Interview: Stephen Tyler
FINDING the equipment – or indeed the time – to do gym work in the far reaches of Helmand province can be a tricky task.
Luxuries such as weights, benches and exercise machines are unsurprisingly not readily available to soldiers living in the Spartan surroundings of some of southern Afghanistan’s forward operating bases (FOBs).
Thankfully for deployed personnel, one of the British Army’s fitness experts has devised a training book aimed specifically at keeping troops fighting fit even when access to gym gear is at a bare minimum.
SSgt Chris Leare (APTC), who is currently serving on Op Herrick, created the FOB Fitness Guide before leaving for theatre where he was initially attached to the 1st Battalion, Grenadier Guards Battlegroup.
He has since seen it used by scores of troops keen to build on their conditioning and told Soldier that he was pleased with the book’s appeal to even the most gym-shy Serviceman.
“When I was working at Sandhurst I was asked to do a training programme for injured cadets and it got me thinking that I should do one for the troops in Afghanistan,” he explained.
“A lot of the guys at forward operating bases have already set stuff up, but this book is aimed more at the people who want to keep fit but perhaps aren’t regular gym users.
“It’s a basic guide designed to spark people’s imaginations as to what they are able to do with limited equipment.”
Rather than relying on purpose-built weights, the FOB Fitness Guide is packed with exercises that can be carried out using everyday soldiers’ items including rifles, ammo boxes, bergens and jerry cans.
Each of the exercises in the book, which had an initial print run of 200 copies, are complemented by illustrations, how-to guides and safety points to help troops avoid injuring themselves while working out.
And although he has shown his ability to promote and develop fitness is top notch, SSgt Leare has also proved that Army PTIs are more than capable of day-to-day-soldiering during his Herrick tour.
The senior NCO’s Army background lies in the Infantry having enlisted into The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment in 1994 before transferring to the APTC in 2003.
He began his tour of Afghanistan putting his old skills to the test by commanding a Mastiff with the Grenadier Guards Battlegroup and said that his time on the front line demonstrated the versatility of the PT Corps.
“It selects people using a strict process and you get a real mixed bag of cap badges,” he continued.
“That means that when we come over to an operational theatre we are able to do any job. It shows that the selection process works.
“You can be deployed in a PT role, but we are mainly out here to do operations first. I have been blown up twice in the Mastiff, but the experience of working in an armoured vehicle and going back to my roots has been excellent.
“I originally came out here to serve [as a PTI], but just like anyone else from the PT Corps I’m willing and able to do ops first.”
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