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ACFT For Dummies (2020)

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    Downloaded from StudyXY.com Ww + StudyXY == as . Za \ Rr ' BE \ Study L Anything This ContentHas been Posted On StudyXY.com as supplementary learning material. StudyXY does not endrose any university, college or publisher. Allmaterials posted are under the liability of the contribuors. | 6) www.studyxy.com

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    S by Angie Papple Johnston dummies

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    ACFT For Dummies® Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, ww. wi ley .com Copyright © 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any ‘means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www .wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH ‘A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. SOME OF THE EXERCISES AND DIETARY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED IN THIS ‘WORK MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS, AND READERS SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PHYSICIAN BEFORE COMMENCING ANY EXERCISE OR DIETARY PROGRAM. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https: //hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies. Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to ‘media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http: //booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit wuw.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2020949612 ISBN 978-1-119-70428-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-70429- 4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-70431-7 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10987654321 StudyXY

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    Contents at a Glance Introduction... Part 1: Getting to Know the ACFT...............................5 cHapTer 1: Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Readiness ........7 chapter 2: Getting an Overview of the ACFT.................................17 chapter 3: Understanding How the Army Administers the ACFT ...............41 cHapTEr 4: Breaking Down ACFT Instructions and Scoring. ....................51 Part 2: Training for the ACFT on Your Own Time............81 cHapTers: Putting the (Mandatory) “Fun” in Functional Fitness. ................83 cuapers: Stacking Up the Army's Physical Fitness Components. ..............99 chapter 7: Examining P3, PRT, H2F, and the ACFT ...........................113 cuapTer 8: Training to Standard onthe ACFT ...............................151 cuapTer 9: Stretching for Recovery and Peak Performance...................205 cHaPTER 10: Focusing on the ACFT for Females. ..............................249 cHAPTER 11: Surveying ACFT Training for Seasoned Soldiers ...................259 chapter 12: Dealing with Injuries. .................... Ll... 269 Part 3: Structure, Form, and Functional Fitness ...........279 chapter 13: Wising Up to Workout Wisdom .................................281 chapter 14: Understanding Your Body's Muscular Structure. ..................287 cHAPTER 15: Strength Training to Get Army Strong. ...........................293 cHAPTER 16: Pumping Some Heart-Smart Aerobic Exercise ....................305 cHapTER 17: Trying Functional Fitness Concepts for Your Core .................315 cHAPTER 18: Personalizing Your Workout Routine ............................335 Part 4: Nutrition and the “Whole Soldier” Concept. .......347 CHAPTER 19: Surveying Army Standards for Height and Weight.................349 cHAPTER 20: Becoming a Lean, Green, Fighting Machine: Principles of Nutrition. .........oooeiii 0.357 cHapTER 21: Identifying the Building Blocks of Nutrition.......................365 chapter 22: Drink Water: It's More Than a Basic Training Chant................379 cHapTER 23: Making Sure Everything You Take In Counts ......................385 cHapTER 24: Eating Right ..................................................403

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    Part5:ThePartof Tens........................................409 cHAPTER 25: Ten Surefire Ways to Fail the ACFT ..............................411 cHapTER 26: Ten Tips for Maxing Out Your Scoreonthe ACFT..................415 cHapTER 27: Ten Ways to Change up Your Exercise Routine....................419 cHAPTER 28: Ten Ways to Cut Calories without Starving. .......................423 Appendix: Fill-in-the-Blanks Workout Calendar............427 Index.......................429 + StudyXY

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    INTRODUCTION .........ooiii 1 About This Book. .......oooviiiiii 1 Foolish Assumptions... 2 Icons Used in This Book ..........ooiiiiiiiiiiiiiii enn 2 BeyondtheBook...........................illlll3 Where to Go fromHere ..................ooiiiiii 3 PART 1: GETTING TO KNOW THEACFT........................5 carrer 1: Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Readiness ....................................7 Saying Goodbye tothe Old APFT.................................8 Sculpting a Fitand Lethal Force. .................................8 Picking Up Performance Basics. ................................10 Range of motion and flexibility ..............................1 Balance... Explosive power. ............ co... 12 Muscular strength and endurance ...........................12 Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular endurance ................13 Anaerobic exercise for short-term muscle strength ............14 PRT: Love it or Hate it, It's Hereto Stay ..........................14 Understanding How the ACFT Fits into Your Army Role ............15 Making thegrade..........................................15 Training on your own time — and helping your team...........16 The Army Performance Triad. ...............................16 cuarrer2: Getting an Overview of the ACFT .....................17 Reading Up on the Army's Resources and Requirements forthe ACFT ........oiiiii een 18 Checking out Army regs and training resources. ...............18 Surveying site and equipment requirements ..................18 Getting used to gender- and age-neutral scoring requirements. ..............oiiiiiiiiiiiiiieee.. 219 Diagnostic ACFTs versus record ACFTs: Pinning down test frequency... 19 Breaking Down the Six Events and Their Scoring. .................20 The Preparation Drill.......................................22 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift .............................23 Standing Power Throw .....................................25 Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension ......................28

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    Sprint-Drag-Carry ...............ccooiiiiiiiiiiiaea.....30 LegTuck .....ooi ee... 33 Two-MileRun........oooiiii 0136 The Recovery Drill .........................................37 Biking, Rowing, or Swimming Your Way through the Alternate Events. ...............ooiiiiiiiiiiiiii eae. 37 Bike... ......38 ROW La. 38 auarerz: Understanding How the Army Administers the ACFT..............................4 Counting Down the Minutes ...................................42 Doing Your Homework before the Test. .........................43 Having the Right Tools for the Job: Required Equipment ...........43 Looking at Helpful Test-Day Details .............................46 Equipmentonthelanes...................................47 Soldier testing order... 47 Card-carrying ACFT-takers: Scorecards .......................47 Stylin" and profilin: What you can't use during the ACFT.........48 Making the Grade to Score the ACFT ............................48 Level IACFT graders .................coiiiiiieno.......48 Level IACFT graders. ..................ooooiiiiiiaon..... 49 Level Ill ACFT grader-instructors.............................49 carers: Breaking Down ACFT Instructions and Scoring ....51 Following the Rules: The Official ACFT Instructions ................52 Lifting with your legs: 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift INStrUCtioNS. .. oot L52 Trying MDL tips and techniques .............................53 Watching for trouble spotsonthe MDL.......................53 Exercising explosive power: Standing Power Throw instructions. .............o iii .55 Surveying SPT tips and techniques...........................55 Watching for trouble spotsonthe SPT........................56 Letting it go: Hand Release Push-up - Arm Extension INSTrUCHONS. Lo. ooe e156 Harping on HRP tips and techniques .........................57 Watching for trouble spotsonthe HRP .......................59 Showing your combat moves: Sprint-Drag-Carry instructions... .59 Sorting out SDC tips and techniques .........................60 Watching for trouble spotsonthe SDC.......................61 Considering core strength: Leg Tuck instructions ..............62 Looking for LTK tips and techniques .........................63 V1 ACFT For Dummies

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    Watching for trouble spotsonthe LTK. .......................64 Welcoming an old friend: Two-Mile Run instructions ...........65 Marking 2MR tips and techniques ...........................65 Watching for trouble spotsonthe 2MR.......................66 Addressing the ACFT's Scoring Scale ............................66 Perusing Physical Demand Categories. .......................66 Weighing your scoreonthescale............................74 Tallying up your score on the new ACFT scorecard .............75 Accounting for the ACFTMOD. .................................77 Sailing through the 5,000-Meter Row. ........................77 Braking for the 15,000-Meter Bike ...........................77 Soaking up the 1,000-Meter Swim ...........................78 Taking Another Shot: Army Policy on ACFT Failures. ...............78 PART 2: TRAINING FOR THE ACFT ON YOUR OWNTIME ................ 8 carrer: Putting the (Mandatory) “Fun” in Functional Fitness..................................................83 Mastering the Science of Movement Training. ....................83 Distinguishing muscle training from movement training ........84 Playing with planar movement ..............................85 Sectioning off the4Q model ................................86 Finding Functional Fitness Basics ...............................88 Corestrength......................oil 90 Legstrength............. 9 Backstrength................. ll 94 Cheststrength........................................95 Bicep, tricep, forearm, and shoulder strength .................95 cuarrers: Stacking Up the Army's Physical Fitness Components... 99 Tracing the Origins of PRT and the ACFT........................100 Counting on the Army's Ten Fitness Components................101 Muscular strength. ......................... 000 Muscular endurance... 102 POWer oo. 102 Speed... 102 AGI. «eee. 103 Aerobicendurance ...............ooiiiiiiiieee. 103 Balance ..................ocien 00103 Flexibility. ................... L104 Coordination ............ooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaee.......104 Reactiontime...............cooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaie...... 104 BR + study xy |

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    Getting Heart Smart for Aerobic Exercise .......................105 Calculating your resting heartrate..........................105 Finding your target heart rate for aerobic exercise ............106 Fitting FITT Principles into Your Workout. .......................108 Frequency..................oiiiiiiiie......108 Intensity ........... oii... 108 JL LT [0] TIME... eee 110 Powering Your Way through Life with Anaerobic Exercise .........110 curren: Examining P3, PRT, H2F, and the ACFT..............113 Cornering the Army's Performance Triad .......................113 Sleep «oo 114 Activity... 114 Nutrition ..............o 115 Reading Up on PRT Documentation............................115 Matching PRT Drillsand ACFT Events. ..........................116 Maximizing PRT for the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift...........118 Thesumosquat................coeviiiiieeienae.......118 Alternate staggered squatjump............................119 Forward lunge ..................... lll 120 Stepping up PRT for the Standing Power Throw. .................122 Powerjump ...... oie 122 Overhead push-press.....................................123 Tuckjump. o.oo e125 Practicing PRT for the Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension. ....126 Supine chestpress .................oooiiiiL. 127 8-countTpush-up.....................iiial..... 128 Inclinebench ......................o 0130 Surveying PRT for the Sprint-Drag-Carry ........................132 Straight-leg deadlift. .....................................132 Bentover row. ..............ooiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiia......133 300-meter shuttlerun..................ooooiiiill. 135 Looking at PRT for the Leg Tuck ...............................135 Bent-legraise.............. o.oo... 136 Legtuckand twist .................... oll. 137 Alternating grip pull-up. .............. oll 139 Tackling PRT for the Two-MileRun.............................141 Sprint intervals (30:60s and 60:120s) ........................141 Releaserun...............coooiiiiiiii 14 Hillrepeats...............ooooiiiii 142 Taking a Closer Look at PRTand Its Drills .......................143 Preparation Drill .................. 00044 4fortheCore..........ooviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiain.... 145 Conditioning Drills 1,2,and3 ..............................145 viii ~~ ACFT For Dummies

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    Climbing Drillstand 2 ....................................147 The Guerilla Drill .............oooii 147 The Hip Stability Drill. . o.oo. 147 The Push-Up and Sit-Up Drill ...............................147 The Shoulder Stability Drill.................................147 Running, Endurance and Mobility Activities: Military Movement Drills Tand2 ..................cooiiinon... 148 The Strength Training Circuit. ..............................148 Recovery Drill .............. o.oo 149 Using PRT to Train for the ACFT ...............................150 cuarrers: Training to Standard onthe ACFT ...................151 Getting the Basics Down Before You Exercise ...................152 Back and Legs: Maxing the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift Score. ..154 Sumo squats. . o.oo... ieee... 155 Staggered squats. .................oiiiiiiiiiiieie...... 156 LUNGES. ovine 157 Conventional deadlifts ..........................o 00157 Bent over rows. ...........oovvieiiiiiiieiiiaeineen.....160 Gripwork LL... 162 Explosive Power: Training for the Standing Power Throw .........162 Power jumps .......... oi 162 Overhead push presses ...................................163 Tuckjumps............. a 166 Romanian deadlifts.....................coolL L167 Kettlebell swings .........................................168 Medicine ball power jumps ................................169 Standing front shoulder raises withbands ...................170 Practice Makes Perfect: Doing More Hand Release Arm-Extension Push-Ups................................. 07 Supine chestpresses ..................ccoiiiieee..L 71 Incline benchpresses.....................................172 Chestflys.............o 174 Renegade row push-ups...................................175 Medicine Ball push-ups. ...................................177 Training for the Sprint-Drag-Carry to Boost Your Battlefield Skills... 178 Shuttleruns ...........ooii 178 Straight-leg deadlifts......................................179 Zerchercarries. ...........cooiiiiiiiiiiii ieee... 180 Planks .........ooiii 18 Glute-hamstring raises. ...................................182 Grip, Hips, Shoulders, and Elbows: Training for the Leg Tuck ......184 Bent-legraises..................... oo... 184 Thelegtuckand twist. ....................................184 BR + study xy |

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    Mixed-grippull-ups................... ol... 186 Ropeclimbs ................. ll... 187 Isometrichangs........................... ol... 189 Side pillarholds ........................ oo... 190 The contralateral dead bug ................................190 Is,¥s,and Ts. o.oo 192 Kettlebell pull-throughs ...................................193 Internal, external, and elevated shoulder rotations. ...........194 When My Granny Was 91: How to Improve Your Two-Mile RUNTIME. ooo 197 Sprint interval training ....................................198 Hillrepeats......................oiiiiiio.....198 Walking lunge... 199 Barbellsquats ....................... oo l...0.200 Calfraises............oooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie.. 0202 Glute bridges .......................oiil... 0.203 carters: Stretching for Recovery and Peak Performance... 205 Bouncing Back Stronger through Recovery. .....................206 Getting back on your feet after training with active recovery. ...206 Discovering delayed-onset muscle soreness .................207 Building in recovery days and taking care of injuries. ..........208 Avoiding overtraining syndrome. ...........................209 Stretching Out Your Workout Recovery. ........................209 Attending to Army Stretches ..................... L021 Overheadarmpull ......................................21 Rearlunge............... oii 212 Extend and flex... 213 Thighstretch ............. 0.213 Single-legover.......................iel.l215 Loosening up Your Legsand Hips. .............................216 Standing hamstring stretch ................................216 Piriformis stretch... 217 Frogstretch ................. 217 Butterfly stretch. ................... 0219 Lunging hip flexor stretch .................................220 Lying quad stretch. ........................ 220 Calfstretch...........oooii 220 Examining Essential Arm Stretches ............................222 Triceps stretch ............... 222 Standing bicep stretch ....................................224 Seated bicep stretch ..............................l.....224 Wrist extension and flexion................................225 Forearm flexor stretch .......................ooiiiil.....226 X ACFT For Dummies

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    Beefing up Your Neck, Shoulder, and Back Stretches .............227 Seated shoulder squeeze..................................227 Upper back stretch .......................................228 Knee to chest stretch .....................oill..0229 Seated back rotation... 230 Side-lying thoracic rotation ................................231 Upper trap stretch. ................... ol ....0232 Cross-body shoulder stretch...............................233 Priming the Pecs: Chest Stretches .............................234 Lying cheststretch........................................234 Elbow-to-elbow grip ...............................0.0235 Bent-armwallstretch........................ol.0236 Stretching out Your Six-Pack ..................................237 Sphinx... 237 Child's pose againstawall .................................238 Doing Dynamic Stretches for Multiple Muscles ..................239 Lunge with spinal twist. ...................................239 90/90S oie. 280 Sidebends .............oi 280 Extended child's pose with sphinx stretch....................242 Standing figure 4......................l.lL.0244 Quadruped rotation .................. o.oo... 245 Dynamic shoulder stretch from child's pose..................246 L051 7 co 22 cuarrer 10: Focusing on the ACFT for Females...................249 Factoring Female Physiology into Common ACFT Challenges ......250 Cycling your way through workouts. ........................251 Introducing the female athlete triad. ........................252 Balancing Pregnancy and Physical Training .....................253 Profiling pregnant soldiers.................................253 Perusing the P3Tprogram.................................255 Your (Kid's) Mom Wears Combat Boots: Working Out Postpartum. .....oivtiii iia eens. 2256 cuarrer 11: SUrveying ACFT Training for Seasoned Soldiers... 259 Safety First: Taking Workout Precautions .......................260 Kicking around Exercises for Knee Issues .......................260 Straight legraises ........................................260 Hamstring curls with dumbbells. ...........................262 Wallsquats..........ooooiiiii ie. 1262 SEEP-UPS «oot eee... 263 Side legraises.............. oo... 264 Avoiding Certain Exercises for Back Issues ......................265 BR + study xy |

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    cuarrer 12 Dealing with Injuries... 269 An Ounce of Prevention: Avoiding Injury with P3.................269 Sleep and injury prevention. ...............................270 Actively preventing injury. .................. oll 271 Fueling up for injury prevention ............................272 Covering Common Injuries across the Army.....................273 Rub Some Dirt on It? Knowing When to Go to Sick Call. ...........275 When RICE Isn't a Carb: Treating Injuries at Home. ...............276 Restasahomeremedy ...................................277 Putting an injury onice................. lll 277 Keeping your injury under (compression) wraps ..............277 Elevating an injured extremity. .............................278 PART 3: STRUCTURE, FORM, AND FUNCTIONAL FITNESS... 279 carrer 13: Wising Up to Workout Wisdom.......................281 Following Eight Habits of Highly Successful Exercisers ............282 Make health alifestyle ....................................282 Have funwithit....................o il L..282 Look at what you're doing as training, not exercising ..........282 Get back on track as soonasyoucan .......................283 Ask for help whenyouneedit..............................283 Keepitsimple............................................283 Don't use weight loss as an indicator of your workout's effectiveness... 283 Mix endurance and strength training. .......................284 Optimizing Your Breathing for Your Activity .....................284 Breathing while running. ..................................285 Breathing during strength training..........................285 Breathingtorelax ........................................285 Resting between Workouts ...................................286 cuarrer 1s: Understanding Your Body's Muscular Structure. ..287 Putting Your Skeletal Muscles ontheMap ......................288 Getting to know your skeletal muscles. ......................288 Adding up antagonistic pairs...............................289 Zeroing in on the Cardiovascular System .......................290 cuarrer 1s: Strength Training to Get Army Strong..............293 Bulking up Your Weight-Training Vocab. ........................293 Following Safety Principles....................................296 Testing Your Strength. .......................................298 Checking out upper-body strength with push-ups.............298 Crunching the numbers on abdominal strength ..............299 Muscling your way through a leg strength test. ...............300 Xil ACFT For Dummies

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    Switching It up with Periodization. .............................301 Appreciating the Real Worth of Free Weights and Weight Machines. ...........................................302 Looking at Group Strength Training. ...........................303 cuarter 16: PUMPING Some Heart-Smart Aerobic Exercise ....305 Understanding the Cardiovascular System's Role in Exercise ......305 Starting with resting heartrate.............................307 Linking heart efficiency and exercise ........................308 Identifying why the Army measures cardiorespiratory fitness. . .308 Finding Your VO, Max. ........ooviiiiiiiniiiiaiinaeennn....309 Astrand Treadmill Test ...................ooiiiiinn. nn ...309 2.4-km Cooper RunTest.............ccovvvinennn........312 Multistage Beep Test... ..................ooiviiniin.......312 QueuinguptheCardio.......................oilllll 0312 Hitting your target and max heartrates .....................313 Going beyond minimum cardio recommendations............314 euarrer 17: Trying Functional Fitness Concepts forYourCore..........................................315 Introducing Your Core Muscles. ...............................315 Strengthening Your Core with Beginner Core Exercises ...........318 HID IFES eee ee eee... 318 Crunches... 20.320 Bicycle kicks ............. 32 The Superman... .....322 Pulling Your Own Weight During Core Training ..................323 Scissor kicks... 324 Sideplanks.....................oiiiel....325 Trying Out the Army (Core) Ball — No ASUs Necessary ...........326 Abrolls o.oo. 326 Stability ball knee raises. ..................................327 Stability ball hip thrusts ...................................328 Perusing Core Exercises for Pregnancy Profiles..................329 Cat/COW. eevee ieee ieee 20.330 Modified side plank. ......................................330 Sidelunges................ lll 330 Pregnancy corestretch....................................332 Stretching and Toning Your Core with Pilates and Yoga ...........333 Pilates... 100333 YOga. ee... 334 BR | study |

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    cuarter 13: Personalizing Your Workout Routine ...............335 Building Your Own Workout Routine...........................335 Identifying your personal goals and resources. ...............336 Weight a minute: Figuring out your reps and intensity .........337 Supersetting................. oie... 338 Making time tostretch ....................................338 Marking training days on your calendar .....................338 Scheduling recovery days into your routine ..................339 Charting your progress. ..............oooeveenaeen........340 Sneaking in Daytime Workouts You Can Do Anywhere. ...........340 Chairdips ..........oooii 3 Calfraises...........oooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 0342 Single-legsquats ......................iiel.....343 Bicep Presses. .........ovuiiiiiiiiiii eee... 344 Seated hipthrusts........................................344 PART 4: NUTRITION AND THE “WHOLE SOLDIER" CONCEPT... 347 carter 19: SUrVeying Army Standards for Height andWeight.................................349 Taking Stock of Army Height and Weight Requirements. ..........350 Going into the Army Body Composition Program ................353 Distinguishing BMI from Body Fat Measurements. ...............354 cuarter 20. Becoming a Lean, Green, Fighting Machine: Principles of Nutrition.................................357 Dishing on Hunger and Appetite...............................358 Distinguishing hunger from appetite........................358 Hobnobbing with hunger hormones ........................359 Eating Pre- and Post-Workout.................................360 Fueling up before workingout .............................360 Getting the right foods after your workout. ..................362 Making ACFT-Smart Dietary Changes. ..........................363 Promoting fitness by avoiding diets.........................363 Incorporating healthier eating habits (without dieting). ........363 cuaerer 21: Identifying the Building Blocks of Nutrition .......365 Choosing the Right Food Groups ..............................365 Setting the table with MyPlate. .............................366 Keeping less healthy optionsincheck .......................366 Taking Vitamins fora Spin....................................367 Getting vitamins the old-fashioned way .....................368 Gauging DRIs and ULs for vitamins. .........................369 Considering special conditions for vitamins ..................371 XIV ACFT For Dummies

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    Minerals: Mining for Your Body's Essentials .....................371 Eating your major minerals ................................372 Moderating minerals: DRIsand ULs.........................374 Recognizing who needs more minerals......................374 ChewingonCarbs.................... LL. 374 Breaking down simple and complex carbs and dietary fiber... .375 Putting your carbs towork foryou..........................375 Addressing Amino Acids and Antioxidants ......................376 cuarrer 22: Drink Water: It’s More Than a Basic Training Chant .............................................379 Understanding How Your Body Uses Water .....................379 Water Is a Necessity, Not a Crutch: Avoiding Dehydration... .......380 Recognizing the warning signs of dehydration. ...............381 Looking at the effects of dehydration .......................382 Eyeing Electrolytes. ..........................................383 cuarrer 2: Making Sure Everything You Take In Counts ......385 Understanding Metabolic Equivalents ..........................386 Examining How Dietary Changes Can and Can't Help You Drop Weight... i... 387 Safely slashing calories to lose weight. ......................389 Ignoring the crowd following popular diets. ..................390 Getting the Skinny on Cholesterol and Unhealthy Fats. ...........391 Cholesterol .............ooiiiiiiiiiie ee. .391 Areyouagoodfatorabadfat? ............................392 Taking a Drive through FastFood..............................393 Nutritional composition of fast foods .......................393 Eating smart while diningout ..............................395 Considering Coffee, Energy Drinks, and Alcohol. .................396 The best part of waking up (and the rest of the day): Savoring coffee’s benefits. .................................396 Loading up on caffeine through energy drinks. ...............397 Thinking before you drink: Alcohols effects on your system... .397 Cracking Down on Supplements...............................399 Protein pow(d)er: Scrutinizing protein supplements...........399 Shunning pre-workout supplements ........................400 earrerze: Eating Right... 403 Dishing up Basic Dietary Guidelines for Soldiers .................404 Helping Yourself to Healthy Eating Patterns.....................405 Putting the brakes on sodium, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars... 406 Playing with portion control. ...............................407 Treat yo' self: Giving yourself a pass to indulge sometimes. . .. .408 Table of Bl + studyxy

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    PART 5: THEPARTOFTENS....................................409 cuarter 25: Ten Surefire Ways to Fail the ACFT..................411 Choosing Notto Work Out. ...................ooooo a. 410 Failing to Know How to Do Each Event..........................412 Falling off the Fitness Wagon before the Test....................412 Practicing for the Wrong Events ...............................412 Drinking Alcohol the Night before the Test. .....................413 ForgettingtoHydrate........................................413 ForgettingtoFuelUp ........................................413 Missing the Mark on Height and Weight ........................414 Taking Pre-Workout or Other Potentially Unsafe Supplements BeforetheTest .............coooiiiiiiiiiiiin nn... 414 Committing Safety Violations or Faults .........................414 cuarter 26: TEN Tips for Maxing Out Your Score on the ACFT...............................................45 Putting in Extra Effort and Committing to Getting a 600. ..........415 Training AsYouTest...............ooiiiiiiiiienen.......416 Doing Cardio and Strength Training Leading Up to the Test .......416 Getting Hard-Core with Your Core .............................416 Practicing at Least One Event Every Day ........................417 Tracking Your Progress. ................ooiviiniiiin.... L417 Using High-Quality Fuel ...................................... 47 Hydrating before and during the ACFT .........................417 Getting Enough Sleep beforethe Test. .........................418 Using All the Info You Have to Your Advantage ..................418 cuarter 27: Ten Ways to Change up Your Exercise Routine ...419 Using (Or Ditching) the Buddy System ..........................419 Mixing up Your Personal Speed ...............................420 Getting Creative with Exercises................................420 Playing Mood Music ..................coooiiio... 420 Going Backward OnceinaWhile ..............................420 Switching Locations... 421 Dialing up the Intensity. ................... co... 421 Trying Group Fitness... 421 Downloadingan App............cooiiiiiiii A210 Playing Games... 422 cuarter 28: Ten Ways to Cut Calories without Starving........423 Don't Drink Your Calories. ..............ooviiniiiiiiin.......423 Fill Your Water Reserves Before You Eat ........................424 Switch to Lowfat Versions of Your Favorite Foods ................424 XVl ACFT For Dummies

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    Don'tBuyJunk Food ................ coo. 424 CookatHome ..........cooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaa.. 424 Lighten up on the Condiments ................................425 Set the Table with Smaller Plates ..............................425 Try Low-Cal Appetizers at Home. ..............................425 Never Eat out of the Container................................425 Don't Force Yourself to Clean Your Plate........................426 APPENDIX: FILL-IN-THE-BLANKS WORKOUT CALENDAR... 427 INDEX... 429 Table of Conte Study

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    Introduction he Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is a hot topic in military circles right now, and if you're reading this book, you probably want to do your best on this make-or-break assessment. Sure, physical fitness is the cornerstone of combat readiness, but the Army’s kept the same old physical training regimen for more than four decades. If it ain't broke, why fix it? The problem is that the old test — the Army Physical Fitness Test, or APFT — was broken. It wasn’t a good gauge of a soldier’s overall fitness. How much can you really measure with push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run? Not much. Enter the ACFT, the Army’s new and improved assessment that looks at a soldier’s functional fitness level. The days of calling three events a test are over, and so are the days of gender- and age-specific scoring. Now, the Army has a completely neutral test that every soldier must pass. Performance is divided into three Physi- cal Demand Categories based on military occupational specialty, or MOS: Moder- ate, Significant, and Heavy. You have to pass the ACFT. If you don’t, you may need to start looking for a new job — and that’s the last thing you want to do, whether you’re working toward retirement or you're just ready to complete your first contract. ACFT For Dummies is the resource you need to improve your physical fitness, train for the ACFT, and make good choices between 1130 and 1300. I explain each test event in detail, discuss the tests rules, show you exercises you can use to improve your performance on each event, and explain how to deal with injuries. I even give you guidance on maintaining a healthy diet. This book also contains the answers to all your burning ACFT questions, such as 3 What exercises should | do to prepare for each event? 3 Is PRT really going to help me perform well on the ACFT? Introd ~ StudyXY

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    3 How healthy are popular workouts, and will they help me pass the ACFT? 3 How important is recovery? 3 What happens if I'm on a profile? 3 Are there special exercises females should focus on? What about seasoned soldiers? 3 Are special diets worth the time and energy they require? 3 How can clean eating help me pass the test? A final note about the ACFT: Its scoring is considered gender-neutral. As of this writing, the Army officially recognizes two genders — male and female — so when it says the test is gender-neutral, it’s indicating that the scoring doesn’t discriminate between biological males and biological females. When I moved this book from my head to paper, I made a few assumptions about you. (Yes, I know what happens when you assume.) Mostly, I've taken a few things for granted about who you are and why you picked up this book: 3 You're either in the U.S. Army or you're about to join. 3 You understand the Army's basic physical fitness regimen, but you're not necessarily familiar with gym jargon or many exercises outside what you do for PT every morning. 3 You want to do your best on the ACFT, or you're struggling with certain events that you can't pass as of right now. 3 You want to continue your career in the Army without being involuntarily separated. 3 You're ready, willing, and able to do what it takes to improve your physical fitness level. Throughout this book, you find icons that help you use the material in this book. Here's a rundown of what they mean: 2 ACFT For Dummies oN StudyXY

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    This icon alerts you to helpful hints regarding the ACFT. Tips can help you save time and avoid frustration. Tp ® This icon reminds you of important information you should read carefully. REMEMBER This icon flags actions that can cause injury or illness or points out mistakes you may make while you're preparing for or taking the ACFT. Often, this icon accom- panies common mistakes or misconceptions people have about the ACFT. WARNING This icon points out information that is interesting, enlightening, or in-depth but that isn’t necessary for you to read. TECHNICAL STUFF This icon points out specific examples designed to help you prep for a record ACFT. EXAMPLE In addition to the material you're reading right now, this product also comes with a free, access-anywhere Cheat Sheet. No, it isn’t something you can tape to the inside of your PT belt to help you perform better on the ACFT. Instead, this Cheat Sheet gives you quick pointers about what you need to know before taking the ACFT. It explains the events and exercises you can perform when you're short on time and covers basic things you should avoid when you're training. You can also find tips and techniques to max out your performance on each event. To get this Cheat Sheet, simply go to www. dummies .com and search for “ACFT For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box. But wait! There’s more! This book also comes with some helpful online videos that cover the exercises I explain in the book. Check them out at www. dummies. com/go/ acftfd. ‘You don’t have to read this book from cover to cover to perform well on the ACFT. I suggest that you begin with Chapters 1 and 2 to pick up the basics, especially if you haven't yet taken a diagnostic or record ACFT. That way, you can get a feel for how Introd I~ StudyXY

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    the test is organized and which events you need to pour your blood, sweat, and tears into. This plan of attack helps you set up logical and effective goals to max- imize your efforts with the time you have left to prepare. When you know your weak spots, you can dig into Chapters 8 and 9, which explain exercises and stretches you can focus on for peak performance. If you're strug- gling with a certain event, flip directly to that event’s section and get to work. You may want to skip sections you don’t need (as long as you keep training the way you have been). For example, if you can run two miles in 12 minutes but you couldn’t do a leg tuck to save your life, you probably don’t need to learn much about sprint intervals and hill repeats. You need loaded isometric hangs and con- tralateral dead bugs. If you're battling the tape measure each time you take a physical fitness test, have a peek at Part 4 of this book. I give you the rundown on hitting the drive-through, eating your veggies, and pounding energy drinks (and how they all impact your physical performance). Not sure where to start? Grab your last bag of chips (at least until after the test), kick back, and start at the beginning. 4 ACFT For Dummies

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    Getting to Know the ACFT

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    Take a look at the Army's physical fitness requirements and how they've evolved over the past 250 years. Test out the science behind the Army Combat Fitness Test and discover when and how the military evaluates physical performance. Explore each ACFT event in detail and uncover how the Army scores soldiers. + Studyxy

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    IN THIS CHAPTER » Ushering the old APFT out and the ACFT in » Flexing your range of motion on the new test » Accepting the necessity of PRT and H2F » Discovering how the ACFT impacts your career ° ° Army Physical Fitness: y y ® Combat Readiness he United States Army needs high-speed, low-drag soldiers manning its ranks, and until 2020, it measured physical fitness by using the Army Physical Fitness Test, or APFT. But change is inevitable in the Army, and the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is now the standard by which all soldiers, male and female, are judged. Your ACFT score can determine whether you qualify for continued service in the military, and, like the APFT, it's administered at the unit level. So why the change? The Army recognized the need to measure overall fitness rather than a soldier’s ability to do push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run. Although those exercises are good for measuring chest strength, arm strength, and cardiovascular endurance, they’re not necessarily indicators of how well a soldier can perform on the battle- field. (And don’t get your hopes up. That two-mile run didn’t go anywhere. It’s the last event on the ACFT.) CHAPTER 1 Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Read + Studyxy

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    The ACFT uses six events to measure a soldier’s functional fitness. Each event is linked to common warfighting tasks, such as carrying other soldiers out of harm’s way and climbing out of sticky situations. The ACFT standards are outlined in a “living document,” which means they can (and most likely will) change as the Army identifies new challenges and comes up with better solutions. Saying Goodbye to the Old APFT Fitness training has been on the Army’s radar for years — but not from the very beginning. Seven decades after General Friedrich Von Steuben’s Blue Book laid out the drill and ceremony the Army uses today, West Point implemented the first physical fitness program for its cadets. The program included gymnastics, calis- thenics, swimming, and fencing. Six years later, cadets were assessed for their performance on a 15-foot wall climb, a 5-foot horse vault, a 10-foot ditch leap, an 8-minute mile run (or an 18-minute two-mile run), a 4.5-mile walk that a cadet had to complete in an hour, and a 3-mile ruck with 20 pounds of gear, arms, and equipment in under an hour. The Army scrapped the whole physical training (PT) program in 1861 when the Civil War started, but in 1885, the Army hired a new Master of the Sword, Lt. Col. Herman John Koehler. Koehler’s Manual of Calisthenic Exercises became the first Army-wide physical training manual. In 1920, the Army re-implemented its test- ing requirement. Soldiers had to successfully perform a 14-second 100-yard sprint, an 8-foot wall climb, a 12-foot running jump, and a 30-yard grenade throw as well as complete an obstacle course. The test continued to evolve with the publication of Field Manual 21-20 in 1941. It’s the same FM in use today, but the events (and the test’s name) changed every few years until 1980, when the APFT you know and love became the standard. Now that the creators of the last evolution have retired, the APFT has gone into retirement, too. (No word yet on whether it’s buying a red sports car, though.) Its replacement: the ACFT. Like many past evolutions of Army physical fitness test- ing, the ACFT includes multiple events designed to represent how well you can perform on the battlefield. Sculpting a Fit and Lethal Force The Army knows that military operations have become more complex. You're not riding a horse into battle with your sword drawn. You’re up, they see you, you’re down. You're wearing and carrying 80-plus pounds of gear through rugged 8 PART 1 Getting to Know the ACFT

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    mountain terrain, setting up OE-254s, performing HAZMAT operations in Level A, or emptying truck after truck full of supplies on a remote operating base. Push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run just couldn’t tell the military that you could perform under those rigorous conditions. In fact, all the APFT told the Army was that you could do push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run. The APFT was designed to have 40 percent predictive power for performance in combat. But today, it’s all about functional fitness — and assessments indicate the ACFT has 80 percent predictive power for battlefield performance. Training servicemembers for the ACFT (and requiring the test itself) is the Army’s way of improving soldiers’ physical fitness, reducing preventable injuries, enhancing stamina, and contributing to enhanced unit readiness. The ACFT is required for every soldier. Age and gender don’t matter. Like my drill sergeant at “Relaxin’” Jackson told me, “You're an infantryman first.” That means the Army wants assurance, whether you're an 18-year-old male private or a 55-year-old female four-star, that you have muscular strength and endurance, power, speed, agility, cardiovascular endurance, balance, flexibility, coordination, and high-speed reaction time. Is the ACFT harder to pass for some soldiers than it is for others? Yes. Does that mean you may need to work harder than your battle buddy? Absolutely. But that’s what this book is for. I can’t go to the gym with you, but I can show you what you need to do to meet the Army’s vision: “To deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt, and sustained land dominance by Army forces.” The bottom line is that the Army is a standards-based institution, and those stan- dards are in place to meet the requirements of combat operations. HOW MUCH HOMEWORK DID THE ARMY DO? The Army developed the ACFT over 20 years — it wasn't a fly-by-night decision. After creating physical readiness requirements for all soldiers and conducting a specific study on physical demands, the Army zeroed in on ten components of physical fitness neces- sary for warfighting. The military brass consulted with military fitness leaders from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and the Netherlands, as well as fitness experts from universities and reps from government agencies to put together its latest evolution of physical fitness testing. CHAPTER 1 Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Read ny

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    The ACFT challenges you to complete six events, each designed to test one or more fitness components. You need to prepare for these events to max out your ACFT score; I go into details on the fitness components in the following sections: 3 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift: The 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift (MDL) represents your ability to safely and effectively lift heavy loads from the ground, bound, jump, and land. This event tests how well-conditioned your back and legs are; the better-conditioned those muscles are, the less likely you are to become injured when you have to move long distances under heavy load. Fitness components: Muscular strength, balance, and flexibility 3» Standing Power Throw: The Standing Power Throw (SPT) represents your ability to throw equipment on or over obstacles, lift up your battle buddies, jump over obstacles, and employ progressive levels of force in hand-to-hand combat. It tests how well you can execute quick, explosive movements. Fitness components: Explosive power, balance, range of motion, and flexibility 3 Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension: The Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension (HRP) represents your ability to withstand repetitive and sustained pushing that's often necessary in combat tasks (like when your driver gets the HMMWV stuck in the mud and every vehicle in the convoy is mysteriously missing a tow bar). This modified push-up event tests your chest and core strength. Fitness component: Muscular endurance 3 Sprint-Drag-Carry: The Sprint-Drag-Carry (SDC) represents your ability to accomplish high-intensity combat tasks that last between a few seconds and a few minutes, such as building a hasty fighting position, reacting quickly in a firefight, carrying ammo from one place to another, or extracting a casualty and carrying him or her to safety. The Sprint-Drag-Carry tests your strength, endurance, and anaerobic capacity. Fitness components: Agility, anaerobic endurance, muscular endurance, and muscular strength 3 Leg Tuck: The Leg Tuck (LTK) represents your ability to carry heavy loads, climb over walls and other obstacles, and climb or descend ropes. The strength required for this event can help soldiers avoid back injuries. (Note: Throughout this book, | often refer to this event by its abbreviation, LTK, to help distinguish it from the plain old exercise known as the leg tuck.) Fitness components: Muscular strength and endurance 10 PART 1 Getting to Know the ACFT os Study)

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