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You lose much more weight from diet than from exercise. Exercise certainly helps, but is more important for strength and agility. As we age, functional exercises become more important than strength. Less weight makes pretty much everything easier. And stay the heck away from crossfit. Chiropractors and physical therapists love what it does for their business. Plus, you'll annoy everyone talking about crossfit. 😋 It's not inherently bad, but it's grown faster than the rate of qualified instructors.

Physically, I may not want to emulate them but one of my assistant scoutmasters when I was scoutmaster was heavy but had 55 years of scouting experience and was a model for everyone. I am overweight, but run 4 hour marathons btw. So just because someone is heavy it doesn't necessarily mean they can't do a 5 mile hike. I can run circles around most of our scouts, when we do the running test for the tenderfoot rank, I run along side of the slowest scout and encourage them to keep going and not to get discouraged. So, please don't make assumptions about weight. I no many people that

You are a mandatory reporter. This crossed the line. If you are unsure whether it crossed the line, you need to report it and let someone else decide. That's the whole idea of mandatory reporter. Also, hesitation to report (for many different reasons) is often the reason previous abuse persisted for so long. You need to submit a report on this.

This could quickly turn into an I&P thread at this rate, but as a health professional, I am going to say that I also believe that the BSA should come out as pro-vaccination. High vaccination rates have kept these things from being an issue for a long time, but that may not be true for long. While I acknowledge that parents currently have a legal right to decide not to vaccinate, that doesn't mean that these families have a right to have their children around mine. Summer camps, winter camps, and all sorts of other BSA activities are high risk for disease transmission of all kinds.

I used my role as Scoutmaster to motivate myself to stay fit. "I gotta set a good example for the boys!" Whenever we had a physical challenge ahead, I'd scarf down a handful of chondroitin for the knees, and happily soldier on. I liked being able to make 2 trips up Mount Yonah hauling water(1000 feet of elevation in 2 miles), paddling solo on the Flint and the Blackwater as lead or sweep, and coaching the younger boys halfway up the wall in the climbing gym. I think that that is what being a Scoutmaster is about. Not to say that I never doubled up on s'mores, and heated my own hammoc

Sample WOD: "The Scouter.Com" 1. 50 Mashmasters 2. etc.

I do Box step ups......no jumping for me. 🙂

I am 50+ and do Crossfit. It is great, but you need to find a gym that has coaches that scale and aren't so focused on killing it. If you show up and everyone is in their 20's turn around. When I showed up, there was an equal range of 30's, 40's, 50's and even 60's so it went well. But yes you need to be very careful, I have seen many crossfit coaches not understand how to adapt workouts.

We had a SM who was obese. On land, he was not destined to win races and he eventually would huff and puff up hills. But in the water he was master of the universe, full of grace and power. He had complete mastery of that environment and while he still probably wouldn't have won many races in the water, his weight didn't seem to be a handicap. Thinking about some of the responses here, as I approach the beginning of an eighth decade, I can attest to the fact that age, while it seems to impart some negative things, is nevertheless inevitable not to mention that the alternative is worse. I

I believe the SPL needs a heavier punishment, even if it leads to him being kicked out of the Troop. Some will disagree, saying that these kids (mostly the SPL) are the ones who need Scouting the most (to help "develop" them into decent people). While I agree with that statement, I also think this SPL crossed the line. I'd hope he would continue in Scouts but I would not allow him back in the Troop. The other kids might need more than probation. As Boy Scouts, they should have put a stop to that. I understand they are kids and the SPL is probably older and "cooler" so the other kids look

This sentence struck a chord with me because I fear it may be the current reality. I like to think (foolishly?)we as Scouts and Scouters are collectively better than average.

It is important to remember, however, that one's health and fitness is reflected by more than just one's size. Some people are naturally larger than others, whether taller or wider, and it's becoming all too frequent in our society to look at being larger as a "bad" thing, as though everybody should be thin and toned, and everybody who isn't is doing something wrong - or not doing something right. If you were to judge my fitness based on my shape you would easily think I was very healthy and exercise daily - I'm trim, toned, small waist et cetera. But the truth is I have conditional asthma and

Make sure any milestone anniversaries fall at the same time as a High Adventure trip, that's a real crowd pleaser....

Hmmm, a good WOD (Workout Of the Day) would be: 4 rounds 400m run 25 20" Box Step Ups 25 deadlift (barbell or dumbell or kettle bell) weight varied 45# - 65# 25 kettle bell swings 35# or 55# 10 push-ups 25 sit-ups 2 minute rest What do you think?

https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/safety-moments/wilderness-first-aid/ Only required by BSA when going to a BSA High Adventure base. Other camps that have trek programs may require it as well, following the same guidelines. If you don't expect to be taking your group to any BSA HA, I would still say it's a good idea to have gone through the training, but paying to re-certify every two years may not be necessary.

@BillFan90 My answer to you might depend on what is your family situation. Specifically, do you have a son in the troop? I have been a Scoutmaster twice. During my first tour of duty as Scoutmaster (7 years), we were a new-married couple without children. My wife's resentment of the time demands was understandably an issue. She was left at home alone on many campout weekends, and much of my vacation time allotment from work was spent on Scouting adventures and summer camps. While I treasured these Scouting experiences, my prioritization was at times unfair. I vacated the Scoutmaster

cool! I think they really help for hiking, like an lunge on an incline.

Henceforth I'll start doing the same, and will credit the source!

I'm addressing the implication made that 'if one boy does this, all boys are likely to do this.' I'm not defending this particular SPL by any means. What he did was horrendous, but all boys should not be labeled as a threat to girls because this kid can't control himself.

Let's talk about this particular boy. The fact that he forced another boy to sit still while he rubbed his barely-clothed genitals on the other boy's head does raise the prospect that he may do so again, to somebody else, of whatever gender. It also raises the distinct possibility that he may do something worse to someone else, of whatever gender. It also raises the question of whether this is the first time he has done that to someone.

That's a pretty damning statement to make against boys. So, because of this incident, involving this particular SPL, you feel with great certainty that boys will no doubt do something similar to girls?

Maybe there is some sort of Scouting program in the local juvenile detention facility. I say that not to be mean, but just as a reminder that this kid committed what would be a "felony" if he were an adult.

I agree completely. That is just what I’ve heard from multiple other leaders throughout my Scouting career. I believe Scouting is a privilege and can be taken away from you if needed. I think that with a harder punishment and even kicking the SPL out of the troop, this kid might learn a valuable lesson about actions and consequences.

I suspect they got the "teabagging" idea from video games (or videos about games), where it is somewhat acceptable behavior (because video game characters are not anatomically correct). Regardless of where the SPL got the idea, it is not acceptable in real life -- especially when the Scout repeatedly told him to stop.

I concur with Mashmaster, CF works if coaches scale, but unfortunately many of them seem focused on just smoking everybody with the same workout, regardless of condition or age. And CF loves those box jumps...which I now avoid because of the injury potential. And those headstand push ups...I'll pass!

Where my mind goes is -- how will this boy treat his homecoming date if they are alone, etc? What if he has a babysitting job or other unsupervised exposure to children? Unfortunately, behavior like this, especially if undisciplined, can become a pattern. So the kid needs to be taught the hard lesson now and hopefully it sticks.

It's a lot less expensive to hire a trainer and buy healthy food than it is to pay for surgery and disease treatment, fwiw. Thrifty!

Being in the UK I won't pretend to know your procedures inside out, I'll leave that to others. However what these boys did went way over the line. This isn't something that can be treated as a learning experience, it's not the scout who didn't do their chores or who had a falling out with someone that ended in a scuffle or who gave some back chat. This is a group not just of scouts but scouts who are meant to be leaders among their peers, who should be setting the example, who actively ganged up on another scout ending in something that was border line sexual assault. Whatever the pr

What? Supreme Court Justices?

Sir, I don't know what to say, as a father of two boys, I am not sure what I would do or say. I am not sure I would be in Scouting any longer because my protective father instinct would probably have taken over. I applaud you for holding back. As a Scout Leader, I am disgusted that an SPL and a group in the PLC would do this. There is no place in scouting for this type of behavior. I understand the event was not a Scouting event but it occurred to a Scout by other Scouts in the same Troop. We teach them to protect each other not assault each other. Personally, as a Scoutmaster, I would

I chose to resign as CM this morning after a difficult committee meeting last night. I couldn't sleep well. There is an ACM who was on deck to take the role in February so it's just shortening things by a few months. My issues are a few: a few very negative, new committee members, a divisive feeling in the committee overall for more than a year, and the feeling that I would be able to do nothing to relieve the negative sentiment. Some folks think the Pack is terrible. Parts of the Pack are rough (pack meetings, kind of, for a lot of reasons), but I like to see the glass as half full. Rathe

If you take a slice of any group of American adults, the majority would be overweight. Given the sedentary nature of work in America today, and the large amount of calories in processed food, it's inevitable that many Americans are overweight. Most of the Scouters I know are overweight to some degree. Some of the best Scouters I've volunteered with on the district or council level were overweight folks. I'd hike circles around them on a backpacking trip, but they have excellent character and are fantastic mentors of youth that I've been honored to know. Certainly physical fitness i

I couldn't agree more! Especially since we are recruiting girls into Scouts. Some on this Forum might not agree but girls will be going out camping with tents right next to boys. If boys will do this to another boy, they will certainly try it with girls. I am sad and disappointed to read this situation.

Sorry to hear how it finished but I agree it is better to leave a bit early than too late. Good to hear you had a replacement ready. Hey, as far as other things to do, Would you be interested in serving as a FOS Chair for another pack in your state?? 👍😀 Our committee meetings are at a German Bierhaus and we would cover the first round!

Some things you can't hand over. You need to submit the paperwork. It's slightly embarrassing to say you handed it over and then submit paperwork, but it's never too late to do the right thing. Just say you read more on the rules and you needed to report.

Never a SM, but long time Scouter. You will definitely need support from your spouse on this. I have had friends get divorced over Scouting, and almost was divorced due to Scouting, albeit as a professional. Everyone has given great advice. Ditto getting your ASMs involved and taking responsibility. You cannot do everything, and need to work with them and trust them.

Maybe where you live. Where I live abandoning the NRA will have the same effect. It would be just one more step in turning the BSA from a national program into a big blue bubble suburban day care program.

I don't think it matters in this case. The group interacting were scouts and it's always a game whether something is a scout event or not.

And, this needs to be documented in case these boys ever pull this crap with another kid.

Yes, I was in a hurry and my wording wasn't the best. My apologies. What I meant was that scouts don't learn values until their mentors react to their bad decisions. Mentors don't know how they will react until they are confronted with those decisions. It's a growing process for all units. That goes for all bad decisions, whether a scout chooses not to take responsibility when he is expected to cook or clean for the patrol or he bullied a scout. Adults will be have to learn how to contend with new challenges everyday. How they deal with the behavior sets the expectations for behavior for

It is a parental issue as well. If I found out my son was in his underwear and threatening to teabag another person, I think any Scout organization punishment would seem trivial. I'd be almost as mad if I found out my son didn't try to defuse the situation.

@Bside call your council’s Scout Executive. This is a significant issue and the ASM and CC should not address this alone. The chartering organization rep needs to know about this too.

I'm sorry, it could be I misread. Were you not ASM for two years? And did you not see bullying incidents at that time? How did you handle them? Might your PLC be falling in line with the SPL because they were imitating the adults they knew? Now I could be dead wrong. And for the past three years you showed up at every committee meeting demanding a heavier hand against abusive scouts ... possibly even calmly telling those scouts themselves what you were demanding. I'm not gonna waste time filling in blanks. The results won't satisfy you. And how highly strangers on the Internet think about

Yeah, just for the debate, I'd say separate sites. Linked troops are separate troops and should be encouraged to create their own identity. If you're going to have websites for the units then you should have youth webmasters. While you could have a webmaster from each unit managing the same site, I think that model would take away autonomy from the new webmaster. Consider this question. If your CO was spinning up a new boys unit in parallel with the existing unit, would you want them sharing the same website? Linked troops are only linked at the adult level and that's where it sh

As a two time trekker at Philmont, I will just say what we did on the trail during down times. A hacky sack is easy to carry, use, and can include everyone. Philmont even has their name knitted onto some in the past. The other activity was just a plain Frisbee. A plate/bowl by chow and Frisbee the rest of the time. I have three glow in the dark ones I use for day or night use.

Increase that mileage as your year progresses. My experience is that our 1st years are fine with hiking in 3-6 miles (again, depends on terrain) with full packs. It's the 13 year-olds who gripe about anything more than a mile! However, those distances are a wake-up call for some adults to quit the cigarettes, get on a diet and hike every day. So, gradually building up the distance is a good strategy for all involved. Which reminds me, I''d better get going if I'm gonna make my 2K walk to my coffee shop!

You know two things about me. Guess what those things are? They begin with "J" and "S". I've been the SM for 3 months. The previous SM was a scouter for 50 years and the SM for 14 years. I'm dealing with his mess. Reflect on that while you play with your jump to conclusions mat.

A lot of speculation in this post. This discussion seems to be veering from addressing this particular incident to 'boys in the boy scouts are now a threat to the girls in the boy scouts'