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Posts Tagged ‘Corps Strength’

Corps Strength – Spend Time to Gain Time

Sunday, April 14th, 2013

When I’m working with people and/or students on their fitness and weight loss goals, one of the things that often comes up is the issue of time. Specifically the time that you have to invest in an effective workout program. I have a lot of people tell me that they are just too busy to exercise. Really? I have a simple word for that; Bulls**t. In my very experienced opinion, 99.9% of you aren’t that busy, so get a grip. The time is there, trust me you just have to be honest with yourself and stop wasting time and making excuses. Plus its a common misconception that you need to spend many hours everyday doing hard core PT to get/stay in great physical condition and keep your weight right. Unless you’re in a Special Forces outfit, or training for a specific athletic event like a triathlon, that’s just more Bulls**t. In fact the average military, or firemen or cop would do very well to spend five hours a week on PT, many do much less. As I outline in my book Corps Strength I am convinced (from many years of personal experience and observation) that you can obtain and maintain a very high level of fitness with the time investment of only about five hours a week of the right PT. Now my normal routine is to PT every morning 0530 -0630 (a little later on the weekends) for an hour, and I take a day (at least one day a week) off when I have/need to. I do the standard stuff I recommend in my book, and this includes some more traditional military PT that I do with my students. In any case its balanced and the intensity level varies depending on my mood and energy level. I relate this to illustrate that I’m like anyone else, I don’t have all day to PT and then lay around resting up. I work full time, travel a lot and have a family/home to take care of. Plus I have another important part of my life, its called fun, so I’m not going to spend all my free time in the gym, or running. PT is part of my life, not my life, and it doesn’t need to be to stay in shape.

Tempus Fugit

An hour everyday is my baseline, and I do my best to stick to it. However for the average person five – one hour sessions (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri and one day on the weekend is great routine) a week isn’t that much when you compare it to how you spend much of your other free time, like on the internet, watching TV, etc. In fact its less than 3% of your total weekly hours. Which by the way is the same for all of us. You can do this, its just a matter of priorities. To start out with you have to look at it like an investment. Its just like going to college at night, or saving your money. Spending time exercising is a investment in not only your future health, but your present quality of life. It will also pay big dividends in your attitude, and your outlook on everything around you is better when your health is good. Secondly once you imbed these five hours into your life, it will be come a no-brainer and you’ll be pretty much on cruise control. I set my own cruise control on this somewhere around 1977 and its been pretty much been running every since, and that’s during years of construction work, active Marine service, and now as a contract instructor. Different locations and duties the whole way. Its not that hard bro, if you just look at it the right way. Of course it must be said that you need to eat right also, which isn’t a matter of time. As you are going to have to eat my friend, and it takes just as much time to eat crap as it does to eat something healthy, but that is the subject is for next month. Till then be safe always, and good when you can. Good luck.

Semper Fi
MGunz

Corps Strength – Enjoy It!

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Enjoy ItOne common problem I see with people that are trying to get in shape, is that they don’t let themselves enjoy the process. I have a news flash for you tough guy; Every exercise program can, and should include some fun stuff. It doesn’t have to be ass-kicking painful 24/7 to be effective. The fact is that if you try to make it that way, you won’t last long, that I know from personal experience. You need a balance for it to work long term, hard vs. easy (fun). When I’m trying to work out a exercise program for someone, one thing I always ask them is what did they like to do for fun when then were 10 years old? Rarely (like never) have I had a person tell me that when they were 10 they liked to do “Cross-Fit” or run marathons. Well of course not, back then it was about fun, not fitness. but the point here is that you can greatly help your overall physical fitness (and mental fitness) program by not spending everyday preforming a 4am Weight-Vest, Beach Run Beat down (or something like it). I don’t care what your physical condition is, or your fitness goals are, you need to give the hard-core PT a rest once in a while and just do something for the fun of it. Good examples of this are sports like golf, softball, touch football, hunting and fishing. They all get you outside, are best done with friends, and while active, pretty easy on the PT scale. One thing I like to do is ride a bike. Now I’ve been in many Cycling and Triathlon races over the years, and in the process logged in thousands of hard bike miles training for them, but thats not what I’m talking about here. When the weather cooperates, I get up a little earlier and ride my bike to work. I don’t dress up like Lance Armstrong, nor do I ride my $2000 mountain bike. I have an old “hard tail” mountain bike that I tuned up with some road tires, and a old man gel saddle. I ride the 7 miles to and from work at a leisurely pace, and just enjoy the ride. Its an easy way to get in another hour of PT without really trying. It also works wonders for my attitude, just like it did when I was 10, as there was nothing I liked more than riding my Sting Ray bike with my friends. The bottom line is that riding a bike is still fun and it is exercise at the same time. So give yourself a break now and then and take a day just to do what what your inner 10 year old liked to do. No, you can’t throw rocks at girls. Haha. Be safe, and good luck.

MGunz
www.corpsstrength.com

Corps Strength – Making a Comeback

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013

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About a month ago I got a phone call from a old Marine buddy of mine. Way back in the good old days (early 80’s) we were in 3rd platoon together as a part of a Marine Security Forces attachment. This guy was a PT stud back in the day, a 300 PFTer and one tough bastard in a scrap, even at a lean 5ft11/170lbs. Unlike myself he ended his active duty career after four years and settled into comfortable civilian life in Houston. I had lost touch with him until, through the magic of Facebook, we reconnected. After we had caught up on the last 30 years, he related to me that he was very worried about his health. Since our “3rd Herd” days his weight had ballooned to over 280lbs, his blood pressure was sky high, and he hadn’t really done any regular exercise since he left the Corps. He had heard about my book Corps Strength and wanted some advice. My advice? First I sent him a copy of my book and I advised him to try the eating plan I outline in there. It’s a simple, easy to follow plan that’s helped many hundreds lose weight, and maintain strength. As far as exercise goes, I told him that for the first 30 days, I wanted him to do only two things; walk and stretch. These two are the best way to start after a long layoff, and much more beneficial than people think. He was doubtful, and wanted to jump right into a Marine Corps style PT program. That I advised, would be the worst possible thing for him to try at this point, and was sure would fail and may be even dangerous. The further you are from being in shape, the slower you have to go on your way back. That’s if your serious about losing weight and getting in better shape, and not just making a show. This is a very common situation, people go for long periods without regular exercise, or watching what they eat and after a period of time find themselves overweight and out of shape. Then their first impulse is to jump into a exercise routine that is way too advanced for their present condition. This ALWAYS leads to failure (and probably injury) within a few weeks. Former military people and athletes are the worst offenders of this foolishniess. “Long term results, not short term fixes” has to be your guidance if you want to make a serious and lasting physical “comeback.” My advice is to go slow and you’ll get there. My friend? He sent me a email today, he’s lost 12lbs in his first three weeks and feels better already. A couple more weeks and we’ll add some calisthenics, no rush. We’re focused on the long game.

Good luck, be safe.
Semper Fi
MGunz

Core Strength – Be Prepared For The Fight

Sunday, December 23rd, 2012

Normally around this time of year my monthly fitness column focuses in the challenges of trying to maintain your exercise program and diet during the holiday season. However, this year the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn took my thoughts a long way from running and eating, it took me back to a nearby place some 11 years ago. In August of 2001 I was on leave between duty stations at my parent’s home in upstate NY. One day my wife and I took our two young boys on a day trip to NYC, a few hours south. It was a beautiful summer day, and we took in all the normal sights, to include World Trade Center. We spent about an hour on the South Tower observation deck, a great view, you could see for miles. A few weeks later I was checking in at my new duty station, and someone came in and told us that an airplane had just crashed into the WTC, huh? I was just there? We all went down to the duty hut and were watching the live news broadcast when the second plane slammed into the South Tower. That was Sept 11, 2001. We all know the national tragedy of that day, and the history changing events that followed with Iraq and Afghanistan. I had more than one nightmare about that day, and specifically the thought of what would have happened if the terrorists had attacked the day my family was there. How could I have saved my family if the planes hit while we were on the roof? My stubborn Marine mindset said that I would have gotten it done, somehow, someway. It was the only way to get the bad dream to end with us surviving. In any case for me to have actually done it would have required an extraordinary physical effort, God’s help and some luck.

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Pic of the WTC from the ferry. The pic says August 1st, but i think it was more toward the middle of the month

Now we have another terrible event that’s rocked our nation. The thought of 20 innocent children being gunned down is beyond comprehension. It gives me the same sick feeling that I got watching people fall from the WTC. How could this happen? What is the fix to prevent this? Better school security? Better mental health screening? Banning certain weapons from all but those who have advanced training and through background checks? Maybe all of the above, I don’t know, that’s all above my pay grade. I do know that if I was in that school that day, and if I didn’t have my own CCW on hand, I would have put every second of physical training that I’ve ever done in my life, into a single life or death focus to get my hands on the shooter. Now I’m not stupid, I’ve see what a 5.56 round can do to a human body. I know that one hit in a vital area, and it wouldn’t matter what level of physical condition I’m in, it’s over for me and anyone else for that matter. However, I like to think that just maybe, because I’m in good condition that I could have weathered it, at least to let me survive till I could do something. Could there ever be a better reason to keep yourself in top condition? To maybe save the life of a innocent child? I think not. In any case have Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

Semper Fi
MGunz
www.corpsstrength.com

Corps Strength – PT Your Attitude

Monday, November 12th, 2012

In my present job as an instructor at the U.S. Navy’s International Training Center here in Pensacola, we have different levels of physical training for our different courses. Each is specifically designed for each course goals and student makeup. Some are very tough (Marine TBS, Dive school, EOD and BUDS Preparatory). While on the other end are easy entry level stuff, mostly to demonstrate how to set up and conduct basic unit PT, and give the students a chance to workout. As you might guess the physical condition of the students attending also has a wide variance. Some are in serious condition, while others are in very poor shape. While they may not have the high speed PT training programs that we sometimes take for granted in the U.S military, they often surprise me with their unfiltered take on things.

Recently I recently had a student from Antigua (now a Navy Ensign who started out first in their Army) had already been to OCS in the Coast Guard Academy, Army Ranger School, the U.S. Army’s Infantry Officer course and also attended a (brutal) six month Jungle Warfare training school in Guyana. Tall and thin he’s in pretty good shape, but not really the PT stud you would think. I’ve had many conversations with him about all different training he’s been through, and I was (of course) very curious to what he thought about the PT that he had to deal with at these different schools. Some of his answers surprised me. His overall opinion was that 99% of all this PT was mental. He’s observation was that if you have a basic level of fitness, the rest was mental. He witnessed many people in these schools that seemed to be in awesome physical shape, drop out after only a few weeks, or even days. They just didn’t have it attitude wise. I agree totally and this leads me back to where I always go with getting in shape, its all about the way you think about it. You have to get your head screwed on right, or all the special diets, workout routines and supplements won’t matter. I talk about this a lot in my book Corps Strength. If fact I’ve often been accused of harping on it TOO much? I don’t think so, as I think its importance cannot be over stressed, IMO much more important than any specific workout routine.

The bottom line is you’ve got come to terms with the simple fact that getting in good shape and maintaining a healthy bodyweight is work. Its not easy, never was and never will be. But get a grip, its not torture and its not impossible. It just requires some effort, a little discipline AND above all else the right thought process. Put the right thoughts in your “brain housing group” and your on your way, after that all you need is the PT and diet routine that work for your lifestyle and goals. Don’t get too fancy, don’t start out to fast, always think long term and you’ll get there. I’ve seen it hundreds, if not thousands of times. By the way my student thought that Coast Guard OCS was the toughest school. Huh?? Coast Guard OCS tougher than Ranger School, Why? Not because of the PT but because of the tough swim requirements, he isn’t a great swimmer. Again its all about the way you look at it. Good luck and be safe.

Semper Fi
MGunz

Corps Strength – The Marine Mammal

Sunday, October 21st, 2012

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As a career Marine, a fitness nut (with ADHD) and now a PT instructor for international military students, I couldn’t tell you how many miles I’ve run. I’ve been running as part of a workout, or sports program since I was about 10 years old, so that’s over 40 years of running, and I don’t think there are many stretches in there when I wasn’t running. The point is that while I still enjoy running, and feel its probably the single best aerobic conditioner out there is, I don’t run everyday, at least not anymore. I find that I now run better (and faster) if I substitute some other type of aerobic training at least 2 or 3 times a week. Bike riding, hiking, stair climbing, etc. I do all of these and think that they’re all great workouts. Another thing that I’ve used on and off over the years is swimming. Now plenty of people swim for exercise, and you can go to almost any local pool and you’ll see lots of people training for triathlons and master swim meets. You can always spot these jokers. They swim more like dolphins than people. Swimming along at an impossible speeds, flip turns, and it all looks easy. Well take fit it from me, swimming fast isn’t easy. I’ve competed in dozens of triathlons and the swim was always my worst event. I had old ladies and kids go by me like I was threading water. It takes training, skill, and frankly; talent to do well. However, swimming to improve your fitness doesn’t require an Olympic level of effort or skills. I have seen great results from just a few hours a week in the pool. Having tried many different swimming workouts, my favorite one is a simple no brainer that will quickly improve your aerobic conditioning. You get in the pool and just swim back and forth underwater. Come up when you need to and go back down, and try to get in as many laps as you can in an hour. I like to swim as fast as I can underwater the 25 yard length of the pool, then come up take a short rest (30 seconds or so) and then go back. This isn’t easy, trust me. Just getting to be able swim the pool length on one breath will be a hard enough goal at first. But I am convinced this is a great conditioner. I know that when I’ve got a few weeks doing this workout 2-3 times a week, my runs are better. Wear fins like as a variation, I do. This workout won’t make you swim like Michael Phelps (nothing will, sorry) but you will get a great workout. Try It. Good luck and be safe

MGunz
www.corpsstrength.com

Corps Strength – Active Rest

Sunday, September 23rd, 2012

Last week a startling report was published in the national news. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, (based on current state by state surveys), by the year 2030, more than 42% of the adult population will be obese – not merely overweight – but obese. For comparison; In 1990 the obesity rate in the U.S was 12 percent, 2010 – 35%. The impact of obesity on overall health are well known; diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure rates increase dramatically as body fat increases. Not only is this a huge burden on our already stressed out health care system, but frankly a threat to our national security. As I’ve said before, no country can maintain a strong economy and military, if the majority of its people are unhealthy. It just won’t work.

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Since my book Corps Strength was published in 2010 I’ve received 100’s of emails from people trying to lose weight and get in better shape. While everyone is different, when you strip a way all the hype and BS, losing weight, and maintaining a healthy bodyweight is really comes down to more movement, less chow. Now I realize that is a simple solution to a very difficult problem for many people, but I also think most people make this harder than it has to be. In my book I lay out a proven exercise system and simple healthy eating plan that has been proven to work for all types of people. That being said, I think that beyond diet and actual exercise, there is a very important aspect in helping keep your weight in check. Its what I call “Active Rest.” These are daily activities that would not be considered exercise but do burn calories. Good examples of Active Rest are walking the dog, mowing the lawn, washing the car, riding a bike, etc. The blunt fact is that too many people in this country spend way too much time shining a chair with their backside. Our go to recreation over the last few years has become watching TV, surfing the internet, etc. I read another medical story recently that “sitting has become the new smoking” when it comes to influencing overall health. Its more than just being lazy, our jobs have become much less physical also. Progress has made doing less a habit that is effecting or health. Not to mention the effect thats its having on our children, their obesity rates are also on the rise.

20120923-164939.jpgIf you travel overseas like I frequently do, you’ll notice very few obese or overweight people. It’s not because they exercise 24/7 or have perfect diets, far from it, in fact I think they do much less formal exercise and certainly don’t pay as much attention to their diets. It’s because they’re generally just more active. Meaning more active rest, they do more walking and bike riding in their daily lives, and I’m convinced this has a huge impact on helping keep their weight in check. The bottom line is if you want to get your weight right, diet and exercise may not be enough, you need to get moving. Turn off the TV, or computer and take the dog for a walk. Especially after dinner. Try it, it works. Good luck and take care.

Semper Fi
MGunz

Corps Strength – Olympic Dreaming

Monday, August 20th, 2012


Over the past couple of weeks I’ve spent a bunch of time watching the London Olympics. I’m sure most people would agree with me when I say the unreal athletic ability displayed by the men and women competing there is sometimes hard to comprehend as its so far above what the average person can do. Yes, it would have been great to have the talent get to the Olympics, let alone win a medal, but in reality that’s just a dream for the vast majority of us.

That being said, we need to remember that we have people who must be ready to operate at a world class physical level everyday, and these people aren’t blessed with superhuman genetics, unlimited time, and funds for training. They’re our First Responders; Military, Fire-Fighters and law enforcement. Out there in harms way 24/7 protecting lives at home, and overseas in combat zones. Now these everyday hero’s will never be able to run the 100 with Usain Bolt, but I wonder how Bolt would fare humping a 60+lb pack up a rocky hill in Afghanistan, fueled by cold MRE’s, warm water, on only a few hours sleep (not to mention being shot at in the process)? The point is that the physical requirements of First Responders are fundamentally different than Olympic or professional athletes. In addition, they need to preform at their best not just every four years, but everyday, and sometimes, for days on end. To maintain this high level of conditioning over a long career requires a specifically focused system and training mindset. This has always been the goal of my fitness book Corps Strength. Not to get you ready for the decathlon, soccer or water polo, but well prepared to handle the difficult tasks that you may have to deal with everyday. Like hiking with heavy gear, running with equipment or weapons, climbing and lifting (yours and others) body weight over obstacles, just to name a few. My system was designed and tested in the real world, by real people from all different types of working occupations, and it’s been proven an effective and sustainable program. The bottom line is it works and doesn’t require excessive amounts of training time or special equipment. In any case my exercise system probably won’t get you an Olympic medal, but it can help you accomplish the mission and help keep you healthy on the job for years to come. Try it.

Be safe and Semper Fi
MGunz