News>Feature - SMSgt helps Airmen get Fit to Fight
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SOUTHWEST ASIA – Senior Master Sgt. Troy Saunders, 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, performs a bench press as Senior Airman Stephen Linch, 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, spots him during a power lifting and bodybuilding class Aug. 17. Sergeant Saunders holds classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. Sergeant Saunders is deployed from Ramstein AB, Germany, and hails from Kingsley, Iowa. Airman Linch is deployed from Whiteman AFB, Mo., and hails from Harrison, Ark. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Charles Larkin Sr.)
SOUTHWEST ASIA – Senior Master Sgt. Troy Saunders, 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, trains Airman 1st Class Alexandra Sveen, 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, during a power lifting and bodybuilding class. Sergeant Saunders holds classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. Airman Sveen is deployed form Lackland AFB, Texas, and hails from Peterson, Minn. Sergeant Saunders is deployed from Ramstein AB, Germany, and hails from Kingsley, Iowa. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Linch)
SOUTHWEST ASIA - Airman 1st Class Alexandra Sveen, 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, performs a chin up during a power lifting and bodybuilding class. Senior Master Sgt. Troy Saunders, 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, holds power lifting and bodybuilding classes Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m. Airman Sveen is deployed form Lackland AFB, Texas, and hails from Peterson, Minn. Sergeant Saunders is deployed from Ramstein AB, Germany, and hails from Kingsley, Iowa. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Linch)
by Senior Airman Stephen Linch
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
8/18/2009 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- In the world of sports people will give almost anything to be the best. In Germany, bodybuilders and power lifters pay a pro-bodybuilder and power lifting champion 120 euro, an amount equivalent to 171 dollars, per hour to train them to be the best.
Senior Master Sgt. Troy Saunders, 380th Logistic Readiness Squadron, has lowered his hourly training rate since deploying to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing.
Sergeant Saunders started a free powerlifting and bodybuilding class in the first week of June. The class starts at 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
"I started the class to show service members how to work out properly," the Kingsley, Iowa native said. "The Air Force tells Airmen to be fit to fight, but doesn't give them a clear road map to get there - I show them how."
Although veteran lifter got his first set of dumbbells at age five, started a regular workout regiment by age 12, has competed in 55 bodybuilding and 31 powerlifting competitions, he teaches at every individual student's level.
"Sergeant Saunders really knows his stuff," said Airman 1st Class Alexandra Sveen, a participant of the class from the 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. "He is very patient and doesn't give up on people."
Sergeant Saunders never gave up on himself either. As a child he saw Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympics' Decathlon Gold Medal winner and the Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year, and decided to also be an all around athlete.
"I saw Bruce Jenner, the 1976 Olympic Decathlon winner on the side of a Wheaties box," Sergeant Saunders said. "I wanted to be like him... an all around athlete."
Things have changed since then. At 5 feet 9 inches tall and 230 pounds, he is no longer a young farm boy aspiring to be great, but a pro-bodybuilder and champion power lifter helping others achieve their goals.
Whether he is helping people in the gym or at his desk writing an article for "Natural Bodybuilding and Fitness" or "Exercise for Men Only" magazines so millions of readers can benefit from his experiences, he is constantly helping people reach their fitness potential.
"I have a passion for physical fitness." Sergeant Saunders said. "I am happy that not only can I enjoy being as physically fit as I can, but can also help people enrich their life through physical fitness."
