“A stool with two legs cannot stand upright.” This principle is interwoven into the fabric of the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program regarding the three disciplines (mental, physical and character). I’ve been talking a lot about the mental discipline, and for fear of becoming unbalanced, I thought it was time to talk about the physical discipline.

I don’t really weight lift anymore. I like to do a combination of calisthenics and running to maintain muscle strength, endurance, and agility. I find that my current regimen works well and I’ll eventually write about it. While my fitness is average compared to most Marines I meet these days, I’m extremely fit for a computer-working civilian pushing 35.

When I was on active duty, however, I worked out with (then) Sergeant Tony Haynes who was (and still is) about the most physically fit person I ever met. He is the perfect blend of speed, endurance, and strength. He does dead-hang pull-ups with about 100 lbs strapped to him; works out with almost 300 lbs on the bench press and well over 400 on squats; and can do full back flips in his dress blues (yes, really!). He has a musculature that has won him several amateur bodybuilding titles, and yet he has the endurance to carry him to a personal best of about 18:30 for his three mile run. While working out with him, I received similar results—minus the back flips. The following article, first published on OO-RAH.com, is a good resource for anyone wanting to try a good weight lifting program.

Getting Strong
Without a doubt physical fitness is one of the key ingredients to the success of the Marine Corps. Whether storming a beach, or carrying 70 lbs of gear 20 miles, it takes an enormous amount of physical toughness to be a Marine. This toughness, as every Marine knows, is the result of hard work, grit and sweat spent at countless pt sessions.

The quality of a unit’s pt program varies according to who is running the program. Some units that have absolutely fantastic programs, and others are merely adequate. When the pt program falls short, it is the responsibility of the individual Marine to close the gap and remain in that fantastic fighting shape that has been winning battles since 1775.

It’s not enough to just go to the gym and throw weights around for an hour or so; you need a battle plan. Here is an overview of a five-day workout plan that will put lean muscle on your body. The workout is broken down so that each body part gets worked once in a five-day period. This allows plenty of rest for your muscles between successive workouts, and (with two days full rest) allows you to fit the whole workout into a convenient seven-day schedule.

Here is the plan:

Monday - Chest
3 sets of bench press
3 sets of incline bench press
3 sets of decline bench press
3 sets of incline dumbbell flies
3 sets of cable cross overs
3 sets of crunches (30 seconds)

Tuesday - Quadriceps
3 sets of squats
3 sets of quadricep extensions
3 sets of leg press
3 sets of leg lifts (30 seconds)

Wednesday - Back and Calves
4 sets of pull-ups
3 sets of lat pull downs
3 sets of barbell rows
3 sets of single arm dumbbell rows
3 sets of donkey calf raises
3 sets of seated calf raises
3 sets of crunches (30 seconds)

Thursday - Arms
3 sets of seated double arm dumbbell curls
3 sets of easy bar curls
3 sets of tricep extensions
3 sets of standing tricep pull-downs
3 sets of leg lifts (30 seconds)

Friday - Shoulders and hamstrings
3 sets of stiff dead lifts
3 sets of hamstring curls
3 sets of military press
3 sets of standing dumbbell flies
3 sets of crunches (30 seconds)

You can switch it up if you like, or substitute different exercises that you like better. Simply work each major muscle group once a week (except abs which get worked more frequently) and get a few days rest. This is the best strength-building program I’ve ever done and is worth a try if you’re looking to get strong. An aerobic plan would need to augment this plan to achieve endurance.