How 442nd reservists scored 100 on AF fit test

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Everyone has moments of revelation in their lives. These epiphanies sometimes come from other people, but sometimes they come from within the person themselves.

That's what happened to two 442nd Fighter Wing members regarding their health, and their realizations have led them to membership in an elite group of 18 Citizen Airmen in the wing who have scored 100 percent on their Air Force Fitness Assessment.

In February 2000, Tech. Sgt. Eddie Smith, 442nd Logistics Readiness Squadron, was in the Navy Reserve working shore patrol in New Orleans during Mardi Gras when he said he "started noticing age was coming around and I didn't have the stamina I wanted."

Sergeant Smith, 42, said he was "by no means overweight." However, he said he remembered how good he felt when he was in a regular exercise routine two decades ago.

He restarted that same simple routine, which has been part of his life for seven years.

"It doesn't have to be an overwhelming part of your lifestyle," he said. "I do (the workout) in my basement. I have two, 20-pound free weights and work my upper body and lats (chest muscles) for 20 minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I run on a treadmill on Tuesdays and that's it.

"I try to tell people that it's simple," Sergeant Smith said. "I'm proof of that. I run a mile and a half and I'm done. I'm not a runner. I don't care to run. It's not that big a deal. It's all about finding your comfort zone."

He said he does not take any breaks during his workout, focusing on his upper body, then his upper and lower abdominal muscles. He said he knows what he has to do to score the test's maximum points.

"That's what I do in my workouts," Sergeant Smith said. "I do 40 push-ups in a minute, I do 44 crunches and I know I have to run the mile and a half in 10 minutes and 20 seconds."

He simply shoots for those numbers in every workout. It's a philosophy that's hard to argue with - he has scored 100 percent on his last three tests, including running the mile and a half in nine minutes and 40 seconds during his last test - 40 seconds faster than his required time.

"People have asked about my routine," he said. "You just have to do it. You feel so much better. It just leads to such a healthy lifestyle. When people feel good, it makes other people feel good.

"As far as my eating habits, I try to eat three fruits every day," Sergeant Smith said. "I love fried foods, but (that's) not healthy for you. To have a bag of potato chips and sit down in front of the TV - there's nothing more I love than that.

"I believe people can eat anything if they eat in moderation," he said. "When my family and I go on vacations, we don't go to buffets anymore. We sit down and order and eat what we get. The key ... is moderation."

Another wing member who's chalked up perfect scores on the last three tests is Senior Master Sgt. Mark Mock, fabrication chief in the 442nd Maintenance Squadron.

Sergeant Mock said his road to perfection began when he filled out a questionnaire prior to a fitness test in May 2004 and was required, based on his answers, to see a health-care professional before testing.

"That kind of motivated me," he said, along with looking at some problems in his family's health history.

Sergeant Mock, 47, noted exercise can help prevent health problems and encouraged wing members to look into their family's health history as a motivator to exercise regularly and ensure oneself a passing grade on the fitness test.

"I was eating Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs and got up to 205 pounds in May 2004 with a 36-and-a-half-inch waist," Sergeant Mock said. Now, he weighs in at 180 and trimmed an inch-and-a-half from his pant's size.

Like Sergeant Smith, Sergeant Mock's workout philosophy stresses simplicity.

"You just have to exercise regularly," he said. "You just can't get 100 percent and not go out and exercise. You have to make it part of your life."

Sergeant Mock, who said he exercises about an hour each day, mainly by running, said having a workout partner can help ensure an Airman stays on track with workouts.

"Once you start missing workouts, it's easy to go back to old habits," he said. Members should always eat breakfast and should not eat after 8 p.m. He also noted that members should first focus on obtaining the minimum points needed to pass the test and build from there.

"The big thing about the fitness test is that it's here to stay," Sergeant. Mock said. "It isn't going away. It's getting more important to pass it, so get on that calculator and see you what you need to pass it. I just got mad at the Air Force and I just decided I was going to show them I could do it."

"If you feel you want to be a part of this organization," Sergeant Smith said, "I would say to you, 'This is what we're about. We didn't have to do this way back when, but we do now. Get yourself in gear and do it.'"

People have the power to change their lifestyles if they're not happy with them, Sergeant Mock said. "You have an entity (the Air Force Reserve) that's willing to help you work with that."

In addition to Sergeants Mock and Smith, the other Citizen Airmen who have logged 100 percent on their latest fitness exams are: Lt. Cols. Karen Barrett and Sherry Howard, 442nd FW Staff; Majs. Paul Amey, 303rd Fighter Squadron, and Michael Leonas, 442nd Operations Group; Master Sgts. Michael Bannon and Mark Lewis, 442nd Maintenance Squadron, and Warren Best and Robert Reeves, 442nd Security Forces Squadron; Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Gould, 442nd Mission Support Flight; Staff Sgts. Catherine Dunham, 442nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and Denver Long and Daniel Romine, 442nd Civil Engineer Squadron; Senior Airmen Joanna Bedgood, 442nd Medical Squadron and William Raymond, 303rd FS; and Airmen First Class Zachary Hulm and Jonathan Keehart, 442nd MXS.