T Nation

My Situation

Bodybuilding
#1

Hey guys,

I haven’t written here in a while, but I get useful information everytime I write. Okay, In 5 months I’m leaving to go to boot camp, so I am reluctant to go to one of King’s, Alessi’s, or Poloquin’s intense strength or hypertrophy programs. I have also just started a Brazilian Jui Jitzu/Stick and Knife fighting/Kickboxing class held MTWT for 2.5 hours. Now according to King, I don’t want to overtrain, b/c I am also taking 14 hours of Physics, Precal, Lit., and Humanities, so I have very little time. I was originally hoping that the martial arts would be enough to strip the fat and keep muscle for me, but now I’m convinced I need to work out. It seems cycling between 2 and 3 days a week would be optimal for my recovery ability with the given stress. I can only afford to buy some ADVANCED PROTIEN, MULTIVITAMAIN/MINERAL, MRP’S, FLAX AND FISH OILS, MD-6, and SOME CREATINE. Given that I weigh 180 and am probably back at 12-15% bodyfat (Damn those holidays), I REALLY want to lose the fat, possibly gain some strength, learn theses REALLY cool martial arts classes, pass all of my classes w/ between a 3-4.0 avg., and possibly get some tail on the side, he he.

ANYWAY, I’ve got a good grasp of the t-dawg/low carb diets, and I’ve read the massive eating/bulking diets, but was gonna try folloing the “precision nutrition” article on the backfiles, where I’ll be eating high quality carbs and protiens. Given that I’ll only be able to workout on MWF mornings (alternating b/w 2-3 times/week every 3 weeks), do you guys have any suggestions for splits and maybe excersize selection that I could use? Like I said earlier, as soon as I leave for bootcamp, I’m not gonna be able to do what I want as far as gaining muscle for about 5-10 months, so I don’t want to start those “Twelve weeks of pain” programs until time permits. Also, do you guys have any suggestions for literature on dieting?

#2

BTW, how many grams of Dietary Fat (Fish and Flax) should I be eating when NOT following a low carb/high fat, or massive eating? What if I was to try 30carb/45protien/25fat?

#3

Why not investigate some stuff by Charles Staley on t-mag or his myodyanmics site, Pavel Tsatsouline t-mag articles or dragondoor.com both guys with martial arts programs etc, or even read the combat conditioning and the top 9 exercises for functional strength article. Do you need to prepare exercise wise for the camp?

#4

Go with pavel. Its what he is all about.

#5

Listen, Build up your endurance and calistenics. (pull-ups,chin ups,mountain climbers ,jumpin jacks) you most likely are going to lose alot of upper body mass. But you need to realize that your goal is to build endurance. Everyone has this concept or idea that everyone that graduates from boot come out yolked (that’s far from the truth) the majority of recruits that become marines become frail and get prone to illness fairly easily during and after boot ( like at MCT or SOI) I was one of them ( i was 195 lbs and got down to 145 in 10 weeks) by the way are you going to Parris Island or MCRD San Diego???

#6

As a former Airborne Infantry Officer who ran an advanced training school I will give you this advise.

  1. Train your Heart and Mind.
    Go to the TRADOC webpage…Under US Military…Army…Get a hold of the Phyical Training Manual. Also watch the Army website to see what Basic Training is all about. I hope you got to see the SEAL training on the discovery channel this week. Watch Combat Missions on the USA Network. This is the type of guy who will be training you. Also get the Basic Soldier Skills manual and study it. If you can, visit your local ROTC unit and ask for help (ask the NCOs, not the Officers). LEARN to shoot.
    2)Now Body
    a) Get yourself a Ruck Sack. Put a sand bag in it. Start by adding a little sand or gravel to the bag. Place your books on top and carry it every where you go. To classes between classes, walking to and from school. On each week end start walking for long distances, work up to twenty miles with Ruck and Combat boots.
    b) Check with you local track coach get a good program for the two-mile (1,500 meters) run. This usually consists of a long run, several short runs and IT.
    c) In the gym stick to the basics:
    Bob Starrs only the strong survive is a good program (Power Cleans, Squat and Bench Press)with push-ups and sit-ups added(These are done to time, work on your pacing).
    Now the bad news…You MA training will help with your mental toughness…The military only pays small attention to it, you will only get the minimum in basic. Also lots of muscle will set you apart and cause you headache you can not believe. Learn to blend in and yet excell at everything you do.
    Best of luck.