Herman Chauw: Hi Jeffry, could you tell us about your fitness background?
Jeffry Larson: “Fit” is not a word that I would use to describe myself growing up. While I was tall for my age and was doing martial arts I was also overweight and a poor performer athletically. This continued to be the case all the way through college and even after I got married. It was not until after I joined the military that I became serious about fitness and my quest to find the best system to reach my goals. Unsatisfied with the limitations of military physical training and the mainstream fitness world I finally discovered CST and never looked back. Since then I have gone one to become a CST Head Coach and one of the first TACFIT Team Leaders.
TACFIT Team Leader "Q" - The Qualification Exam from Scott Sonnon on Vimeo.
HC: How long have you served in the Army? What do you do in the Army?
JL: I have been in the U.S. Army for over 16 years. I am a Chief Warrant Officer in the Army Band field currently serving as the commander of the 113th Army Band “Dragoons” at Fort Knox, KY. My duty as a warrant officer is to train my unit to be both technically and tactically proficient so that they are capable of performing their mission to a high standard in any environment including a combat zone. Along these lines some of my experiences have included engaging with the Afghan National Army Band in a mentoring relationship and performing for the President of the United States in high-visibility ceremonies.
JL: While there is a training schedule template we use in reality our schedule is in constant flux and subject to change on a moment’s notice. The “typical” day would include Physical Training (PT) at 0630-0730 then work call at 0900. Retreat sounds at 1700 but we often remain on duty beyond that until the mission is complete. Everyday there is an ongoing, overlapping process of planning training, coordination & execution of missions and a great amount of administrative mission support activities (paperwork) to take care of. For my unit the missions we are assigned often take place in the evenings and weekends, especially on holidays, so we have to shift and juggle all of our other requirements around these missions.
HC: Do you conduct PT for your unit(s)?
JL: My unit is a “Team of Teams” meaning that I have several senior Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) that each have a small team of troops that they lead. These small teams are close knit units in themselves which train and operate together on a daily basis. In order to foster maximum cohesion in these teams their NCOs run their PT. My role is to have oversight of these teams and provide guidance to them as opposed to dictating training plans to them. However I am also responsible to lead by example. So every morning my soldiers see me out there doing my PT program at the same time they are doing theirs.
HC: Does your unit(s) adopt TACFIT in its PT? For how long have they been using TACFIT?
JL: I have been training not only my unit but elements of higher echelon major commands as well including the US Army Armor Center and the US Army Accessions Command. Gyms on post now have Clubbells available so that even more of the Fort Knox population is being exposed to CST and TACFIT. My focus has been on a “train-the-trainer” concept. For over a year now I have trained the senior NCOs in my unit and in the higher commands in the techniques, tactics and protocols of TACFIT so that they can in turn go out and train their troops.
HC: Are you using 4x7 or 7x4 or some other periodization model for your unit(s)?
JL: I’ve tried various protocols. Our fluid training and mission schedule can make things a little challenging here and I’ve had to learn how to adapt to circumstances. Most recently I incorporated a 4X7 TACFIT program with a group of soldiers and had tremendous results. However they were committed volunteers who accepted the fact that they had to stick to the assigned PT mission even on non-duty days. This model may not work so well for large conventional units where a typical schedule means no training on the weekends.
HC: What kind of obstacles did you face when promoting a health first fitness approach and TACFIT to your unit(s)?
JL: Most soldiers who have some experience and take their fitness training seriously see the benefits of the system right away. However there is a lot of institutional inertia that makes adoption and a larger scale a challenge. Soldiers are very pragmatic and focused on getting immediate results and quantifiable benefit. One of the main problems right now in military fitness is the disconnect between the physical requirements of actual mission readiness and the institutionalized method of physical fitness testing. So much weight is placed on this obsolete test that it can have a significant impact on a soldier’s career. So in most of the Army there is a complete over emphasis on standard push-ups, sit-ups and the 2-mile run. Anything outside of those 3 events is automatically viewed as merely optional or even unnecessary by many soldiers. It’s an unfortunate situation but there are some indications that there will be changes in the near future.
HC: After using TACFIT, what differences have you noticed in your troops' fitness?
JL: After I lead them through a full TACFIT program I noticed soldier’s scores on the standard 3-event test went up significantly. This was even with almost no activity-specific training prior to the test. They also very much enjoyed the variety in their PT program in learning the sophisticated movements of TACFIT. Beyond this the intensity of the TACFIT program brought them together as a team and formed strong bonds of cohesion. Overall it was a win-win-win situation where they felt better, performed better and created a better team.
HC: Thanks again Jeff for taking time to do this interview.
JL: It’s been my pleasure. All the best to you and your readers. As we say at Fort Knox: “Strength Starts Here!”
For more on Jeffry, check out his blog at http://www.lyonhartfitness.com/.
HC: What kind of obstacles did you face when promoting a health first fitness approach and TACFIT to your unit(s)?
JL: Most soldiers who have some experience and take their fitness training seriously see the benefits of the system right away. However there is a lot of institutional inertia that makes adoption and a larger scale a challenge. Soldiers are very pragmatic and focused on getting immediate results and quantifiable benefit. One of the main problems right now in military fitness is the disconnect between the physical requirements of actual mission readiness and the institutionalized method of physical fitness testing. So much weight is placed on this obsolete test that it can have a significant impact on a soldier’s career. So in most of the Army there is a complete over emphasis on standard push-ups, sit-ups and the 2-mile run. Anything outside of those 3 events is automatically viewed as merely optional or even unnecessary by many soldiers. It’s an unfortunate situation but there are some indications that there will be changes in the near future.
HC: After using TACFIT, what differences have you noticed in your troops' fitness?
JL: After I lead them through a full TACFIT program I noticed soldier’s scores on the standard 3-event test went up significantly. This was even with almost no activity-specific training prior to the test. They also very much enjoyed the variety in their PT program in learning the sophisticated movements of TACFIT. Beyond this the intensity of the TACFIT program brought them together as a team and formed strong bonds of cohesion. Overall it was a win-win-win situation where they felt better, performed better and created a better team.
HC: Thanks again Jeff for taking time to do this interview.
JL: It’s been my pleasure. All the best to you and your readers. As we say at Fort Knox: “Strength Starts Here!”
For more on Jeffry, check out his blog at http://www.lyonhartfitness.com/.
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