Fitness firmly in focus as 3 Rifles infanteers swap their weapons for wellness

Troops from 3 Rifles have been taking part in a special health week to help them improve their soldiering skills and their lifestyle.

They have been looking at alternative ways to train as well as taking part in cooking and nutrition workshops.

Mental health and addiction issues have also been discussed, with experts giving the personnel specialist advice.

• Top flight fitness: Five takeaways to make it as a physical training instructor
• For the love of lifting: The superbly simple sport that's exploding across the military
• A strong mindset and the will to win: Remembering a fallen comrade The Rifles way

Unfamiliarity breeds content

The batallion's Adjutant, Captain James Stevenson, said: "We're using the four themes of Army Health to make our people happier, healthier and more deployable.

"By bringing in a large number of external instructors... we've brought people in that are unfamiliar to the Riflemen.

"We've exposed them to something different and just made them think about something outside of the Army that would hopefully make them improve their holistic approach to health."

Relax and recover

Yoga, often seen as a practice of relaxation, is part of the training this week.

For soldiers who are used to fast-paced, high-intensity training, these sessions provide a much-needed opportunity to slow down, stretch and find balance.

"I didn't realise a yoga session could twist me in and out like a pretzel like it did," said Lance Corporal Lucas Wright.

"It all comes into the personal recovery.

"As much as getting around a tab or getting around a 10-mile best effort, you've got to have that recovery process at the end, and to be twisted in and out by a yoga instructor is brilliant."

Fuelling up

In the kitchen, it's all about fuelling the body with the right things.

Cookery classes give soldiers the tools they need to prepare meals that will sustain them in both their professional and personal lives.

Physical training instructor Staff Sergeant Gary Burton added: "Gone are the days of the soldier being told what to do and just going 'yes sir'. Now we want thinking soldiers.

"So if we can give them all the relevant tools that I live and breathe and my PTIs are living and breathing, and the young Rifleman's doing it, taking care of themselves accordingly, eating right, even thinking about sleep, or how to prepare themselves for physical training, or going out on exercise and deploying, it's going to be beneficial not only to me, but to the battalion as a whole."