Body composition, leg power and aerobic capacity have been shown to be related to performance, although their combined influence in a training task under load carriage in soldiers is still unknown. ...In this study, the influence of aerobic capacity, body composition and leg strength on performance during an obstacle test with and without combat equipment carriage was analysed. Forty males belonging to the Spanish Army participated in this study. The time needed to complete an obstacle course with and without load, aerobic capacity (20-m shuttle run test), leg power (squat jumps) and body composition variables (body mass index BMI, fat mass and lean mass) were tested to determine the best predictors of performance. The results indicated that the best predictors of obstacle course performance with and without load carriage are VO
2max
and BMI. The jump height was not a significant factor in the model. In conclusion, BMI and VO
2max
are predictors of the obstacle test time with and without load carriage, so it is recommended that both variables are included as criteria for enrolment in the military army to guarantee army members exhibit the highest obstacle course performance possible.
Highlight
The VO
2max
and BMI are the best predictors of an obstacle course performance with/without load carriage.
The jump height was not a significant performance factor.
The VO
2max
and BMI are recommended as enrolment criteria for military army.
Purpose: to analyze the initial indicators that characterize the level of development of sensorimotor coordination and physical (motor) readiness of cadets of higher educational estasblishment for ...further sports activities in military aviation pentathlon. Material and methods: analysis of literature sources, questionnaires, testing, statistical analysis. The study involved 48 first-year cadets of the Kharkiv National University of the Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub (men), aged 17-18 years old, of which 38 Candidates Master of Sports and 10 Masters of Sports. Results: the initial indicators of candidates for further sports activities in military aviation pentathlon were analyzed. The distribution of candidates by sports such as game, cyclic, complex coordination and martial arts. Using the definition that sensorimotor coordination is an integrated indicator of the functioning of the body’s sensory systems, tests were selected and systematized, the indicators of which characterize the coordination abilities. The analysis of results in the form of the verbal description, tables, the analytical description of the received regularities is carried out.Conclusions: determined the heterogeneity of the initial indicators of sensorimotor coordination of candidates for the national team in military aviation pentathlon. It is necessary to develop a single universal training algorithm with the definition of mandatory control points - periods of determining the leading opportunities and the development of a set of additional exercises to improve certain indicators of sensorimotor coordination in accordance with the sport in which the cadets was engaged before entering.
ABSTRACTPihlainen, K, Santtila, M, Häkkinen, K, and Kyröläinen, H. Associations of physical fitness and body composition characteristics with simulated military task performance. J Strength Cond Res ...32(4)1089–1098, 2018—The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations of physical fitness and body composition characteristics with anaerobic endurance performance, tested in the combat load using the occupationally relevant military simulation test (MST). Eighty-one male soldiers, deployed to a crisis management operation in the Middle East, volunteered for the study and participated in a test battery consisting measurements of muscle strength, body composition characteristics, endurance capacity, and MST. A Spearman correlational analysis revealed that the strongest variable, correlated with MST time, was the countermovement jump performed with the combat load (CMJ2) (rs = −0.66, p < 0.001). Among the individual body composition variables, the MST time had the strongest relationship with fat percentage (rs = 0.53, p < 0.001) and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) (rs = −0.47, p < 0.001). The use of the dead mass ratio, which was calculated dividing body mass by fat mass accompanied with the weight of the combat load, increased body composition-based associations significantly, and this variable turned out to be the best single predictor for the MST performance (rs = −0.67, p < 0.001). Significant predictors of the MST time in the stepwise multivariate regression analysis included CMJ2, 3000 m, SMM, and push-ups. Together, these variables explained 66% ((Equation is included in full-text article.), model p < 0.001) of the variance in the MST time. In conclusion, the novel MST is a promising military specific assessment method of muscle power of the lower extremities and endurance capacity, which are crucial performance components in anaerobic combat situations.
Soldiers are required to conduct tasks and operations in physically demanding situations, where the ability to move (mobility) quickly is important to lethality and survivability.
This study employed ...a specially designed suit to try to isolate the main mass property characteristics of personal protective clothing/equipment (PPCE) including mass, bulk and stiffness as much as possible and evaluated their effects on soldier performance across operationally-relevant mobility tasks.
Eight male military subjects performed the load effects assessment program (LEAP) obstacle course while wearing 7 different configurations of specifically designed suit: unencumbered (control), 10 kg mass, 30 kg mass, 20 L bulk, medium stiffness, high stiffness and a mixed configuration consisting of 10 kg mass, 20 L bulk and medium stiffness. The primary outcome measure was total LEAP completion time. Additionally, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), range of motion and vertical jump heights were measured and related to LEAP performance.
All configurations degraded or tended to degrade the total LEAP completion times (p-value < 0.05), except for the medium stiffness configuration. Heart rate did not differ significantly between configurations, while RPE scores of configurations 30 kg and mix were significantly higher compared to control (p < 0.01).
Mass, bulk and stiffness all negatively influence LEAP obstacle performance. Therefore, all three have to be considered when trying to reduce the physical burden on soldiers.
•30 kg mass has a larger effect on performance compared to other typical stiffness or volume configurations of military load.•Heart rate is not influenced by loading conditions during a military mobility obstacle course.•Every added kilogram results in approximately 1,5% performance decline.•Range of motion tests are likely not sensitive enough to characterize PPCE configurations.
Purpose Obstacle course racing (OCR) has become a popular recreational activity in the recent 10 years, with more than 8.5 million participants. Despite the popularity, little is known about ...predictors of performance in OCR; research to date has focused on injury prevalence. The purpose of this study was to conduct laboratory and field tests of athletic performance in OCR athletes and examine their relationships to performance in simulated OCR. Methods Overall, 32 men and women (mean ± standard deviation age: 42 ± 10 years; OCR experience: 2.8 ± 2.3 years) completed laboratory testing for maximal oxygen uptake, anaerobic power (Wingate), vertical jump, flexibility, and body composition. Additional field tests were performed for 400-meter and 1-mile running time, muscle strength (back squats and deadlifts), and endurance (bucket carry for distance), grip strength, and burpees. The participants also completed a 3-mile simulated OCR. Independent t-tests examined differences between sex, and bivariate regressions were conducted between testing variables and OCR performance. Results For the combined sample, the best individual predictors were mean relative power from the Wingate tests (β ± standard error SE: –6.47 ± 1.12) and mile-run time (β ± SE: 6.43 ± 0.71). Multivariable analysis controlling for age, sex, and mile-run time found an independent association between bucket carry for distance and race time (β ± SE: –0.04 ± 0.01), but mile-run time was still the best predictor (β ± SE: 6.33 ± 0.97). Conclusions Data from the study suggest that aerobic and anaerobic fitness have important contributions to OCR success.
This article reviews hazards associated with obstacle course events (OCEs) like the Spartan Race and Tough Mudder, which are becoming increasingly popular, and provides strategies to mitigate these ...hazards. In seven studies, the overall weighted incidence of participants seeking medical care during OCEs was only 1.4% with ~6% of these requiring higher level medical care at a hospital. Nonetheless, 27% of participants self-reported =1 extremity injury. Common OCE medical problems included sprains/strains and dermatological injuries (abrasions/laceration/blisters); the ankle and knee were common injury locations. There are reports microorganism infections during OCEs, associated with ingestion of contaminated water and mud. On military obstacle courses, ~5% were injured, but this activity has the highest injury rate (injuries/hour of training) of all major testing or training activities. Ankle sprain risk can be reduced with proprioceptive training and prophylactic ankle bracing. Knee injury risk can be reduced with exercise-based programs that incorporate various components of proprioceptive training, plyometrics, resistance exercises, stretching, and shuttle/bounding running. Reducing abrasions and lacerations involve wearing low friction clothing, gloves, and prophylactic covering of skin areas prone to abrasions/lacerations with specific protective materials. Reducing blister likelihood involves use of antiperspirants without emollients, specialized sock systems, and covering areas prone to blisters with paper tape. Reducing infections from microorganism can be accomplished by protective covering open wounds, rinsing off mud post-race, and avoiding ingestion of food and drink contaminated with mud. These chiefly evidence-based injury and illness prevention measures should minimize the risks associated with OCEs.
The reliability and validity of the PLAYfun and PLAYbasic tools were assessed. The PLAYfun, PLAYbasic, Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA) obstacle course, and Physical Activity ...Questionnaire for Children (PAQ-C) were administered to children (aged 8-14 years) in two remote Canadian communities. Inter-rater reliability of the PLAYfun and PLAYbasic were good-to-excellent for average measures and moderate-to-good for single measures. The PLAYfun subscales were poor-to-excellent for average and single measures. The internal consistency of the PLAYfun tool was good, PLAYbasic was poor-to-good, and the individual subscales were poor-to-good. Convergent validity was moderate-to-large for the PLAY tools and CAMSA obstacle course, and small-to-moderate for the PLAY tools and the PAQ-C, and small-to-moderate for the PLAY tools and age. For children and youth in northern Canada, the motor competence aspect of physical literacy is most accurately assessed using the complete PLAYfun tool and two raters.
This study determined the influence of years spent working in custody on fitness measured by a state-specific testing battery (Work Sample Test Battery; WSTB) in deputy sheriffs. Retrospective ...analysis was conducted on one patrol school class (51 males, 13 females) divided into three groups depending on time spent working in custody: DS24 (<24 months;
= 20); DS2547 (25⁻47 months;
= 23); and DS48+ (≥48 months;
= 21). These groups were compared to a recruit class (REC; 219 males, 34 females) in the WSTB, which comprised five tasks completed for time: 99-yard (90.53-m) obstacle course (99OC); 165-pound (75-kg) dummy drag; six-foot (1.83-m) chain link fence (CLF) and solid wall (SW) climb; and 500-yard (457.2-m) run (500R). A univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (controlling for sex and age) with Bonferroni post hoc determined significant between-group differences. DS48+ were slower in the 99OC compared to the REC (
= 0.007) and performed the CLF and SW slower than all groups (
≤ 0.012). DS24, DS2547, and DS48+ were all slower than REC in the 500R (
≤ 0.002). Physical training should be implemented to maintain fitness and job-specific task performance in deputy sheriffs working custody, especially considering the sedentary nature of this work.
Abstract
Introduction
The Special Forces Assessment and Selection (SFAS) is an extremely physically and mentally demanding 19- to 20-day course designed to determine whether Soldiers are qualified to ...enter the Special Forces Qualification Course. As a first step to understand medical problems during SFAS, this study examined injuries, illnesses, and activities associated with injuries during the course.
Materials and Methods
Medical events during the SFAS course were compiled from Sick Call Trackers (a log of medical encounters maintained by medical personnel in the field) and Chronology of Medical Care (Standard Form 600). Descriptive statistics were calculated for each injury and illness and injuries were compiled by the activities performed when the injuries occurred.
Results
Of the 800 Soldiers who volunteered for the study, 38% (n = 307/800) and 12% (n = 97/800) experienced one or more injuries and/or illnesses, respectively. The most common injuries were blisters and abrasions/lacerations with incidences of 20% (n = 158/800) and 13% (104/800), respectively. The most common illnesses were respiratory infections, other infections, contact dermatitis, and allergies with incidences of 7% (n = 57/800), 2% (n = 14/800), 2% (n = 14/800), and 2% (n = 13/800), respectively. Among all injuries recorded (n = 573), the most common were blisters (46%), abrasions/lacerations (24%), pain (not otherwise specified) (19%), tendonitis (3%), and sprains (3%). Among all illnesses recorded (n = 133), the most common were respiratory infections (56%), allergies (11%), contact dermatitis (11%), and other infections (11%). Most injuries were experienced during land navigation (44%), team events (20%), and foot marching (11%), running (6%), and the obstacle course (5%), but when the estimated time involved for each event was considered, activities with the highest injury rates were the obstacle course (65 injuries/hr), running (27 injuries/hr), the Combat Readiness Assessment (activity involving combat-related tasks) (20 injuries/hr), and foot marching (16 injuries/hr).
Conclusion
The major limitations of this investigation were: 1) the low specificity with regard to many of the diagnoses/complaints; and 2) the fact that the medical problems reported here are only those seen by medical care providers and are likely an underestimate of the total morbidity in the SFAS course. Soldiers often self-treat and some may be reluctant to see medical personnel because of how it might affect their rating in the course. Nonetheless, this investigation alerts medical personnel to the injuries and illnesses to expect, and public health workers and leadership with activities to target for injury prevention measures during SFAS.
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between morphological characteristics (body composition and anthropometric data) and gross motor coordination in preschool children (42 boys ...and 40 girls, aged 6.22 ± 0.43 years, height: 1.22 ± 0.48 m, body mass index: 20.22 ± 2.34 kg/m2, muscle mass: 11.50 ± 2.08 kg, and fat mass: 5.43 ± 4.02 kg). Motor coordination was determined by the obstacle course backward test (OCB), while body composition was measured using the bioelectrical impedance (BIA) method. Sex differences in the OCB test and body morphology were determined by an independent t-test. Multiple linear regression was used to examine whether morphological characteristics could predict OCB scores. Boys were significantly taller, with greater muscle mass, protein mass, and total body water compared to girls (t = 2.01–3.73, p < 0.05). Inversely, mineral mass was greater in girls than in boys (t = 2.98, p = 0.01). No significant sex differences were observed in the results obtained for the OCB test (t = 0.74, p = 0.46). All morphological variables showed trivial-to-weak (r = 0.01–0.15) associations with the OCB results, without reaching statistical significance (p ≤ 0.16). The model of predictor variables did not have a statistically significant effect on the OCB scores in boys and girls (R2 = 0.09, p = 0.91 and R2 = 0.012, p = 0.92, respectively). These results indicate that sex dimorphism in body composition is present at an early age before puberty, while morphological characteristics have a negligible influence on motor coordination in 6-year-old children.
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