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.)

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

      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.

      

Aerobic means “with oxygen,” and anaerobic means “without oxygen.” Sure, you still need oxygen to perform anaerobic exercises, but not in the same way that you do for aerobic exercises. Aerobic exercise uses oxygen to produce energy so your body can use fat and glucose for fuel, while anaerobic exercise can only use glucose for fuel. Glucose is available in your muscles for quick, short bursts of movement, and you get it through a process called glycolysis.

      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.

      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

      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

      

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