Army Training at High Intensity Study
Condition: Obesity
MeSH terms: Obesity
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Although soldiers must be ready to respond to occupational and war theatre demands at a
      moment's notice, there is an epidemic of overweight and obesity and a need for improved
      fitness and health in the military. Using a cluster randomized clinical trial we propose to
      test the effectiveness of a High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) exercise intervention
      to improve the body composition and fitness of active duty military personnel. The
      effectiveness of the HIFT intervention will be compared to usual Army Physical Readiness
      Training. Main outcomes will include changes in body composition and traditional fitness
      measures, a test of combat-preparation, and measures of cardiovascular health risk for both
      groups.
    

Detailed description: 
      We will examine the effectiveness of a high-intensity functional training (HIFT) exercise
      intervention compared to Army Physical Readiness Training (APRT) and their related dietary
      instructions in improving body composition (percent body fat [%BF], fat mass, lean body mass,
      weight) and domains of Total Force Fitness (TFF; Army Physical Fitness Test [APFT], aerobic
      capacity, power, strength, and combat preparation and readiness) in a 6-month
      cluster-randomized clinical trial (CRCT) with 2 (+/- 1) month follow-up. We also will examine
      the effects of both exercise programs on cardiovascular disease (CVD) health risk (resting
      heart rate, blood pressure). We will conduct assessments at baseline, 6-months, and 2-month
      follow-up (+/- 1 month). We also will assess training time/volume, injuries, adverse events,
      adherence, and participant satisfaction and account for demographic and psychosocial
      variables.

      In our CRCT, we aim to recruit and randomize approximately 150 soldiers (n=15 clusters-staff
      groups/platoons-per condition with at least 5 soldiers nested within each cluster) comparing
      the effectiveness of HIFT versus usual care (APRT) on:

      Specific Aim 1 - changes in body composition including: percent body fat (%BF), fat mass, fat
      free mass, and body weight.

      We hypothesize that soldiers in the HIFT condition will be significantly more likely to
      decrease a. %BF and b. fat mass, and to increase c. fat free mass than those in the APRT
      condition; we expect both groups to d. maintain body weight.

      Specific Aim 2 - changes in fitness (e.g., APFT, power, strength), while accounting for
      actual physical training time in each condition.

      We hypothesize that soldiers in the HIFT condition will have significantly greater
      improvement in their performance on fitness tests when compared to those in APRT, despite
      significantly less total training time. These outcomes will help determine if
      functional-oriented training can result in better fitness and combat preparedness for Army
      personnel.
    

Intervention name(s): High-Intensity Functional Training; Army Physical Readiness Training
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Constantly varied functional movements performed at a high intensity and incorporating monostructural (aerobic), gymnastics (body weight) and/or weightlifting movements. CrossFit is a good model of HIFT for the military because of its emphasis on general physical preparedness and functional movements and because it is open source and programming is available at no cost (see www.crossfit.com). Sixty-minute HIFT sessions will include a warm-up, workout and cool down. Workouts will average 15 minutes in duration (range = 5-45 minutes) for a total of 50-100 minutes per week.; Usual physical training program for Army personnel from directive FM 7-22, using the Reset phase. Exercises will address strength, endurance, and mobility training. APRT is designed to be completed in 60-90 minute sessions, 5 days/week for a total dose of 300-450 minutes per week.
Other intervention name(s): CrossFit; Army PT
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Body Composition; Military; High-Intensity Functional Training; Army Physical Fitness; CrossFit