The US Army is incorporating pilates into their workout regiment to help assist candidates that are over weight & increase their core strength.
Today, many more youth are
overweight then what they used to be. With the increase of video games, TV
watching, poor eating habits, and fewer PE classes, the are youth are gaining weight
at rapid rates. Obesity levels across the nation have reached an all time high.
It’s now at an epidemic proportion.
In fact, the number one reason that the US Army rejects candidates is due to
their excessive weight. Unfit recruits have become a huge issue for the Army.
Many are failing their fitness tests. Some are even getting injured during
basic training because they are unprepared for any strenuous activity.
As a result, the Army has unveiled a plan to change their fitness routines.
They are now going to incorporate yoga and Pilates into their fitness regime.
The hope is that the new plan will help get recruits into shape. Instead of
relying solely on intense physical training, Pilates and yoga will help develop
core strength. It is also supposed to reduce the number of injuries that unfit
recruits get.
The program incorporates more stretching and gradually increases with
difficulty over time. It’s more of a whole body workout. The program has now
been put into use at five different training posts and combined it has over
145,000 participants. In fact, the program is now more closely in line with the
skills that are required by soldiers. It will help to strengthen both their
core and back.
Recruits are not in the shape that they used to be in years past. The Army’s
rigorous fitness requirements are not able to be held up. These plans to insert
yoga and Pilate routines are in no means to lower the fitness standards.
Rather, they are meant to help recruits safely reach the optimum level of fitness.
They are creating these adjustments in order to help with America’s rising
obesity problems. The Army’s problem with overweight recruits is not just an
Army problem, rather it is a problem with the rest of the nation, too.
Along with this, the Army is also making changes in the mess hall. The soda has
been replaced with healthier options. Now, rather than serving soda they are
serving milk. They even added a color coded system in hopes to encourage
recruits to eat better. Army members are seeing more leafy greens being served.
So, not only are their workouts changing, their eating habits are too.
