Physical Fitness Resources
Building the Soldier Athlete
The US Army Medical Department Army Medicine has established comprehensive training documents for the soldier athlete. Within the "Building the Soldier Athlete" Manual are specific topics on: Advanced Physical Training for the Soldier-Athlete, Battle Focused Training, Stretching, Fitness Maintenance, Foot Type, Physical Readiness Training, Warming up, Conditioning Drills, Core Training, Strength Training and much more information.
Additionally, the manual has appendixes in the back that range from sample workouts to how to buy the right running shoes. Click on the following links for more information.
Building the Soldier Athlete
Building the Soldier Athlete Reconditioning (Profile)
PT Supplement
Brigade Combat Team PT
Introduction to Injury Prevention
Introduction to Strength Training
Injury Prevention
USACHPPM's Physical Training Injury Prevention Interventions
The following links are the results of systematic evidence-based reviews by the Joint Services Physical Training Injury Prevention Work Group (JSPTIPWG) for USACHPPM:
Consume Nutrients to Restore Energy Balance Within 1
Hour Following High-Intensity Activity
Perform Multiaxial, Neuromuscular, Proprioceptive, and
Agility Training
Prevent Overtraining
Wear Mouthguards During High-Risk Activities
Wear Semirigid Ankle Braces for High-Risk Activities
Wear Synthetic Blend Socks to Prevent Blisters
From the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine.
Physical Training Injury Prevention Toolbox
On their website, they state: "Injuries are the greatest threat to our
readiness across the military spectrum. Weight-bearing and exercise
related activities account for 50 percent of these injuries. This site
is devoted to reducing the rate of sports and physical training related
injury in our Armed Forces with the use of evidence - based
interventions."
Training Principles
Actively seeking and maintaining a physically fit body requires
continuous training and motivation. It is common for individuals to get
into "training slumps" or peak in workouts and see a decrease in
performance outcomes. When these characteristics begin to enter in your
workout, it is time to change some of your training techniques or your
training philosophy. Below are some helpful training tips:
Additionally, the following includes positive training principles such
as progressive training, specificity, overload, recovery and
consistency.
The Navy Seal Fitness Guide
Building
the Soldier Athlete Manual
Exercise is Medicine
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has a comprehensive new website called "Exercise is Medicine" that identifies and discusses many positive and health enhancing aspects of exercise. They describe how the site contains "materials and toolkits for physicians to use in their practices. The site also includes information for patients, the media, and policymakers, as well as a listing of initial supporting organizations. Educational models will be developed for use in medical schools so students can learn the importance of prescribing exercise to patients early in their careers".
ACSM also has evidenced-based research on current topics and has a list of these "Position Statements" on their website. Topics include exercise and older adults, nutrition and athletic performance and exercise and fluid replacement, among others. See also the "Nutrition" section of this HPRC website, as well as "Extreme Environments" for additional information.
Exercise Libraries
Many physical fitness organizations have online exercise libraries that you can access for instructions and ideas on many different training exercises.
The American Council on Exercise's online exercise library includes video demonstrations and detailed instructions on how to do specific exercises, and allows you to choose exercises for the abs, back, butt and hip, chest, legs, arms, shoulders and integrated routines. They also have exercises using a variety of different training products like medicine balls, stability balls, bosu balls, free weights, body weight and other training methods. The American College of Sports Medicine also has extensive online fitness information and training methods.
Nutrition and Physical Fitness
Nutrition is KEY to optimizing physical fitness. Please see the "Nutrition" section of this HPRC website for in-depth information on optimizing this important area of physical fitness.
