Army Training at High Intensity Study

Summary

Although soldiers must be ready to respond to occupational and war theatre demands at a moment's notice, there is an epidemic of overweight and obesity and a need for improved fitness and health in the military. Using a cluster randomized clinical trial we propose to test the effectiveness of a High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) exercise intervention to improve the body composition and fitness of active duty military personnel. The effectiveness of the HIFT intervention will be compared to usual Army Physical Readiness Training. Main outcomes will include changes in body composition and traditional fitness measures, a test of combat-preparation, and measures of cardiovascular health risk for both groups.

Conditions

• Obesity

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

High-Intensity Functional Training

Constantly varied functional movements performed at a high intensity and incorporating monostructural (aerobic), gymnastics (body weight) and/or weightlifting movements. CrossFit is a good model of HIFT for the military because of its emphasis on general physical preparedness and functional movements and because it is open source and programming is available at no cost (see www.crossfit.com). Sixty-minute HIFT sessions will include a warm-up, workout and cool down. Workouts will average 15 minutes in duration (range = 5-45 minutes) for a total of 50-100 minutes per week.

BEHAVIORAL

Army Physical Readiness Training

Usual physical training program for Army personnel from directive FM 7-22, using the Reset phase. Exercises will address strength, endurance, and mobility training. APRT is designed to be completed in 60-90 minute sessions, 5 days/week for a total dose of 300-450 minutes per week.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

  collaborator OTHER

• Kansas State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Katie M Heinrich, PhD · Kansas State University

• Walker SC Poston, PhD, MPH · National Develop and Research Institutes

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

64 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-10-28

Primary Completion

2019-06-28

Completion

2020-06-28

Countries

• United States

Study Locations