thedrifter
04-14-09, 06:15 AM
Marine drill tests fitness for combat - Stretching Out
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
STRETCHING OUT
Only if you're a Marine would you do the Combat Fitness Test on a regular
basis. Otherwise, if you simply like a challenge, it's worth trying once. See how it works at cleveland.com/healthfit.
WHAT NEXT?
Have a suggestion for an activity I should try? Call me at 216-999-4632 or send me an e-mail.
I'm a pacifist through and through. The very idea of inflicting harm runs counter to everything I stand for, both personally and professionally.
Last month, though, I learned something new about myself: Physically, I'm fit for combat.
A few weeks ago, I got a call from the Marines. Knowing I love a challenge, troops at the Brook Park branch dared me to try the new Combat Fitness Test they and all other members of the "few and proud" must now undergo in addition to routine physical-fitness tests.
At first, I second-guessed my consent, envisioning a boot-camp course with barbed-wire, high walls and pits of mud. But a little research boosted my confidence, revealing I was in for something marginally less daunting, a drill combining elements of triathlon, football training and strongman competitions.
Even so, two segments of the test still made me nervous: the drag and carry of a "casualty."
It was raining the day I met Staff Sgt. Steven Eischen and a group of other active-duty Marines at Byers Field in Parma. Happily, we started off with my favorite activity, running, completing two loops around a quarter-mile track.
My running shoes were of no advantage in the second part. In two minutes, we had to lift a 30-pound can of ammunition over our heads as many times as possible, lowering it beneath our nose every time.
For me, this proved the hardest part of the test. While I exceeded the minimum requirements, completing 73 lifts, I got nowhere near 100 like the leaders did. Clearly, I'm no strongman.
Then came the fun part, a zigzagging obstacle course.
Starting out on my stomach, I stood up and ran about 25 yards, then dropped to the grassy ground again and crawled another 25. After that, I stood up to run back and forth around a series of cones.
Time to deal with my "casualty." Magically, I was assigned the lightest person there, a petite female who weighed practically nothing. Dragging her 25 yards around the cones and carrying her another 50 over my shoulder was a cinch. It could have been much, much worse.
Back at the start line, with the clock still ticking, I grabbed two 30-pound ammo cans and dashed down the field, again weaving through the cones. Only this time, at the other end, I did three pushups and tossed a dummy grenade toward a target about 25 yards distant.
Had the fake bomb landed inside a small, square zone, five seconds would have been deducted from my time. As it happened, I missed, and I gained five seconds. I tried to make it up on the last leg, a sprint to the finish, ammo cans in hand.
So far as I can tell, I did fairly well, finishing in 2:44, comfortably under the 3:55 minimum required of a man my age. But I had an advantage. I was dressed in sweats and running shoes, not fatigues and boots.
Still, the test was plenty hard. My arms, especially, ached for days, thanks to the ammo cans. Although I'm curious how I'd fare if I really pushed myself or had to lift a man my size, I probably won't be doing this again anytime soon.
It's a much different story for the Marines, who actually need to keep fit for combat. Soon they'll be required to take the test twice a year, and failing will have consequences. My arms can't even imagine it.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
zlewis@plaind.com, 216-999-4632
Ellie
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
STRETCHING OUT
Only if you're a Marine would you do the Combat Fitness Test on a regular
basis. Otherwise, if you simply like a challenge, it's worth trying once. See how it works at cleveland.com/healthfit.
WHAT NEXT?
Have a suggestion for an activity I should try? Call me at 216-999-4632 or send me an e-mail.
I'm a pacifist through and through. The very idea of inflicting harm runs counter to everything I stand for, both personally and professionally.
Last month, though, I learned something new about myself: Physically, I'm fit for combat.
A few weeks ago, I got a call from the Marines. Knowing I love a challenge, troops at the Brook Park branch dared me to try the new Combat Fitness Test they and all other members of the "few and proud" must now undergo in addition to routine physical-fitness tests.
At first, I second-guessed my consent, envisioning a boot-camp course with barbed-wire, high walls and pits of mud. But a little research boosted my confidence, revealing I was in for something marginally less daunting, a drill combining elements of triathlon, football training and strongman competitions.
Even so, two segments of the test still made me nervous: the drag and carry of a "casualty."
It was raining the day I met Staff Sgt. Steven Eischen and a group of other active-duty Marines at Byers Field in Parma. Happily, we started off with my favorite activity, running, completing two loops around a quarter-mile track.
My running shoes were of no advantage in the second part. In two minutes, we had to lift a 30-pound can of ammunition over our heads as many times as possible, lowering it beneath our nose every time.
For me, this proved the hardest part of the test. While I exceeded the minimum requirements, completing 73 lifts, I got nowhere near 100 like the leaders did. Clearly, I'm no strongman.
Then came the fun part, a zigzagging obstacle course.
Starting out on my stomach, I stood up and ran about 25 yards, then dropped to the grassy ground again and crawled another 25. After that, I stood up to run back and forth around a series of cones.
Time to deal with my "casualty." Magically, I was assigned the lightest person there, a petite female who weighed practically nothing. Dragging her 25 yards around the cones and carrying her another 50 over my shoulder was a cinch. It could have been much, much worse.
Back at the start line, with the clock still ticking, I grabbed two 30-pound ammo cans and dashed down the field, again weaving through the cones. Only this time, at the other end, I did three pushups and tossed a dummy grenade toward a target about 25 yards distant.
Had the fake bomb landed inside a small, square zone, five seconds would have been deducted from my time. As it happened, I missed, and I gained five seconds. I tried to make it up on the last leg, a sprint to the finish, ammo cans in hand.
So far as I can tell, I did fairly well, finishing in 2:44, comfortably under the 3:55 minimum required of a man my age. But I had an advantage. I was dressed in sweats and running shoes, not fatigues and boots.
Still, the test was plenty hard. My arms, especially, ached for days, thanks to the ammo cans. Although I'm curious how I'd fare if I really pushed myself or had to lift a man my size, I probably won't be doing this again anytime soon.
It's a much different story for the Marines, who actually need to keep fit for combat. Soon they'll be required to take the test twice a year, and failing will have consequences. My arms can't even imagine it.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
zlewis@plaind.com, 216-999-4632
Ellie