Army Fit

**honesty** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:09am

Saw this on the news this morning and thought it might interested some of you: http://www.armyfit.mod.uk/

According to the news story this is a 14 week plan launched by the army aimed at office workers and so on to get them fit enough to join the TA.

**Colby** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 11:43am

This is the first thing that came to mind;

**BaronVonDingDong** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 12:54pm

At last they're doing a little something about it. I grew up in Britain in the 70s and 80s, and remember hearing recruiting sergeants on the radio regularly complaining about how weak and spotty modern teenagers had become and how they couldn't take most of them as they'd die in the first week of training.

It was fashionable then to blame government cuts in school sports, although, being a schoolboy myself, it wasn't the eight games of soccer I played a week that made me unfit, it was all the beer and cigarettes.

Ah - I can taste them now... McEwan's Export and a packet of John Player Specials. William Wordsworth said it best: "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive / But to be young was very heaven!"

**nomamao** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:29pm

Well, I'm sure that in the private sector, people are free to be as fat as they want to be. Having this program out there for them seems about as good as anything else they've been ignoring their whole lives.

Will anyone out there in the real world be clicking in to join and workout? Only time will tell.

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 9:05pm

I think they should be more concerned about getting the Army personnel fit. Yes. I'm in the Army. I'm at a strategic base right now on TDY. It disgusts me.

**Matt Stone** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 11:04pm

Originally Posted by Cassius

I think they should be more concerned about getting the Army personnel fit. Yes. I'm in the Army. I'm at a strategic base right now on TDY. It disgusts me.

Like so many other things, I enjoy having the wisdom that comes with experience...

If you look at the Army physical fitness manual from the 1800s, Army fitness was based almost solely on gymnastics. Yes, gymnastics.

When you look at the history of the U.S. Army, where we drew our Soldiers from, the lifestyles, etc., the group PT, formation and formal command driven, rigidly structured, etc., stems from dealing with rowdy, undisciplined, unprofessional, essentially conscripted troops. Personally, I see myself and my Soldiers as being, generally, better than that. We have multi-million dollar fitness facilities, but we still institutionalize mediocrity by treating all Soldiers as if they were incapable of being trusted to do the right thing.

Long story made short(er), we have lazy, fat troopers because we treat them like lazy, fat troopers. My troops get fired up about going to the gym, and when I go around to check on what they're doing ("the doer does what the checker checks") they're all actively involved with improving their fitness (not just sitting on a machine, or "hanging out" in the sauna).

I honestly think that, though admittedly there are Soldiers who will do the wrong thing no matter what their supervisors enforce, treating the bulk of Soldiers as if they are too incompetent to be trusted with their own fitness sends a very contradictory message when we load them up with 5.56mm once they deploy... They can be trusted with loaded automatic weapons but not with personal gym time? Really?

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 1/06/2009 4:15am

I don't disagree with you in the least. That's why I did what I did to get to the small Army.

**Yrkoon9** · Posted On: 1/11/2009 12:15am

The Army has both fitness gods and fatbody slugs.

I'm in an infantry unit and we still have guys who can't pass tape, and haven't passed an APFT in a year. We don't chapter them out anymore. We just flag them so they can't get promoted. Back at garrison they were on remedial PT programs. They did PT tests every month. It didn't matter. They just didn't care enough to pass.

The results:

1st month in country a rocket attack hits right in the fucking motorpool. 2 soldiers killed and several wounded. Months go by and it is time for awards. 2 guys who were flagged can't get thier CIB's. Not going to get any other awards for being deployed either. They aren't getting promoted. Nothing. All their peers are getting awards and getting $$$ from promotions. They still don't seem to care.

If that can't motivate someone to get in shape nothing will.

BTW watch at ETS soldier after deployment. They swell. Almost as much as a soldier put on rear D.

**Matt Stone** · Posted On: 1/11/2009 1:25am

Yrkoon9,

Coming back for a visit soon. If you manage to make it to VBC ever, come see me at the MNC-I JAG Office.

I agree with your observation. I don't look the best (but I'm 40), but I can still do plenty. Ultimately, I give enough of a **** to care both about my ability to keep up with my troopers as well as preserving myself as best I can. I haven't done PT worth a damn for over a month, and I can really tell a big, big difference. I started back to abusing myself last week, and suffered for my troubles the rest of the week. Back to the hell-bench this week, with another few days of extraordinary pain to follow.

Eat bitter, taste sweet...

Be safe.

**Rock Ape** · Posted On: 1/11/2009 4:55am

I fucking hate to see fat servicemen, it's a real pet-hate of mine.

On Friday I was walking from my accommodation block to the hanger where I work and this fat-**** of a corporal police twat was wobbling in my direction. How the **** does he pass the bi-annual fitness test is quite frankly beyond me and, if he isn't passing it why is he permitted to continue either as a JNCO or in the forces. Fucking raggs me, it really does.

Basic fitness for the RAF Regiment

To be able to maintain an 8.5 minute mile over 10K in running shoes.

To pass the RAF fitness test - Bleep run / press-ups / sit-ups

To pass the Regimental Operational Fitness Assessment - Speed march over 10k carrying 34kg (all up) in under 1hr 45 mins / run 2k then complete a man drag.