FORT LEE, Va. (Oct. 23, 2016) -- Make no bones (or muscles) about it, the new Army Combat Fitness Test is the real deal – six exercises, versus its predecessor’s three, which are designed to push Soldiers to their physical limits and provide a more accurate indicator of how they’ll perform in combat.
As such, the new test’s level of difficulty has generated clarion calls to refrain from taking it too lightly and to prepare with proper training far in advance. One came last year from then Army Chief of Staff and now Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who said, “Do. Not. Wait. This test is hard.”
Randi Park, the new supervisory health educator at the Army Wellness Center-Fort Lee, shares the general’s sense of urgency, but urges Soldiers to proceed with common sense and caution in order to ensure their preparations are effective and pose fewer risks for injury. A “good first step,” she noted, is to take advantage of AWC’s health assessment reviews, body composition testing and other services designed to lay the groundwork for the “best version of yourself,” as she would put it.
“Our main mission right now is Soldier readiness; specifically ACFT preparation and musculoskeletal injuries being experienced by people who are trying to prep for the test,” said Park, referencing local data relating to overexertion injuries.
The Army’s leadership has emphasized to Soldiers that a proven and effective preparation program is necessary to prepare for the test. Park said that can start with a visit to the AWC to gain some insight on how one might respond to an elevated exercise program leading up to the ACFT.
“Fitness testing and exercise prescriptions are two of the most important services we offer,” she said. “We have you get on a treadmill to determine your VO2 (maximum rate of oxygen consumption) and heart rate, and your muscular strength and flexibility. From that, we can determine weaknesses you may have and then provide you with an exercise program in order to improve on those.”
The AWC also boasts a “BodPod” composition test – a specialized machine that can determine body fat percentage.
“It’s a better indicator of overall health compared to merely recording height and weight because you can be a healthy weight, but that doesn’t mean you’re not at risk for excessive body fat.”
Next on Park’s list of services is metabolic testing. This measures the resting metabolic rate, or how many calories the body is burning without movement. “From that, we can determine how many calories you need to consume to maintain or get up or down to a goal weight based on how much you’re burning,” she said. Nutritional counseling is included if requested by the customer.
Health assessment reviews round out the services AWC offers to Soldiers embarking on an ACFT preparation program. In relatable terms, it’s a “health meet-and-greet” that helps AWC form partnerships with clients to determine goals and plans of attack, the program supervisor explained.
Park – who has worked within AWCs at Fort Sill, Okla., and Fort Stewart, Ga., prior to this assignment – now heads a staff of two others to include a certified fitness trainer. The team is completely aligned with the emerging data concerning the ACFT pilot program and diagnostic testing taking place in fiscal 2020.
“We’re fully tracking the information that is being pushed out, and we’re trying to stay on top so we can maintain relevancy in the event of any changes and trends,” she said.
AWCs, which operate under the Army Medical Command, can play a pivotal role in ACFT preparation, but they also figure prominently in any fitness program, providing "standardized primary prevention programs and services designed to build and sustain good health and improve the overall healthy lifestyles of Soldiers, Family Members, Retirees, and Department of the Army Civilians," according to its website.
AWCs are located on many installations around the world. For more information, visit https://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/healthyliving/al/Pages/ArmyWellnessCenters.aspx.