Photo By Spc. Aaron Piega | The 364th Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) in Marysville, WA conducted a...... read more read more
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Impressive metrics came out of the WFC. In two short weeks Soldiers improved their maximum repetitions on pushups and sit-ups by an average of 34% and 37% respectively. While almost all participating showed improvement on their running times, eight Soldiers were able drop more than two minutes off of their two-mile run.
So what exactly are theses Soldiers doing at WFC to achieve such drastic improvement in just two weeks?
I asked Sergeant First Class Thomas Hughes, who served as the program designer, coordinator, and overall supervisor of the camp.
Hughes told me physical training starts at 5:30 a.m. Morning workouts focus on cardiovascular endurance, while afternoon workouts consist of functional fitness a.k.a circuit training. “[Functional fitness] is about the intensity,” Hughes explained. “[The Soldiers] really enjoyed it. They wanted to incorporate more of it into their regular workouts. They found that they had reduced pain in their joints because of the low impact workouts.”
Soldiers also participated in yoga increasing blood flow to the extremities and flexibility. This helped with injury mitigation throughout the two weeks.
WFC also focused on matters outside of the gym that play a crucial role in the overall success. Soldiers take nutrition classes and learn exactly how many calories their body needs in any given day, factoring in activity level. “Understand what your daily [caloric] intake should be…but don’t deprive yourself. If you want a brownie, have a brownie. Just account for it in your daily plan.” Hughes explained. Through portion control and small changes in habits, Soldiers transformed how they view food.
Soldiers also learned mental techniques to stay positive and motivated. “Once Soldiers understand they can not control external events, but they can control their thoughts, they can affect their emotions and responses to these events.” Hughes said. The mental toughness of the participants noticeably changed for the better during WFC.
In the end, Soldiers left with a high intensity workout plan, a customized nutrition plan, and a strong mental state required to be successful. This trifecta helps the soldiers stay on track during the final six months of the program. But Hughes explains in addition to these tools, “The overall success of this [camp] is dependent on first line leaders. When Soldiers leave the residence phase, they need continuous support from their leaders. If they don’t get it, they will not be successful and the program will not be successful.” Hughes stated.
As the Soldiers and leaders continue on this path, both must keep each other accountable in the coming months. Improvement can happen; it is simply a matter of discipline and will.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2017 18:08 |
| Story ID: | 241349 |
| Location: | MARYSVILLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 253 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 22 Soldiers attend 364th ESC’s Warrior Fit Camp at Camp Parks, by CPT ANDREW DAANE, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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