JASON BARBER, CSCS, TSAC-F, RSCC*D, AND LISA MAEZ, CSCS
BRANCH-SPECIFIC PHYSICAL
PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS
The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) consists of three events
designed to evaluate cardiorespiratory endurance (2-mi run),
muscular endurance of the abdominal and hip flexor muscles (2
min of sit-ups), and muscular endurance of the chest muscles (2
min of push-ups). The score of this test is taken very seriously for
all military personnel. A pass or fail can determine completion
of basic training, promotions, placement in a remedial fitness
program, or worst case, separation from the United States
Army if unable to successfully pass. The APFT requirements are
calculated based on age and gender, and scored through the
number of repetitions performed for both sit-ups and push-ups,
and completed run time. While the U.S. Army has developed a
program that creates a good base of fitness and has published a
helpful educational manual, it is important to note that the APFT
should not be the sole guide through which to base unit physical
readiness programs, but rather should be used as an assessment
of health and fitness (1). The fitness or performance needs of
soldiers must be defined in order to develop and implement
training that will best prepare them for their job tasks.
What are the physical demands of a U.S. Army soldier? As
simple as this question may seem, the physical requirements
vary greatly depending on the soldier’s branch and Military
Occupational Specialty (MOS). A soldier’s MOS defines the duties
and responsibilities of each soldier. There are over 22 separate
branches or corps within the U.S. Army, including Armor,
Aviation, Air Defense Artillery, Field Artillery, Engineers, Infantry,
Finance, Administration, and Special Forces to name a few. Each
branch is staffed by soldiers trained in at least one of the more
than 260 MOSs (2). The infantry is the largest branch in the U.S.
Army and is America’s primary ground combat force. Infantry
soldiers specialize in capturing, destroying, and repelling enemy
ground forces during combat, whereas engineers build structures,
develop civil works programs, work with natural resources, and
provide combat support on the battlefield. An infantry soldier
must carry loads for hours, sprint to contact or cover, drag or
carry injured comrades to safety, and even engage in hand-tohand combat, whereas, an engineer must operate hand tools
and heavy equipment and may engage in repetitive lifting
and loading movements.
The U.S. Army has historically made physical fitness and combat
readiness a priority for all military personnel. This is seen through
mandatory participation in early morning Physical Training (PT)
three to five times a week. Unfortunately, it is seen more often
than not that soldiers are training to improve their score on the
APFT. It makes sense for the soldiers; why would soldiers train any
other way, when a passing score of running, sit-ups, and push-
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ups determines everything? Does this make sense to the sports
coach that is concerned with making the athlete better at their
sport? Could you argue that if the tactical athlete is fit enough for
performance on the battlefield then they should be able to pass
the APFT at any time? In order for the training to become more
branch-specific, the program needs to be specific to the desired
outcome, not just the test scores. Branch-specific programs may
decrease training time, needed equipment, and injury rates,
and increase combat readiness and soldier interest. By using an
already established morning PT period, branches should make the
most of this training time to get physically fit, but also to enhance
branch-specific skills and movements.
Soldiers are required to respond quickly and effectively on the
battlefield and that same training should be replicated in morning
PT. Units and soldiers should have in-depth planning of their
tactical performance program. They should know what they are
doing several weeks in advance with the mindset of increasing
performance, rather than the mindset of getting soldiers to “pass”
the APFT. By utilizing an efficient workout protocol, sold iers gain
more time to train the physical aspect of their jobs. For example,
an armor or field artillery soldier may want to work on absolute
strength as their job requires them to have much higher levels of
strength to lift the munitions required in their job description.
Branch-specific training might incorporate sandbags, weighted
vests, hill sprints, and barbell deadlifts during morning workouts
to mimic tasks performed during deployments, while also adding
an element of novelty to the training. In turn, this type of training
can be sustained during deployments, when soldiers may not have
access to conventional weights and weight rooms for extended
periods of time. A viable option for strength training and injury
prevention is suspension training. A suspension trainer is a small
and lightweight piece of equipment that a soldier can shove in a
rucksack and tie to any tree, pole, or tank.
It is the responsibility of morning PT time to keep soldiers combat
ready. Programming during this allotted time can be as simple as
using block periodization which would allow the PT leader to only
need to develop a 4 – 5 week plan that is repeated throughout the
fiscal year. Additionally, this would allow for times at the range,
field problems, etc. High-intensity evaluations can be used by units
as a group to see where the unit’s performance level stands as a
group. Other programming considerations might include circuits
aimed at paralleling soldiers’ MOS duties or coordinating with
brigade physical therapists to design injured soldier programs that
might be implemented while simultaneously conducting PT. These
programs could be based around suspension training systems.
NSCA’S TSAC REPORT | ISSUE 33