Public health experts at the Defense Health Agency say surveys have shown that military fitness tests provide information on key elements of physical performance and injury risk. A recent 2024 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research highlights the importance of muscle strength in relation to a person’s body weight in predicting physical performance. (Defense and Public Health Agency graphic illustration by Rachel Stershic)
SEE THE ORIGINAL
The military monitors the fitness level of its service members to ensure their physical readiness for combat and minimize personnel losses due to injuries.
Each military service selects its fitness tests to meet the unique needs of its mission. Fitness tests across all departments include measures of aerobic fitness, such as a timed run, and muscular health, such as push-ups. Depending on the department, the fitness test may include sprinting, carrying weighted objects, or deadlifts.
Strength is relative
A 2024 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research by the Defense Health Agency’s Public Health Injury Prevention Directorate in Aberdeen, Maryland, highlights the importance of muscle strength in relation to a person’s body weight in predicting physical performance.
“Public health surveys have shown that military fitness tests provide information on key elements of physical performance and injury risk,” says Tyson Grier, health scientist at DHA-PH and lead author of the study. ‘study.
In 2022, the Army changed its physical fitness test from the 3-event Army Physical Fitness Test to the 6-event Physical Fitness Test. Army Combat Fitness Testor ACFT. It was the first change to army test in 42 years. The ACFT includes six events ranging from muscular strength, endurance and power to anaerobic and aerobic fitness.
The absolute amount of weight lifted, known as brute force, is not the only measure of strength. Grier notes that taking into account an individual’s body weight appears to be particularly useful in predicting fitness.
“Relative strength, which takes into account a person’s body weight, is important because it represents an individual’s ability to control and move their body,” says Grier. “To calculate the relative strength of the deadlift, you divide the amount of weight lifted by your body weight. For example, if you deadlift 300 pounds and weigh 200 pounds, you would have lifted 1.5 times your body weight.
Grier’s investigation showed that when adjusting deadlift results for relative strength, greater relative strength was associated with higher physical performance. Men lifting ≥1.5 times their body weight and women lifting ≥1.25 times their body weight outperformed those with lower relative strength (within their own sex) in all ACFT events.
What strength training is recommended?
According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americansadults should get at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. Additionally, individuals should engage in muscle-strengthening activities of moderate or greater intensity that involve all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms) 2 or more days per day. week.
Muscle-strengthening activities include free weights, resistance machines, push-ups and band exercises. For injury prevention and technique tips for common strength training exercises, see deadlift, squatterAnd bench press fact sheets available in the DHA-PH Resource Library.
Ideally, a certified trainer will help develop specific individual exercise plans or group plans that can be modified based on fitness level. In general, Grier recommends the following, based on guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine:
- For each major muscle group, try doing 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 repetitions, or “reps,” with good form.
- The last repetition should be difficult.
- Increase the weight slowly over time so that the effort resembles an 8 out of 10 (where 0 is no effort and 10 is your maximum effort).
Are there any benefits to strength training beyond meeting military standards?
While the The Department of Defense will continue to use physical fitness tests To measure military fitness, adding muscle-strengthening exercises to your exercise routine can help every adult by:
Additional sources of information:
American military
Army
Navy
Marine Corps
Aviation
The Defense Health Agency supports our nation by improving health and strengthening readiness, making extraordinary experiences ordinary and exceptional outcomes routine.
NOTE: Mention of any non-Federal entity and/or its products is for informational purposes only and should not be construed in any manner as Federal endorsement of such non-Federal entity or its products.