Take advantage of Fort Polk’s Army Wellness Center bod pod assessment

Photo By Angie Thorne | Laquita Gilbert, Fort Polk AWC health promotion technician, is one of the employees that greets you as you enter the Fort Polk Army Wellness Center for your assessment.  

FORT POLK, LA, UNITED STATES

11.20.2020

Courtesy Story

Fort Johnson Public Affairs Office

FORT POLK, La. — If you want to take a journey to enhance the quality of your health, the Fort Polk Army Wellness Center, 1365 Third St., bldg 238, is the place you need to be Nov. 27 from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. for a free body composition assessment.
Eric Middleton, AWC director, said it’s a great way to judge how to begin making yourself healthier.
“If you’ve never been to an Army Wellness Center before, we will have you go through an initial body composition assessment, which includes the bod pod,” he said.
Middleton said the bod pod is the cornerstone of the Army Wellness Center assessment and the gold standard measurement for body composition.
“This gives our health educators and patrons the information they need to work together to maintain and improve a client’s health,” he said.
The opportunity to use the bod pod and access everything else AWC has to offer is free for Family members, retirees, Department of the Army civilians and Soldiers. The AWC has two bod pods that are available to the Fort Polk community.
“Using the bod pod alone is a service that, in the private sector, can cost an individual $300 to $400,” he said.
Middleton said a bod pod is a body composition analysis that measures total weight, body fat percentage and fat-free mass and can help people who are looking to maintain or lose body fat and gain muscle mass.
“We have several Soldiers come in looking for performance improvement and to gain muscle mass to better themselves for the Army Combat Fitness Test or to lose a little bit of body fat,” he said. “The bod pod is a crucial part in helping them achieve their goals.”
Pvt. Taofiki Alaka, 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, said he wanted to find out what AWC has to offer because he takes his health seriously.
“I want to take better care of my body and learn how to maintain my health at an optimal level,” he said.
Alaka said he has been going to AWC for more than a year and, in that time, the center has helped him learn what to eat, how to better deal with stress, how to sleep better and more.
“I do a bod pod assessment every month to make sure I’m keeping my body fat percentage in its ideal range, and I also use the biofeedback analysis. Once the biofeedback system determines how stressed you are, they (AWC) offers breathing and mental techniques to help you destress,” he said.
Alaka said, like many Soldiers, his job is stressful and AWC helps him manage that stress.
Alaka said he would recommend AWC to other Soldiers or anyone that was interested in making a positive change in their lives.
“Why wouldn’t people take advantage of the opportunity to use what the Army has to offer? The program is there for anyone who needs support when it comes to becoming healthier overall,” he said. “The people that work there are great. They genuinely care and talk to me like I’m a person that matters.”
Laquita Gilbert, Fort Polk AWC health promotion technician, said the physical training at Fort Polk is intense because this is the last stop for a lot of Soldiers before they deploy.
“We offer many important classes to help Soldiers with performance optimization, how to work out properly when doing physical training and maintaining correct form to prevent injury,” she said.
Middleton said the measurements obtained from the bod pod are critical in achieving baseline information to help people understand what changes they need to make to improve their health.
Middleton said AWC staff members are experts in their field with either a bachelor’s degree or nationally accredited certification within a health and wellness related field.
“When you use the bod pod, you get the opportunity to sit down with one of our health educators and discuss the concrete data of your health assessment results; it helps you understand those findings and how they relate to your nutrition, physical activity, stress management and more. So, the bod pod is just the beginning of what AWC can offer people to move in a better direction,” he said.
Middleton said AWC also focuses on comprehensive health strategies that can include issues such as sleep, educational classes and more.
“It’s all those things together that play into how successful a person is going to be in their overall health goals,” he said. “That allows the client the ability to take part in the program with guidance from a health educator providing expert oversight and advice.”
Some of the educational classes offered by AWC include meals in minutes, upping your metabolism, fueling for health, stress management and healthy sleep habits. “Those are opportunities for Soldiers and members of the Fort Polk community to get additional support and develop new skills,” he said.
In addition to the focus on physical fitness, Gilbert said she likes that the AWC maintains a holistic view when keeping its clients healthy.
“The classes we offer ensure all aspects of a healthy life are covered for our clients,” she said.
Gilbert, a military spouse, said she thinks AWC is also a great asset for the Fort Polk community’s Family members and DA civilians.
“My whole life I’ve worried about how much I should eat to lose weight. But AWC gives you the exact measurements and helps you every step of the way,” she said. Gilbert said taking that first step to ask for a professional’s help with managing your health can be tough.
“It can be just like going to the gym when you don’t know what you are doing, but people should know there is no judgment,” she said. “The program is so well thought out, and the people here (AWC) make you feel welcome,” she said.
Gilbert said AWC also offers the Civilian Fitness Program for government employees. She said it’s a great incentive to get people to walk through the doors and learn about AWC.
“I have twin boys, and it’s tough for me to find time to work out after I get home from my full-time job. Under the Civilian Fitness Program, if your supervisor approves, you are allowed time off during work hours to exercise, as long as you use AWC for your initial consultation and bod pod follow-ups,” she said. “The health educators that work with you are with you every step of the way.
If something isn’t working for you, they figure it out.”
Middleton said he thinks what people fail to realize that when their body isn’t healthy, it can affect every aspect of their life.
“Health is the greatest wealth. When you better your health, you are going to be more resilient to disease, better at job performance, have higher energy levels, have better communication in interpersonal relationships and more,” he said.
Middleton said that’s why people should check out their bod pods and everything AWC has to offer. If you are interested in doing the bod pod assessment, Middleton said there are a few requirements:
• No food or drink for two hours
before the assessment (water is OK).
• No exercise or physical activity
two hours before the assessment.
• Form fitting clothing (spandex/
lycra type material) such as a
sports bra (wire free) and compression
shorts without padding.
• Complete a health and wellness
questionnaire available upon arrival,
or common access card users
can complete the questionnaire at awc.army.mil.
Gilbert has used a bod pod and said it was a positive experience.
“I think it’s amazing. It can be difficult to be around all these fit people when you have to put on a sports bra and spandex shorts, but they don’t make you feel uncomfortable at all. The assessment takes just a couple of minutes,” she said.
For more information call 531-3055 or visit or AWC’s Facebook
page at www.facebook.com/ft.polkawc or the AWC website at bjach.polk.amedd.army.mil/sitepages/awc.html.

• Date Taken: 11.20.2020
• Date Posted: 11.25.2020 13:49
• Story ID: 383834
• Location: FORT POLK, LA, US