DVIDS – Information – Pilot enters health competitors, boosts resiliency

The Air Force PT tests have been suspended for over a year, and for Airmen like Lt. Col. Aaron Jones made it his own test of finding motivation during the new normal.

“Before COVID, I used to go to the gym an average of four to five times a week,” said Jones, former chief of operations for the 81st Fighter Squadron. “And then for the next 12 months it went from four to five times to three or four times to twice – eventually I just stopped walking.

“My wife took a picture of me doing the COVID routine and cutting my son’s hair,” Jones said. “And I remember looking at it, thinking about how much weight I had gained and how out of shape I was – and pushing back the PT test and all the aspects of the new normal really didn’t help, because that motivation, to stay fit, not there. So I figured I have to do something about it. This is going crazy.

“So I met a friend at the base, we started talking and I thought, let’s do a fitness contest and see if that’s enough motivation to get out of this daily routine of not going to the gym,” said Jones.

Jones appeared in the Pro-Am-Pro-Am Organization of Competition Bodies No Gear in Greensboro, North Carolina in the Men’s Physique category.

“I didn’t know about it,” said Jones. “I knew we wanted to finish the show before June, so I chose this show because it gave me most of the time to prepare physically and mentally for it. I teamed up with a trainer from Absolute Fitness and he presented me with a nutrition plan and exercise plan almost immediately. And we’ve been following it ever since.

“It started pretty tough right away,” said Jones. “I think the cardio was the hardest part for me because we started with 10 minutes, but now I do 45 to 60 minutes of cardio for each session. But over the past five months I’ve seen the results. And because of the hard work, dedication and dedication, I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life. “

The Air Force places great emphasis on the pillars of Comprehensive Airman Fitness: physical, social, mental, and spiritual. For Jones, taking care of his physical pillar helped the rest to harmonize.

“I’m feeling better mentally,” said Jones. “Physically, I’m better. I feel better spiritually. I’m feeling better emotionally. I am actually now taking the time to meditate to get my wits about before going to work. I have just started to see an increase in my daily activities and life. My relationship with my family is astronomical. “

The biggest surprise to Jones was how much extra time he had to focus on his personal life.

“I made a commitment to do this show, which is actually prep time, but I’ve found that I have more time to do other things because my day is now planned,” said Jones. “These hours were specially distributed throughout the day to do certain things: gym, work, family, eating, sleeping. What I want to take away is the time I could spend with the family doing the simple things like preparing breakfast on Sunday or cooking dinner on a random evening during the week, things that I like at my as of course I looked at woman because she is a great military spouse. “

Not only did Jones find more time to spend with family, but also time for personal development through online classes. He also found time to give back to his community by creating a charitable scholarship fund on behalf of his brotherhood’s local chapter.

Taking part in a fitness contest, spending more time with family, studying, and creating a scholarship foundation for local youth – all of these things come down to staying resilient, according to Jones.

“Resilience is a big part of what we do in the military every day,” said Jones. “I encourage people to really sit down and think about what they are missing or what they think they need and understand that everyone, whether they talk about it or not, has these lows in their lives. And they need to be able to assert themselves in a positive way that will help them get out. I just hope people can see that and say, ‘Well, it was a lot of work, but he found something that motivated him to get through.’

“There have been some highs – many highs – few lows,” Jones continued. “But the support from the family has been phenomenal. And it was a great trip. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to seeing what we can do from here. “

Jones placed in the top 5 of the Men’s Physique Debut, Novice and Open categories and said he found the motivation to return in the future.

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This work, Pilot takes part in fitness competition, strengthens resilience, by SrA Hayden Legg, identified by Divids, must adhere to the restrictions specified on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.