Advisory Committee Chair
Cody E Morris
Advisory Committee Members
Gordon Fisher
Eric Plaisance
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2021
Degree Name by School
Master of Science (MS) School of Education
Abstract
To see the effectiveness of a twelve-week exercise training program in relation to ACFT performance over time. With changes to the Army’s standard physical test, the Army believes the ACFT will better prepare soldiers for combat. Physical Training is required and compared to the ACFT done by Army ROTC cadets for training purposes. Participants of this study were a part of the UAB ROTC program ranging from freshman to seniors. Height, weight, and body composition measurements were taken. Over twelve weeks, participants trained three days per week (MWF) at the ROTC building and executed the training protocol for one hour each day. There were four training stations (Strength, Conditioning, Core, and Endurance) and four groups (Red, White, Black, and Blue) of participants. Each station was conducted for fifteen minutes to account for the hour-long session. At the end of twelve weeks, cadets repeated the ACFT. Each was scored individually and as a composite. There was a significant difference in the 2MR score between time points (p=0.016). There was a significant difference between time point 1 and 3 (p=0.02). However, no significant differences existed between time point 1 and 2 (p=0.773) and time point 2 and 3 (p=0.266). No other variables displayed a significant change across the three time points: body mass (p=0.741), body fat percentage (p=0.238), MDL (p=0.061), SPT (p=0.308), HRP (p=0.126), SDC (p=0.132), LTK/PLK (p=0.583). The findings of this study suggest overall ineffectiveness of the Army ROTC exercise iii training program to improve ACFT performance over the span of an academic year with the exception of a steady improvement in aerobic endurance with the 2MR. Though the training program consisted of exercises tailored specifically to the ACFT, results showed that it did not necessarily improve the overall score.
Recommended Citation
Cannon, Simone, "Evaluation of the Effectiveness of ROTC Army Cadet Exercise Training for the Army Combat Fitness Test" (2021). All ETDs from UAB. 616.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/616