From the virtual 2021 NSCA Coaches Conference, human performance specialists from the O2X Human Performance network discuss the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), including what it entails, how strength coaches can best prepare individuals for it, and the nutritional and mental demands of training for the test.

Soldier Readiness Test Pilot: Overview of Combat Relevant Testing and Embedded Resources on Military Readiness

This article describes the transition from the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), as well as the detailed events that make the ACFT.

The countermovement jump (CMJ) is one of the most used performance assessments in strength and conditioning. Although numerous studies discuss the usability of different metrics in this test, this is often performed within the context of a specific aim. However, to our knowledge, no information currently exists providing practitioners with some over-arching recommendations on which metrics to choose when the purpose of using the test differs. This article discusses how the metrics selected to monitor during CMJ testing may differ when aiming to use it as a proxy for athletic performance, as part of neuromuscular fatigue monitoring, or as part of a test battery for return to performance in injured athletes.

Neil Baumgartner, PhD, speaks at the 2013 TSAC Conference on the science and rationale behind the Air Force Fitness Test.

The VO2max test is the most effective measurement of the body’s ability to deliver and use oxygen for producing energy that can be used by the muscles. VO2max (i.e., maximum aerobic power) simply stands for the maximal volume of oxygen that can be used.

This article briefly describes how individuals can have the same training program, but have large fluctuations in the adaptation responses due to genetic and life style factors.

CC2023