Staying Fit In A Combat Zone

Staying “Combat Ready” in a Combat Zone -- Military.com

Physical fitness and deployments play a significant part the Marine Corps lifestyle. How does a Marine deployed to a remote combat outpost or forward operating base, where gyms are a shell of what Marines are used too, stay combat ready?

Marines have come up with a variety of unique ways to physically train in a combat zone. However, in recent months TRX suspension training has become a favored form of maintaining combat fitness.

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My Comment: One of my best friends is a trainer .... and she wholeheartedly agrees with Military.com's assessment on TRX suspension training.

The U.S. Army Embraces New Fitness Routines

Army Boot Camp Embraces New-Age Fitness -- NPR

During the past decade, the U.S. Army has faced what it regards as a serious internal threat: young recruits entering in terrible shape.

In a radical shift, the Army is overhauling the way it trains, cares for and feeds new soldiers.

So, as fad workouts increasingly borrow Army terms like "boot camp," actual basic training is starting to look a bit like a new-age fitness camp — but with harsh words, severe haircuts and firearms.

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My Comment: Whatever it takes to get our soldiers into shape .... but changing the diets will probably have the biggest impact.

A Counter Argument To Reports That Our Obesity Epidemic Is A Threat To National Security

From Slate:

The obesity epidemic has nothing to do with national security.

"My name's Dewey Oxberger; my friends call me 'Ox'. You might've noticed I've got a slight weight problem," said John Candy to his fellow Army recruits in the 1981 film Stripes. "So I figured while I'm here, I'll lose a few pounds. I'm gonna walk out of here a lean, mean fightin' machine!"

In real life, the 6-foot-2, 300-pound Ox wouldn't have made it through the barracks door. The movie's release coincided with a new weight-control program in the U.S. military. Recruits were already screened for height and weight; now they'd be checked for body fat percentage, too. It's been 30 years since Stripes came out, and the rate of obesity among adults has doubled. A report out this week estimates that 27 percent of all Americans of recruitment age—that's 9 million young adults—are too fat to fight for their country. At a press conference Tuesday, Sen. Richard Lugar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and a group of retired generals and admirals warned that our poor diets and lack of exercise have now become a danger to homeland security.

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My Comment: I could not have said it any better.

75% Of Military-Age Americans Are Ineligible For Military Service

Image from MSNBC

School Lunch Helping Make Americans Too Fat To Enlist? -- Time Magazine

More than a quarter of all Americans between the ages of 17 to 24 are too overweight to join the military, according to a new report highlighted by the Associated Press. That many Americans are too tubby to meet the basic entry requirements for military service isn't new—in 2008 roughly 12,000 would-be soldiers failed the initial military physical because they were overweight, and last year the Pentagon lamented the fact that, between obesity, medical and physical problems, illegal drug use and other issues, 75% of military-age Americans were ineligible for service.

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My Comment: 75% ineligible for service .... wow .... we are getting soft.

Fast Food, White Bread, And Pasta Are Out For New U.S. Army Recruits

Drop and Give Me 20: Army Gets New Fitness Plan -- CBS News/AP

Mess Halls Receive Nutrition Overhaul as Workouts are Revamped for "Soldier Athletes"

(AP) New soldiers expecting Army drill sergeants to bust their chops over poor posture or a wayward gaze may instead want to avoid a more modern military transgression: relying on fast food for sustenance.

The U.S. Army plans to get new recruits into better shape with a revamped approach to health, fitness and diet at basic training.

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My Comment: Obviously .... these "out of shape" recruits never had the pleasure of enjoying "the burn" in an intense workout.

Can A Civilian Get Navy SEAL Fit?

From Military.com:

Guest Writer: Jim K from Thessaloniki, Greece

One day I came across in the internet Navy SEAL fitness books (about one year before enlisting for my obligatory Greek military service). I decided to purchase one book which got me into all round fitness, running, lifting weights, swimming & calisthenics (by Dockery), which felt really good by the way. This triggered me to do some further searching on Navy SEALs) and I decided to attempt Stew Smith's "BUD/S warning order". In fact I would have a free weights session at the gym and then get back home for a one hour session of calisthenics (not recommended to anyone since it can cause serious injuries due to severe muscle strain).

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My Comment: I started training a month ago, using the PX90 course as my guide. It is tough, and while I am in good shape .... it is still tough for an old guy like me.

I looked at the Navy Seal program, and it certainly is in a different category of fitness. Congrats to Jim K from Thessaloniki, Greece in "surviving" the program and maintaining his form.

Air Force Unveils New Fitness Program

Revisions to the Air Force fitness program take affect Jan. 1, 2010, and bring about some of the most significant changes to fitness standards in the last five years. (U.S. Air Force graphic

From The U.S. Air Force:

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Approval of the new Air Force fitness instruction in the coming weeks will bring about some of the most significant changes to the Air Force fitness program in the last five years.

Those changes, which take effect Jan. 1, 2010, shift a greater responsibility of maintaining physical fitness 365 days a year to all Airmen.

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My Comment: No fat people in this Air Force now.