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Fairchild Deployed: Personal trainers at TCM keep members fit to fight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Matt Benedetti
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  It could be producing a detailed conditioning program, demonstrating proper weightlifting technique, offering motivational encouragement or answering a fitness question. Regardless of the request, fitness center personnel at the Transit Center at Manas are available to assist service members with exercise related matters.

The fitness center at the Transit Center is open 24 hours and offers a wide array of classes. Boxing, spin, boot camp and abs class are a few of the programs conducted by the personal trainers on staff, many of whom are local residents.

Maksim Kaliniuk, a Bishkek native, has worked at the fitness center for four years. "I like working with the military; they are good people," he said.

Kaliniuk, a certified personal trainer, conducts weightlifting and spin classes. "We share knowledge; with weightlifting, there is always something new to learn," he said. "[Service members] show us American methods and we show them our routine."

Weightlifting competitions are held among service members on a regular basis. "One Air Force member was stronger than he looked; he lifted 645 pounds," he said.

First Lt. John Delosreyes is a member of the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and uses the fitness center on a regular basis. "The staff will drop everything to help you out," said Delosreyes, a Hanford, Calif. native deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

Staff members are happy to design a program based on an individual's specific goals. Kaliniuk encourages military members to ask the staff for any advice. "We are here to provide instruction," he said.

Sergey Prokofiev, a fitness center staff member, has participated in weightlifting competitions and enjoys sharing his experience with military members. "It is important to prepare before you start a workout routine. It is a step-by-step process," Prokofiev said.