Photo By 1st Sgt. Justin A. Naylor | Capt. Jacob Lopez, a battle captain with 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Advise and Assist),...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Physical fitness is essential to Army combat readiness. Whether a soldier is conducting a foot patrol, searching a building, fixing the armor plating on a vehicle, or just wearing body armor, it all requires a certain level of physical strength and endurance, making physical fitness a priority while deployed.
Capt. Darren Riley, assistant operations officer, and Sgt. Chad Wimberly, an infantryman, both with 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, “Black Jack,” 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Division-North, spend their fair share of time at the gym and have a few tips on staying fit.
“Having a good workout program while you are deployed is crucial,” said Riley, a Salado, Texas, native and the winner of a recent base-wide functional fitness competition. “We all have a responsibility to our team to be ready to execute our mission at any time; staying physically fit is key to staying mission-ready.”
While soldiers might have different fitness goals, Riley felt there are certain key areas where all soldiers can benefit.
“Soldiers should focus on functional movements to build strength and endurance to accomplish the things you do while out on missions - lunges to build your legs for those long dismounted patrols; pull-ups and bent-over rows to help build your back to support your posture while wearing heavy body armor; dead lifts to build your ‘heavy lifting’ muscles for picking up boxes and loading containers,” explained Riley.
“To build functional fitness, you should perform exercises that teach you to control and balance your own weight while you perform movements or lifts - not always laying on a bench or seated on a machine.”
Riley also encouraged soldiers to think about working out in pairs.
“Working out with others is a good way to challenge yourself with friendly competition,” he said. “This also gives you the opportunity keep good form and technique, with a buddy watching over you.”
Both soldiers felt that having a plan before engaging in a workout is crucial.
“Research, have a battle buddy, and have a plan,” said Wimberly, an Ephrata, Wash., native.
Don’t walk into the gym and just look around or sit down and take up room; go there with an idea of what muscle groups you want to work out, what equipment you will need to use, and with the intent to train vigorously, continued Wimberly.
“Do your research and find a good mentor to help you learn the proper exercise techniques,” said Riley. “Before you start going hard - work on your technique and get your strength up, or you could risk injuring yourself; you don't want to do anything that will take you out of the fight.”
Heavy workloads and mission requirements often detract from the amount of gym time a soldier gets while deployed, but soldiers shouldn’t let this stop them from working out.
“Make it a priority,” said Wimbery. Working, calling home to family and loved ones, and going to the gym should always be near the top of your priority list while deployed.
Even when a soldier is deployed to a remote location that might not have a gym, there are still ways to stay fit.
“It does sometimes get difficult to maintain a thorough workout program while deployed based off of mission requirements and equipment - the good thing about push-ups, sit-ups and running is that you can do them almost anywhere or any time,” said Riley.
“Learning a variety of body weight exercises will help you stay fit when you don't have a high speed gym to use. In addition to that, get creative with your equipment; using sand bags, ammo cans and…tires is a good replacement if you can't get to a gym.”
Whatever a soldier’s job is while deployed, maintaining physical fitness standards is essential to mission readiness and ensures that soldiers are able to accomplish any task put before them.
Riley concluded, “A healthy body is a healthy mind; staying physically fit will help keep you mentally sharp.”
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2011 05:25 |
| Story ID: | 77582 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 3,088 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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