The effects of 6 weeks training on the physical fitness of female recruits to the British army

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of British army recruit training on the physical fitness and strength of female recruits. A total of 73 females (aged 17-23 years) of a single intake of Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) recruits were tested at the beginning and end of their 6-week recruit training programme at the WRAC training centre, Guildford. The battery of tests comprised the maximal cycle time for a standard NATO test as an indirect method of determination of maximal oxygen intake (VO2 max) using a cycle ergometer; maximal isometric hand grip strength (Max Grip); maximal isometric 38 cm upright pull strength (Max 38) and maximal incremental dynamic lift to 152 cm (IDL 152). In addition, body-weight and the sum of biceps, triceps, suprailiac and subscapular skinfold thicknesses were measured in order to assess alterations in fat-free mass and percentage of body fat (BF). The recruits responded to training with significant increases in mean VO2 max from 45.7 ml kg-1 min-1 (SD = 5.2) to 46.7 ml kg-1 min-1 (SD = 4.4) or 2.2% (p < .05), mean Max Grip from 263.1 N (SD = 52.2) to 304.9 N (SD = 54.0) or 15.9% (p < 0.001) and mean IDL 152 from 328.0 N (SD = 78.1) to 361.2 N (SD = 74.6) or 10.1% (p < 0.001). There was a significant increase in the mean body-weight of 0.61 kg or 1% (p < 0.05), mean fat-free mass of 1.05 kg or 2.4% (p < 0.001), and a significant reduction in the mean % BF by 3.3% (p < 0.001). It is concluded that female recruit training in the British army is effective in terms of increasing aerobic fitness, physical strength and fat-free mass and in reducing the percentage of body fat.

Resistance training and the enhancement of the gains in material-handling ability and physical fitness of British Army recruits during basic training

“…The importance of FFM in lifting ability has been highlighted previously by Rayson (1996) who reported correlations between FFM and performance in a maximal box-lifting task (almost identical to the BL145 used in the present study) of r = 0.86, 0.64 and 0.62 for pooled, male and female data, respectively. Brock and Legg (1997) reported a 2.4% increase in FFM in female recruits, which compares to a surprisingly large 8.2% increase for females in response to the modi®ed BT in the present study. Knapik et al (1980) and Patton et al (1980) also 275 Resistance training gains in British Army recruits observed large increases in FFM of 5.9 and 6.1% for females after 7 weeks of BT in the US Army.…”

“…The fact that both training programmes produced either marginal reductions or no change in isometric force production is probably the main conclusion to be drawn. Other data from British Army BT are those from Brock and Legg (1997) for females who also displayed no signi®cant change in isometric lift strength (UP), but did improve in incremental dynamic lift strength to a height of 1.52 m by 10.1% (compared with 15.5% when lifting to a height of 1.45 m in the present study). Legg and Duggan (1996) employed diVerent measures of muscular strength, and the ®ndings generally showed no consistent trend of increased strength that could be separated from physical maturation.…”

“…Earlier work on British Army BT by Vogel et al (1978), Legg and Duggan (1996) and Brock and Legg (1997) also showed improvements in aerobic ®tness. The value of +9.6% observed in the present study is relatively high, and most in agreement with the data (collected in 1972) from Vogel et al (1978).…”

“…Legg and Duggan (1996) reported mixed changes in measures of muscular strength and endurance for three diVerent types of male recruits during BT of 3, 5 or 11 months' duration in 1987. Brock and Legg (1997) reported small but statistically signi®cant improvements in ®tness of female recruits undergoing 6 weeks of BT in 1987. Legg and Duggan (1996) suggested that it may be advantageou s to place greater emphasis on progressive resistance training or lifting training during BT, as many military trades require material handling (MH) of heavy loads (Rayson 1998).…”

Incidence of Injury and Physical Performance Adaptations During Military Training

“…It is well known that basic training affects a variety of physiologic parameters like body mass index (BMI), skin folds, aerobic capacity, and muscular endurance. [7][8][9][10] Some studies have also measured changes in functional capacity during basic training 9,11 ; however, at present, it is not known whether the current military training program results in any enhancement in measures of functional capacity like intermittent endurance capacity and maximal jump performance. It also has not been fully elucidated to what extent development of overuse injuries is dependent on the initial physical fitness level of the individual.…”