PT

Every person in the US Armed Forces has an obligation to PT. According to Navy Regulation it should be done at least 3 times a week. PT is good for the body and certainly gives the mind a chance to process things as well. For those who may not be familiar with the abbreviation PT, it stands for Physical Training. A more common term is exercise.

When I am back at home I do a little exercise. I usually ride my bike to work two or three times a week. I will get out and run about once a week. In the summertime I play in the pool with the kids almost daily and that certainly counts as exercise if you have ever witnessed the event. But my exercise plan at home has been more about maintaining.

Here it is different. I work out a lot here at Spann. I started out with just a little every other day while at Ft Riley, but here I have become, well ......dependant on it. I will spend between 1 to 2 hours a day exercising these days. It is not only physical but mental health that pushes me to exercise more here. For one thing it fills the many hours I would normally spend with my family, sigh. The other is that it counters the rich foods that KBR serves in abundance here.

We have two small gyms. One is a tent and the other is a B-hut. Both have some cardio machines and weights. Running around our camp is not necessarily recommended for numerous reasons, not the least of which are the fist sized round rocks "ankle-breakers" which loosely serve as the surface for most of the camp. The gyms are rumored to be merging in another building soon. Thankfully the gyms are also open 24 hours. You can also usually find a cold bottle of water in them as well. Since the TV programming is not to my tastes 9 times out of 10, I have really enjoyed the ipod Tricia bought me. It has been a real blessing.

My big thing is the cardio machines. I like the elipticals. I have learned how to not fall or hurt myself on the treadmills after much effort. We have a nice rowing machine, which I enjoy. The stair steppers I only use when all of the other machines are full. My knees don't agree with them. The bike is fine as well. I don't really do weights either. I am not so far gone that I am ready to do races or marathons. Every time I have an appointment with a patient who is preparing for a marathon I always ask them 'How far is a marathon?' When they tell me 26.2 miles I respond- Really I thought it was the distance required to kill a Greek soldier- since that is what happened to the first Marathon runner.

I enjoy exercise here while I am deployed, but not that much.