Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Nolan Pennington | Sailors assigned to the world's largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)...... read more read more
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Inside the bulkheads of deployed aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is a city of Sailors, creating communities out of the 4,179 people who work and live aboard the ship. A growing community in this floating city at sea are the spin class fitness fanatics who bonded over a shared love for exercise and cycling.
Lt. Shamus McNamara, assistant operations officer and command fitness leader for Gerald R. Ford, from Patuxent River, Md., shared what started the spin class trend aboard the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
McNamara said spin class was one of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation’s (MWR) most popular classes during the ship’s two-month underway to the Atlantic in 2022. Prior to Gerald R. Ford’s current deployment, the command’s only cycling instructor transferred.
“The fitness coordinator and I were talking, and he asked if I would consider teaching cycle,” said McNamara. “Cycling is something I enjoyed doing for a couple of years now. I decided I’d give it a shot. The first person to start teaching [during this deployment] was our ship’s physical therapist, so she and I and a few other folks started teaching spin class once a week, and it kind of grew from there. Now we’re at 12 classes a week, six days a week.”
All fitness instructors aboard Gerald R. Ford are volunteers with a passion for fitness. Spin class instructors range from first-time deployers to seasoned Sailors.
Ensign Omar DeJesus, aviation weapons support equipment division officer aboard Gerald R. Ford, from Reading, Pa., previously served aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) and deployed with the ship for 9 months from December 2021 to September 2022. While deployed with Harry S. Truman, DeJesus regularly taught spin class in his spare time.
“I told our fitness coordinator that I would love to bring spin class over here [to Gerald R. Ford],” said DeJesus. “Spin class isn’t just a workout. It helps with stress management, you get to meet new people in classes, and it builds a sense of comradery. It definitely boosts morale.”
According to McNamara, cycling is greatly beneficial to overall health. It improves daily energy, helps the body burn extra calories throughout the day, improves cardiovascular strength and endurance, and is a mood booster, especially when done on a regular basis.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mike Joseph, operations maintenance division officer, from Houston, is a fellow ‘spinner’ aboard Gerald R. Ford who has experienced the health benefits from regularly attending spin class.
“I like a tough workout,” said Joseph. “So far, I’ve shredded 33 pounds and I’m not as tired when I do other high-intensity interval training workouts. Spin class helps me maintain where I am fitness-wise.”
With the varying schedules Sailors work while deployed, spin class is offered day and night to accommodate ‘spinners’ whose ideal time to work out is during the middle of the night.
Chief Aircrew Survival Equipmentman Brandon Hitz, assigned to the aircraft intermediate maintenance department aboard Gerald R. Ford, from Jonestown, Pa., offers spin classes for Sailors who work nights and want to work on their physical fitness.
“I am really huge on fitness and also helping others achieve their fitness goals,” said Hitz. “[Spin class] is a great tool for cardio endurance, reducing body fat, and improving overall physical fitness. It’s a great stress reliever as well.”
Command Master Chief Chad Mitchell of the “Ragin’ Bulls” of Strike Fighter Squadron 37, from Winston-Salem, N.C., is another spin class instructor aboard Gerald R. Ford. His favorite part of instructing is seeing the difference his classes make on his students.
Mitchell began instructing spin classes following a knee injury. “Spin class offers a good, less-impactful-on-your-knees form of cardio,” said Mitchell. “That’s how I got into it. It’s low to zero impact on your knees, and so it’s a good alternative for folks who have compression injuries.”
DeJesus said the Sailors who attend spin and the energy they bring to the class are why the instructors love teaching so much. “If you have really good music and a really good instructor, spin becomes more than just a class.”
Ensign Mackenzie Culver, deputy public affairs officer assigned to Carrier Strike Group 12, from Columbus, Ohio, is one of Gerald R. Ford’s regular cycling class attendees. Culver went from student to instructor, stating the classes offered aboard the ship inspired her to instruct a class of her own.
“Spin class is a community. It’s a big reason I go to class and why I started teaching my own,” said Culver. “You meet so many different people. You push each other and you perform a lot better in a class environment. I enjoy the culture of healthy living and fitness that Gerald R. Ford created for the deployment.”
The catalyst for the command’s spin community, Lt. Sarahbelle Alferos, physical therapist assigned to Gerald R. Ford, from San Diego, made it a mission to keep spin class on the fitness schedule after learning the ship’s only cycling instructor was transferring before deployment. She succeeded in her mission. After Alferos began teaching her class, more and more instructors signed up to teach classes.
“All of the instructors bring different flavors of music or structure to spin class,” said Alferos. “[Spin class] is a morale-building way to get cardio in, listen to music, and have someone else push you during a workout.”
Spin class on Gerald R. Ford is diverse and it’s because each instructor plays different genres of music and uses different techniques on the bike, according to DeJesus.
Damage Controlman 1st Class Delisa Houchins, from Ardmore, Okla., assigned to the engineering department aboard Gerald R. Ford, plays old-school music when teaching her spin classes. DeJesus plays latin and hip-hop, Culver plays pop and hip-hop, and Mitchell plays 90s hip-hop, modern hip-hop, electronic dance music, metal, and rock.
Hitz said music is the most important part of the class. “The right song or the right beat can make or break your class. The music helps with certain exercises and attendees use the beat from each song for sprints, jumps, or push-ups. I think music also helps push people further and keeps them motivated…[I love seeing] people start hyping each other up and clapping to the music. It’s great to see people having fun while working out and trying to achieve new fitness goals.”
Why is spin class the most popular fitness class aboard Gerald R. Ford? According to the instructors and attendees, it’s for this reason: spin is more than just a class. It is a community. Cycling class brings Sailors from all walks of life together and helps ‘spinners’ of any fitness level crush their goals.
The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (GRFCSG) is conducting a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) area of operations in support of interoperability and maritime security. The GRFCSG provides an inherently flexible naval force capable of deploying across combatant commands to meet emerging missions, deter potential adversaries, reassure allies and partners, enhance security and guarantee the free flow of global commerce. In total, the GRFCSG is deployed with more than 5,000 Sailors across all platforms ready to respond globally to combatant commander tasking. The GRFCSG is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, at the direction of the Secretary of Defense. The U.S. maintains forward-deployed, ready, and postured forces to deter aggression and support security and stability around the world.
Gerald R. Ford is the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier. As the first-in-class ship of Ford-class aircraft carriers, CVN 78 represents a generational leap in the U.S. Navy’s capacity to project power on a global scale.
U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.
For more information about USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), visit https://www.airlant.usff.navy.mil/cvn78/ and follow along on Facebook: @USSGeraldRFord, Instagram: @cvn78_grford, Twitter: @Warship_78, DVIDS www.dvids.net/CVN78 and LinkedIn at USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.02.2023 10:57 |
| Story ID: | 458957 |
| Location: | MEDITERRANEAN SEA |
| Web Views: | 14,496 |
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