Photo By Master Sgt. Bryan Peterson | Marines perform mason twist kettle bell workouts during the Marine Corps Community...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - During a morning commute aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, it’s common to see Marines and sailors running to the Brewster-Holcomb Boulevard intersection and then back to their respective sections on mainside. Depending on where the starting point is, that is at least a seven-mile run.
Running long distances builds endurance and something the Marine Corps is accustomed and known to do, but Marine Corps Community Services’ Semper Fit Division personal trainers’ goal is to get service members out of the “running rhythm” to a more complex regimen of workouts.
Since the late 1990s, Semper Fit, aboard the base, was the only MCCS entity in the Marine Corps to have a program that engaged in the way Marines and sailors conduct physical training.
But, when former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James T. Conway announced the Combat Fitness Test in 2007, Semper Fit took action to add another program – Combat Fitness Training – to its core curriculum. As it stands right now, Semper Fit aboard MCB Camp Lejeune stands above their peers across the globe with their Combat Fitness Workshops.
They currently offer Combat Fitness Training Course, Physical Trainer Coordinator Course and the Advanced Physical Trainer Coordinator Course to service members and emergency responders such as the police and fire departments aboard the installation.
The workshop is so popular, that Tina Brooks, the personal training and workshops coordinator with Semper Fit welcomes Marines from across the country, “Because their installations don’t have these courses.”
“If funding is available, we even travel to reserve stations throughout the country,” added Brooks. But, even with the economic downturn that caused the Marine Corps, along with all the other services, to find cuts, finding funds for Marines to travel is becoming sparse. Brooks took it to the next level by creating a link on Semper Fit’s website to educate those who are interested in the workouts.
As such, with workouts such as CrossFit, TV’s Extreme Home Fitness and a variety of others becoming increasingly popular, the standard morning PT workouts are quickly becoming a thing of the past, if not already.
“Units are still incorporating running in their workout routines, but are also venturing out to a variety of others,” Brooks said.
She said more and more units are incorporating kettle bells, TRX and a multitude of other CrossFit-related workouts in their routines.
“We bring awareness to the service members about what they might need to work on more,” Brooks said. “People actually hurt themselves from running. We want them to know that they can work on things like their core and balancing.”
The two-day CFT course, offered four times a year, focuses on the individual’s combat readiness through classroom and hands-on training. The intense, two-day course is known to make even personal trainers dread waking up the next morning, but is not meant to “tire anyone out, but more to focus on agility and coordination to make a Marine more well-rounded,” said Brooks. Upon completion, a Marine, regardless of rank, can monitor a CFT for score.
The weeklong Physical Trainer Coordinator Course is designed more to develop PT plans for unique situations, such as those Marines who are assigned to the Body Composition Program and to remedial PT.
“We receive phone calls about a Marine who is assigned to run the BCP, but doesn’t know what to do,” said Brooks. “This course emphasizes the importance of nutrition, study of anatomy and what kind of workout is appropriate for that individual. The course can help a PT (non-commissioned officers) evaluate their Marine’s physical fitness. There are workouts involved, but it’s not about how much you can lift, but how well you can lift something.”
At the completion of the course, students are instructed to put together a six-week PT program that is designed to show progression.
The two-day Advanced PTCC is designed to further evaluate and focus on an individual basis. The course requires Marines to bring the most current PFT and CFT scores in, and determine, based off the scores, what areas need the most work.
Given the courses and plethora of information Semper Fit Division provides, Brooks highly encourages service members not to just focus on “PFT workouts when it’s PFT time or CFT workouts when it’s CFT time.”
“Think of it like an exam,” said Brooks. “If you study all yearlong, chances are likely you will do much better, than if you crammed all night. If you train all year long in both types of workouts, you’ll be in top condition for any fitness test.”
Brooks feels the Combat Fitness Workshops have had a great impact on the base, and it’s evidenced by the mere fact that every class is at max capacity.
“Our target is to attract those who have to train others,” said Brooks. “We want to make sure we get someone in here who has authority and administer the tools provide.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 02.29.2012 14:10 |
| Story ID: | 84508 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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