thedrifter
11-26-02, 06:15 AM
By Doug Huddy and Jennifer Svan, Stars and Stripes
Stripes Sunday magazine, November 24, 2002
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11689_1121192441b.jpg
Mark Oliva / S&S
Lance Cpl. Rex Darmstaedter stretches before a morning workout at 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion on Okinawa.
President Bush wants to pump you up.
And it’s not just the military folks; it’s for everyone.
The president’s “HealthierUs” initiative, announced in June, calls for at least 30 minutes of daily exercise for adults. Even more is recommended for children.
Military service not only recommends but requires servicemembers to engage in some sort of physical activity. It’s a standing direct order.
Commanders from each of the branches of service are taking physical training requirements seriously, by either undertaking studies to change current standards or cracking down to ensure the standards are reached.
Fueling their motivation, military health officials said, is a concern that the rank and file must be healthy and physically capable to handle the rigors of war.
Some troops — from different branches of the service — returned from the Persian Gulf War because the environment was too physically taxing, said Floyd McSweeney, staff exercise physiologist at the population health support office, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
But lean, fit military personnel are “more mission-ready,” he said. Exercise improves morale and camaraderie, while reducing the risk of disease and medical expenses.
But to get servicemembers battle-ready, you have to first get them out from behind their desks.
Couch potato habits
With a reputation of having lightweight PT requirements, the Air Force is out to change its image — and its negative statistics.
Recent studies indicate the Air Force is the most sedentary among the military’s four branches.
Half of Air Force personnel in a December 2000 survey reported they exercise at least three times a week, compared to 78 percent of Marine, 74 percent of Army and 60 percent of Navy personnel surveyed.
The survey, based on a study led by Dr. Lee Harrison of Marywood University, Scranton, Pa., found inactivity may stem from differing physical training requirements. For example, 85 percent of Marines participated in mandatory physical training while just 10 percent of Air Force personnel complied, the survey said.
“Required physical training appears to be a highly effective method for increasing overall levels of physical activity, especially for military members working sedentary jobs,” the researchers concluded.
McSweeney said Air Force members are required to maintain an exercise program year-round. But they’re on their own to stay in shape, unless they fail cycle ergometry, the Air Force fitness test, or tip the scales.
And, as McSweeney observed, “when you leave exercise up to individuals, there’s always a certain segment of society … they don’t exercise.”
“For many people, we know they don’t exercise because they don’t feel like it” or rather would spend that time with family, he said.
For a military that’s trained and paid to stay fit to fight, couch-potato habits can be costly.
About 600 people are separated from the Air Force every year for weight reasons, said Dr. Christine Hunter, an Air Force captain and director of clinical programs and research in the Wilford Hall Medical Center clinical health psychology service.
“That’s 600 potentially productive people lost,” Hall said.
With so much at stake, Air Force leaders are considering whether to implement mandatory physical training, McSweeney said.
“At this point it’s been nothing but discussion,” he said.
But McSweeney believes “it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I think mandatory PT would serve the Air Force well,” he said.
The Army also is studying changing its physical training requirements, noting that regardless of your job, you are expected to physically be able to move people and equipment.
In the Navy, sailors must participate in at least three “moderately intense” physical-training sessions per week, according to the Navy’s outline of its physical-readiness training program.
“Physical fitness is a crucial element of mission performance,” said Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, the Navy’s chief of personnel, in a message outlining changes to the service’s physical-readiness program. “One manner to pursue is an aggressive command campaign to integrate physical-readiness training and education into the workweek.”
Resources needed
In an era of downsizing and increased operations tempo — where each soldier, Marine, airman and sailor is expected to do more with less — the military isn’t meeting the needs of its people when it comes to physical activity, believes health educator and researcher Maureen Mintzlaff.
A doctoral candidate in Health Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, Mintzlaff has worked with civilian and military populations for more than 10 years in disease prevention and health promotion.
In the Air Force, where Mintzlaff has conducted much of her research, new initiatives are needed, as is a better understanding of the factors that influence physical activity, she said.
“I think we need more experts in the prevention programs,” she said, “who know how to effectively implement programs, evaluate effects, and have a basic understanding of how to help individuals change behaviors.”
For the military to reverse the national trend of bulging waistlines, senior military leaders first must set good examples, Mintzlaff said.
A quote she often uses to illustrate her point: “You are always on parade,” spoken by Gen. George S. Patton, referring to military leaders in the public eye.
“Most people lack the motivation to maintain a regular consistent exercise plan, and they may need that extra support,” she said, be it mandatory physical training or commanders providing time for members to exercise on their own.
“Their role in influencing individuals can be very powerful,” she said.
If commanders enforce weight standards, ensure all squadrons provide members time to exercise and maintain a fit appearance and physical conditioning, they can create the impetus for change, beginning at the wing and trickling down to individuals, Mintzlaff said.
“The health of the military community is linked to the environment in which these members live, work and play,” she said. “It’s also affected by collective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of everyone in that community.”
But do the military orders and presidential recommendations jibe?
Well, almost.
The HealthierUs initiative does not outline a definition of “exercise.”
Walking for 30 minutes on a treadmill is exercise, but it doesn’t guarantee a Marine he’ll run his 3-mile Physical Fitness Test in the required 28 minutes, the minimum time allotted for a male Marine age 17 to 26.
Soccer may be your activity of choice, and 30 minutes running up and down the field doing your best impersonation of Brazilian superstar Ronaldo is not an easy task. But can it help when you have to do your 92 push-ups, as required of male sailors ages 17 to 19 for an “outstanding, high” on the test?
Petty Officer 3rd Class Sergio Lopez said the Navy’s physical training program works, and its newest revisions are keeping sailors in shape. “There are a lot of improvements now,” said Lopez, as he and a USS Essex shipmate did a post-workout stretch at the seaside track at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan.
“Now when I take the test, it’s easy because I have been working hard every week,” said Seaman Windell Versher as he stretched with Lopez. Versher said the Navy could further improve physical readiness by giving the test monthly instead of twice a year.
Jason Carter contributed to this report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitness by the numbers
Some sample requirements:
Service Ages / Gender Requirement
Air Force* Up to 24 male 42 push-ups and 53 crunches within 2 minutes each
Up to 24 female 19 push-ups and 53 crunches within 2 minutes each
35-39 male 31 push-ups within 2 minutes
35-39 female 13 push-ups within 2 minute
Army** 17-21 male 42 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 15 minutes, 54 seconds
17-21 female 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 18 minutes, 54 seconds
32-36 male 36 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 17 minutes, 42 seconds
32-36 female 15 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 21 minutes, 42 seconds
Marine Corps 17-26 male 3 pull-ups, 50 crunches, run 3 miles in 28 minutes
17-26 female 15-second flexed-arm hang, 50 crunches, run 3 miles in 31 minutes
27-39 male 3 pull-ups, 45 crunches, run 3 miles in 29 minutes
27-39 female 15-second flexed-arm hang, 45 crunches, run 3 miles in 32 minutes
Navy*** 17-19 male 50 sit-ups, 42 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 12.5 minutes
17-19 female 50 sit-ups, 19 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes
35-39 male 37 sit-ups, 27 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes
35-39 female 37 sit-ups, 9 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 17 minutes
Source: Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Air Force.
* Bike test — cycle ergometry — measures how efficiently lungs use oxygen. Air Force has no mandatory strength standards. Proposed additions of strength standards were put on hold because of War on Terror.
** Exercises are based on points for each activity completed. Soldiers are challenged to receive highest score possible.
*** Requirements to get a “probationary” score, which means you pass but must attend mandatory PT.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11689_1121193024b.jpg
Mark Oliva / S&S
Pfc. James Welch kicks his feet in rhythm with the cadence during the leg-lift portion his unit’s workout. The Recon Marines work out for two hours in the morning as a unit and then individually another couple hours at night.
Sempers,
Roger
Stripes Sunday magazine, November 24, 2002
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11689_1121192441b.jpg
Mark Oliva / S&S
Lance Cpl. Rex Darmstaedter stretches before a morning workout at 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion on Okinawa.
President Bush wants to pump you up.
And it’s not just the military folks; it’s for everyone.
The president’s “HealthierUs” initiative, announced in June, calls for at least 30 minutes of daily exercise for adults. Even more is recommended for children.
Military service not only recommends but requires servicemembers to engage in some sort of physical activity. It’s a standing direct order.
Commanders from each of the branches of service are taking physical training requirements seriously, by either undertaking studies to change current standards or cracking down to ensure the standards are reached.
Fueling their motivation, military health officials said, is a concern that the rank and file must be healthy and physically capable to handle the rigors of war.
Some troops — from different branches of the service — returned from the Persian Gulf War because the environment was too physically taxing, said Floyd McSweeney, staff exercise physiologist at the population health support office, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas.
But lean, fit military personnel are “more mission-ready,” he said. Exercise improves morale and camaraderie, while reducing the risk of disease and medical expenses.
But to get servicemembers battle-ready, you have to first get them out from behind their desks.
Couch potato habits
With a reputation of having lightweight PT requirements, the Air Force is out to change its image — and its negative statistics.
Recent studies indicate the Air Force is the most sedentary among the military’s four branches.
Half of Air Force personnel in a December 2000 survey reported they exercise at least three times a week, compared to 78 percent of Marine, 74 percent of Army and 60 percent of Navy personnel surveyed.
The survey, based on a study led by Dr. Lee Harrison of Marywood University, Scranton, Pa., found inactivity may stem from differing physical training requirements. For example, 85 percent of Marines participated in mandatory physical training while just 10 percent of Air Force personnel complied, the survey said.
“Required physical training appears to be a highly effective method for increasing overall levels of physical activity, especially for military members working sedentary jobs,” the researchers concluded.
McSweeney said Air Force members are required to maintain an exercise program year-round. But they’re on their own to stay in shape, unless they fail cycle ergometry, the Air Force fitness test, or tip the scales.
And, as McSweeney observed, “when you leave exercise up to individuals, there’s always a certain segment of society … they don’t exercise.”
“For many people, we know they don’t exercise because they don’t feel like it” or rather would spend that time with family, he said.
For a military that’s trained and paid to stay fit to fight, couch-potato habits can be costly.
About 600 people are separated from the Air Force every year for weight reasons, said Dr. Christine Hunter, an Air Force captain and director of clinical programs and research in the Wilford Hall Medical Center clinical health psychology service.
“That’s 600 potentially productive people lost,” Hall said.
With so much at stake, Air Force leaders are considering whether to implement mandatory physical training, McSweeney said.
“At this point it’s been nothing but discussion,” he said.
But McSweeney believes “it’s absolutely necessary.”
“I think mandatory PT would serve the Air Force well,” he said.
The Army also is studying changing its physical training requirements, noting that regardless of your job, you are expected to physically be able to move people and equipment.
In the Navy, sailors must participate in at least three “moderately intense” physical-training sessions per week, according to the Navy’s outline of its physical-readiness training program.
“Physical fitness is a crucial element of mission performance,” said Vice Adm. Norb Ryan, the Navy’s chief of personnel, in a message outlining changes to the service’s physical-readiness program. “One manner to pursue is an aggressive command campaign to integrate physical-readiness training and education into the workweek.”
Resources needed
In an era of downsizing and increased operations tempo — where each soldier, Marine, airman and sailor is expected to do more with less — the military isn’t meeting the needs of its people when it comes to physical activity, believes health educator and researcher Maureen Mintzlaff.
A doctoral candidate in Health Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia, Mintzlaff has worked with civilian and military populations for more than 10 years in disease prevention and health promotion.
In the Air Force, where Mintzlaff has conducted much of her research, new initiatives are needed, as is a better understanding of the factors that influence physical activity, she said.
“I think we need more experts in the prevention programs,” she said, “who know how to effectively implement programs, evaluate effects, and have a basic understanding of how to help individuals change behaviors.”
For the military to reverse the national trend of bulging waistlines, senior military leaders first must set good examples, Mintzlaff said.
A quote she often uses to illustrate her point: “You are always on parade,” spoken by Gen. George S. Patton, referring to military leaders in the public eye.
“Most people lack the motivation to maintain a regular consistent exercise plan, and they may need that extra support,” she said, be it mandatory physical training or commanders providing time for members to exercise on their own.
“Their role in influencing individuals can be very powerful,” she said.
If commanders enforce weight standards, ensure all squadrons provide members time to exercise and maintain a fit appearance and physical conditioning, they can create the impetus for change, beginning at the wing and trickling down to individuals, Mintzlaff said.
“The health of the military community is linked to the environment in which these members live, work and play,” she said. “It’s also affected by collective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs of everyone in that community.”
But do the military orders and presidential recommendations jibe?
Well, almost.
The HealthierUs initiative does not outline a definition of “exercise.”
Walking for 30 minutes on a treadmill is exercise, but it doesn’t guarantee a Marine he’ll run his 3-mile Physical Fitness Test in the required 28 minutes, the minimum time allotted for a male Marine age 17 to 26.
Soccer may be your activity of choice, and 30 minutes running up and down the field doing your best impersonation of Brazilian superstar Ronaldo is not an easy task. But can it help when you have to do your 92 push-ups, as required of male sailors ages 17 to 19 for an “outstanding, high” on the test?
Petty Officer 3rd Class Sergio Lopez said the Navy’s physical training program works, and its newest revisions are keeping sailors in shape. “There are a lot of improvements now,” said Lopez, as he and a USS Essex shipmate did a post-workout stretch at the seaside track at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan.
“Now when I take the test, it’s easy because I have been working hard every week,” said Seaman Windell Versher as he stretched with Lopez. Versher said the Navy could further improve physical readiness by giving the test monthly instead of twice a year.
Jason Carter contributed to this report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fitness by the numbers
Some sample requirements:
Service Ages / Gender Requirement
Air Force* Up to 24 male 42 push-ups and 53 crunches within 2 minutes each
Up to 24 female 19 push-ups and 53 crunches within 2 minutes each
35-39 male 31 push-ups within 2 minutes
35-39 female 13 push-ups within 2 minute
Army** 17-21 male 42 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 15 minutes, 54 seconds
17-21 female 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 18 minutes, 54 seconds
32-36 male 36 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 17 minutes, 42 seconds
32-36 female 15 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, run 2 miles in 21 minutes, 42 seconds
Marine Corps 17-26 male 3 pull-ups, 50 crunches, run 3 miles in 28 minutes
17-26 female 15-second flexed-arm hang, 50 crunches, run 3 miles in 31 minutes
27-39 male 3 pull-ups, 45 crunches, run 3 miles in 29 minutes
27-39 female 15-second flexed-arm hang, 45 crunches, run 3 miles in 32 minutes
Navy*** 17-19 male 50 sit-ups, 42 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 12.5 minutes
17-19 female 50 sit-ups, 19 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes
35-39 male 37 sit-ups, 27 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 15 minutes
35-39 female 37 sit-ups, 9 push-ups, run 1.5 miles in 17 minutes
Source: Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Air Force.
* Bike test — cycle ergometry — measures how efficiently lungs use oxygen. Air Force has no mandatory strength standards. Proposed additions of strength standards were put on hold because of War on Terror.
** Exercises are based on points for each activity completed. Soldiers are challenged to receive highest score possible.
*** Requirements to get a “probationary” score, which means you pass but must attend mandatory PT.
http://www.estripes.com/photos/11689_1121193024b.jpg
Mark Oliva / S&S
Pfc. James Welch kicks his feet in rhythm with the cadence during the leg-lift portion his unit’s workout. The Recon Marines work out for two hours in the morning as a unit and then individually another couple hours at night.
Sempers,
Roger