The path of legends.

Last week, I posted about my initial journey to exercise and what I do now.  I began in middle school and worked my way until I had enlisted in the Marine Corps.  In this post, I want to tell you how the Corps changed my life, in so many ways.

First of all, I'm not a "military brat."  My dad was growing up during the tumultuous time of the Vietnam War and only became of age after it ended.  However, he in-part, and my grandfather who was a WWII veteran did have a profound influence on me.  I chose the Marine Corps for a couple of reasons, first and foremost was that no one in my family had done it before me.  Second, Marines are usually known for their warrior mentality, their physical fitness, and their dedication to each other, all of which I needed in my life (for many reasons, at this point I don't remember them all).  Lastly, the uniform...I mean, have you looked at it?  It's sharp and honestly as a 17 year old, it was for the girls.

When I went into the Marine Corps, the main focus at the

time physically was the Physical Fitness Test or PFT.  As I write this, the Corps has modified the PFT somewhat and has added the Combat Fitness Test to the requirements as well.  The majority of our fitness training consisted of running, seemingly endlessly, pull-ups (especially when we were close to the PFT), and crunches.  If we were fortunate, we'd get some gym time thrown in there as well, but that was rare.

Aside from the platoon level Physical Training (PT), I would spend an additional 1-2 hours daily at the gym.  Looking back, I wish that I could know then what I know now and I'd be much stronger and maybe less dad-bod like than I am.  But what is is what is, and I did what everyone did at that time, consult bodybuilding magazines.  I'd spend endless amounts of time hitting the arms, abs, and chest.  I'd spend some (not much really) time hitting the legs, shoulders, and back.  I usually omitted those areas because I didn't perceive the importance of them and when they hurt, it sucked badly.

One thing that I took on the mantle of, albeit unofficially, was a "personal" trainer to some of my fellow Marines.  The good thing was that I did have some intuition at that point of what was reasonably effective and what wasn't, however it's like a small chip in the ice to what I believe I know now.  I helped my friends improve their PFT, got them dedicated to exercise, and even motivated them to change from the binge drinking and smoking that was so prominent in our lives.  While I would never consider myself as a "personal trainer" at this point in my life, it was essentially what I was doing.

This led me to want to exit the Marine Corps and pursue a college degree in Physical Education, thinking that I could motivate young minds to good fitness and healthy behaviors.  Next week, I'll talk about my undergraduate experience and how that also helped to shape my mindset that I have now.