthy fats. Exercise DOES NOT make you skinny or muscular alone – diet is 90% of the solution.
You have to get tons of calories, fats, protein and combine it with weight lifting in order to build muscle mass in large quantities. At boot you won’t get nearly enough calories and protein to bulk up.
Keep in mind that for every pound you gain 1 pound is fat so you wouldn’t just gain 10 pounds of muscle even if your assumption was accurate.
You have two months to bulk up if that’s your goal. Sign up at a local gym, start drinking whey protein isolate, eating lean meats like skinless chicken breast, and getting healthy fats (nuts, fish oil, etc). If lucky, you’ll gain 4-6 pounds by boot.
Don’t worry about it! You passed all the physical and medical qualifications. The Corps will take care of you just fine. They know what they’re doing. Don’t worry about the other recruits. They, like you, will not have any time to intimidate anyone. Leave the intimidation to the DI’s. lol When you graduate from boot camp, you’ll be in the finest shape that you were ever in. Good Luck.
Strength is as much in the mind as it is in the body. If you were bigger and stronger you would STILL feel intimidated by the drill instructors. The other recruits aren’t your problem if you are doing what the instructors ask, however if you are the problem child THEN you may have to worry about the other recruits as it is a ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL mentallity. You will gain muscle and if they feel you are too small they will get you up to par ahead of time. Congrats on your life changing decision!
i went through it and was considered underweight for my height.when u go to meps before you ship out, they will weigh you,and if you are underweight you will be a ‘double rats’ which means that every chow you will get two entrees and also you will skip to the front of the platoon so you have plenty of time to eat it all.
thats way more than enough food and you will gain weight.
oh yeah and dont worry about how big the other recruits are.there will be about 10 or 12 just as big as you,and alot more that are fat bodies. just be in shape, put out in pt and everything you do and you will have a lot easier time than those who get lazy.
If thats what bothers you, its your mentality you need to take care of, I have seen 5’4 little dudes pushing around 6’0 guys like nothing. Its all about your confidence. And if you are getting pushed around by other recruits then you are definitely not in Marine boot, because the D.I.’s will never take their eye off you long enough for that to happen.
dont worry about your size right now….. i would focus on getting in shape for the physical test
3 mile run
as many situps in 2 mins
and pullups
i would just work on trying to get 3 miles as close to 18 mins as possible, try to do 1 situp for every second so youd get 120 situps in 2 min, and 20 pullups
dont worry about gaining weight…and im sure there will be other recruits that will be smaller or the same size as you…its better your smaller because they do a lot of body workouts using their body weight it’ll be a lot easier for you
Just eat a lot and lift weights to bulk up. Sometimes people set the bar too high, you may be one of those people. Being a Marine isn’t everything just to prove you are a man.
You are underweight and they will put you on double rats (twice the food then other recruits). You will have the same time as them to eat it you will just have more food. As long as you keep your shit straight and dont mess with anyone no one will mess with you. Its all about working together and looking out for one another.
umm just start eating alot more, like exercise and keep in shape, dont eat crap but after you exercise eat more so you will gain weight but still be in shape.
as far as weight gain you may gain some weigth at basic but most likely you will lose some weight.