Preparation: Lifting, Running & Supplementation

(I'll probably come back from this Summer looking like a MMA fighter, Georges St. Pierre.)

In preparation for OCS, I've been lifting and running without much time off for a bit more than a year. I take days off here and there, and will increase my time off as the days leading up to OCS dwindle, but I still have to keep intensity relatively high so that I can perform at my best when I get to Quantico. I'm running a minimum of 15 miles a week, with 20 being the goal and 25 miles as a self-imposed (to avoid central nervous system fatigue) maximum. Lifting is definitely different for me right now. Over the course of the last year, for the first 6-7 months I did a standard total body routine, 4 days a week. For about the past 4 months I've been doing more of a split routine, working out no more than 2 specific muscle groups per workout, up to 6 days a week.

More recently I've been going back to a focus on upperbody strength to give my legs a rest with the increase in running mileage. I'm doing one leg workout per week that also combines a lower back movement (deadlifts). The other days I'm working out twice a day at a reduced volume. What this facilitates is an increase in my resting metabolic rate (RMR) because I position the two workouts about 4-6 hours apart. I'm burning more calories all day long because I'm spreading the work load over the day rather than devastating my CNS with one all-out session.

This way, I can run, lift and lean out even further and hopefully reduce what fat mass I have before getting to Quantico. I'll be in the leanest, strongest, and most rested state for the grueling 10-week stay in the hellish heat of a Quantico Summer.

Protein powder is considered contraband in Quantico, but they do allow us to bring 2 containers of that powdered Gatorade mix, so that will help me to recover and stay fresh.

Pre-Quantico Supplementation: I won't be able to have ANYTHING like supplements or vitamins during OCS. The only thing close is Gatorade, which is pretty dumb, but that's the rule. I am taking a multitude of supplements right now, to increase leanness and aid in recovery. Right now I take a standard Multi-vitamin from Beverly International, Flameout fish oil from Biotest, Carbolin-19 from Biotest, ZMA from Biotest, and a GNC-brand of L-Carnitine. Nothing over-the-top and nothing illegal. Carbolin-19 is the only supplement that I would consider "exotic." It's a muscle preservation and metabolism-boosting supplement that is supposed to help those in caloric deficits retain muscle mass and lose fat instead of hard-earned muscle. With the excessive running and sprinting that I'm doing, combined with lifting, I'm burning up a lot of calories. My weight is holding steady, so that's a good sign that A) Carbolin-19 is working or B) I'm eating enough protein.