Investigation of the effects of military training programs on the maximum consumed oxygen and physical work capacity of the students at a military training university

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Faculty of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Health, Relief and Treatment, Deputy of Health, Air Force Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Abstract

Background and Aim: Declining physical fitness has posed a significant challenge for the armed forces to employ physically fit military personnel around the world. Therefore, knowledge of optimizing the performance and physical fitness of individuals through physical exercise is critical. The present study was performed to investigate the effects of an 8-weeks basic training program on the aerobic and physical capacities of the military forces.
Methods: The present research has been performed based on the before and after trial method with a statistical population of 39 healthy male students of the military officers’ university. According to the Brus protocol, aerobic and physical capacities were evaluated at the beginning and end of the training course. The military training program included eight weeks of physical activity with a frequency of five days a week, and each session lasted 120 minutes. The paired t-test was utilized for data analysis in SPSS software.
Results: There was a significant decrease between the average weight and body mass index before and after the training program. Also, there was a significant difference (P<0.001) between maximum aerobic capacity (56.81±5.09 and 71.65±1.76 ml/kg/min), consumed oxygen (4.08±0.50 and 4.95±0.59 L/min), maximum physical capacity (20.40±2.51 and 24.79±2.98 kcal/min), and duration of activity (15.35±1.27 and 20.04±0.86 min) before and after the training program.
Conclusion: The present study results showed that the 8-weeks of basic military training (BMT) program improved the aerobic capacity, physical capacity and reduced the cardiovascular risk factors in comparison with the before-training period. Also, this training program is the most crucial factor in expanding the physical capacity of individuals before employing them to perform the desired tasks.

Keywords


1. 1. Kyröläinen H, Pihlainen K, Vaara JP, Ojanen T, Santtila MJJoS, Sport Mi. Optimising training adaptations and performance in military environment. 2018;21(11):1131-8. 2. Groeller H, Burley S, Orchard P, Sampson JA, Billing DC, Linnane DJTJoS, et al. How effective is initial military-specific training in the development of physical performance of soldiers? 2015;29:S158-S62. 3. M Kermani AK. Power survey and Check indicators of physiological fitness in Islamic Republic Army officers. Iran's Ibn Sina / Health Administration Air Force. 2013;15(1):28-36. 4. Jones BH, Cowan DN, Tomlinson JP, Robinson JR, Polly DW, Frykman PN. Epidemiology of injuries associated with physical training among young men in the army. DTIC Document, 1993. 5. Jones BH, Knapik JJ. Physical training and exercise-related injuries. Sports Medicine. 1999;27(2):111-25. 6. Rosendal L, Langberg H, Skov-Jensen A, Kjær M. Incidence of injury and physical performance adaptations during military training. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2003;13(3):157-63. 7. Pourtaghi GH, Hekmat M, Rafati Shaldehi H, Salem M. Hospital incidents' prevalence rate and its effective agents in the staff of a military hospital. Journal of Military Medicine. 2011;13(1):53-7. 8. J Peak SG, M Waller ,R Laughhin , T Cosgrov ,G Wittert The health and cist implication of high body mass hndex in Australian defence force peronnel. Bmc Public Health 2012;12(451):1-18. 9. JJ Knapik SD, KG Hauret , S Canada ,R Marin , BH Jones Ambulatory physical activity during United States Army basic combat training. Sports Med 2007(28):106-15. 10. McGregor A. Fitness standards in airline staff. Occupational Medicine. 2003;53(1):5-9. 11. Mououdi M, Choobineh A. Ergonomics in practice: selected ergonomics topics. Tehran: Nashr-e-Markaz. 1999:81-94. 12. Tuxworth W, Shahnawaz H. The design and evaluation of a step test for the rapid prediction of physical work capacity in an unsophisticated industrial work force. Ergonomics. 1977;20(2):181-91. 13. F Valipor AK, H Asilian , GH Portaghi , H Mohebi , N Joneidi ,A Momayezi , H Alavi. Measuring physical work capacity Iranian Revolutionary Guards infantry troops In normal weather conditions and very hot and humid laboratory. Journal of Military Medicine. 2007;9(1):67-72. 14. Akimoto T, Kumai Y, Akama T, Hayashi E, Murakami H, Soma R, et al. Effects of 12 months of exercise training on salivary secretory IgA levels in elderly subjects. British journal of sports medicine. 2003;37(1):76-9. 15. Wilmore JH, Costill DL, Gleim GW. Physiology of Sport and Exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 1995;27(5):792. 16. Rivera-Brown AM, Frontera WR. Principles of exercise physiology: responses to acute exercise and long-term adaptations to training. PM&R. 2012;4(11):797-804. 17. Vaezemusavi M. The comprehensive model for physical readiness in armed forces in Iran. Human Sciences. 2002;44:67-74. 18. Braga AL, Santo de Oliveira R, de Barros Neto TL, Moreti SR, Carneiro RC, Pereira LAA. Impact of acute air pollution exposure on military firemen cardiorespiratory performance. Epidemiology. 2004;15(4):S27-S8. 19. Katayama K, Shimoda M, Maeda J, Takemiya T. Endurance exercise training increases peripheral vascular response in human fingers. The Japanese journal of physiology. 1998;48(5):365-71. 20. Gubata ME, Urban N, Cowan DN, Niebuhr DW. A prospective study of physical fitness, obesity, and the subsequent risk of mental disorders among healthy young adults in army training. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2013;75(1):43-8. 21. Dyrstad SM, Soltvedt R, Hallen J. Effect Of Military Training On Maximal Oxygen Uptake In Norwegian Infantry Soldiers: 473 Board# 64 3: 30 PM‐5: 00 PM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2005;37(5):S87-S8. 22. Elias A, Pandian M, Wang L, Suarez E, James N, Wilson A. Leptin and IGF-I levels in unconditioned male volunteers after short-term exercise. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2000;25(5):453-61. 23. Wakefield BR, Glaister M. Influence of work-interval intensity and duration on time spent at a high percentage of VO2max during intermittent supramaximal exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2009;23(9):2548-54. 24. Ferdowsi MH, Saiiari A, Valizadeh R, Gholamie A. The effect of eight week aerobic exercise on airway trachea indexes (FEV1, FVC, FEV1. FVC & FEF25-75) and vo2max level in overweighed male students of Ahvaz Payam Noor University. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 2011;15:2848-52. 25. Astorino TA, Allen RP, Roberson DW, Jurancich M. Effect of high-intensity interval training on cardiovascular function, VO2max, and muscular force. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 2012;26(1):138-45. 26. S Ghroubi WE, L Abid , M Abdenadher Effects of a low-intensity dynamic-resistance training protocol using an isokinetic dynamometer on muscular strength and aerobic capacity after coronary artery bypass grafting. 2013:56: 85-101. 27. Åstrand P-O. Textbook of work physiology: physiological bases of exercise: Human Kinetics; 2003. 28. Cataneo DC, Cataneo AJM. Accuracy of the stair climbing test using maximal oxygen uptake as the gold standard. Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia. 2007;33(2):128-33. 29. KEMPER HC, Van Aalst R, Leegwater A, Maas S, Knibbe J. The physical and physiological workload of refuse collectors. Ergonomics. 1990;33(12):1471-86. 30. Perroni F, Cignitti L, Cortis C, Capranica L. Physical fitness profile of professional Italian firefighters: Differences among age groups. Applied ergonomics. 2014;45(3):456-61. 31. Brown MJ. Fitness and its affects on the military. DTIC Document, 2005. 32. McArdle WD, Katch FI, Katch VL. Exercise physiology: nutrition, energy, and human performance: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2010. 33. Knapik JJ. The fitness training unit in US Army basic combat training: physical fitness, training outcomes, and injuries. Military medicine. 2001;166(4):356. 34. Nicholson P. Medical examinations for pilots. Postgraduate medical journal. 1995;71(841):649-52. 35. Carter T. Fitness standards for the transport industries. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2001;94(10):534-5. 36. Bilzon JL, Scarpello EG, Bilzon E, Allsopp AJ. Generic task‐related occupational requirements for Royal Naval personnel. Occupational Medicine. 2002;52(8):503-10. 37. Mitchell SD, Eide R, Olsen CH, Stephens MB. Body composition and physical fitness in a cohort of US military medical students. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2008;21(2):165-7. 38. Teixeira CS, Pereira ÉF. Physical fitness, age and nutritional status of military personnel. Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia. 2010;94(4):438-43. 39. Burley SD, Drain JR, Sampson JA, Groeller HJJos, sport mi. Positive, limited and negative responders: the variability in physical fitness adaptation to basic military training. 2018;21(11):1168-72. 40. Chai LY, Ong KC, Kee A, Earnest A, Lim FC, Wong JC. A prospective cohort study on the impact of a modified Basic Military Training (mBMT) programme based on pre-enlistment fitness stratification amongst Asian military enlistees. Annals Academy of Medicine Singapore. 2009;38(10):862. 41. Bruce RA, Kusumi F, Hosmer D. Maximal oxygen intake and nomographic assessment of functional aerobic impairment in cardiovascular disease. American heart journal. 1973;85(4):546-62. 42. Dehn MM, Bruce RA. Longitudinal variations in maximal oxygen intake with age and activity. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1972;33(6):805-7. 43. Fielding RA, Frontera WR, Hughes VA, Fisher EC, Evans W. The reproducibility of the Bruce protocol exercise test for the determination of aerobic capacity in older women. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 1997;29(8):1109-13. 44. Motalebi M. Assessment of work ability in workers employed in machining industry and provide appropriate scientific methods for selecting workers for physical work[dissertation]: MS.TarbyatModares University; 1994. 45. Asghar Khaledan EF, DK Mathews Exercise Physiology2000. 46. Tabata I, Nishimura K, Kouzaki M, Hirai Y, Ogita F, Miyachi M, et al. Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 1996;28(10):1327-30. 47. Bartlett CG, Stankorb SJMm. Physical performance and attrition among US Air Force trainees participating in the basic military training fueling initiative. 2017;182(1-2):e1603-e9. 48. Santtila M, Häkkinen K, Nindl BC, Kyröläinen HJTJoS, Research C. Cardiovascular and neuromuscular performance responses induced by 8 weeks of basic training followed by 8 weeks of specialized military training. 2012;26(3):745-51. 49. Campos LC, Campos FA, Bezerra TA, Pellegrinotti ÍL. Effects of 12 weeks of physical training on body composition and physical fitness in military recruits. International journal of exercise science. 2017;10(4):560.