2nd SBCT launches a local 'Lightning Athlete Warrior'

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS -- Determination is clearly visible in his face as he focuses on his form, the sweat dripping from his face as the barbell falls back to the mat with a thud.

"It is a lot harder to do these the right way," said the Soldier-athlete.

Soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, are pushing the limits of physical training with the newly implemented Lightning Athlete Warrior program. The first academy session was held, here, March 28, in order to prepare leaders to implement this training at their units.

The LAW program focuses on improving Soldiers' abilities both physically and mentally in a safe and structured manner.

"The LAW Academy is set in place to help leaders learn to plan physical training to meet defined goals," said Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Zeisser. "The goal right now is to prepare for and pass the LAW assessment."

The LAW program is based on the Ranger Regiment's RAW, or the Ranger Athlete Warrior, program, said Zeisser. This program was used as a model because the Ranger Regiment has been able to hire specialists in the health and nutrition fields that won't be available to every unit in the Army.

"LAW started as an experiment in the brigade operations section," said Zeisser. "We founded and tested it with some amazing feedback from the Soldiers … (who) were making huge leaps in performance, shaving minutes off of run times and improving PT (physical training) scores drastically."

Like most Army training, the academy has been designed to train the trainer so that the program can be rapidly disseminated and properly implemented within the brigade.

"One of the reasons we have this academy is to teach the supervisors of PT the proper form for lifting and body weight exercises to ensure there are less injuries," said Zeisser. "The LAW program incorporates a lot of mobility work, which helps in injury prevention."

The academy is providing the fundamentals to understand the three different phases that LAW is based upon, said Zeisser. Strength, endurance and foundation are the phases used to produce peak performance when properly implemented.

However, the program isn't all about picking up large objects just to put them back down. The science behind the program puts a focus on the fuel the Soldiers put in their bodies.

"Nutrition plays a large part in physical development, and LAW teaches the Soldiers how to make better decisions concerning their diet," said Zeisser.

The program is based on combat, Zeisser added.

Preparing Soldiers to fight and win is the goal of any good training program.