Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jarred Woods | U.S. Army Spc. Cameron Jones, an information technology specialist with the 310th...... read more read more
The Army Wellness Center here at Camp Attebury is committed to assisting Soldiers in achieving their personal fitness goals by focusing on individual physical health.
“The main things we concentrate on are body composition, overall fitness level and stress management,” said Logan Blackwell, a health educator at the AWC. “Whatever goals a person has, we’ll tailor a program to help them get there.”
An initial appointment begins with a one-on-one discussion with a certified health educator to go over the reasons for the visit and what the person wants to accomplish. Then, a series of tests are conducted to assess an individual’s overall physical health.
“We’ll usually start with the ‘Bod-Pod,’ which is where we measure body composition,” Blackwell said. “We get the percentage of body fat and percentage of fat-free mass; essentially a baseline metric of where they’re at.”
Next, the metabolism goes for a checkup with a test revealing the person’s resting metabolic rate, or RMR.
“We are all constantly burning calories, even when we’re asleep,” added Blackwell. “The RMR will show us essentially how many calories a person is burning while at a resting state.”
Usually after the resting state is assessed, the opposite is then measured. The willing participant is placed on a treadmill with a breathing mask which will establish their volume of oxygen, or VO2, level. A heart monitor is also worn.
This gives the health educator a measurement of how much oxygen a person is utilizing during sustained exercise.
“We only get them up to about 80% of their max VO2,” said Theresa Justus, a health educator at the AWC. “It’s a really good way to give us an accurate measurement of a person’s physical fitness level.”
After these various tests are completed, the patient and educator go over the results. Armed with hard numbers and measurements, the educator and patient have a much better idea of where they are, and how they can move forward.
“We see quite a range of things that keep a person from being where they want to be,” said Justus. “For instance, the National Guard are leading their civilian lives, but then have these expectations of where they should be within the military in terms of health.
“We see people all the time who are on night shift, on call or who work crazy hours. For them to maintain a healthy exercise or nutrition routine; it can difficult on top of their civilian lifestyle. Whereas an active duty Soldier typically already have things like physical training organized for them.
“Each person who comes in here has a different lifestyle than the next, and each case presents its own unique challenge. It’s a fun challenge that keeps us on our toes.”
An initial appointment at the AWC usually lasts about two hours.
“I think one of the coolest things about our job here is we have the time to listen to someone’s concerns and needs,” added Justus. “Whereas, if they go to their regular doctor, they may only ten minutes or so, and maybe feel like they aren’t heard. Here, we really have the time to sit down with the Soldiers and really hear them out and address whatever challenges they have. Then, we can do follow up appointments and monitor their progress.”
In addition to the overall physical health concerns it address, the Camp Atterbury AWC also hosts monthly smoking cessation classes.
The overarching theme at the AWC is to provide Soldiers with the information and guidance to better prepare them to meet the demands of military service and beyond.
For more information about programs and services, visit the Army Wellness Center at building 341, Indiana Resilience Campus, Camp Atterbury, Indiana or call 317-247-3300 ext. 61687 or ext. 62975.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 08.16.2017 11:27 |
| Story ID: | 245042 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army wellness through self-awareness, by SFC Jarred Woods, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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