ACFT For Dummies. Angela Papple Johnston
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The Army measures your aerobic fitness through its old standby, the Two-Mile Run. Though you’re unlikely to have to run for two miles in a combat situation (and you’re even more unlikely to have to do it in your PT uniform), you are likely to engage in aerobic exercise — cardio — on the battlefield. The Army needs to know you can hack it, and it figures out what your endurance is like by making you run. Getting a good picture of a soldier’s aerobic fitness takes about 12 minutes of continuous exercise, and most people take longer than that to cover two miles. (Personally, I’d rather the Army just made me run for 12 minutes to see how far I get, but so far, they haven’t been very receptive to the idea.)
Aerobic exercise requires your heart to pump oxygenated blood to your muscles. Your heart has to beat faster to keep up with your movement, and your body has to figure out how to balance itself out until you stop the exercise. Check out Table 1-1, which gives you a ballpark range for where your heart rate should be in beats per minute (bpm) during moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise. The American Heart Association doesn’t distinguish between ages 20 and 30 (that’s why you don’t see a row in the table for 25-year-olds) because people in that age bracket typically fall into the same heart rate zones. Chapter 8 shows you how to take your cardio fitness up a notch or two, so if that’s an area you need to improve, you can find suggestions there.
TABLE 1-1 Heart Rate Zones
Age | Moderate Exercise | Vigorous Exercise |
---|---|---|
20 | 100 to 170 bpm | 200 bpm |
30 | 95 to 162 bpm | 190 bpm |
35 | 93 to 157 bpm | 185 bpm |
40 | 90 to 153 bpm | 180 bpm |
45 | 88 to 149 bpm | 175 bpm |
50 | 85 to 145 bpm | 170 bpm |
55 | 83 to 140 bpm | 165 bpm |
60 | 80 to 136 bpm | 160 bpm |
Anaerobic exercise for short-term muscle strength
Anaerobic exercise is high-intensity, high-power movement that requires your body to expend a lot of energy in a short period of time. Things like weightlifting, jumping rope, sprinting, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are examples of anaerobic exercise; if you take these movements to the battlefield, you’re looking at carrying a battle buddy to safety, running ammo cans between one truck and another, or throwing equipment over a wall so you can get cover from enemy fire. This kind of exercise pushes your body to demand more energy than you’d need for aerobic exercise, like running, and it relies on energy sources stored in your muscles.
The Sprint-Drag-Carry is a prime example of how the Army tests your anaerobic fitness. Check out Chapter 8 for a wide range of exercises that can boost your anaerobic power.
PRT: Love it or Hate it, It’s Here to Stay
The Army’s Physical Readiness Training, or PRT, was designed to prepare soldiers for the ACFT. Many PRT drills have migrated into ATP 7-22.02, Holistic Health and Fitness Drills and Exercises. These drills, now called H2F (a complete revision of PRT), are all about functional fitness, which uses drills, exercises, and activities that are specific to performing certain tasks. Army Field Manual 7-22 and Chapter 7 of this book both contain all the info you need on H2F, but save it for 0630; to max out your ACFT, you probably need to go above and beyond the Army’s maintenance PT plan.
H2F covers preparation drills, core exercises, conditioning drills, and a whole host of movement training exercises that can help you perform well on the ACFT. But the best way to make sure you’re ready for all six events is to hit the gym for some serious training after work or on the weekends — and if you’re a little nervous about passing a certain event (I’m looking at you, LTK), that’s where you need to focus.
ARMY WELLNESS CENTERS: FREE (AND SMART) TO USE
If you live near or on an Army installation that has a Wellness Center, you’re in luck. These often underutilized facilities are designed to help soldiers, family members, retirees, and DA civilians zero in on the best possible health plans. They’re run by U.S. Army Medical Command, overseen by the Army Public Health Center, and staffed with health educators who can perform all kinds of evaluations to help you reach your fitness goals. From Bod Pods that measure your body fat content, VO2 max testing, and basal metabolic rate evaluation to individualized meal plans and smoking cessation programs, Army Wellness Centers are located at nearly every base in the United States and many overseas. The pros at these centers can help with stress management, good sleep habits, weight management, and workout plans, too. You don’t even need a referral — all you need to do is call and set up an appointment.
Understanding How the ACFT Fits into Your Army Role
You have to pass the ACFT. If you don’t, your career is in jeopardy. That’s not doomsday talk; if you fail, you pick up a flag, and a flag suspends favorable personnel actions, like promotions, awards, schools, and others. Even worse, Army Regulation 600-8-2 says that if you’re flagged for ACFT failure, your permanent change of station is at your commander’s discretion (and that’s really bad news if you’re excited about a PCS because you’re on orders to Schofield Barracks or Stuttgart). Finally, the Army can administratively separate you from service for ACFT failure.
If you have a physical training profile from your medical provider, you get a shot at alternate events on a modified ACFT (I cover those in Chapter 2). However, you still have to pass the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift, the Sprint-Drag-Carry, and your alternate aerobic event. If you don’t, you’re facing the same consequences as soldiers who fail the regular ACFT.
Making the grade