One thing I haven't heard discussed at all is the impact of State mandated lockdowns of gyms and other athletic facilities on the physical fitness on Reserve and National Guard personnel.  

Are these lockdowns impacting our fighting men and women's physical fitness?  Are they degrading our national defense posture?

Are these lockdowns causing rising obesity levels in our young people and other Americans who are eligible age wise for military service?

I haven't heard anyone discussing this or seen any numbers on 2020 obesity rates.  Do we even have accurate obesity rates for 2020 since most hospitals and general practices have cut down on seeing patients this past year to prioritize COVID?  

Discuss.

OP seems to think strength and athleticism come from gyms,

Cute.

You don't think they help huh? Huh, well that's an opinion. Okay. So, no effect at all on obesity rates, Got it.

Guess we can end the thread.

Something about the way you asked the question just makes me think.... Familiar.

Edit: posting in between sets at the gym right now.

Nice. One more Rep bro.

<------- Avid fitness guy checking in. Haven't been to a gym in years but that doesn't prevent me from running & working out.

Short answer — no. Sedentary lifestyle and general overall laziness is harmful. Kids aren't taught work hard/play hard anymore. They also aren't expected to go get dirty. Sit 'em down in front of a tablet and feed them sugar. Fat starts young, so does fit.



The youngest (6) is also a fitness fanatic. Watching her squat the bar @ 42lbs & do her little box jumps is nothing short of impressive.

I dont understand the question. I have a home gym.

Lockdowns of schools and suspension of scholastic athletics are probably harmful to national defense.  
For a lot of kids that was their main exercise function.  
That wasn’t the case 30-40 years ago when kids would play various sorts of ball at playgrounds and back yards

no. Laziness is. You don’t need a gym to do PT.

Also most service members don’t actually go to the gym. They primarily do calisthenics/body weight workouts with their unit.

I’ve done PT in many many many austere places or with improvised equipment and have not gone below a 270 (Excellent score) in my past decade plus in the Army.
Does a gym make it better? Hell yeah it does. When I’m training and eating properly I exceed 300 (maximum score), but the only excuse for not being in good shape is that the soldier doesn’t put in the work.

Additionally, this day in age there are SO many home workout programs and a wide variety of affordable equipment that there’s no excuse. “But demoMouse! You can’t expect service members to spend money on a service mandated event!” Bullshit. 1. See my post above. 2. All 5 of my uncles spent their adult lives working in the trades, and every single one of them will tell you that if you take your profession seriously, you will buy your own tools. I have a TRX, some cones, and a medicine ball at home. That’s my gym. I bought everything brand new and the entire setup cost $200. Does it allow me the variety of workouts an actual gym does? No. Not at all, but when you follow the workouts on the TRX Force app (which is unlocked just by buying the setup) and do some medicine ball and agility drills, it’s a pretty effective and cost effective setup that doesn’t take up much room. I can also take it TDY with me an attach it to my hotel room door.


Unless a service member has an actual physical injury, I got no time or patience for weak lazy soldiers.

Damn, that’s a good point I hadn’t considered.

You can affect the obesity equation by input, too.

Ain'tall that hard to run and do push-ups.

I do as well, thank God back in 2017 I started buying most of Rogue’s catalog of items before the 2020 rush. I know folks that were having issues early in the year though buying gym equipment.

I take your point it’s not an excuse, but I gotta be realistic and imagine it’s not doing us any favors.

I’d be really curious to see what 2020 and 2021 obesity rates are like, I’m guessing very high.

True, very true. Unfortunately, I know that most people suck at the calories in calories out game. Especially men.

Think about it, it's been said fatties are more susceptible to the 'rona..............

I guess you think it comes from being an armchair keyboard warrior lol.

I see FP's point. Most people, even with the cabability, dont train at home. I doubt it's a main feature, probably just a side feature of demorilization.

You must be farm strong.

Who must we defend against now that China owns the federal government?