MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- When leaders want to train service members to reach their full physical fitness potential, there is a lot to consider.
Physical trainers may wonder what the most effective exercises are for large groups, how to vary workouts to keep troops challenged, and how to keep them motivated and excited to maintain physical fitness.
The Physical Trainers Coordinators Course, held by Semper Fit, a division of Marine Corps Community Services aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, sets out to provide military physical trainers with the knowledge they need to be effective fitness leaders.
During the free four-and-a-half day class, active-duty service members learn about general physical fitness, nutrition and injury prevention. Participants are also introduced to a wide array of ways to work out.
From circuit courses to aquatic fitness, participants study many different physical activities they can add to their fitness routines, said 1st Sgt. Ceasare Williams, the company first sergeant of Bravo Company, 2nd Radio Battalion and a former student.
Each of the lessons were helpful and would contribute to his unit’s physical fitness regimen, said Williams, who learned ways to vary workouts reducing wear-and-tear on the body while keeping the exercises challenging.
The class teaches not only the components of physical fitness, but also allows students to perform the exercises with a hands-on approach, said Christy Pastor, a lead personal trainer with Semper Fit.
Instructors look to expand students understanding of physical training by exposing them to different activities, Pastor added. The course highlights how fitness routines can incorporate swimming, yoga, circuit courses or other activities to bring out the best in a workout.
Students learned about the human body, its anatomy and how it relates to fitness and injury prevention.
“When I PT, it’s always been the basic weight room training and runs,” said Cpl. Colin Walt, a former student of the course and a field radio operator with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. “After the course, I understood the importance of a good complete warm up and cool down; it’s just as important as the workout. We did so many things I haven’t done before. I gained a broader understanding of ways to work out.”
Students also learned how to develop effective physical training programs to meet a variety of needs and how to ensure service members gain as much as they can from physical training.
After completing the Physical Trainers Coordinators Course, students can attend the Advanced Physical Trainers Coordinators Course, a two-day course where students can focus on the best ways to approach training individuals and groups, strength training and nutrition.
To sign up, email brookstm@usmc-mccs.org and include the participant’s full name, rank, email address, phone number, company, battalion and command, as well as the full name, rank and phone number for the participant’s officer-in-charge.
For more information, call 451-7470 or visit www.mccslejeune.com/fitness/ptcc.
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