Am I too serious about my fitness?

Well as many as you may know, aside from being a career police officer and international adviser, I am also a certified personal trainer. So many of the articles I write are fitness related. I see my time spent in other countries as a chance to reach my peak fitness level. As many of us know, that is sometimes a huge challenge. Some missions/duties provide us with great gyms and good healthy foods, while many leave us alone with barely enough food to survive.  If this sounds familiar to you, how did you cope? Did you just ignore health and throw caution to the wind or did you focus on your goal and gut it out no matter what?

While I was in Sudan, I was faced with the frustration of having to struggle to stay in shape. I loved my job and really enjoyed the people I was working with but food and fitness situation had a lot to be desired. I had only a bench with about 250lbs. worth of weight, 1 – 1 inch diameter bar and a couple of small ones for dumbbells. I was confined to space not much larger than that room needed to hold the bench. My food choices weren’t much better. Everyone else in my camp ate whatever and whenever but with me being strict and dedicated it was a little different. We had to beg for meat to be brought to us once a month or so and had to make regular trips out to the market area for things like eggs, onions etc. Fruits and vegetables were NOT available about 90% of the time in our region. I basically ate the same things over and over for 6 months. It wasn’t easy but it was my choice and I stuck by it.

So how does everyone else do it? One thing I do is go prepared. I take my P90X and bands with me to each mission, just in case I don’t have anything else to work with. I load my suitcase with vitamins, supplements, protein powder and whatever else I need.  I remember in Sudan, dragging my duffel bag, which I loaded with 3 cases of water, around after my workout for a nice added burn.

So I am interested in hearing what everyone else does. Am I just the freak that does this or am I the norm?

Are you fitness motivated during your mission time?

There is one thing that kind of bugs me about living in mission. Well, actually more than one thing but for the purpose of this article, we will say 1 thing.J.  When I am in mission I take the opportunity to get into the best physical condition I can. I see it as a chance to focus my energy (negative or positive) on being productive toward something that will not only benefit my future well being but also help keep me alive in the present. I will admit that it sometimes takes a huge amount of drive to do this but once you get that train too moving, it gets easier. Now, I understand that this is easier said than done in some situations.

When I was in Kosovo we had a nice little gym. It was tiny but it had what we needed and served its purpose. In Afghanistan, our FOB (forward operating base) had a makeshift gym that was part weights with few “homemade” pieces and a few treadmills. It worked very well but sometimes there just wasn’t enough to go around. I appreciated and respected the fact that MANY felt the way I did, and saw staying in shape was a good way to prolong their life (especially in a hostile environment). On the opposite side of that spectrum was Southern Sudan. Apparently fitness was NOT a concern and most of the people around me thought it to be pointless. While in Southern Sudan I had VERY LITTLE to work with, so as I always did, I went prepared. Each time I go into a new country, not knowing what type of workout facilities will be available; I take by workout bands and my P90X set. P90x really hit the spot for a good workout to start my day out with.

I know this might be an abrupt end to the story but tell me how you stay in shape while in mission. Is it a priority?

Product Review - Fit Freeze

Well as I said in the first post, I plan to talk about a variety of topics. As some people know, I am also a Certified Personal Trainer. Besides the workouts, I like to experiment with other things as well. I’m not sure how many of you have ever heard of FitFreeze but I bought 6 pints of it back several months ago.

FitFreeze is a protein rich “Ice Cream” product that makes a lot of claims. To learn more about FitFreeze, visit their site by clicking here.

The first batch we whipped up was in a mixer and it gave me a false result. It was powdery, chewy and not very good at all. The texture was just all wrong.

After getting the blender fixed and being able to make a TRUE serving I learned different. I experimented with a few of their recipes; they were okay but not that great. I found the Pina Colada to be kind of plain tasting but the Mint Chocolate Chip gave me hope for the product. My latest batch has been by far the best. I added a ¼ cup of Oreo Cookies and Cream pudding to the mix and it was great.

I have to say that originally I thought this was going to be a flop of a product but I was wrong. In my opinion, it is definitely NOT ice cream, but it will take care of your sweet tooth in a good healthy way. I still think that it is way too expensive but if you can get past that, it is worth a try.

The PeaceKeepers

Hi everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know who I am and the purpose of this blog. My name is Teddy Crouch and I am, by career, a police officer. I have 10 years of experience in the states (Arkansas) and about 5 years Internationally. I'm a former Narcotics officer and SWAT member, on top of other duties in my career. I won't bore you on this first post with my detailed history of all my positions or where I have worked or even the duties I have performed in other countries, LOL. I have a lot of stories, some good, some bad but ALL mine.


Throughout this blog, I plan to talk about many things. I welcome feedback from everyone on every topic. This blog is focused around "Peacekeepers" around the world. I'll be posting articles, giving my own opinion, asking for yours and even occasionally selling a few things. In the past I owned and operated an online police supply (part-time) and will have it up and running again. The only difference, this time, will be the supply. I plan to focus on fewer items this year and keep less inventory on hand. I will operate on more of a personal level and less on a business level.

I encourage everyone to keep coming back. This site is going to cover an abundance of topics. Having been on the line in my career and in the trenches, I know there is more to being a true peacekeeper than just being a police officer. It takes police, fire, and military that are dedicated professionals that also strive on fitness and keeping a balanced home life. I hope to explore all of this with the help of readers.

So stick around!!!