Weights vs just using body weight??

[joshbeam1]

Say...i've been wondering y guys in the military(at least in basic) do a shit load of push ups, pullups, etc. instead of using weights. WOuldn't it be more beneficial to use heavier weights?? What r your guys thoughts concerning this?? Say u went from doing alot of heavy lifting, to just doing a bunch of pushups, pullups etc....wouldn't u loose alot of mass/strength??
the only reason i'm asking, is i'm thinking about joining the marines. I'm 228lbs 6ft 3'' at about 10%bf. I've busting my ass to get where I am today strenght and size wise and wouldn't wanna loose it all in a matter of months. I know they run alot too, something i'm not real fond of.
Thanks for your help.
I know after basic u'd have access to a weight room again. Just dunno if I could get in as many meals as i'd need. Dunno what the military is like really.

 

[blackbeard]

you dont get enough cals in the marines to support muscle growth..you will however get "skinnier" by dropping both fat and muscle..

Im not an armed forces expert but my guess its easier to train a lrger group of people using push-up pull-ups than it is to teach them how to squat bench dead..

Im not a big fan of push-up but pull-ups will get the majority of the upper body

 

[AngryMuscles]

they will own your ass if you're weak!!! lol
try it out, ya might enjoy..who knows...

 

[gottabadrash]

pushups and pullups are great when your stuck in a prison cell but i would opt for weights if available

 

[thetopdog]

you dont get enough cals in the marines to support muscle growth..you will however get "skinnier" by dropping both fat and muscle..

Im not an armed forces expert but my guess its easier to train a lrger group of people using push-up pull-ups than it is to teach them how to squat bench dead..

Im not a big fan of push-up but pull-ups will get the majority of the upper body

I think it's more because pull ups and push ups are more applicable to the basic work the guys are going to be doing in the trenches. They don't really need to be that strong to go to war, after all, they are all armed with guns They do need a lot of endurance however, which is what these bodyweight exercises are good for

You can build pretty decent lats with bodyweight exercises, but mostly everything else is going to suffer a lot if you're doing a bodyweight only routine.

 

[Chaz B]

i went from a decent build to a mushy ball of shit when i got done with basic training. i was the skinniest i had ever been, lost a lot of muscle. the only good thing about basic was that when i was done i could run for miles without getting tired. the first thing i heard when i got home was a bunch of my buddies telling me the just want to feed me. the military also bases most of its standards for that fat ass kid that has sat on the couch most of his life. so if you're a serious lifter or been active with sports, basic will be a breeze....at least for the army.

 

[0nyx]

just gonna throw in , you wont be getting your usual 8 hours of sleep either

they will fuck your whole routine up. but your endurance will be a lot better .. if thats any conselation (probly not)

 

[adidamps2]

join the COAST GUARD, plus its only 8 wks long of boot they still smoke the shit out of ya with push ups and sit ups plus rifle drill pt, 2nd hardest boot out there next to marines boot, trust me i did the armies once and now im in the CG and theres is much more physically demanding than the armies was and depending on time of yr little to no running since its in JERSEY..and oh yea theres no food limitation u can eat as much as u want as long as u can get it all dwn ur throat in 20 min or so...also u need to be able to tread h2o for 10 min and swim 100 meters in 10 min sounds easy but i found it very challenging..

 

[painless2]

In boot camp yes, but afterwards and especially while on floats, Marines lift weights. You get plenty of calories, but if you get too big too fast you have to get weight waivers. They go by height weight charts, which makes it difficult, but not impossible of course.

 

[adidamps2]

in the coast guard they go by ur HT and then tape ur wrist, waist, and neck for males..if u come in over the wt they want u at(mines 201 lbs for a 5'8" male with a 7 3/4" wrist 36" waist and 16 3/4 neck but i wt in at 217 and under 20 bf) they TAPE you if u make body fat they adjust ur new WT STANDARD to that wt u are at taping, no big deal..

 

[joshbeam1]

thanx guys.
CG sounds good. I hate running. WIll check into that. Not sure if i'm going to join now. Just bid a new job thats gonna bring some decent $$ flow. So will think about it. Don't wanna have to loose all the muscle i've worked so hard for either. Doubt they'd feed me enough either, so i'll check into this cg thing.

 

[adidamps2]

hey check em out as a matter a fact i would look hard at each branch of service coast guard, army, marines, navy, and airforce and see which one would meet your over all needs in life and get you to were you want to go. im partial to the CG but only cuz im here now, but i have served in the army also. check out the reserve and national guard options too...they are all a great way to get ahead and help in life imo..

 

[Chaz B]

stay away from the damn army, they chew you up and spit you out. airforce or coast guard is the way to go. unless you wanna be a hard core mo' fo', then go marine recon.

 

[shaved_head_in_NC]

Speaking from 19 years of service (1 more to retire) its a couple of reasons.
1. When you have a 100+ size company doing physical training every morning, they can't all lift weights at once (Ft. Bragg, its almost a crime to go lift weights in the morning during PT)
2. Military is way behind as far as physical training goes. Special Forces are the exception. They weight train like mad when they aren't deployed, bulk up, get strong, then when they do deploy to remote areas, the aren't quick to waste away.
3. Military still has to many old timers (my opinion about the Army). They have no clue how to use weight training as a tool to build stronger soldiers
4. Most single soldiers won't go to the gym after work!!
Just my opinion, but I've gone from a 6'3" 180lbs soldier to a 6'3 225lb soldier because of IRON!

 

[Tafman]

my brother went into the navy at 260lb 6'1 and muscular like a washed up football player. after a year he was at 190lb. took him another year to get to a nice 230lb. all they do is run and run and run. cant get enough food either. had to spend 40 bucks a week at subway just to get his protein.

 

[joshbeam1]

Yeah, thats what I hear from a few people I know in the service. They weren't all that big though to begin with, but now they're even smaller. I'm sitting at a comfortable 228lbs w/about 9-10%bf at 6ft 3in. I hardly ever run, or do any cardio for that matter(1x a wk maybe). I lift alot though. Guess i'll just figure on loosing most of my muscle if I join anything but the CG. Suppose it'd be pretty hard to get into the special forces??