Photo By Richard Blumenstein | Sgt. Kevin Marra, left, a Marine Recruiter working in Springfield, Ma., demonstrates...... read more read more
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WEST SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – Sgt. Kevin Marra cares about young people’s physical fitness.
The 26-year-old Marine Recruiter has been working in Springfield, Ma., for about a month and already his primary focus has been teaching young men and women healthy eating and proper exercise.
“Not everyone comes here in shape,” Marra said. “Some kids come in and have played sports their whole lives, others have never worked out a single day. Setting them up for success is what we try to do here.”
Marra regularly creates fitness-goal-specific diet plans as well as leads intense workouts to help prepare people for the physical rigors of Marine Corps boot camp.
More than that, he said, he gives them the tools to attain the level of physical fitness they desire through knowledge, sweat and motivation.
“Kids come in here and they want to lose weight, get in shape, and it’s really rewarding to help them and see their progress over time,” Marra said.
The Marietta, Ga., native’s knowledge in physical fitness steams from his experiences over the course of nearly six years in the Marines. Marra enlisted at 20 years old on Sept. 10, 2007, after earning a Certificate in Automotive Technology from Universal Technical Institute in Orlando, Fla.
Marra said he wanted more than a regular job and was not happy with the state of his life.
“I knew that with a regular job, I would be doing the same thing day in, and day out,” Marra said. “That just didn’t appeal to me. I like to do different things. Before I joined (the Marines), I weighed 150 pounds, ‘skinny-fat.’ I ate junk food and I didn’t work out. I was surprised I passed the Initial Strength Test.”
Some of Marra’s family members are former Marines who steered his life in the direction of the joining the military. He enlisted with the military occupational specialty Avionics Communications Navigation Technician.
“I wanted a job where I would still get to do a lot of work with my hands,” he said.
Following boot camp, Marra used a myriad of assets, programs and benefits available through the Marines to transform his body.
“There were a ton of things available to me to get physically fit when I joined the Marine Corps,” Marra said.
Marra immersed himself in the Marine Corps physical-fitness-focused community. He sought out the free personal trainers available at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. He also used his tuition assistance to earn a Personal Trainer’s Certificate from International Science Sports Association online during a deployment.
“A lot of people work out and get in shape, but I said ‘I want to do something with it,’” Marra said. “It’s extremely difficult. You go through fitness magazines and see people in shape and I wanted to look like that.”
He achieved just that, taking second place in the novice level of a National Physique Committee competition on Nov., 2012.
Now, Marra works as a recruiter. He uses those skills to enrich the lives of young men and women interested in serving their country, as well as educate them on everything the Marines have to offer.
“I feel my job here is to help men and women make an informed decision,” he said. “I educate young men and women exactly what we have to offer and dispel myths.”
| Date Taken: | 05.24.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2013 09:01 |
| Story ID: | 107945 |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Hometown: | SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 300 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Local Marine builds better bodies; Preparing young people for Marine Corps Boot Camp, by Richard Blumenstein, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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