The Impact of Non-Mandated Physical Training on Physiological Measures and Performance in Army Officers

The purpose of this study was to observe the physiological changes in body composition and fitness assessments in US Army Officers after 5 months of non-mandated exercise. Twenty two captains stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia volunteered to participate (age; 26.9£1.2 years, height; 1.76+0.6m, and weight; 83.1+11.1kg). Eleven participants remained in active units with mandated training (MT) while 11 participants were in positions where training was not mandated (NMT). Anthropometrics, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, anaerobic power, and muscular strength were measured in both groups before and after the intervention period (1812 weeks). At pre-intervention, MT and NMT were not different in body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, anaerobic power, or muscular strength (P\u3e0.05). Post-intervention, there were no significant time x group interactions observed in anthropometrics, body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, anaerobic power, and muscular strength between groups (P\u3e0.05). However, a main effect of groups was attained in body fat, VO2peak, and peak power (