Sent 3 yrs stationed at hospital as corpsman and put on 30 lbs gym was nice and had the time. Once I went greenside it all went to shit. Running all the time with grunts, field training, and humps burned all my hard earned mass back off. It can be done but it depends on your rate(job).
Ha ha ha, I laugh at the thought of a serviceman trying to gain or keep mass once gained.
As a former active duty Marine (1994 OTH Discharge) I will tell you it's difficult, at best, to live our lifestyle. Way too many calories burned and not enough food coming in. The most basic principle of all physique augmentation philosophy.
I have several friends who have done 2-3 tours and most the compounds have gyms, food served most the day, showers etc.. Some of those compounds over seas serve Mcdonalds and other stuff.. Most these guys go out for day or so on missions and then might be sitting around for 2-3 days.. If your deticated youll find ways to make it work.
If you are in the army or marines full time forget it they run you into the ground, Maybe reserves, airforce, or navy have time for that shit. But the military wants lean soldiers with incredible endurance to keep going and going. So if you are looking for size and in a combat mos you are going to have a really hard time eatting right, and Pt is going to burn up most of your muscle (endurance running, calestenics). I'm a three year field artillery Vet. I was one sixty in the army lifting all the time. I've been out for a few years and I'm a decent two thirty now.
I'm curious, Wouldnt it make sense to have the MRE's and food on base be extremely high calorie to support the energy requirements during training and or deployment. IMO you wouldnt want a soldier to ever "run out of gas" especially when the really need it most. again just curious cause I couldnt serve. I was medically ineligable at the time.
I'm curious, Wouldnt it make sense to have the MRE's and food on base be extremely high calorie to support the energy requirements during training and or deployment. IMO you wouldnt want a soldier to ever "run out of gas" especially when the really need it most. again just curious cause I couldnt serve. I was medically ineligable at the time.
The down side of MRE's is all the preservatives and sodium used to extend shelf life of them that from my experience hinder lean gains. These little MRE bombs as I call them can last up to 7yrs.
MRE's which are only eaten in the field are physique destroyers because they are loaded with shit you don't want and there were days when I was only eatting once or twice a day on three hours sleep for weeks at a rip in thirty below weather it's not exactly the ideal place for BBs lol but then I got to college and bam now we are talking nothing to do but train, study, sleep, and eat
OP you going the enlisted or officer route? What's your routine like?
Chris what are your thoughts on PT and what works the best to get a soldier in tip top shape?
Currently pursuing OCS myself. Like bigrisk said, if your of age, do it. I've been trying for the last 3 years, but cut backs have cut me off already from one branch, so I went to the next available branch, and I actually want to leave my great/well paying job to serve.
My entire 6 days is usually AM- 3mi walk then rotating different runs/sprints with a push/pull/sit up routine in the PM on opposite days. Nutrition wise I eat from 12-8. High protein mod carbs low fat. Mostly fruit and sweet potatoes for carbs, nuts or a small salad with olive oil for my fats.
In my personal experience, in the infantry and ranger batt it is very difficult to put on or keep any real size unless you have amazing genetics. Even then, you probably won't be big by bodybuilding standards. In SF, you can definitely be big. You spend a lot of time in countries where gear is OTC, and you're usually not spending more than a night or two in e field on missions. You can't be pro big in either place though. You simply won't be able to perform the endurance based tasks required of you at that size.
Remember there are jobs in every branch that don't require a lot of field time or high PT scores. You could be huge and still manage a 180 by army standards but go to an infantry unit and I cant imagine the genetically normal enhanced or not pulling a mandatory 275 and being all that big.
If you want to serve for the benefits, pay, college money etc and don't care about playing with explosives or shooting a lot then try to get a "light" MOS. Do something like finance where you will usually be working 8-4 (0800-1600 lol) and only have to go to the field once or twice a year for mandatory quals. The biggest guys I remember were like clercks, cooks, and motor pool guys, but it probably ain't gonna happen in a combat arms MOS.
Ive got 3 years in the Ranger Regiment and 11 years in Special Forces with 6 combat deployments. You can definitively carry a lot of muscle in combat arms but it takes more prior planning and commitment than your usual lifter. I took my own 100lb dumbbells on my last deployment. Callahan's gym on Ft. Bragg is full of thick paratroopers. I've never once heard of a guy getting tested for performance enhancing substances and known LOTS of guys using. Remember playing "Call of Duty" is fun, living it is A LOT better.
Ive got 3 years in the Ranger Regiment and 11 years in Special Forces with 6 combat deployments. You can definitively carry a lot of muscle in combat arms but it takes more prior planning and commitment than your usual lifter. I took my own 100lb dumbbells on my last deployment. Callahan's gym on Ft. Bragg is full of thick paratroopers. I've never once heard of a guy getting tested for performance enhancing substances and known LOTS of guys using. Remember playing "Call of Duty" is fun, living it is A LOT better.