Getting Semper Fit.

The Marine Corps Community Services recreation program at Marine Corps Base, Quantico (Va.) strives to fulfill two customer service goals: maximize its natural resources and serve its patrons. In relation to its size, the Quantico base serves a vast recreation area. And despite its proximity to the hustle and bustle of Washington, D.C., it is a retreat known for its excellent hunting, fishing, and hiking. Amenities in this recreation environment include full-service Lunga Park, an 18-hole golf course, a Potomac Riverfront marina, and miles of trails.

Along with maximizing its outdoor recreation environment, Quantico has revitalized programs and services that creatively nourish its audience. One such program is Semper Fit, established in 1984 by the Quantico Recreational Services Department when the first modern full-service physical fitness center was created. The original program, directed by a certified exercise physiologist, included diverse group exercise programs and a new Nautilus center.

The Semper Fit branch emphasizes a healthy lifestyle by offering a variety of programs for Marines and Department of Defense personnel and their families. Operating out of a pre-World War II air hangar, this program reached beyond recreation, fitness, and athletics to evolve into a holistic program for physical fitness, mental health, and wellness. The Semper Fit branch lives by a principle well known to Marines and their families: "taking care of our own."

From the Semper Fit concept, a complete optimization of lifestyles through health and fitness has emerged. The Semper Fit Center is a collaborative effort between Navy medicine and the Marine Corps, its mission to provide easy access to current health education, physical fitness, and health and lifestyle assessments as well as to encourage individual responsibility for healthy lifestyles.

The center uses innovative techniques to increase awareness of nine elements of health promotion: tobacco cessation, injury prevention, alcohol and substance abuse prevention and control, stress management, hypertension education, nutrition education, physical fitness, suicide awareness, and HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

A visit to the center usually begins with a MicroFit assessment, an evaluation of an individual's fitness level, which measures strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, blood pressure, heart rate, and body composition. A personal trainer from the Semper Fit Physical Fitness Department can use this information to design an individual exercise program for the client.

For information on nutrition and weight management, the center offers a monthly four-session class that addresses nutritional education, stress management, and fitness/exercise information. Healthy-cooking classes, which demonstrate alternatives to many popular food items, are also offered.

Preventive maintenance and pain management are addressed in "back and knee" schools, which are offered semimonthly by physical therapists. Patients from these classes are often referred to yoga classes to improve their strength and flexibility. Yoga class teaches participants relaxation techniques and stress management exercises, which can be incorporated into their daily lives.

The Physical Fitness Department is managed by an exercise physiologist and four full-time and two part-time certified trainers. They are trained to assess current fitness levels, then design exercise programs to help individuals attain personal fitness goals. Available group exercise programming includes step, circuit, tae boxing, body conditioning, belly burner, power low, martial arts, and mini-movers. The department also provides physical training sessions for special units and a variety of fitness lectures. This flexible team of professionals is constantly changing and updating its fitness programming to meet mission requirements.

The Semper Fit Center also offers mammography services and screenings for blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as classes and literature dealing with cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes control, and other men's and women's health issues. For those concerned about making positive changes, a health-risk appraisal program provides assessments for individuals or entire groups.

For creative solutions for mind, body, and spirit, call the Semper Fit Center at [phone]/2183.