Body Composition and Physical Performance Applications for the Military Services (1990) / Chapter Skim
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7 The Relationship of Body Size and Composition to the Performance of Physically Demanding Military Tasks
7 The Relationship of Body Size and Composition to the Performance of Physically Demanding Military Tasks
Pages 105-118
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From page 105... ...
. Typical military lifting tasks include loading artillery shells, lifting supplies onto and removing them from trucks, moving construction components, and assembling or disassembling heavy equipment.
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From page 106... ...
The Army physical fitness test, which is based on age-specific standards for push-ups, sit-ups and 2-mile run time is not an entry screening test and is not administered until after the start of basic training. A lifting test on a stack-type weight machine is administered to potential recruits to help advise them whether they might have difficulty performing physically demanding jobs, but it is never used to exclude anyone from a military occupational specialty.
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From page 107... ...
Increasing either body weight or the vertical travel of the center of mass raises the power requirement. Also, with all else being equal, a more rapid stride frequencywhich results in a shorter stride time in which the work of raising the body is performed increases power output.
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From page 108... ...
Despite the fact that the 2-mile run is part of the semiannual physical fitness test that soldiers must take, there is little evidence that unloaded running ability relates to military performance. Running more than a mile without a load is a task rarely demanded of a soldier.
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From page 109... ...
Their argument was based on the way the various body dimensions change as body size changes. Table 7-4 shows how some selected dimensions change with height if body proportions remain constant.
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From page 110... ...
It must be made clear however, that oxygen uptake expressed in the standard ml x kg- x minuted is closely related to distance running performance. Correlation of 0.91 for men and 0.89 for women between running performance and rate of oxygen uptake expressed relative to body mass enabled Mello et al.
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From page 111... ...
Association of Lean Body Mass with Military Performance Table 7-7 shows correlations of load carriage performance with LBM and percent BE. It can be seen that fatness is associated with slower load carriage.
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From page 112... ...
BARMAN AND PETER N FRYKMAN TABLE 7-7 Correlations of Load Carriage Performance with Lean Body Mass and Percent Body Fat in Male Subjects Load LBM Study Distance (kg)
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From page 113... ...
In addition to being positively associated with load carriage and lifting, LBM is related to other military task performances. Table 7-10 shows that LBM tended to be positively associated with the ability to push, carry and TABLE 7-9 Correlations of Percent Body Fat with Lean Body Mass Study Men Women *
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From page 114... ...
The performances of common physically demanding military tasks, including load carriage, lifting, pushing, and exerting torque, are more closely related to LBM than to percent BF. There is even a weak trend for body fatness to improve performance in lifting, pushing, and torque exertion.
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From page 115... ...
The correla TABLE 7-10 Correlations of Performance with Percent Body Fat and Lean Body Mass (LBM) after Advanced Individual Training Percent Fat Lean Body Mass Task Men Women Men Women r Weight pushed .20 .17 .52 .37 Torque .18 .14 .35 .30 Push work .09 .10 .23 .26 Carry work -.03 .17 .27 .02 r = correlation coefficient; positive correlations mean: higher percent body fat ~ better performance; higher lean body mass ~ better performance.
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From page 116... ...
also show little relationship between the physical fitness test scores and load carriage ability. There are obvious reasons, in addition to the differences between loaded and unloaded running abilities already discussed, why the PT tests do not effectively predict military task performance.
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From page 117... ...
Tough standards could be applied to combat units and physically demanding occupational specialties. More lenient standards for non-physically demanding jobs could help avoid excluding fatter or weaker individuals who might have skills and abilities of potential benefit to the Army.
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From page 118... ...
1987. The effects of various physical training programs on short duration, high intensity load bearing performance and the Army physical fitness test.
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