Friday, August 06, 1999
Ex-Marine teaches fitness the hard way
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — You say you want to be fit and tough like a Marine? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!
Sgt. John Hazlett, a 12-year veteran of the Marine Corps, has spent the past year whipping couch potatoes into shape. He's using a program he designed called Corps Fitness.
“Corps Fitness is a three-week, five-days-a-week military-style program that is divided into segments: a boot camp stage and a maintenance stage,” said Mr. Hazlett, a Gulf War veteran. “It's a no-excuses approach to fitness.”
Fitness recruits perform such basic exercises as pull-ups, knee raises, push-ups, chin-ups, biceps curls and long-distance running.
“I'm talking plain old, in-your-face, drop-and-give-me-20, I-can't-hear-you fitness,” Mr. Hazlett said. “Rain or shine, you are required to show up and take whatever is demanded of you.”
Since its inception a year ago, participation in Mr. Hazlett's classes has grown tenfold. He currently runs a class at Ethicon Endo-Surgery in Blue Ash and has held classes at Procter & Gamble in Mason.
He plans to kick off a class at Mason's Heritage Oak Park on Aug. 16. The sessions will be 6-7 a.m.
“I definitely would recommend it for anyone interested in getting in shape,” said Patrick Hughes, who participates in Mr. Hazlett's class in Blue Ash. “I was a little skeptical about it at first, but now I know better.”
Mr. Hughes, 31, of Walnut Hills, said he joined the pro gram 10 months ago on the recommendation of a friend. He said he began to see improvements in his fitness in the first three weeks, and has maintained the regimen.
“I've increased my flexibility by 40 percent, my muscle endurance by 25 percent and decreased my mile run time by 2.5 minutes,” Mr. Hughes said. “This program can get you into shape no matter what fitness level you're starting at.”
Mr. Hazlett said innovative workout programs such as Tae-Bo, step aerobics and kickboxing classes have sparked a resurgence in the fitness market among ordinary people. But what separates Corps Fitness from other exercise programs is accountability, he said.
“In my program, people are accountable to me, they are accountable to themselves, and they are accountable to each other,” said Mr. Hazlett. “Because if one person is slacking, everybody in the platoon's going to pay the price. Laziness won't cut it here.”
Neither will truancy.
“When you sign on with me, there is no longer an option,” Mr. Hazlett said. “You will show up and you will work hard.”
“Health clubs could care less if you ever walk through the door, only that you make that monthly payment. Me, I come calling wanting to know why you skipped out.”
If you want to enlist, call Corps Fitness at 677-0768 or the Mason Parks and Recreation Department at 573-3379.
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