Unfortunately, too many people set unrealistic goals or don’t have any at all when they train, and end up losing track of what they think they could have achieved.

A way for you to think smart about fitness is to look at what you do and what you want to achieve.

Many Service personnel train or do PT for one thing - the PT test.

Some will not even train at all and when it comes to crunch time they think that one week of training should do it, or they lead themselves into a false sense of security about doing it with their eyes closed.

We need to keep our eyes open and look at the reality of goals we can achieve.

Another way to judge the way you train if you have no goal, or are unsure of what to train for, is your job.

This is an easy thing to do.

It would be too easy to look into the work of a diver or bosun, so let’s look at a stoker at sea and assume you are part of Standing Sea Fire Party.

If we break these jobs down, we can see that you would be required to lift different weighted objects, climb stairs/ladders, crawl, wear an OCCABA (bear suit optional) and pull a fire hose.

There are many other jobs that we could look into, but we would be here for a while. And do not forget the PT test.

So why don’t we organise a program for you that is related to all these factors? You may gawk and even laugh, but look at your job and what it is that you could do to improve not just your fitness but the way you work.

A good example of this is lifting.

When you lift something from the ground to about waist height we should be trying to keep our backs straight and lift with our legs.

Our legs are stronger than our backs anyway.

So to take this to the gym, squatting is probably the best exercise to keep you in check, makes your legs stronger and helps with posture for lifting if done correctly.

Then you would see that lifting would not be such a hard task and climbing from 2 deck all the way up to 03 deck is not a burden on your heart and legs.

If we can put training and working together, we will see the improvements.

I know that the regular circuits that the PTs run on the flight deck does not appeal to everyone, but you only have to think of your job to spice it up.

Even the desk jockeys can get a decent work out that is practical and specific to the work environment.

A lack of physical education for personnel who train is what leads to injuries, not only in the gym but also in the work place, and lifting is the best example.

To cap it off though, if you are a sporty sort of person, you should be looking for or already have goals that you want to achieve.

If you don’t, then why enter a competition without the proper training?

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