MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- Adhering to a structured fitness plan with determination, one officer overcame a 54 percent failure, earning an excellent on his physical fitness test.

Capt. Robert Old Crow, 349th Air Refueling Squadron pilot and executive officer, always set an example in his job performance while striving to take care of others, but he neglected to place himself into the equation.

He began his transformation to a healthier lifestyle in January 2010.

"I was at a point in time that I felt I had let my team down with my fitness," said Captain Old Crow. "A change needed to be made."

Captain Old Crow kept his physical training program simple, but effective. To meet his goals, he designed a five-day-a-week workout regimen. His fitness program was broken down into cardio, weight training and calisthenics. Cardio was a major emphasis in his program to help prolong calorie burn during the workout. At the start of each week, he would set workout objectives for each exercise, and increase the intensity of the workout once those objectives were met.

To augment his fitness training, Captain Old Crow also paid close attention to proper nutrition. For his body structure, he limited his daily calorie intake to 2,000 calories. This allowed him to lose weight in a healthy way as opposed to crash dieting. By cutting out junk food, carbonated beverages and limiting saturated fat gram intake, his weight started to drop dramatically.

As time progressed, Captain Old Crow noticed a significant change. He was more alert, his self image was boosted and he had much more energy than before, he said.

In a period of six months, he lost 42 pounds and several inches around his waist. When it came time to retest for his PFT, Captain Old Crow scored a 97.3, a personal best. He received the maximum scores for push-ups, sit-ups, and abdominal circumference. He also ran his personal best time in the 1.5 mile run.

"Captain Old Crow is an inspiration to all of my young aviators because he demonstrates that if any relatively healthy Airman puts their mind to it, they can have fitness success," Lt. Col. Andre Briere, 349th ARS commander. "I was so impressed with [his] accomplishments, I made him my executive officer and it's one of the best decisions that I've made as a commander."

Captain Old Crow attributes his fitness accomplishments to an extraordinary support group from McConnell and the 22nd Operations Group. The individuals running the healthy living program at the Health and Wellness Center also helped provide him a wealth of knowledge for proper nutrition practices.

The 349th ARS Unit Fitness Program managers led him in the right direction to track and help improve his fitness goals. Captain Old Crow also credits his teammates in the 349th ARS for their encouragement to get him to where he is in his successful program.