Most people associate the physical excellence of Marines with the dramatic capabilities they show in combat. They slither under barbed wire with live ammo firing overhead; they rappel down ropes from perilous heights; they are deadly in hand-to-hand combat; they leap from helicopters into jungle terrain; they storm beaches in heavy seas, laden with the weight of their weapons; they march many miles in tropical heat, carrying more than 50 pounds of equipment; they carry wounded comrades to safety. Every Marine, male and female, who passes muster in recruit training must be able to perform these harsh and taxing maneuvers, and the reason he/she can rests on the foundation of the physical fitness training each has satisfactorily completed during basic training. When Marine recruits arrive at either one of our two training depots in San Diego, California, or Parris Island, South Carolina, they face the prospect of having to live up to one of the strictest physical training regimens known to any military service. Under the aggressive and no-nonsense discipline of their Marine drill instructors, these 17- to 28-year-old recruits will, in the course of 11 weeks, be shaped into strong, agile, combat-ready Marines. At the center of the physical training process lies the Daily 16, a regimen of stretching, warm-up, and calisthenics exercises, which when augmented by a program of aerobic running and conditioning, gives the Marine recruits strength, endurance, agility, and quickness. The Daily 16 and the running program that complements it can be followed by all dedicated men and women from teenagers to senior citizens who seek to be in admirable shape. The terrain in which recruits train has been specially designed to make them combat-ready Marines. Recruits have access to large fields, running tracks, circuit and obstacle courses, and all sorts of equipment specifically designed for their military preparation. These conditions are unlikely to be readily available to the civilian athlete. Therefore, circuit and obstacle courses have been eliminated, as have exercises that require swimming. However, you will find here time-tested physical training substitutions for these activities, which, if you are not actually training to be a Marine, will get you in the same kind of excellent shape a recruit must achieve. Along with the Daily 16, the running and treadmill aerobics perfected by Kenneth H. Cooper at his famous Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, considered Marine Corps baseline guides for aerobic fitness, are key to a Daily 16 conditioning program under the familiar restrictions of city living, full-time occupations, and even retirement. Major General L. M. Palm, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) Executive Director, Marine Corps Association, Quantico, Virginia Excerpted from The Marine Corps Daily 16 Workout: Marine Fitness for the Civilian Athlete by Freundlich Communication Staff, U. S. Marine Corps Staff All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
