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Every month, the KMC members who score a perfect 100 on all categories of their official Air Force Fitness Assessment are recognized with a certificate (or a letter of recognition) and their picture displayed in the base newspaper.
This month we captured some valuable insights from a former triathlete who has found greater rewards with shorter, more intense workouts.
Capt. Lauren Guibert
Headquarters Air Command Ramstein
PT Score: 100 percent, December 2009
Q: What is your fitness assessment history prior to this test?
A: I earned 97 on my last test, and 100 the previous two years.
Q: How have you trained over the last few years to continuously score excellent?
A: I’ve played a lot of different sports in the past and had been training for triathlons since 2007. In April of 2009, I began to supplement my triathlon training with more functional training. Then in July, I dropped most of the endurance work and focused almost strictly on the functional work.
Q: When you were training for triathlons, what did a typical week look like?
A: I’d spend about 10 hours per week running, biking or swimming, with an additional three one-hour weight room workouts.
Q: How does your current program differ from your triathlon training?
A: I do a lot of core-centric and total body work, barbell strength training and Olympic weight lifting, some work with kettle bells, gymnastics movements, and shorter sprints of running or rowing. Every workout is different.
One day it might be just one exercise completed for maximum effort on weight, reps or time. Other times it may be two or three exercises put together in a high intensity circuit. Some workouts are as short as 6 to 7 minutes, and most are less than 25. Every once in awhile we’ll push it out past the 30 minute mark, but it’s rare. I work out three days in a row, and then take a day off to rest.
Q: Why all the emphasis on total body/larger movements?
A: I’ve never liked the idea of letting a machine do the work for you. I don’t do any “isolation” movements either. Exercises should mimic everyday life.
Q: How has your mileage changed since shifting your training?
A: During my triathlon training, it depended how close I was to a race. Generally, I’d start with 10 to 12 miles per week of running and gradually increase to 30 to 35 or more miles per week when I peaked.
That’s not including the biking or swimming. More recently, the 1.5 mile run that I ran for my PT test was actually the furthest I had ran at one time for months. I generally keep my distances short, maybe 400 or 800 meters, and might do them for a few intervals or as part of a circuit. My weekly mileage rarely goes above 2 or 3 miles these days.
Q: Why such a drastic change to your training?
A: I was finding that the more endurance work I did, the more overall strength I was losing. I was TDY often and kept missing out on race opportunities, and I found that when I started training this way, I really enjoyed it.
Q: What have been the results?
A: What I’m doing now is the most useful in terms of general physical preparedness. Also, the PT test this year was easier than previous years.
Q: Did you do anything different leading up to your test?
A: No, the workouts I do are designed to prepare people for the unknown. I wake up feeling ready for anything.
Q: Any tips for getting started with a program like this?
A: Start doing more total body movements and shorter workouts that are more intense. Change things up often and get away from routines. Go learn a new sport, play a new game or try something you haven’t done before. Start light and learn how to move with good form from experienced trainers and athletes. Progress carefully because a great exercise done incorrectly can be dangerous.
Q: How do you eat?
A: I have always been a healthy eater. I didn’t grow up eating Frosted Flakes or McDonald’s. I try to eat mostly fresh foods. I eat lean meats, poultry and game, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and not much else. I avoid processed foods and most foods that come from a box.
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: People say, “I could never get a 100, how do you find the time?” But, it’s not about the total time you spend exercising, it’s about the quality of the time you do spend. Make it a priority to spend 30 minutes at the gym and 30 fewer minutes watching TV.
Across the Department of Defense, 50 percent of all servicemembers will sustain a musculoskeletal injury in a year and 25 percent will sustain more than one injury, according to Army Medical Surveillance Activity, 2005.
A 2010 U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine report discusses the abundance of military and civilian research that shows high running volume significantly increases the risk of lower extremity injury. PT programs that reduce distance running miles not only prevent overtraining and overuse injuries, but they do this while maintaining or improving performance.
The Total Fit PTL training course is an excellent gateway for learning functional fitness movements and programming concepts in a controlled environment.
Contact your UFPM to get more information on the course. Also, Landstuhl Regional Medical Center just opened a facility for functional fitness training and combatives. Available hours are from 5:15 to 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. E-mail drake.sladky@us.army.mil or ginger.sladky@gmail.com for information on functional fitness or charles.louis.bailey@us.army.mil for information about combatives.
