Given that the R&R for Space Marines is training, I am looking to add some flavour to my team and perhaps even give the GM some ideas to build on.

I'll be playing an apothecary, and am thinking along the lines of something like this for daily routine (after all, I'll be the acting fitness supervisor, right? )

1. Inspection and review

2. Functional training: preferably combined with live close protection drills in the fortress' climate training zones.

3. Forced march/running: 21 km fully geared (each Marine individually targeted by increasing oxygen deprivation, randomly spread over 4 x 2 km streches). Session ending with mid to long range target practice under varying visibility conditions (by means of chemicals)

4. Inspection and review

5. Team prayer

6. Breakfast

Improvements on the regime?

I like it, especially the oxygen deprivation. Don't forget practice in deactivated powered armour with deliberately overweight weapons as well. Maybe you can actually set Marine plate so the servos provide resistance instead of power assist.

I think I'd be modelling Marine strength training on the Worlds Strongest Man competitions. Activities include lifting increasingly heavy stones on to platforms, holding a stone in each hand with your arms outstreched for hours at a time and pulling a land raider.

I seem to remember one of the older Space Marine Codex books (for the actual 40k wargame) had a "day in the life" type section for your average Space Marine. I think it was the third edition one (with the Crimson Fists on the cover), maybe?

If you can get ahold of that, it might be fun to steal some of their terminology and add a little flavor to your list.

I like it. The oxygen deprevation is nice, and I like the worlds strongest man idea too. I think that a lot of the muscle building would be taken care of by the gene mods, hormones, and implants but they would need to learn to use it, and to stress the system to ensure maximum functionality. In keeping with the almost monastic lifestyle they lead, I can also see them doing a lot of callisthenics and gymnastics, to learn to get the fullest use out of, and 'become one' with their bodies. I have this great image of two semi naked marines having a competition to see who can hold a one arm hand stand the longest while their robed battle brothers... insert chapter appropriate activity here e.g. cheer them on, or look on in silence.

Space Wolves probably go a half-step further with their version of that regimen - breakfast is also used as a workout for their Preomnor (via copious amounts of Fenrisian Ale) which also serves as a workout for their Oolitic Kidney once the alcohol hits their bloodstream.

Space Marine Daily Schedule

0400 - Morning Prayer - Led by the Company Chaplain, the Space Marines renew their oaths to the Emperor and the company relics are displayed. This time is also used to give out orders, announcements and other administrative tasks.

0500 - Morning Firing Rites - The Space Marines engage in target practice with their personal and squad weaponry, awards and punishments are dispensed for consistently good or poor accuracy respectively.

0700 - Battle Practice - Generally this is close quarters oriented, however live fire or hazardous environment training may be done instead (or as well).

1200 - Midday Prayer - In addition to prayer any injured Space Marines can report to the Apothecary.

1300 - Midday Meal - Normally local wildlife killed during the morning activities.

1315 - Tactical Indoctrination - This can take many forms, from information on a new alien species or technology to strategy. A debrief of the morning's battle is common as well.

1500 - Battle Practice - This focuses more on combined tactics in conjunction with vehicles, Dreadnoughts and devastator squads and normally includes a trial of a new tactic introduced during the tactical indoctrination.

2000 - Evening Prayer - In addition to prayer, gene-seed testing may occur at this point.

2100 - Evening Meal - A feast (by normal human standards) is provided by the Chapter serfs, and some Chapter Masters may allow alcohol to be consumed.

2130 - Night Firing Exercises - If the chapter is based on a planet where there is no perceptible night or they are based on a fleet, firing exercises are under taken in exotic environments such as underwater, through dense fog or smoke or in zero gravity.

2315 - Maintenance Rituals - Each Space Marine is expected to maintain his own power armour and weapons, and it is often checked by the Chapter's Techmarines.

2345 - Free Time - Space Marines are permitted this time to reflect upon their duty to The Emperor, however many Chapter Masters regard free time as a frivolous waste, and a dangerous distraction in the extreme.

0000 - Rest Period - Space Marines are allocated 4 hours in which to sleep.

Thanks so much for the feedback! I will definately use the Daily Life-section. The battle practice sessions in particular seem best suited for adding the physical conditioning element.

I spent quite a bit of time with my players going over and RPing what life was like in watch fortress Erioch. Apart from the ceaseless training and indoctrination one thing that came out from the collaborative RP session was there are also lots of fights. If you image that the Watch Fortress is basically one of the biggest testosterone enhanced **** swinging contests in the universe, the one-up-manship, the violence and alpha maleness is going to be staggering. While this will differ from chapter to chapter you basically have put the most violent and proficient killers all in place. Even though they all have the same goal, they are from incredibly different backgrounds with different customs and sometime with a history of violence or tension between chapters the place is rife for a good old meal time punch up. I described it like it wasn’t really accepted, but it happened so often it became the norm, especially seeing as the space wolf and the dark angels loved to punch each other up so much. It became like a bit of a playtime brawl where the marine are so indoctrinated into violence the moment it started all their built in hormone glands just start pumping adrenaline and whatever into the veins and they cant really help it. Nothing serious came out of it, maybe some punishment lashes and the odd broken bone (if you imagine this was the kind of fight that would easily kill a human).

The "fights between space marines" angle is an interesting one, I would agree. Many Chapters have formal duelling systems to allow marines to resolve differences: I seem to recall that the Imperial Fists and the Fire Angels are examples of this. I also recall reading in the Badab War books that some chapters - for example the Executioners - have even bloodier fights among themselves, which are often fatal.

And one imagines that a lot of "uptight" heavily Codex chapters may frown upon such behaviour as undisciplined and inherently shameful.

So when you have a lot of marines from a lot of chapter backgrounds in the Deathwatch, one imagines this sort of clash DOES come up a lot. An Ultramarine, who comes from a chapter which expects military discipline at all time, may not react well to an Executioner who expects to be able to call him out and fight him to the loss of first limb whenever they have a falling out.

Presumably, the Deathwatch themselves have built up traditions to allow their members to "let off steam" in various ways without wasting valuable talent in fatal squabbles. One imagines that the Chaplains and senior watch commanders carefully watch their marines in order to deal with these issues.

UK special forces like marines and paras regularly do 20 mile marches then have to shoot and hit so many targets at the end

the Royal marines have a fantastic assualt course at their training centre with barbed wire on the side of the zig zag wall and a deep static water tank with a rope over , an astartes version could be hair raising indeed ,

zero G combat , combat in water , and hostile enviroment training could all form part as space marines have to be able to fight anywhere in a wide variety of terrians

Escape and evasion exercises are also good, dropping the marines on a planet with little kit and telling the local PDF that they are traitors etc

(this is used by UK forces for training)