SHAPE Program Gets Sailors Fighting Fit

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- As the biannual Navy Physical Health Assessment (PHA) season comes into full swing for the fleet, many senior Sailors may find themselves searching for ways to maximize their individual PHA results and soothe pretest anxieties.

Some active duty Sailors choose to stay in shape using their Command Fitness Leader's program, while others design their own workouts inspired by individual interests.

Among the Navy's myriad options is a lesser-known program targeted at senior personnel over the age of 40, taking place just down the street from Naval Station Norfolk at the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC) gym.

"We think of ourselves as the Navy's best kept secret," said Joseph Denk, a Senior Health Assessment Program Enterprise (SHAPE) certified fitness trainer. "We are definitely trying to get the word out."

The SHAPE program at JFSC is in its fifth year of providing group exercise classes for adults, facilitating command physical training, and creating custom fitness plans for active duty personnel 40 years of age and older. Eighty-five percent of participants at JFSC are officers, said Denk, but any active duty service member is welcome to take part in the group classes, like indoor cycling and suspension training, offered on site Monday through Friday.

The team of fitness professionals at SHAPE are trained to help each client make positive changes in their lifestyle in order to assist them in achieving their fitness goals.

"We figure out what their obstacles might be that are holding them back from their wellness or fitness goals and we develop a strategy to help them overcome these barriers," said Denk. "Some come in and say 'I can't fail this PRT or I will be separated.' Others are high performers trying to maximize their performance. It's not just getting them to walk more, drink more water, or have better eating and sleeping habits. Seventy percent of success is based on what happens after a client leaves the gym."

SHAPE's contract with Department of Defense limits one-on-one training to active duty personnel 40 years of age and older. These senior service members often have specific physical challenges accrued from many years of deployments and heavy exercise.

Senior Chief Electrician's Mate Eric Deleeuw, a fleet support tech at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, began attending the group exercise classes after hearing about the program from a coworker.

"Over the past several years, I have had periodic back strains and pain," said Deleeuw. "I wanted the trainers to assist me in developing a workout regimen to help me strengthen certain areas and minimize injury. They can tailor the workouts and modify movements to minimize discomfort."

Program participants, like Deleeuw, are finding that the corrective and functional exercises prescribed by their trainer have positively impacted their lives outside of the gym.

"It's improved my physical fitness level, it has made the PRT much easier and given me more energy throughout the day," said Deleeuw.

Apart from boosting performance on the PRT, the most frequent request from clients new to SHAPE is to generally feel better or move better, said Denk.
"The benefit of what we do is related to body stabilization," said Denk. "We enhance weaknesses to make the whole body better and give clients skills to take with them to their next assignment."

For more information about the SHAPE program or the Navy Fitness Program, visit www.navyfitness.org/shape
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