Being fit to fight: Pushing past the standard

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Terrence Clyburn
  • 514th Air Mobility Wing public affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  What motivates you? Something must have motivated you to sign up to join the Air Force. Then you were motivated to complete your training requirements, and still something motivates you to continue your duties and work for the greatest Air Force in the world.

As a part of our duties, we must stay fit to fight, but many Airmen dread their annual fitness test.

Many Airmen, no matter the rank, are satisfied with just meeting the minimum requirements of their fitness test, never giving it a second thought. 
As most enlisted Airmen remember, those early mornings in Texas, on that barren, concrete, parking-lot-sized track, there were military training instructors yelling motivation on a daily basis.

Another source of motivation came by way of friendly squadron competitions. The same competitive spirit and constant motivation seems absent for many Airmen testing after basic or technical school graduation. The only incentive to push for an excellent score on a fitness test appears to be not having to test more than once a year.

It seems many Airmen have a narrow perspective of the physical training test.  If your standards are low and you set your goals to just pass your fitness test, you can affect your wingman's mindset to do the same.  A mindset for mediocrity, where one simply applies enough effort to meet minimal standards, is dangerous and contagious. It goes far beyond  sub-par performance on a fitness test.

We are all leaders to an extent and should lead by example. The overachieving spirit so many apply towards being an effective Airman should also be applied to physical fitness. Use whatever motivates you to do your job while incorporating fitness into your life style. Being proactive in your physical fitness will increase your productivity, not only for the fitness test, but also for your career and personal life, while motivating others to do the same. 

One of the reasons our Air Force is the world's greatest, is because of its Airmen. Making fitness apart of your lifestyle increases your lease on life and motives others to do the same.