SPECIAL PROGRAMS
The day-to-day unit PT program conducted for most soldiers may not be appropriate for all unit members. Some of them may not be able to exercise
at the intensity or duration best suited to their needs.
At least three groups of soldiers may need special PT programs. They are as follows:
• Those who fail the APFT and do not have medical profiles.
• Those who are overweight/overfat according to AR 600-9.
• Those who have either permanent or temporary medical profiles.
Leaders must also give special consideration to soldiers who are age 40 or older and to recent arrivals who cannot meet the standards of their new unit.
Special programs must be tailored to each soldier’s needs, and trained, knowledgeable leaders should develop and conduct them. This training should be conducted with the unit, If this is impossible, it should at least occur at the same time.
There must be a positive approach to all special fitness training. Soldiers who lack enough upper body strength to do a given number of push-ups or enough stamina to pass the 2-mile run should not be ridiculed. Instead, their shortcomings should be assessed and the information used to develop individualized programs to help them remedy their specific shortcomings. A company-sized unit may have as many as 20 soldiers who need special attention. Only smart planning will produce good programs for all of them.
Commanders must counsel soldiers, explaining that special programs are being developed in their best interests. They must make it clear that standards will be enforced. Next, they should coordinate closely with medical personnel to develop programs that fit the capabilities of soldiers with medical limitations. Each soldier should then begin an individualized program based on his needs.
MFTs know how to assess CR endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. They can also develop thorough, tailor-made programs for all of a unit’s special population.

APFT Failures
Although it is not the heart of the Army’s physical fitness program, the APFT is the primary instrument for evaluating the fitness level of each soldier. It is structured to assess the muscular endurance of specific muscle groups and the functional capacity of the CR system.
Soldiers with reasonable levels of overall physical fitness should easily pass the APFT. Those whose fitness levels are substandard will fail. Soldiers who fail the APFT must receive special attention. Leaders should analyze their weaknesses and design programs to overcome them. For example, if the soldier is overweight, nutrition and dietary counseling may be needed along with a special exercise program. DA Pam 350-22 outlines several ways to improve a soldier’s performance on each of the APFT events.
When trying to improve APFT performances, leaders must ensure that soldiers are not overloaded to the point where the fitness training becomes counter-productive. They should use ability groups for their running program and, in addition to a total-body strength-training program, should include exercises designed for push-up and sit-up improvement. When dealing with special populations, two very important principles are overload and recovery. The quality, not just the quantity, of the workout should be emphasized. Two-a-day sessions, unless designed extremely well, can be counterproductive More PT is not always better.

Overweight Soldiers
Designers of weight loss and physical training programs for overweight soldiers should remember this: even though exercise is the key to sensible weight loss, reducing the number of calories consumed is equally important. A combination of both actions is best.
The type of exercise the soldier does affects the amount and nature of the weight loss. Both running and walking burn about 100 calories per mile. One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. Thus, burning one pound of fat through exercise alone requires a great deal of running or walking. On the other hand, weight lost through dieting alone includes the loss of useful muscle tissue. Those who participate in an exercise program that emphasizes the development of strength and muscular endurance, however, can actually increase their muscle mass while losing body fat. These facts help explain why exercise and good dietary practices must be combined.
Unit MFTs can help a soldier determine the specific caloric requirement he needs to safely and successfully lose excess fat. They can devise a sound, individualized plan to arrive at that reduced caloric intake. Likewise, unit MFTs can also develop training programs which will lead to fat loss without the loss of useful muscle tissue.
Generally, overweight soldiers should strive to reduce their fat weight by two pounds per week. When a soldier loses weight, either by diet or exercise or both, a large initial weight loss is not unusual. This may be due to water loss associated with the using up of the body’s carbohydrate stores. Although these losses may be encouraging to the soldier, little of this initial weight loss is due to the loss of fat.
Soldiers should be weighed under similar circumstances and at the same time each day. This helps avoid false measurements due to normal fluctuations in their body weight during the day. As a soldier develops muscular endurance and strength, lean muscle mass generally increases. Because muscle weighs more per unit of volume than fat, caution is advised in assessing his progress. Just because a soldier is not losing weight rapidly does not necessarily mean he is not losing fat. In fact, a good fitness program often results in gaining muscle mass while simultaneously losing fat weight. If there is reasonable doubt, his percentage body of fat should be determined.

Soldiers with Profiles
This manual stresses what soldiers can do while on medical profile rather than what they cannot do.
DOD Directive 1308.1 requires that, “Those personnel identified with medically limiting defects shall be placed in a physical fitness program consistent with their limitations as advised by medical authorities.”
AR 350-15 states, “For individuals with limiting profiles, commanders will develop physical fitness programs in cooperation with health care personnel.”
The Office of the Surgeon General has developed DA Form 3349 to ease the exchange of information between health care personnel and the units. On this form, health care personnel list, along with limitations, those activities that the profiled soldier can do to maintain his fitness level. With this information, the unit should direct profiled soldiers to participate in the activities they can do. (An example of DA Form 3349 is in Appendix B.)
All profiled soldiers should take part in as much of the regular fitness program as they can. Appropriate activities should be substituted to replace those regular activities in which they cannot participate.
Chapter 2 describes some aerobic activities the soldier can do to maintain cardiorespiratory fitness when he cannot run. Chapter 3 shows how to strengthen each body part. Applying this information should allow some strength training to continue even when body parts are injured. The same principle applies to flexibility (Chapter 4).
Medical treatment and rehabilitation should be aimed at restoring the soldier to a suitable level of physical fitness. Such treatment should use appropriate, progressive physical activities with medical or unit supervision.
MFTs can help profiled soldiers by explaining alternative exercises and how to do them safely under the limitations of their profile. MFTs are not, however, trained to diagnose injuries or prescribe rehabilitative exercise programs. This is the domain of qualified medical personnel.
The activity levels of soldiers usually decrease while they are recovering from sickness or injury. As a result, they should pay special attention to their diets to avoid gaining body fat. This guidance becomes more important as soldiers grow older. With medical supervision, proper diet, and the right PT programs, soldiers should be able to overcome their physical profiles and quickly return to their normal routines and fitness levels.

Age as a Factor in Physical Fitness
Soldiers who are age 40 and older represent the Army’s senior leadership. On the battlefield, they must lead other soldiers under conditions of severe stress. To meet this challenge and set a good example, these leaders must maintain and demonstrate a high level of physical fitness. Since their normal duties may be stressful but nonphysical, they must take part regularly in a physical fitness program. The need to be physically fit does not decrease with increased age.
People undergo many changes as they grow older. For example, the amount of blood the heart can pump per beat and per minute decreases during maximal exercise, as does the maximum heart rate. This lowers a person’s physical ability, and performance suffers. Also, the percent of body weight composed of fat generally increases, while total muscle mass decreases. The result is that muscular strength and endurance, CR endurance, and body composition suffer. A decrease in flexibility also occurs.
Men tend to maintain their peak levels of muscular strength and endurance and CR fitness until age 30. After 30 there is a gradual decline throughout their lives. Women tend to reach their peak in physical capability shortly after puberty and then undergo a progressive decline.
Although a decline in performance normally occurs with aging, those who stay physically active do not have the same rate of decline as those who do not. Decreases in muscular strength and endurance, CR endurance, and flexibility occur to a lesser extent in those who regularly train these fitness components.
Soldiers who are fit at age 40 and continue to exercise show a lesser decrease in many of the physiological functions related to fitness than do those who seldom exercise. A trained 60-year-old, for example, may have the same level of CR fitness as a sedentary 20-year-old. In short, regular exercise can help add life to your years and years to your life.
The assessment phase of a program is especially important for those age 40 and over. However, it is not necessary or desirable to develop special fitness programs for these soldiers. Those who have been exercising regularly may continue to exercise at the same level as they did before reaching age 40. A program based on the principles of exercise and the training concepts in this manual will result in a safe, long-term conditioning program for all soldiers. Only those age 40 and over who have not been exercising regularly may need to start their exercise program at a lower level and progress more slowly than younger soldiers. Years of inactivity and possible abuse of the body cannot be corrected in a few weeks or months.
As of 1 January 1989, soldiers reaching age 40 are no longer required to get clearance from a cardiovascular screening program before taking the APFT. Only a medical profile will exempt them from taking the biannual record APFT. They must, however, have periodic physical examinations in accordance with AR 40-501 and NGR 40-501. These include screening for cardiovascular risk factors.

Evaluation
To evaluate their physical fitness and the effectiveness of their physical fitness training programs, all military personnel are tested biannually using the APFT in accordance with AR 350- 15. (Refer to Chapter 14.) However, commanders may evaluate their physical fitness programs more frequently than biannually.

SCORING CATEGORIES
There are two APFT categories of testing for all military personnel Initial Entry Training (IET) and the Army Standard.

IET Standard
The APFT standard for basic training is a minimum of 50 points per event and no less than 150 points overall by the end of basic Graduation requirements for One Station Unit Training require 60 points per event.

Army Standard
All other Army personnel (active and reserve) who are non-IET soldiers must attain the minimum Army standard of at least 60 points per event. To get credit for a record APFT, a medically profiled soldier must, as a minimum, complete the 2-mile run or one of the alternate aerobic events.

SAFETY
Safety is a major consideration when planning and evaluating physical training programs. Commanders must ensure that the programs do not place their soldiers at undue risk of injury or accident. They should address the following items:
•Environmental conditions (heat/ cold/traction).
• Soldiers' levels of conditioning ( low/ high/age/sex).
•Facilities (availability/instruction/ repair).
•Traffic (routes/procedures/formations).
•Emergency procedures (medical/communication/transport).
The objective of physical training in the Army is to enhance soldiers’ abilities to meet the physical demands of war. Any physical training which results in numerous injuries or accidents is detrimental to this goal. As in most training, common sense must prevail. Good, sound physical training should challenge soldiers but should not place them at undue risk nor lead to situations where accidents or injuries are likely to occur.

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