Army sergeant 'Spins' Airmen into shape

Published Aug. 3, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Josef Cole
321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Straining and sweating, exhausted Airmen all but collapse from the torture of a U.S. Army sergeant who barks orders and imposes her will -- however, the tortured are willing participants.

Their pain is self inflicted from pedaling on seemingly harmless stationary bikes. All are eager to hear the energizing commands of Sgt. Jessica Recinos. Each command controls the ebb and flow of exertion, imbuing a rhythm to the room as riders rise and fall, wax and wane.

Recinos injects the spinning with muscle tearing, sinew stretching, and explosive movement, beefing up the routine to Mr. Universe levels.

"A regular cycling class consists of cycling away, just spinning away," Recinos said. "(In my class), you're standing up on the bike, you're doing pushups, we lean from left to right, we dip on the bike to work our quads, it's a full body workout."

Recinos, over time has cultivated a loyal following of individuals dedicated to improving their physical fitness. She leads the willing through a virtual Tour de France, complete with a feeling of victory at the finish line.

"She will motivate you to the point you can't walk. I did a spin class with her and almost died," said Rachel Martin, a U.S. military contractor, via Facebook. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Garcia added, "She keeps people motivated."

Recinos' final advice for getting in shape, "Choose good music, try to have fun, stay motivated, stay positive, and enjoy your workout."

Recinos is more than a dungeon master by night, she has been working doubly hard, keeping troops on the move both in terms of their personal fitness and at work. By day she is assigned to the Army's 22nd Human Resources Company, here, where she guides servicemembers toward needed respite as a rest and relaxation customer service representative and passenger terminal clerk.

Much like the spin class, when she speaks at the passenger terminal all are eager to hear, now to receive vital details of travel to come, a reprieve from deployed life is on the horizon.

"(Everyone deployed) earns their leave," Recinos said. "They need to go see their family for two weeks."

Deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., and a native of Santa Anna, Calif., Recinos knows what it means to be away from loved ones, and the importance of her role supporting troops.

In her words, "I really love my job, I really look forward to every day, getting up, going to work, helping people out, getting off, having my time off and actually going to the gym."