Kaai Lincoln staying fit and Combat Ready

Troy Kaai Lincoln

Much positive praise can and should be given to our combat troops who, from time to time, are asked to put themselves in harm’s way.

To be ‘combat ready’ requires our men and women to constantly stay healthy and fit in order to best prepare for dangerous situations, should they arise.

One such person is Troy ‘Kaai’ Lincoln who serves, full time, in the Hawaii Army National Guard.

“I am a fourth generation soldier and proudly serve our country as a Standardization Instructor Pilot for UH-60L/M Blackhawks,” Lincoln said.

Lincoln, a CW2 officer assigned to C 1/207^th Aviation Regiment, attended Hawaii Preparatory Academy during his middle and high school years.

In Waimea Lincoln became interested in fitness and sports participation when he played on a championship AYSO during his 7^th and 8^th grade years.  It was during those middle school years that Lincoln also became introduced to Karate under the instruction of Big Island Sports Hall of Fame inductee Sensei Richard Nakano.

During high school Lincoln played varsity football, ran track and wrestled.  “Wrestling continues to be a passion of mine although I no longer compete,” he said. 

Ironically Lincoln stumbled upon wrestling as a result of being cut from the Ka Makani soccer team.

“Wrestling’s grueling workouts helped me get through my military training and schools.  To this day, I laugh at the diverging paths life sometimes takes us on,” he said.

Today, at age 39, Lincoln is healthy and fit and, yes, ‘combat ready.’

“I work in a high risk environment where I am habitually exposed to a full spectrum of threats,” Lincoln said.  “Fitness gives me the confidence to know that if the situation goes sideways, I can get myself out of it.”

To stay in shape Lincoln will maintain a constantly varied workout routine that is functional in movements and executed at a high intensity.

“In a nutshell, every workout is different, but they are pulled from three disciplines of metabolic conditioning, or cardio, gymnastics, and Olympic lifting,” he said.

Typically Lincoln will follow a format that consist of warming up and stretching followed by parallette work, jumping rope (double under) and a strength portion that includes dead lifting, shoulder presses, squats, and ending with a metabolic conditioning period and stretching.

“Most of my workouts are done within one hour,” Lincoln said.  “I’ll do five rounds for time with 275 pound Dead lifts, at five reps along with ten Burpees.”

Lincoln will also complete 32 intervals of 20 seconds of work followed by ten seconds of rest where the first eight intervals are pull-ups, the second eight are push-ups, the third eight intervals are sit-ups, and finally the last eight intervals are squats.

“I’ll also do time trials on certain days starting with a mile run, followed by 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and finishing with another mile run,” he said.  “But those workouts are an example of the types of workout combinations I have done and not a regular part of my routine.”

Lincoln varies each workout each day over a 60 day period before revisiting the same workout again.

Fitness conditioning for Lincoln doesn’t stop at the gym as he is also very careful with what he eats.

“I am pretty religious about what I eat.  Most of my diet includes whole foods, meats, fish, poultry, lots and lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds,” he said.

Lincoln has either eliminated or reduced his consumption of high glycemic foods such as starches, pastas, breads and the like.

“I don’t drink alcohol or smoke and I subscribe somewhere in between the zone diet by Barry Sears and the Paleolithic diets,” Lincoln said.

The helicopter pilot will also drink lots of water, no soda or little to no fruit juices. 

“I have found that the nutritional base is the foundation of any true fitness program and without proper nutrition, no matter what the fitness level, it is bound to plateau,” he said.

At the peak of his health and fitness level this near middle aged soldier continues to push the envelope in order to continue to increase his physical abilities.

“I want to continually increase the ten general physical skills most important to me which includes cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, strength, stamina, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, balance, accuracy and agility,” Lincoln said.

Lincoln measures himself against past workouts and tries to set new person records each time. 

“So far I have been able to set Personal Records on each of the workouts I have revisited.  I think it is a testament to the efficacy of the program I utilize in order to develop high levels of fitness,” he said.

This combat veteran who has had deployments to Iraq and Central America continues to demonstrate the highest level of preparedness in a job that is both demanding and high risk.

“I have a very strong family ethic.  Spending time with my family is critical to me especially since I work in an environment that is dangerous and unpredictable,” Lincoln said.

The Big Dog would like to extend a big Mahalo to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.  Kaai Lincoln is one of the many fine soldiers that make sacrifices daily to our community.

And someday should you happen to see a Vietnam Veteran jogging through the streets of East Hawaii remember to smile, say “woof” and never shy away from “Running with the Big Dog.”

Email the Big Dog at waiakeabigdog@aol.com.

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