CARMEL, Ind. – Eleven soldiers from various units within the Indiana National Guard gathered at the CrossFit Gym in Carmel, March 19, 2013, to receive Level One certification from CrossFit trainers.
The certification, offered free of charge to the Indiana National Guard, will give the soldiers new skills and knowledge to bring back to their units in order to help raise the level of physical readiness.
“The type of fitness that military people are looking for is general physical preparedness. They’re not specialized athletes that have one goal in mind,” said Joe Westerlin, a CrossFit Level One Head Trainer. “The athlete in any given sport knows exactly what they have to be ready for, but the soldier doesn’t. Our program prepares you for the unknown. That’s the premise, and that’s why it has been so popular in the military across the board.”
Staff Sgt. Michael Miller, training noncommissioned officer with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 152nd Cavalry, Long Range Surveillance in Seymour, Ind. has been practicing CrossFit with a few of his fellow soldiers for a while, and said he was excited to be able to get his certification as a CrossFit trainer so he can bring more knowledge about the program to his unit.
“This is actually really important to me. I’ve been trying to stay in good shape for the better part of the last 15 years,” said Miller. “I just want to learn as much as I can so I can take it home and pass this knowledge on to my guys.”
Staff Sgt. Johnathan England, training noncommissioned officer with the 38th Infantry Division, had never participated in CrossFit training and was excited to have the opportunity to come and learn.
“The ultimate goal is to help soldiers improve their state of physical readiness, and I’m excited to come here and learn things that are not only new to me, but that can be passed on to benefit other soldiers as well,” said England.
CrossFit does seminars for military members worldwide, and works with several branches of the military to help our fighting forces find new ways to achieve fitness and physical readiness.
“We are strong, strong supporters of the U.S. Armed Forces and all of our allies,” said Westerlin. “We really believe this program can benefit anyone in uniform so we work hand-in-hand and do as much as possible for service members.”