Week one of Basic Marine Corp Training can be quite a shock upon arrival at Parris Island.

This article pertains mainly to preparing for Marine Corps basic training at Marine Boot Camp, but the lessons here can be applied to any of the armed forces. Too many recruits show up having done zero research into how to be a Marine or what they are about to endure when dealing with drill instructors.

The physical requirements for the Marines are more stringent than those for other branches and the amount of materials covered is overwhelming mentally. This article series attempts to help you prepare for your 12 weeks of intense training, beginning with the first week and your arrival at Parris Island.

What I suggest is using the time between signing up and the day you leave to train your butt off. If you have more than 12 weeks to train, that’s great. If not, at least you’ll have head start.

Week 1. Arrive at Parris Island (West of the Mississippi, you’ll go to the training center in San Diego but let’s use Parris Island for ease of discussion). For starters, you’ll show up at about 2AM that first night and will be greeted by screaming drill sergeants.

The DIs will force you to start listening to them while you are still sitting on the bus. They need to instill discipline and the foundation begins immediately. Everything they tell you to do has a reason: to turn you into Marines.

You on the other hand will be living in a blur. You must remember 2 things: 1. Go whenever or wherever an instructor tells you to without question. 2. Forget your name. Practice referring to yourself as "this recruit" and your friends and fellow Marines as "these recruits" for weeks before you show up and implement this technique the second you are first spoken to by an instructor.

Never, ever, refer to yourself as "I" or any other recruit by his name or mention "We." This alone will keep you from feeling the heat too much that first week. If you do nothing else, adhering to this rule hard and fast will keep the focus off of you and onto others who are caught unaware and/or otherwise "just don’t get it".

In order to avoid the Physical Conditioning Platoon (PCP), you’ll have to perform some basic exercises to show a modicum of fitness. The PCP is where they send out of shape recruits to get in shape and it’s not at all the best way to start your Marine experience.

So therefore, at the very minimal you need to be able to do the following: 2 pull-ups, 44 crunches in 2 minutes and a 1.5 mile run in 13.5 minutes for guys. Females need to run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes, perform a flex-arm hang of 12 seconds and do 44 crunches in 2 minutes. Get at it!

Start running 4 miles a day, everyday right now. Even if you suck at it, your heart feels like it might burst and you are essentially plodding along, you will be much more mentally prepared to go the 3 miles per day that the Marines will expect of you with less trouble, and finish far ahead of the back of the pack and again, keep most of the heat off of you.

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