Sergeant Tony's Blog

Jim Steiner saved Boot Camp.

Most of you only know Jim from the exercise I named after him, “Starting Up Jim Steiner’s Woodchipper.” But Jim was a real person. A real Boot Camper. And one of the best people I’ve ever known.

Jim joined us because his wife had given him a month of Boot Camp as a Christmas present in 1999. And when he showed up, he wasted no time making a difference! He quickly became everyone’s best friend! He was one of those kinds of people who just naturally attracted others to him. He was winsome and warm, intelligent and funny, a prankster and practical joker. He loved everyone and everyone loved him. You just couldn’t help it! To me he became an older brother, some 12 years older than me. And a role model for personal relationship building. Jim Steiner could have taught seminars on how to make friends with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

For over two years we enjoyed Jim’s daily dose of fun, fellowship, and enthusiasm for life. If he had a story to tell or an anecdote to share, I’d gladly yield the floor! Unless he was out of town on business, he never missed a day on the Quarterdeck! He was a faithful Boot Camper and a wonderful friend.

And he saved Boot Camp from extinction.

This is how he saved Boot Camp. During the first winter of our first year, in the pouring rain, one dark cold morning at 5:25 AM, Jim and I sat in our cars, waiting to see which of us would get out first. He rolled down his window and yelled to me over the pounding rain, “WHAT DO YOU THINK?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” I sadly admitted.

“LET’S GO TO PERKINS AND EAT PANCAKES!” he suggested with a laugh!

Since it was only the two of us that morning, and since I happen to love pancakes, and since I’m not particularly fond of getting cold soaked, I thought flapjacks and a warm restaurant sounded like a great idea.

Over breakfast that morning I whined to Jim that maybe “USMC Fitness,” as we were known then, just wasn’t going to make it. This was on the cusp of the dot com explosion. There was no Boot Camp presence on the Internet. There was no MySpace or Facebook. I didn’t send out a weekly newsletter by email, I printed them and handed them out one by one. No one had ever heard of Yahoo or Google. And I spent my marketing and advertising budget on our breakfast that morning!

“Maybe this should be our last month,” I said with a sigh. I loved my career as a high school teacher and coach and seemed resigned to admit that my little early morning exercise experiment had perhaps run its course. I was reluctantly ready to face the fact that Memphis just wasn’t ready for this kind of fitness program. Maybe it was just time to pull the plug.

“Tony, don’t do that! This is the best program I’ve ever been a part of. Hang in there, just wait! They’ll come out of the woodwork! You’ll see!!” Jim insisted. (It was sort of his “If you build it, they will come,” speech.)

In those days, five people at boot camp was considered a pretty good crowd. That morning I was discouraged and ready to quit. But Jim’s words of encouragement gave me a new commitment to make Boot Camp work. “If Steiner says it’ll work, then it’ll work,” I thought.

He had that kind of effect on people. If it weren’t for Jim, I might have thrown in the towel that morning. I might have quit.

Two and a half years later, while Jim, Carole, their son Rob, daughter Meredith, and I were making plans to run the Marine Corps Marathon together in November of that year, Jim suffered what we all thought was a mild stroke. But in the weeks that followed we discovered that it wasn’t a stroke that Jim had experienced. Jim had a brain tumor.

Because of medical treatment, Jim had to quit coming to boot camp in the summer of 2002. I made regular visits to his home to check on him and continued to receive an invitation to the Steiner family gatherings, including their world famous Christmas party.

Jim was back on the Quarterdeck on October 24, 2003, over a year and a half since his last workout. With the aid of his brother and sister-in-law, Jim came back to Boot Camp at 0530.

In a wheel chair!!!!

He had dumbbells in hand and worked as hard as anyone there that morning! You should have seen him! Always upbeat. Always an encourager. A huge capacity for joy and fun! I never heard him say a single bad thing about anyone. Not even about me! He laughed that morning in October and clowned as if nothing were wrong with him. New boot campers who’d joined since Jim had become sick got the wonderful opportunity to meet the famous Jim Steiner!

It was the last time Jim would be on the Quarterdeck.

I have often said, “In the Kingdom of the Kind and in the company of gentlemen, Jim Steiner was royalty.” I was privileged to have known him, deeply honored to have been numbered among his friends. And I was profoundly heartbroken when he was taken from us. I wore one of those WWJD bracelets for a while. The “J” stood for Jim. I had no idea how Jesus would run a Boot Camp program, but I knew how Jim Steiner would.

Jim passed away six years ago this coming Saturday, December 19, 2003.

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HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Our last workout of 2009 will be Christmas Eve morning at 0530. We will “stand down” until Monday, January 4th.

In honor of Jim Steiner, you who are Boot Campers may purchase a gift certificate for the first month of USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP for only $75. Give one to a friend or family member for them to use anytime in 2010!

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NEW WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM!

In the 10 year history of USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP I have never endorsed a weight loss program. I have always given the advice, “eat less, move more.” Which works. But is very hard to accomplish. For this reason I’m officially recommending, and partnering with, the Take Shape For Life weight loss program! This is a very successful and results oriented weight loss program developed by physicians, recommended by over 20,000 physicians, and endorsed by John’s Hopkins Hospital. And now by USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP.

I’ve written a short description of why I’ve chosen Take Shape For Life on the website blog: http://usmcfitnessbootcamp.com/blog/2009/12/01/take-shape-for-life/

If you’d like to go directly to the Take Shape For Life website and bang around there for a bit. Go to: www.combatchallenge.tsfl.com

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THE WEATHER OUTSIDE …

Here are the FIVE BENEFITS OF COLD WEATHER WORKOUTS

1. Strengthens the immune system.

2. Naturally increases the body’s production of saratonin, a natural calming chemical in your body.

3. Increased calorie burn!

4. Runny noses keep the cooties from taking up residence and making you sick.

5. Bragging rights! You get to tell your sissy “indoor” friends how tough YOU are!

Dress for colder temperatures by layering. Pay attention to the wind and note the wind chill.

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FACEBOOK

Find me on Facebook and make me your friend! (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=629618416)
I’ll make you mine! Then join the USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Group!

While you’re on Facebook, you might see an ad for USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP pop up. Do not click on it! Facebook charges me for every time someone clicks on it. That’s an ad for prospective Boot Campers!

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ORDER YOUR NEW YEARS AND/OR SUPER BOWL BOSTON BUTTS NOW!

Boot Camper Shelley Thomas, and also President of the Memphis in May Championship BBQ team Pit & The Pigulum II, extends a great offer.

The team is cooking up Boston Butts for just $30 each (8.5 lb. butts cooked to about 6 lbs.). The team’s trailer was stolen, which included most everything they owned, so this fundraiser will hopefully help purchase everything needed to compete again by May.

Place orders at PitandthePigulum@yahoo.com or at 237-9104. Orders received by Christmas allows for pick up (in Germantown) Thursday, Dec. 31. Orders received by Jan. 31 allows for pick up Saturday, Feb. 6.

To your continued good health and fitness!
Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
Memphis, TN
901-644-0145
www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com