UFC Fit Tour comes to joint base

Published July 1, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The Ultimate Fighting Championship Fit Tour and fitness workshop recently made a stop at JB MDL, which brought with it Carlos Condit, a UFC fighter, and Mike Dolce, a UFC Fit coach, to speak with base residents June 25, 2014, at the Risner Fitness Center.

The Air Force Reserve sponsors the fitness workshop to promote health and fitness throughout the Air Force and the military as a whole.

"We're here to not only help the military with health and fitness, but to also focus on goal setting and motivation," Dolce said. "It's not just enough to know the techniques necessary, but to get down to the deeper levels of psychology and help them to actually apply them."

His point was to not have routine goals, such as finishing chores or making a deadline, but to aim for daily goals to become a better person overall.

"People go to the gym just to say they went to the gym, that's their goal for the day," he said. "They don't set a goal so they're not truly charting their progress. What we focus on is helping them to get from where they are now to move forward, to make progress. It's not just good enough to be here; you have to be constantly evolving and excelling."

Eating right was another major point the athletes focused on for the service members.

"Living a healthy life with a holistic approach is not only getting in the gym and working your butt off, but also maximizing your potential and your gain through your diet," Condit. "There are a lot of misconceptions about what it is to have a healthy diet and the psychological and emotional aspects to it all."

The key to success, they said, are four main points:
- Eat earth-grown nutrients, organic foods and grass-fed beef, for example
- Eat every two to four hours
- Eat until satisfied, not full
- Stay accountable

Dolce quoted Gary Warren in relation to accountability, "What you eat in private, shows up in public."

The last major focus of the athletes was getting enough sleep. They stressed seven to nine hours of sleep a night to help on the path to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Service members were able to meet the athletes and receive autographs and UFC Fit-Air Force Reserve tee shirts after the fitness workshop.

"We think about the sacrifices people make overseas in combat zones, but there's a lot more to that," said Condit. "I've done stuff with the military for a while now and I've seen people away from their families and making small sacrifices. Being able to come out here and spread some knowledge and help people make solid changes in their lives and hopefully add to an overall trend of improvement in our armed forces all together."

"I grew up in a strong military family, I understand the sacrifice and the lifestyle and how difficult it is not to just be enlisted, but to transition out," said Dolce. "I'm trying to use my skills and talents to serve the members of the military to the best of my ability so they can continue to serve us, serve the nation, defend us, and protect us."

Dolce is scheduled to visit about 30 bases on the tour between April and July and Condit has visited several bases on the tour, but Condit has visited only a handful so far.