Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-27890440-20160301095334

Throughout the canon, marines are portrayed as being exemplars of physical strength and fitness (to a degree that is probably impossible purely on mechanical grounds, regardless of genetic engineering, - how could that density of fast twich muscles possibly allow them to run for days? -but that's another question), pretty much without exception. This makes perfect sense in universe, however, you are taking the absolute top fraction of the available human population and altering them to multiply the attributes they already have, along with adding a few more.

Although they vary on an individual level they are never portrated as allowing themselves, or becoming, anything less except as a result of injury. The perception, therefore, is that they could never be any other way.

BUT...

Marines live an incredibly regimented lifestyle, with a training regimen similar to, if not surpassing the most elite of human athletes, obsessively disciplined and rigorous in all regards. They train their strength, their speed, their combat skills, their stamina, to the point of exhaustion on a daily basis. This suggests that contrary to the above there must be the possibility that without said training they could indeed deteriorate, that despite their enhanced physiology they still have the potential to become less than the demi gods we know and love. Else, why train those physical attributes so intensively? If those attributes are a given, why not devote that portion of the day to other areas of their training, more tactical scenarios, studying more examples of historical encounters, devotional activities, etc.

Whilst obviously marines already do devote much of their time to learning and drilling their craft, it would seem wasteful to spend time on purely physical training unless there was some pressing reason to do so.

Referering to a real world comparison, bodybuilders often take performance enhancing drugs, but without training those drugs are effectively useless, they do not in fact simply inject their physique - rather they persuade their bodies to respond to their training in ways they would not be able to naturally. Without said training they would remain much as before, merely with a likely shorter lifespan.

So....

What would happen in the event of a marine discontinuuing that training? Supposing he was damaged to the point where he could no longer actually carry those drills out but did not warrant interring in a dreadnought (or one was unavailable). What would happen to that marine's capabilities? To what extent would they deteriorate. Would he, in point of fact, simply get fat and unfit just like the rest of us? 