Missouri Guard announces fitness challenge winners

-

Story by Missouri  National Guard
Missouri National Guard Public Affairs Office

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – During the months of August and September, the Missouri Army National Guard’s Missouri Fitness Improvement Training Program, or FIT-P, hosted a multi-event fitness challenge.

The challenge, which included a variety of categories including running, aerobic exercise, abdominal exercises, pushups, squats and nutrition, drew 1,787 participants from across the Missouri National Guard community, said Missouri State Command Sgt. Maj. Kannon John.

“This is tremendous success,” John said. “This level of participation reflects a growing culture of fitness within the Missouri National Guard. I’m proud of all our participants, as well as the team who worked to make sure the program was a success.”

The program is part of a concerted effort to focus on fitness as a means of maintaining readiness throughout the Missouri National Guard. Traditional Guardsmen maintain civilian jobs and often see their units only at monthly drills. By taking advantage of modern technology including smart phones and the internet, the program is better able to maintain a sense of connection among Guardsmen.

“The Fit-P program has been very successful during the past year,” John said. “They have helped dozens of Soldiers improve their fitness through personal training, and now have had an impact on hundreds more through this challenge.”

The challenge was also an opportunity for Guardsmen to push each other during the month, said 2nd Lt. Megan Webb, the Missouri National Guard’s fitness improvement director.

“We hope the challenge provided motivation for some Soldiers and even a little healthy competition,” Webb said. “We also hope that it provided a medium for Soldiers to demonstrate leadership by participation. Fitness is part of the job description for all of us, regardless of rank, we hope this challenge provided a platform to say that we are all putting the time and work into fitness.”

Over the two months of the challenge, participants stacked up impressive numbers. In all, participants ran 27,337 miles, did 402,552 minutes of aerobic activity, completed 822,773 pushups, logged 1,421,587 core repetitions and 680,854 squats, Webb said.

“The intent of the recent Fitness Multi-Challenge was to improve the fitness culture of the Missouri Army National Guard and help Soldiers gear up for the fall Army physical fitness test,” Webb said. “With almost 1,800 participants, I believe the challenge made an impact. We are already looking forward to our next challenge.” 

Beyond exercise, the challenge also encouraged participants to examine their nutritional habits. These included drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day, trying new and consuming more vegetables, eating a healthy breakfast, and abstaining from sugary foods and drinks, said 2nd Lt. David Ford, a Missouri National Guard health coach and personal trainer in the Springfield area.

“The fact of the matter is that everyone who participated in this challenge made the fitness of the Missouri Army National Guard improve,” Ford said. “That was the goal for the challenge - to help Soldiers find motivation and make this a fun but competitive challenge.” 

A breakdown of the winners follows:

Aerobic Activity Category Summary:

In total, 814 people participated in the aerobics challenge, logging 402,552 minutes of aerobic activity. That comes out to about 279 days, 13 hours and 12 minutes of aerobic activity

Aerobic Expert
1st Place Staff Sgt. Jason Wanner
2nd Place Master Sgt. Troy Hoskins
3rd Place 1st Sgt. Eric Jordan

Aerobic Advanced
1st Place Sgt. Devon Myers
2nd Place Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Morago
3rd Place Capt. Jacob Condon

Aerobic Intermediate
1st Place Staff Sgt. Adam Rulon
2nd Place Officer Candidate Sierra Harriman
3rd Place Cpl. Benjamin Standing

Aerobic Novice
1st Place 1st Lt. Manuel Vandermolen
2nd Place Spc. Danielle Myers

Aerobic Walking
1st Place Staff Sgt. David Myers
2nd Place Staff Sgt. Andrew Domsch
3rd Place Col. Kyle Nordmeyer

Core Exercises Category Summary:
In total, 933 individuals participated in our core challenge, completing 1,421,587 core exercises

Core- Expert
1st Place Master Sgt.  Troy Hoskins
2nd Place Sgt. 1st Class James Stuart
3rd Place Officer Candidate Taran Holt

Core – Advanced
1st Place Staff Sgt. David Myers 110th MEB
2nd Place Sgt. Najah Shields 110th MEB
3rd Place Sgt. Devon Myers 110th MEB

Core - Intermediate
1st Place Command Sgt. Maj. Matt Marr
2nd Place Sgt. Craig Coss
3rd Place Staff Sgt. David Sutphin

Core – Novice
1st Place Pfc. Ashley Johnson
2nd Place Sgt. 1st Class Dawn Harmount
3rd Place Staff Sgt. Christopher Henry

Nutrition
1st Place Staff Sgt. Jason Wanner
2nd Place 1st Sgt. Eric Jordan
3rd Place Spc. Lonnie Pearson


Pushup Category Summary:
In total, 931 individuals participated in our core challenge, completing 822,773 pushups.

Pushups - Expert
1st Place Master Sgt. Troy Hoskins
2nd Place Officer Candidate Taran Holt
3rd Place Staff Sgt. Jason Wanner

Pushups- Advanced
1st Place Sgt. Devon Myers
2nd Place Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Ray
3rd Place Command Sgt. Maj. Matt Marr

Pushups – Intermediate
1st Place Sgt. Craig Coss
2nd Place Staff Sgt. Katelyn Burkhart
3rd Place Spc. Colin Herin

Run Category Summary:
In total, 1,198 individuals logged miles in the run category over the course of the challenge. In total, runners logged 26,926 miles. That means, combined, our participants could have walked around the equator and kept going for 2,025 miles.

Run - Expert
1st Place Chief Warrant Officer 3 Levi Saxe
2nd Place Pfc. Christopher Saunders
3rd Place Warrant Officer 1 Nicole  Reynolds

Run - Advanced
1st Place Lt. Col. George Acree
2nd Place Sgt. Adam Jamieson
3rd Place Warrant Officer 1 Jeff Switzer


Run -Intermediate
1st Place Spc. Tanessa Kenny

Run - Novice
1st Place Pvt. Kierah Jarvis
2nd Place Pfc. Hunter Raymer

Walking
1st Place Capt. Kevin Vitale
2nd Place Col. Lawrence Stegeman
3rd Place Staff Sgt. Scott Linde

Squats Category Summary:
In total, 768 individuals participated in our squats challenge, completing 680,854 squats.

Squats –Expert
1st Place Staff Sgt. Jason Wanner
2nd Place Master Sgt. Troy Hoskins
3rd Place 1st Sgt. Eric Jordan

Squats – Advanced
1st Place Officer Candidate John Hawkins
2nd. Place Capt. Mitchell Woodrum
3rd Place Sgt. Devon Myers

Squats - Intermediate
1st Place Officer Candidate Sierra Harriman

Squats - Novice
1st Place 1st Lt. Manuel Vandermolen



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soldier trains the trainers on new Army Combat Fitness Test standards

-
Image
By Steve Larson Public Affairs Office Sgt. 1st Class Randall Matlock was a platoon sergeant with the 1077th Ground Ambulance Company in Olathe, Kansas, when he learned the Army was looking for instructors to travel around the world, and educate Soldiers about the new Army Combat Fitness Test. “This test is a major change in the Army and is the first step towards a culture shift for fitness and Holistic Health and Fitness,” said Matlock. “It was a first-hand opportunity to learn the ACFT and Holistic Health and Fitness and take that knowledge back to the National Guard formation.” So, the Blackwell, Oklahoma, native applied and was accepted for the program. He was assigned to the Center for Initial Military Training in Fort Eustis, Virginia, as an Army Combat Fitness Test instructor on the Mobile Training Team. “When I found out I was accepted, I started training,” said Matlock. “I live in a small town and there weren’t standard Army climbing pods available. There was, however,
Read more

Pre-Ranger Course pushes Soldiers beyond limits

-
Image
By Sgt. ASHLEY M. MORRIS 3rd BCT, 10th Mtn Div FORT POLK, La. — Forty-two Soldiers from across the installation reported to Honor Field for the first day of the course to begin initial assessments Feb. 5. The Pre-Ranger Course is a prerequiste for those that want to attend Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. A mobile training team from 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York, is visiting Fort Polk to teach the course . The first assessment of the day was the PRC physical fitness test, which included push ups, sit ups, a 5-mile run and pull ups. Then the physical and mental resolve of the remaining 26 Soldiers were tested as they continued to the next challenge — a comprehensive swim assessment. The Soldiers were instructed to complete a series of exercises in between events during the swim assessment. The exercises were meant to push the Soldiers, mentally and physically, to see how they perform under pressure. “Every day down at the line and in the units, these Sol
Read more

Soldiers train for ACFT while overseas

-
Image
Story by Sgt. Anna Churco  241st Mobile Public Affairs Detachment     POZNAN, Poland-- The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) will become the Army physical test of record by October 2020, replacing the current Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). Consisting of six events, the new ACFT will test Soldiers’ mental toughness and stamina and better predict Soldiers’ readiness for a modern battlefield. Training for the ACFT is challenging, and Soldiers with 1st Infantry Division (FWD) (1 ID FWD) face the extra challenge of being deployed overseas while training.  Sgt. Samuel Pettis, a Cavalry Scout based out of Fort Riley, Kansas, has overcome this challenge and continued to train for the ACFT while being deployed with 1 ID (FWD) to Poland in support of Atlantic Resolve. Many Soldiers, including Pettis, have taken the initiative to join civilian gyms while deployed to non-combat regions to help maintain their physical readiness.  “It can be hard to find the right equipment here, b
Read more