Anaconda in pictures - Sprung Gym

One of my favorite things to do over here is crush it at the gym. By crushing it, I'm referring to getting in crazy good shape at the gym by lifting weights and running. On my last deployment to Bosnia we were lucky enough to have a very nice gym on our base that allowed us access to a dizzying array of top of the line equipment. The gym here at Anaconda is larger and contains more equipment than the gym in Bosnia, but the gym in Bosnia supported roughly 500 soldiers - the Sprung gym (named after the manufacture of the building) here at Anaconda supports 15,000. Little bit different scope, but the bottom line is that the gym is here and I am more than happy to use it. One critical element to a solid workout routine is having a battle buddy to lift with you. SGT Kane has stepped up and filled that role, and has done a knockout job. We've been working out 4-6 days a week for the last 5 months or so. Lately, we've added SSG Johnson to the routine, which has added this whole three musketeers type dynamic to the whole thing. So far I'm roughly six months into this deployment and I can honestly say that going to the gym has been the best thing to happen to me so far. I've really enjoyed it. Here are a few pictures.

Inside the gym. Not really sure why we have racquetball. Sure, it's a good way to burn a few calories, but the court eats up a lot of valuable gym space that could be used for more weight lifting machines. Oh well. People seem to enjoy it.

The gym is basically a U shape that curves around the racquetball court. Wide variety of free weights, cardio and other equipment. It's usually not too terribly busy, but it can get a little crazy at night. This photo was taken on a relatively busy night.

An exterior shot of the gym. The gym is the large structure with the white metal roof in the background of the photo. In the front is the smaller gym, with an indoor basketball court and more cardio equipment. I don't usually spend too much time in the smaller gym. The serious weight lifters who are taking it to the next level stay in the larger gym. So of course that's where I go.