Recently the New York Times covered the new military fitness protocols for incoming recruits.  The program innovations bring modern exercise science to the challenge of recruiting from a generation notoriously inactive and less fit than their predecessors.  Gone is the “one size fits all” mentality, replaced by slower progressions and a focus on building soldiers’ functional capacity for the actual demands of their jobs. 

Among this generation of recruits the military is observing low bone density (leading to bone fractures), overweight, and inability to meet basic fitness standards.  The Times writes,

“The new fitness regime tries to deal with all these problems by incorporating more stretching, more exercises for the abdomen and lower back, instead of the traditional situps, and more agility and balance training. It increases in difficulty more gradually. And it sets up a multiweek course of linked exercises, rather than offering discrete drills.”

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For all of you busy mamas and papas who struggle to find time for your workouts, I want to share this link with you. Kara at Mama Sweat is raising four--count 'em, four!--kids under six while remaining committed to her own wellness. Her path isn't easy and she's honest about the pitfalls and obstacles. But her determination to prioritize her own health and to think creatively about how she can fit in fitness inspires me all the time. I especially like today's post about what she learned from her very active vacation.

If you're a new or expectant mama, be sure to check out Kara's posts on fit pregnancy and postpartum fitness too. She's right on the money.