Two University of South Carolina police officers received a taste of the Army's fitness program and found it, at times, a hard pill to swallow.
USC officers Jacob Culler and Billy Hardin have toiled through the Master Fitness Training Course on Fort Jackson beginning Sept. 14. They'll wrap up on Friday.
The two former Service members didn't find any task too hard -- although getting back into condition was difficult.
"I wouldn't say it was this," Hardin said, after conducting strength training with free weights. "But getting back into the whole conditioning drills, preparatory drills and pre-workout drills of (Physical Readiness Training)" was difficult.
"We work out, but we are not in shape like these guys," Hardin said as he pointed to a MFTC cadre with a muscular and toned physique.
The officers were, Hardin said, "volun-told" they would go to the class because they were training qualified and in excellent shape. Fort Jackson and USC have a close relationship and often conduct shared training events.
"I completed about everything today but that," Culler said, laughing, as he pointed to a contraption that resembled an obstacle from the television show "American Ninja Warrior."
"When I go home tonight, it's ice pack to the knee.
"If we were to come here and do this every single day -- the conditioning drills and stuff -- we would eventually get used to it. It has helped us out a lot.
"I wish we have come more prepared for the class."
Hardin said the two weren't accustomed to many of the exercises, but they also weren't performing at a high enough level -- the one that would let the two chase and overcome bad guys.
USC wants to see what it can incorporate "into training our police officers before they go to the academy," said Culler, a 46-year-old training officer and Air Force veteran.
The officers said they most likely would take the conditioning drills back to their jobs because they were simple and easy to teach.
"We will have to scale it down," Hardin said, "but the conditioning drills and all that stuff will translate to us."
Some drills would go down well with other officers, but some exercises wouldn't translate as well.
"Aside from what we did this morning," Hardin said, "when it comes to the conditioning and PRT stuff, it's drastically different.
"It is something that our parents and grandparents were probably doing when they were younger -- jumping jacks, flexes, crunches and a run that was way too long."
Hardin said that when he was a Marine, he was in good enough shape that it would have been nothing to get his "physical-training gear or utilities on and go for a 6- to 10-mile run at a slow pace" -- but he didn't, because there were Humvees to ride in.
The MFTC class teaches Soldiers the proper way to start fitness programs at their units, including how to lead conditioning drills, climbing drills, free-weight training and proper nutrition while striving to accurately assess Soldiers' physical fitness beyond the average APFT, said Maj. Donald Bigham, a coach with the school.
The course hasn't been too hard for the two older police officers, but they did like the weight training at the Army Fitness School.
"My favorite is probably what I'm used to - the basic lifting stuff - besides the technique they teach," said Hardin, 33. "These techniques - or the precision - is what they call 'doing it right' in their eyes, which is just straightening out our bad habits.
"I like the conditioning drills because we are getting back into the habit of doing them," he said. "We have probably been hurting since Monday trying to get used to these things.
"To me, any amount of training at all would benefit any police officer" because it's not unheard of for an officer to pack on extra pounds after joining the force, Hardin said.
After working long hours as a police officer, it becomes difficult to keep up a proper workout regimen, the men said.
"I am extremely disappointed in the fact that a lot of police officers don't have a good amount of fitness," said Hardin, an assistant instructor and patrol supervisor. "Over time, (the job) takes away from being with your family and that hurts your well-being."
Culler said that "for officers like Billy, who work a 12-hour shift, they can go to the gym after work, but they won't have as much time with their families. It makes it harder for them to get on a regular schedule."
The school leadership praised the officers' hard work.
"I would say they were doing very well," said Bigham, a champion powerlifter.
"They are definitely on par or better than some of our Soldiers who are currently attending the course," said the 40-ish Bigham - adding facetiously, "considering they are young whipper-snappers like me."
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