I MHG find new ways to stay combat physically fit.

FALLUJAH, IRAQ

04.12.2008

Story by Cpl. Sean McGinty 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – Since the Commandant of the Marine Corps announced he was adding a combat fitness test portion to the current physical fitness test; many Marines are taking their training above and beyond a three-mile run, pull-ups and crunches.

Few are taking it further than I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Forward) Marines. The I MHG command has implemented a program that many Marines have nicknamed "the sergeant major PT" or even, jokingly, "OW PT."

The thing is; this exercise is no joke.

"I call this program OW PT, because it's the initials of my sergeant major, and it hurts," said Col. George H. Bristol, I MHG commanding officer.

The workouts consist of hanging off pull-up bars to perform different leg lifts and pull-ups, tossing kettlebells, the ever-popular upside down push-ups, and more. But what really draws the crowd, and it does attract viewers, is the tire-beating.

"Tire beating wears you out, it's such a great workout," said Sgt. Derrick A. Brown, squad leader for MHG's Guardian Company. "It's surprising what muscles it works out, too."

The Marines take long solid steel cylinders, hoist them over their heads, and then bring the cylinders down on the tires like chopping wood. Then they switch to the other arm and repeat 20 times, for five sets.

Tire-beating is also how the whole workout got started. Sgt. Maj. O'Neil O. Weilbacher, I MHG senior enlisted adviser, said he went behind a tent here and saw Bristol with an iron bar beating a tire. Weilbacher joined in and the two continued until they were exhausted, he said.

"This workout is intense. It will make you tired," said Brown, still breathing a bit fast well after the workout.

These workouts are meant to strengthen muscles and areas that aren't usually exercised during your typical PFT or trip to the gym. The exercises typically focus on core strength, the abs and lower back, as well as including new twists on older workouts.

The Marines did pull-ups from straps and cylinders shaped like cow-bells, working their grip strength as much as anything else. They did push-ups on elevated bars, and were able to dip their bodies much lower than they typically could.

"It's a different type of workout," Weilbacher said. "You're upside down, and on uneven surfaces. It's stuff you'd need in combat if you ever have to pull yourself out of a humvee."

"What we are doing is functional fitness," Weilbacher added. "It'll help prepare a Marine for a number of physical tasks."

Though the workout he and his Marines perform on Camp Fallujah isn't necessarily to train for the Marine Corps' new CFT, it will help, noted Brown.

"This is helping to build strength and also get complete control of your body weight," Brown said. "It's also a really good cardio workout."

Aside from the kettlebells, the exercises rely on the individual's body weight as a means of resistance.

"Regardless of your weight, it will wear you out," Brown said. "Today was only a beginner course - it was pretty intense."

Weilbacher said he lays no claim to the intense workout. Though it was Bristol's idea, it is the Marines who participate that it should be named after.

"I just bring my Marines to do it, I tried and liked it and thought it would be good for them," Weilbacher said. "If it wasn't for the Marines who were motivated to keep coming to the workout, it wouldn't really matter."

• Date Taken: 04.12.2008
• Date Posted: 06.27.2008 10:36
• Story ID: 20908
• Location: FALLUJAH, IQ