View Full Version : Body Size and the Infantry??
I wonder if anyone has ever created a report similar to this, about "average" player sizes,, for Infantry, Rangers, & SF??
The discussion of sexes might be easier if one had basic information on what it takes to be a successful troop in an Infantry unit??
This article is not pointed at my question. It has a different agenda, but the base info and premise that to be a top tier troop in a sport you need certain physical attributes..
Professional athletes have come to represent the pinnacle of physical ability, serving as a cultural image of performance and physique. With millions watching sporting events, these body ideals have been planted firmly in the mainstream’s consciousness. But what happens when these examples inspire behavior that goes beyond what’s healthy in pursuit of the perfect body?
When it comes to eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, male sufferers of such conditions have historically been a less-studied group. Yet about one in four people struggling with eating disorders are men – and there are likely more who are reluctant to seek assistance due to embarrassment or stigma. Just as women’s eating disorders are often influenced by cultural and media beauty standards, men’s disordered eating habits and body image concerns can be affected by images idealizing peak fitness and muscularity. Rather than simply trying to lose weight, many male sufferers of eating disorders are instead focused on attempting to gain muscle while shedding fat, in pursuit of a body reflecting these promoted ideals. But in trying to attain such a body, men may engage in dangerous eating behaviors and other habits that can put their health at risk.
So just how much do these images of pro athletes diverge from the average man’s body? How far would men have to go to get the physiques of sports stars? We compiled statistics from the NFL, MLB, NBA, and other major sports leagues to determine the average body size of players in each field and compared them to the body sizes of men around the world. Read on to learn about the dangerous lengths men would have to go to make these ideals a reality.
http://www.psychguides.com/interact/male-body-image-and-the-average-athlete/
Chairborne64
10-20-2016, 09:14
When I was in the requirements shop at USSOCOM I was doing some research and there had been a study done by big Army on the average size of Infantrymen I believe it was related to light infantry in AFG. Anyway, it seems like it was about 5'11 180. I remember thinking to myself that is a decent size High School linebacker. I will see if I can dig that study up again.
Chairborne64
10-20-2016, 10:06
You guys don't understand. Women are superior to men in every way, just watch the movies and the 125lb female whipping a bunch od 200+lb hand to hand experts. Did you people not watch kill bill?
I guess I am just a caveman! :D I do know that I am 6'2 and well over 200lbs and am really broken by some of the loads I carried. Here is a link to one of the studies. It does not have size but if you do the math on their fighting load to percentage of body weight the average infantryman is about 180lbs.
http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/modernwarriorload/ModernWarriorsCombatLoadReport.pdf
JJ, this immediately came to mind:
Old Dog New Trick
10-20-2016, 10:54
I guess I am just a caveman! :D I do know that I am 6'2 and well over 200lbs and am really broken by some of the loads I carried. Here is a link to one of the studies. It does not have size but if you do the math on their fighting load to percentage of body weight the average infantryman is about 180lbs.
http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/modernwarriorload/ModernWarriorsCombatLoadReport.pdf
The average Infantrymen is also 22-24 years old and 180lbs of lean muscle. (Don't quote me on that. I may have made it up but I'm close. It would go down quite a bit if you got rid of the platoon sergeant.)
FWIW, I was an 18 yr. old 11B; 6’2 – 165 to 170 lbs. I could max the PT test and met rucking requirements. That said, I must confess, as a skinny kid, the rucking did kick my ass. (quit laughing Q.P’s) :D
Does anyone know what the VN Infantry stats are? It seems that we were smaller overall back then. I would think a draft tends to skew the results.
Pat
RomanCandle
10-20-2016, 12:26
I am currently at age 46 176 lb anfd 5'75 around the same as I weighed when I was in. You carried what you carried or RTU'd (to Mech) Only real problem was my feet with the shitty boots we had, I'm not sure my feet ever really recovered but they never slowed me down. I was one of the smallest in the Bn but some of these "Boere seuns" were seriously big boys it made for a troops nightmare and an instructors wet dream during Buddy PT. :D
GratefulCitizen
10-20-2016, 17:48
In terms of skeletal muscle mass, both total and relative, the difference between men and women is probably greater than the difference between the average man and elite male athlete.
Scroll down to table 1 (SM is for skeletal muscle):
http://jap.physiology.org/content/89/1/81.figures-only
There are significant differences among men with regards to strength, but even elite women don't make it far into the the upper half of men, much less get anywhere near the elite men.
There are better sources than this link, but it gives a quick visual reference of the variance among men, and the severity of disparity between the sexes:
http://www.unz.com/gnxp/men-are-stronger-than-women-on-average/
Hope that helps.
How does cup size factor into this?
sfshooter
10-20-2016, 20:04
As an 11B in the Reserves and a short time on Active before SF I was 5'10'' and 140lbs. I was a skinny dude but had good endurance. I would say from my experience the 11B's I knew were roughly same height as me but definitely stockier.
Go Devil
10-21-2016, 05:28
5'11" 195lbs OO'
I found the infantry to be more like a professional running club.
1/2 marathon every Friday morning for Company PT.
6'3", 195 lbs. I was more than maxing the 21 y/o APFT when I ETSd. We liked to run. :)
bblhead672
10-21-2016, 08:16
A former GB who I met while in the Navy was about 5'9" and 170. By all appearances not a strong man. We worked out together a few times and I learned that he was solid as a rock and strong as a horse. Also unbelievably fast with his hands and feet.
I was a USMC Machinegunner at 5'6" and 138 pounds. I marched that M-60 up and down mountains more times than I want to remember. I was THE smallest guy in my platoon.
But, my HEART was bigger than many twice my size.
Maybe I was too stupid to know that I was too small to be a grunt! ;)
Maybe I was too stupid to know that I was too small to be a grunt! ;)
Well....you are a Marine.....(just kidding.....don't hurt an old dude.):D
Well....you are a Marine.....(just kidding.....don't hurt an old dude.):D
Hahaha...no worries! I was actually watching the clock to see how long it would take for that statement to be made.
You win! :lifter:D
x SF med
10-25-2016, 11:37
When I was in I was 5' 8.5" and weighed somewhere in the 170-180 range when I ETS'd... dependent on what was going on... I went to basic at 145# I have lost about a half inch in height and am sitting right at 190ish lbs as of this morning... at my heaviest after getting out I was at 225... I still lift and carry more than the young kids at work.
Body size is not the biggest issue in SF, heart is... I've seen big guys wimp out where little guys just keep trucking. There is a physiology issue with women in the Combat arms... muscle density and mass ... plonk a 125# ruck on and haul ass for 20-30km in the mountains... I used to carry my own bodyweight and more ...
Old Dog New Trick
10-25-2016, 12:24
When I joined at 17 I weighed 168lbs at 70.5" after OSUT Infantry I probably arrived at my first assignment just over 170lbs soaking wet. By the time I was 20 I weighed 180lbs could bench upwards of 280 and pretty much stayed that way for the next eight years. Then I went SF at 26 was an inch or so taller at 71.8" and a solid 185lbs. Weight fluctuated between 190-200 over those 13-years depending on lots of things. Always noticed that I could run faster at the light end and ruck better at the higher end.
IIRC I remember my Robin Sage ruck with M5 bag and LBV coming in at 168lbs combined. (As much as I weighed when I joined the Army.) Only two or three other times we had to leave stuff or bundle it to make jump weight. Can't ever recall having a ruck that weighed less than 80lbs and my LBV always hit the scales at 45-50lbs.
Schools are easy! EIB road march was more of casual half-marathon with lunch and cookies.
Now I'm just a FOG (Fat Old Guy) at 71.4" and 215ish. With chronic LBP and hip dysplasia :p