Be well, stay well

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marjorie A. Bowlden
  • 911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PITTSBURGH --  "I've got a lot going on right now. I'll do it later."

It's an excuse often made in life. Responsibilities and stressors pile up to an incredible, daunting height, and sometimes, vital things get placed at the bottom of the to-do list with a muttered, "I'll do it later."

It's easy to push certain responsibilities aside and not worry about them when they're not pressing, urgent and calling for attention, such as physical health.

Fitness is a hot topic Air Force-wide right now, and for reservists, the pressure is high. As citizen Airmen, it's hard to keep up fitness standards while trying to stay afloat in these difficult times. Juggling one or more civilian careers, education, and family makes it tough to find the resources, time, energy or will to stay physically fit.

Here at the 911th Airlift Wing, an existing program for Aeromedical Staging Squadron personnel was recently opened to all Airmen on base who are struggling with their Fit to Fight assessment or simply want to improve overall fitness.

When Senior Airman Joshua Osborn of ASTS became the unit fitness program manager in March 2014, this program was only open to ASTS Airmen who were having difficulty passing their Fit to Fight. But the program, now called Be Well Boot Camp, was noticed and grew quickly.

"There were a couple other units who saw what we were doing and liked it and asked if they could join in," said Osborn. "The logistics readiness squadron was the first one to join in, and then the development and training flight came for one session. It's just expanded now to where anyone who wants to can come."

Before Be Well Boot Camp was opened to the entire base, the number of participants depended upon how many people were having trouble passing, he said. Now the numbers vary greatly with every Unit Training Assembly.

"Normally it started at about 12-15 participants, and then it shot up to 25 or 30, but at the last one there were five," he said. "The longer it goes, I hope it gets a little more regular. I'd like to see bigger numbers every time."

Osborn, who is a personal trainer in his civilian career, does his best to cater to the specific challenges and needs of reserve Airmen by conducting exercises that use as little equipment as possible.

A main complaint he usually receives as the fitness program manager is that Airmen don't have access to a gym or workout equipment, he said. Therefore, he focuses on simple bodyweight exercises that work the muscles and keep the heart rate up without requiring a gym.

This unique challenge pushes him to get creative with his planning of each workout session.

"One UTA I brought paper plates that you can just slide on the gym floor," said Osborn. "I try to make it so that if they do something that they like, they can do it on their own. I try to do exercises that they haven't seen before, ones that are different and fun."

Only working out on UTAs, however, is not enough, said Master Sgt. Michael Cilli, wing exercise physiologist with ASTS. But programs like this are a step in the right direction to motivate reserve Airmen to a healthier lifestyle.

"You're not going to get in awesome shape from working out once a month; it's not doing anything for you," said Cilli. "What it is doing is helping to change a culture. Getting back to our core values is where the value is."

However, that change in culture has a catch, Cilli pointed out.

"I don't think anyone likes waking up at zero dark thirty to work out," he said. "And life gets in the way; people have work, they have kids, and the last thing they want to do after a long work day is to work out."

The mentality toward working out needs to be changed slightly to more easily improve and maintain required fitness standards, said Osborn.

That's exactly what Osborn hopes to achieve with the Be Well Boot Camp. By providing members with unique and fun exercises that use minimal equipment, he hopes to shed a new light on maintaining and improving fitness.

"There's such a negative connotation with it, and I'd really like it to be more of a positive thing," said Osborn. "I just want to show people that it can be fun and there's tons of different exercises you can do."

Be Well Boot Camp sessions take place UTA Sundays from 6:30 to 7 a.m. at the base fitness center. Anyone interested in improving their level of fitness and discovering new and interesting ways to work out is welcome to attend.