Whether it is a test against sore muscles, oxygen-deprived lungs or the clock, the Army Physical Fitness Test is a competition on many levels.
To add even more to the competition, U.S. Army Garrison Soldiers on Fort McPherson upped the ante by adding ironman and ironwoman awards for the highest scoring USAG and U.S. Army Forces Command Soldier.
The award was designed to acknowledge Soldiers who are the definition of "Army strong," said Capt. Jennifer Davis, commander, Headquarter and Headquarters Company USAG. "We did it to recognize Soldiers who excel," she said.
The competition recognizes the Soldiers who get the highest total score on their APFT.
The award is not age specific and is based on a Soldier's raw score, Davis said, meaning that some Soldiers might be competing against those half their age.
That hasn't stopped Lt. Col. Jane Reed, a logistics management specialist who works in the G-4 section at FORSCOM. At 55, Reed captured the FORSCOM Ironwoman award for the most recent APFT in October.
"It's my third or fourth," she said. Although her memory about what number of award she is on is a bit foggy, one thing that hasn't been clouded is her ability to smoke the test. On her most recent test, she scored 387 on the extended scale.
The maximum normal APFT score is 300, with 100 total points available for each of the three events (pushups, sit-ups, two-mile run). If all three events are maxed, an extended scale is utilized, with one additional point added for each push-up and sit-up over the maximum, and one point for every six seconds under the max run time.
Reed's bread and butter event was the pushups.
"I used to be a big weight trainer," she said, adding she is now mostly into running. Running after the prestige of winning the award was a motivating factor for fellow Ironwoman Sgt. 1st Class Catina Taylor, Funeral Honors Team rifle team noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC), who won her first USAG Ironwoman.
"I always make it my personal goal to compete for it, and I finally got it," she said. Doing so required a lot of work in the gym, said Taylor, especially on the two-mile run, the only event she did not max. Taylor's final score was 292.
"I just practice my sit-ups, pushups and I run on the treadmill at a faster pace than I normally run," Taylor said. "That's what helped me improve this time."
Although the training helped Taylor reach her goal, she is not going to relax now that she is at the top.
"My fitness goals are to beat my prior PT score every year and to continue to be physically fit," she said. "I am a 37-year-old single mother who loves being physically fit and not looking my age.
I always like to give 100 percent and have the desire to be and do the best I am capable of doing." A woman's determination was credited for helping the USAG Ironman, Sgt. 1st Class Richard Tulloch, Funeral Honors Team color guard NCOIC.
"Thanks to my wife, Marisa, who supported and motivated me (through recovery) from my life-saving exploratory abdominal surgery back in late 2006.
Without her, I really probably would not be in this capacity," he said. That capacity was an overall score of 291, with push-ups and situps maxed. To help him reach that goal, Tulloch said he relied on the article, "Maximize Your APFT Score," by Sgt. Maj. Robert Rush, published in the "NCO Journal" in 2003.
The article was written to help Soldiers with little time to devote to PT improve their scores by following a program that works on correcting their deficiencies by incorporating a routine designed to bring on muscle failure.
There's no real secret or plan for Ironman Lt. Col. Kristian Marks, FORSCOM commanding general's speechwriter, FORSCOM Command Group, other than consistency and self-motivation.
Every day, including the weekends, Marks said he worked out in the weight room, improving his physical fitness.
"If there is a secret, it is making fitness a part of your life," he said. Marks credits his fitness-oriented lifestyle to having three older, athletic brothers.
"Sports were always a part of life," he said, noting he played Little League Baseball and football, wrestled and ran track in high school. It also helps that his wife, Jackie, is an avid runner, he said.
"It's pretty easy to run when your spouse runs as well," he said. Running with Jackie and maintaining his own program helped him score 423 on the APFT, awarding him the Ironman for the third time in a row.
"If you're a leader, you go out and give it your best," Marks said, adding he sees several general officers working out every day. "As a senior leader in the Army, no matter what you do, you set an example for others."
For all their hard work, each recipient will receive awards, like an Army Achievement Medal and a trophy, Davis said, as well as the intangible rewards of self-esteem and pride. All winners said they hope pride motivates others to work hard. "I just want to set the right example and inspire others to achieve above the standards as well," Tulloch said. "I want others who are doing the semi-annual APFT not just to do the minimum, but to always push themselves.
Being the ironman doesn't come to you if you do not push yourself physically and mentally." Reed also hopes others see that being consistent and persistent in training pays off.
"I want to show people in my age group they can get out there and be physically healthy," she said. The fact that age shouldn't slow one down should be encouraging for the winners, who will have no shortage of competitors.
"I believe a contest like this helps Soldiers because it gives them that extra push to not only want to meet their goals, but to exceed them, too," said Taylor.
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