As a member of the military, maintaining a high level of fitness is an obvious (should be anyhow), requirement. Of course the actual level will be determined by your MOS requirements, as rear echelon personnel aren’t going to be required (or given the time), to maintain the fitness levels of Special Forces folks, nor should they be. In the same respect Wild Land Fire Fighters and Search and Rescue teams must have a higher degree of physical readiness than your average fireman. Having said all that, what about everyone else? The overwhelming majority of people in the U.S. don’t have a physical requirement (like a PFT) to maintain as a condition of employment. So most will have their own standard to go by and this varies widely from absolutely nothing, to people who participate in triathlons, adventure races and other recreational sports that are extremely fit (and work very hard to get and stay there), regardless of age or gender.
Most of the people I know, are just happy to try and keep their weight down and do a little exercise/sports here and there for their health or recreation. I have a few friends that are serious weekend athletes, but not many. I think the attitude about fitness is more: I don’t really need much, I don’t have time for much, or frankly don’t think about it much. As a career Marine and now someone who trains others in fitness, my life has been much more focused than the average person on this subject, as it’s always been part of my job. So most people would say, that’s good for you, but I don’t need it.
However I will contend that maintaining a high level of fitness will add many collateral benefits to your life, even if you have no employment or sports related need. The most obvious are the overall health benefits that rigorous exercise provides. BTW, I’m not talking about weekend softball or walking around the block here, but a several hours a week no joke program. It makes it much easier to maintain a healthy bodyweight. It simulates your immune system, making you less susceptible to sickness and disease. Your internal organs operate more efficiently, giving you more energy and mental acuity. People who exercise at a high level also experience less stress and have an overall better attitude about their lives. All of these are well known benefits of maintaining real fitness and in fact, there are many more, too many to list here.
There is another big benefit that I experience all the time that isn’t as well known, but may be one of the greatest benefits, if not the greatest. That being the opportunity for shared experience with friends and family. I’ll give you a recent example. Last month I got some leave and went north to spend some time with my parents in Upstate NY. It’s been a long tradition in my family to spend as much of our summer in the woods as possible, camping, hiking, fishing, etc. With my two boys and their cousins growing up, the past ten years or so this has stepped up a few notches to some serious hikes and rock climbing treks. Due everyone’s busy schedule this years event was to be made up of myself, my nephew and youngest son. My nephew is presently enrolled the ROTC program at UVA and my youngest son is a competitive sport climber. Both are in outstanding overall physical condition in their early 20’s.
This past month they came up with a proposed plan that we backpack into the Adirondacks and make a one day “test of manhood” hike. The plan was to hike four of the highest mtns in NY State (to include the highest: Mt Marcy), in one big loop. Up and down four steep and rocky mtns in one day. Of course I agreed and we planned it all out and did it a week later. It was a ball buster that took about 13 hours, covering almost 20 miles and over 10,000 ft of vertical climbing; a good part of it was hand over hand scrambling. We pulled out at 0330, to be on Mt. Marcy at sunrise and got back to camp about 1700. It was tough and if I said I wasn’t tired at the finish, I’d be lying. The boys were tired for sure also, however it was fun as hell. Afterward we sat around drinking Maple Flavored rum and warm soda in the dark; tired, scraped up, sunburnt, bug bit and laughing about the times we busted our asses on the slippery rocks and the nut shrinking ice cold stream we swam in during the way. These shared experiences are something you cannot buy, and you could never do if you aren’t in good shape.
My brother in law (3 years younger than me) is very overweight and out of shape. A good man, but he never saw the benefit of trying to keep himself in shape. When we returned from the trip I watched him listen to his son’s story of our trip. I could tell from the look on his face he wished he could have been with us, but he also knew he couldn’t have made a mile of that hike. The bottom line is that he missed out on a wonderful opportunity to spend some “Man Time” with his son. Made me sad to see this, especially when I know with some effort over time, he could have gone with us. Of all the PT I’ve ever done in my life and trust me when I tell you it’s been a lot. Maintaining my fitness for nothing else than to not miss out on times like those, is far beyond the time and effort I’ve put in for it. In the end compared to your health, it may not be the best benefit, but it is certainly is the best reward. Back to Africa for most of Sept to train some people. I’m sure to have something to share with you from my trip. Till then:
“Be Safe Always, be Good when you can.”
Semper Fi
MGunz
Tags: Corps Strength
MGunz,
Your inspirational and informative writing is top notch and always on point!
Folks, get his book Corpsstrength…it’s the best thing going!
Keep living the good life and being the example!
TR
Just ordered. Thanks for the suggestion.
Good stuff, Marine!
That is a very impressive time over that terrain. I’ve done most of the tallest peaks in the ADK, including Marcy. Marcy by itself is not to be taken lightly.
Judah,
The first day we hiked in about 7 miles to the Slant Rock tent site a few miles from Mt. Marcy. The next morning we did Marcy at sunrise then Grays, Skylight, Haystack (from Panthers Gouge side, which is no joke), then back to Slant Rock. Awesome day. I hope to do all 46 NY peaks before I’m done.
MGunz
Great story, Id like to eventually do a little hiking, something more leasurly & flat due to a bad knee. Im 57 and I feel its vital to stay in shape, for ourselves and our families.
MGunz,
There is a club, the 46ers I think they’re called. Hopefully still around. Membership gets you a t shirt (last I saw anyways) with all the 46 peaks on it. Check each one off as you go. How did you find Indian falls?
Great story. just changed from the barbell weight routine a month ago to corps strength. As the book says, the heavy weights don’t seem to translate to real working fitness, at least for me. Leo here, I do corps strength and bjj and its the best combo for the job and for (more importantly) what you wrote about here. Thanks for the article.
Geez MGunz you should have stopped by. We had the pool open and plenty of food on the BBQ for the whole family.
Keep it up. One reason I surpass most people by age is the good advice and perseverance.
Good point! Thanks for the write-up!
Great story supporting the importance of maintaining fitness. As a fan of cross-fit, which works for me, I have recently discovered yoga. I protested at first, but caved in. Gentlemen I am a believer now! The mind-body connection is real! I thought it was some hippie crap. NO! It is for real.
The balance of high intensity fitness with the mind-body of yoga is a amazing.
I challenge you to try it.
Master Guns,
always great reading your stuff. Had a moment about half a year ago when I was carrying a Marine off a hill in Korea, that really made thankful for the fitness I had demanded of myself. I’ve always been annoyed by some of the lack of priority members of the Combat Arms put on fitness in a functional realm for the job. To often its slick runs or just hitting the weights to get jacked.
really feel like your book should be on the commandants reading list for marines from the E1-E6 realm, and 01-02 officers. It changed how I address fitness as a platoon sgt.
Semper Fi,
John
Highly motivating article. I wrestled and played lacrosse in high school and lifted weights and played intramural soccer in college, but I never took physical fitness seriously, apart from the ability I was given from God, until I joined the Marine Corps. I went in fat and out of shape, came out of boot camp thirty pounds lighter, and left the Corps running 300 PFTs and my Marines, that were ten years younger than me, into the dirt for squad PT. I learned real quick that if the Marine Corps was going to be my way of life for however long I was in, I had to compete at every level- mentally, intellectually, morally, and physically- because failure along any of those lines meant mission failure, which meant putting my life, the lives of the Marine’s and sailor’s around me, and other’s I didn’t even know in jeopardy; and that mean prioritizing physical fitness as part of my daily activity.
It’s sad, but physical fitness is at an all time low due to peoples’ use of technology as a replacement for actually living. Today something like 85% of American military age males are either physically, mentally, or morally (arrests, drugs) unfit for service in the military. As a society, we should be getting back to basics and imbuing our children with the requisite spiritual, mental, and physical capabilities necessary so that this American experiment in individual liberty is not driven from the earth, and survives as it was gifted to me and my forefather’s. Physical fitness is necessary for survival, not only for combat Marines and SF operator’s, but also for a society’s. The first step is getting kids off the couch or the phone and outside. Then start putting books in their hands and real knowledge at their disposal so we can counter the brain rotting garbage they’re indoctrinated with at government schools.
Semper Fidelis,
El Terrible