Fitness

Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen resort to liposuction

By James Sanborn on October 31, 2013 Battle Rattle, Fitness, Marines, Medical, Military appearance

The New York Times, Washington Times and the New York Daily News and others are just now reporting a story that is old news for Military Times readers — service members are resorting to extreme weight-loss methods to meet strict body composition standards. Marine Corps Times reporter James K. Sanborn first broke the story three years ago in July 2010, when it was revealed that a large number of service members were resorting to risky and sometimes deadly weight loss methods including dehydration, purging, diet supplements and yes — even liposuction. Doctors told Marine Corps Times then that often perfectly…

VIDEO: Gold Star mom continues fallen daughter’s tradition of honoring last runner to finish Marine Corps Marathon

By Andrew deGrandpre on October 31, 2013 Competitions, Fitness, Iraq, Sports

[brightcove video=”2789177497001″ /] One of the great privileges I’ve had as Marine Corps Times’ managing editor was attending the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation’s 2011 awards ceremony along with our former senior writer Dan Lamothe, whose work a year prior while on assignment in Afghanistan was recognized with the foundation’s first ever Major Megan McClung Award for dispatch reporting. McClung was working as a public affairs officer in 2006 when she was killed by a roadside bomb blast near Ramadi, Iraq. The night of the ceremony, Dan and I sat with Megan’s parents, Mike and Re. It’s with that context that…

Behind the Cover: Mad as hell about the tape test

By Hope Hodge Seck on August 12, 2013 Battle Rattle, Behind the Cover, Fitness, Military appearance

Meet Staff Sgt. Jeff Smith. He’s a veteran marathoner, a two-workouts-a-day gym rat, and a 17-year-Marine who saw his career hit a major speed bump when he landed on the wrong side of the infamous tape test in 2009. If a Marine falls outside the height and weight regulations specified by the Marine Corps (and data provided by manpower officials show about 14 percent of all Marines do), he or she has to submit to the tape test, which takes a tape measurement of the neck and waist and uses an algorithm to arrive at a body fat calculation. Just…

Marine Corps Marathon sells out–in just over 2 hours

By Hope Hodge Seck on March 27, 2013 Battle Rattle, Fitness, History and heritage, Iwo Jima Memorial, Marines, Sports

Registration for the 2013 Marine Corps Marathon opened today, but if you don’t have your confirmation sheet by now, you’re probably going to have to wait until next year. The extremely popular and elite race sold out at 2:27p.m., according to organizers–just two-and-a-half hours after it opened. That beats last year’s rush, when registration stayed open for 2 hours, 41 minutes. The race is capped at 30,000 participants, including those lucky enough to jockey for a spot during the narrow online registration window, and those who completed the 17.75K (distance an homage to the year the Corps was founded) qualifier…

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2013 USMC Warrior Games team

By Hope Hodge Seck on March 25, 2013 Battle Rattle, Competitions, Fitness, Sports, Wounded warriors

The Marine Corps Wounded Warrior regiment has just announced the team that will represent the Marine Corps at the 2013 Warrior Games May 11-17 in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 48 athletes, listed in full below, include 21 active-duty Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion West, 21 USMC veterans, and six Marines from Wounded Warrior Battalion East. They competed for the top spots in the Corps at the week-long Marine Corps trials aboard Camp Pendleton at the beginning of March. It would seem that home field advantage worked out well for the West Coast Marines, but they will all play on the…

Fighter Diet’s Pauline Nordin joins Military Times as video blogger

By Andrew deGrandpre on February 20, 2013 Fitness

Regular readers of Marine Corps Times will remember Pauline Nordin, whom we put on our cover last year when the Corps expressed interest in forming a partnership with the former body builder. Well, starting soon the 30-year-old fitness guru will begin producing a series of instructional videos for Battle Rattle’s sister blog PT365. Get the lowdown on this new project here.

Behind the Cover: New PFT requirements

By Bethany Crudele on December 3, 2012 Behind the Cover, Boot camp, Combat Fitness Test, Fitness, Marines, Recruit, Sports, Training, women

This week’s Marine Corps Times takes a look at the new physical fitness requirements for female Marines and the impact the change is likely to have on the entire force, not just women. In a forcewide message last week, Marine Commandant Gen. Jim Amos announced that women will be required to complete three pullups to pass the test and eight to achieve a perfect PFT score starting in 2014. The change is likely to impact promotion fairness and unit training for men and women starting in 2013. The flexed-arm hang will remain as part of the Corps’ initial strength test…

Marine Corps Marathon Notebook: The Finish

By Bethany Crudele on November 2, 2012 Fitness, Marines, Sports, Veterans, Wounded warriors

Eighteen weeks of training and 26.2 miles later, we made it to the finish line of the 37th Marine Corps Marathon. Despite incoming Hurricane Sandy, we ran alongside some 30,000 runners from every state and 54 countries on Oct. 28. The turnout was the largest participation in the event’s 37-year history. Despite months of preparation, healthy eating and plenty of rest during the weeks leading up to the race, I forgot how hard running a marathon can be. My running partner, Staff Sgt. Jeremy Boutwell (ret.), and I finished the race in 4 hours and 25 minutes. We ran a…

Marine Corps Marathon Notebook: Rob Riggle’s advice to runners

By Bethany Crudele on October 26, 2012 Fitness, Marines, Sports

It’s almost here. The Marine Corps Marathon is right around the corner. Rather than give you some of my own advice, I thought I’d get some tips from actor and Marine Rob Riggle, who will serve as an honorary starter at this year’s race. In addition to being an actor and comedian, Riggle is also a Marine Corps reservist. During his more than 22-year military career, Riggle has been deployed to Afghanistan, Albania, Kosovo and Liberia. We spoke over the phone earlier this week. Here’s what he had to say: Q: Do you prefer Mr. or Lt. Col. Riggle? A:…

Marine Corps Marathon Notebook: Reasons for running

By Bethany Crudele on October 19, 2012 Fitness, Marines, Sports, Washington, Wounded warriors

There’s nine days left until the 37th Marine Corps Marathon. For many runners living in Washington, D.C. or Virginia, this weekend’s Army 10 Miler will be a good preview of what’s in store for the big day on Oct. 28. Many marathon runners use the Army 10 miler as a last training run in advance of the longer course. While the crowds of spectators are generally smaller, the turnout is always impressive and the course is flat, making it one of the most popular races in the area. This year’s marathon is expected to be the largest in the race’s…

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