In the Peace Corps, are there opportunities for physical exercise?

Question

I'm guessing not really. I've been running and lifting weights since age 12. I've been abroad and in uncomfortable conditions for shorter periods but not being able to lift weights for two years would take some time to recover from. I'm a very sports-minded guy. I should probably contact someone in the organization about questions like this.

Answer 1

I served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon where I taught mathematics for two years. I have loved lifting weights since the age of 15 when it transformed me from a skinny kid with no confidence to a muscular young man who found his place in the world.

When I arrived at my Peace Corps post I wanted to do more than push-ups and sit-ups so I paid a local welder to weld me a chin-up bar out of 1-inch iron water pipes. Then I paid a local carpenter to make a stand out of wood that I could mount the chin-up bar on (I designed it with chains and door hinges to make fold it up and lean against my wall when not in use).

This still wasn’t enough for me. I wanted to do curls, military press, tricep extensions, rows, and delt raises. I paid that same welder to weld two disks (about an inch apart) on each end of a 6-foot long iron water pipe (this served as a barbell). He also made me two dumbbells by welding three 6-inch lengths of construction rebar together with a piece of 1-inch thick iron water pipe around one side (this was done so the triangle could swivel on back and forth when I held onto the side with the water pipe).

     I then made weights out of used water bottles. There were two sizes of water bottles: 1.5 liter and 0.5 litter. I collected a bunch of these bottles filled them with sand and then pored water in them to saturate the sand in order to make each bottle as heavy as possible. I then looped a zip-tie (cable-tie) around the neck of each bottle and looped another zip-tie through that first tie to create a connector loop. I then connected the water bottles to my makeshift dumbbells or barbell with a carabineer (heavy duty D-ring clip).

     This created an AWESOME free-weight system. I didn’t bother to weight the bottles because I knew that a 1.5 bottle of water saturated sand weighed the same as another a 1.5 bottle of water saturated sand. Instead of using pounds as my measure of weight I used liters of water saturated sand. If I was doing curls with six 1.5L bottles on each end of the bar plus two 0.5L bottle and I felt I need to increase the weight, I would take off the two 0.5 liter bottles from each side and add one 1.5L bottle for a total of 7 bottles on each end of the bar.

When other PCVs came to visit me they were amazed at my free-weight system, and they realized why I was the most muscular Peace Corps Volunteer in the country. I also have fond memories of challenging my 20-year old students to pull-up contests. These were incredibly muscular men who had done physical labor their whole lives. They assumed that because I was white and/or from America that I was weak. I NEVER once lost a chin-up contest to a student. They were simply amazed that I could do 16 chin-ups and then do 10 more chin-ups with three 1.5l bottles filled with water saturated sand hanging from my belt. (I never did beat my personal best of 18 pull-ups from my days in the Marine Corps.)

My point is that you can always find way to work out if you are innovative enough.

Answer 2

yes, while you are often doing physical work during your working hours, you also have free time to do whatever you wish. There may not be a weigh lifting facility nearby, but you can find one if you ask around....or you can use some sort of substitute.

I spent much of my time building houses and schools, so I never needed to exercize after work....just sleep.

Answer 3

It depends on where you are placed and the security situation. I have a friend who is a body builder and he maintained his regime while in the PeaceCorps, but he was placed in Egypt, and they have plenty of gyms there, as well as excellent security.

Answer 4

use energy to get a 4 year degree then think about Peace Corps

Answer 5

there are no guarantees about your surroundings in the Peace Corp. Even if there is not a gym, there are plently of alternate exercises that will keep your strength up and you will more than likely being doing physical work at some point during the day. But volunteering for the Peace Corp should be about helping, not worrying about your physique. You might lose a little muscle, but you'll be giving so much to other people and gaining a sense of satisfaction in return.

Answer 6

You can ALWAYS do pushups. If there are paths, you can run. That should be low on your list your worries.

Having a skill that a host country has asked for should be #1.

Learning the language, religion(s), history and culture of your host country should be #2. ("Religions" means ABOUT their religion(s); you don't convert, but you should be conversant. Inviting a Muslim over for ham sandwiches or making fun of a Chinese gentleman's ancestors is a bad idea.)

If you are doing your job right, you'll be working 60 hours a week. I did. I did pushups and jogged, once in a while.

Don't expect a gym with a lot of buffed people sitting around with towels around their necks.

Read about my experience, if you like:

http://www.tedpack.org/pchead.html