U.S. Forces Fitness

Story by Cynthia Griggs 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Hill Air Force Base hosted the Air Force Alpha Warrior Western Regional Competition June 21. Four athletes competed at the event, consisting of the top performers from Hill and Travis Air Force Base, California. Representing Hill was Senior Airman Daniel Rosa, 729th Air Control Squadron, Airman 1st Class Bryan Lira Ayala, 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Justin Southichack, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Munitions Division. Capt. Christopher Williston, a C-17 Globemaster III pilot, came from Travis to compete. The Alpha Warrior competition puts Airmen through a series of obstacles involving climbing, pull ups, gymnastic rings, running, jumping, and weight-lifting in and around a battle station rig. For males the time to compete in is four minutes and for females the time limit is four minutes and 30 seconds. At Hill, the competitor with the fastest time was Lira Ayala, who will advance to the

Tripler Army Medical Center Story by Leanne Thomas            By Capt. Joshua Sorge, Tripler Army Medical Center Physical Therapy Clinic                                                                   HONOLULU – With the advent of the internet and social media, there seems to be a new way to get into shape every day. Circuit training, yoga, resistance training workouts seem to come and go, each touting the tons of people that lost weight, gained muscle mass, or met their fitness goals. We have all tried them, or have friends that have had limited success with specific training routines. But if they work, why don’t we all have the one, perfect routine for our fitness goals? For the majority of us, we need variety to see success in our fitness goals, and cross training keeps our body having to adapt to ongoing challenges. Cross training is working out in alternate ways to support the movements, speed, strength, power, and endurance for a specific skill. In early training f

Story by Nicole Hawk U.S. Army Human Resources Command At 4 feet 10 inches tall and poised to compete on the world’s stage in powerlifting, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) Sgt. 1st Class Celina Flores is an inspiration to other Soldiers and civilians. Placing first in the Drug-Tested Tennessee State Championship, she qualified to compete in the 56 kilogram weight class at the International Powerlifting League World Championship in Ireland.  She will have three attempts to lift the maximum weight she can on a squat, bench press, and deadlift. Flores said she looks forward to competing. “I’m proud that I’ll be representing both the U.S. and the Army.  I’m looking forward to meeting powerlifters from around the world and to making my colleagues and family proud.”  Flores began powerlifting to relieve stress during her first deployment to Iraq, but didn’t become serious about competing until January 2016. “I saw other women who were super strong and that inspired me

Story by Staff Sgt. Neysa Canfield 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs FORT CARSON, Colo. — With smiles and sweat on their faces, Soldiers prepared to split off into groups to conduct Total Soldier Enhancement Training (TSET) May 23, 2019, at the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) gymnasium at Fort Carson. TSET is a peer-to-peer based training system led by Soldier-Athletes assigned to WCAP to help provide Soldiers with tools to better their combat readiness and resilience, said 1st Lt. Toby Erickson, officer in charge of the training, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. “We try to give (Soldiers) basic tools from an athlete mindset on how to handle obstacles, whether it’s on the battlefield or in daily life tasks,” said Erickson, who is also a wrestler in the program. During the training Soldiers from 1st Bn., 41st Inf. Reg., 2nd IBCT, completed five different stations. The first two s

Story by 1st Lt. Connor Coombes 2d Cavalry Regimen As Soldiers across the U.S. Army have begun incorporating exercises into their physical training to prepare themselves for the upcoming implementation of the Army Combat Fitness Test, 2d Cavalry Regiment’s Support Squadron hosted a competition based on the test’s events. The Regimental Support Squadron hosts a physically rigorous Commander’s Cup competition every quarter, and for this iteration, its leadership decided to build the rivalry around five of the six ACFT events, plus a sprint race in lieu of the test’s two mile run portion.  The Commander’s Cup took place during PT hours at Rose Barracks, Germany, May 31, 2019. Each of the five troops provided one team to compete in the competition. The teams each began at a different station and rotated until all five ACFT events were complete.  The troops then selected a representative to compete in the mystery event, a 100-meter uphill sprint race. Multiple competitors recei

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jordan North Carolina National Guard RALEIGH, N.C. -- Several North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) Leaders learned about the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) at the NCNG Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 3, 2019.  The NCNG's State Fitness Improvement Contractor Bobby Wheeler, a retired NCNG Army Master Sergeant and master fitness trainer, familiarized the participants with the six-event test. The six events are: deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release push-up, sprint, drag, carry relay, leg tuck and two-mile run. The ACFT is meant to better prepare Soldiers for combat.  "The way to get better is to do it (the ACFT)," Wheeler said. The participants were federal technicians who hold civilian jobs at the headquarters but drill as Soldiers or Airmen with their NCNG unit. Others serve full time with the NCNG. They gathered at the JFHQ track, some in physical fitness uniform, the technicians in civilian