JBM-HH opens newly renovated Fort Myer Fitness Center

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA – After being closed for nearly two months, the Fort Myer Fitness Center on the Myer campus of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall reopened July 23 with a new look and new state of the art equipment.

Planning for the project began in February when JBM-HH Commander Col. Tasha Lowery, JBM-HH Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Fisher and Phillip Kitzko, project lead and Division Chief of Business Operations and Recreation for the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation met with Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus to gain insight into what he envisioned for the space.

Mingus said the renovations he proposed do a better job of addressing the functional fitness of Soldiers on the joint base as well as body leg of their holistic health and fitness tripod.

“The principal reason why we needed this is our Soldiers need their own place,” Mingus said. “When you look at the number of soldiers that live on this post, they didn’t have an adequate facility.”

Functional fitness accounts for Soldier’s real-life movements and activities, using specific patterns and exercises to support what might be encountered daily through the Soldier’s environment.

“I was tasked with comprehending Gen. Mingus’ vision and intent, formulate the project requirements and design, formulate and bring to fruition Gen. Mingus’ vision for the project which focuses on the functional fitness, strength and conditioning of our Soldiers,” Kitzko said.

Phase one of the project started with the design and installation of a state-of-the-art floor which provides joint and skeletal protection while Soldiers are working out with heavy weights and a contemporary heavy turf for strength and conditioning evolutions, Kitzko said.

He said equipment decisions focused on giving joint base Soldiers the “finest strength and conditioning equipment known to man.”

The new functional fitness equipment includes rack systems, 1,000-pound barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, cable machines, combo racks, JBM-HH logoed impact suppression platforms, Olympic plates, battle ropes, flip tires and all the hammer strength machines to support cardiovascular health.

While renovations were being done, the racquetball courts were temporarily repurposed to give Soldiers space they needed to continue to work out and meet their physical training requirements.

Phase one renovations were extensive and cost nearly $750,000. The 11,000 square foot space was transformed with the installation of the new floor, which was engineered and built over the existing basketball court, and new equipment. The bleachers were also removed, and the front entry was redesigned.

“With the conclusion of phase one of the project our Soldier and Civilian community have the premiere fitness center in the Army Enterprise which industry will not be able to match.” Kitzko said.

There is more to be done, however, as renovations for the 9,000 square foot upper deck as well as additional equipment within the living quarters, to augment the high-end workouts Soldiers get at the gym, is still in the planning and development stages and will bring in even more equipment and space to work out.

“It’s a journey,” Mingus said. “Now we have to inculcate the culture. They have to embrace what it means to be functional instead of the days of being able to run two miles really fast with a lot of pushups and sit-ups. We also have to be strong. We have to be quick and agile. We have to have all the attributes of functional fitness, to be able to survive on the modern battlefield. That culture has to permeate the entire force.”

There are no fees to use the Fort Myer Fitness Center, and it is open to all authorized military personnel, retirees and DoD civilians 24 hour a day, seven days a week with attendants on site from 8 a.m. to 6p.m. Monday through Friday. To use the fitness center outside of normal business hours, inquire at the main desk during normal business hours and fitness center personnel will program the user’s CAC card which will allow them to swipe in using the Qscan readers located at the main entrance.