Suchergebnisse

Auf der Basis eines berufsspezifischen Anforderungsprofiles wurde ein Trainingskonzept für Military Fitness Training entwickelt und auf die Effekte zur Verbesserung der körperlichen Leistungsfähigkeit der Soldaten untersucht. Zur standardisierten und uneingeschränkten Integration des Trainings in Grundbetrieb und Einsatz wurde dazu ergänzend eine containerbasierte, mobile Trainingsstation entwickelt, an der sich die identifizierten Bewegungsmuster adäquat trainieren lassen. Eine 12-wöchige Interventionsphase (Zwei-Gruppen Pretest-Posttest-Design, n = 60) konnte für die Teilnahme am Military Fitness Training im Vergleich zum Dienstsport relevante und größere Effekte für die Verbesserung der berufsspezifischen Leistungsfähigkeit zeigen. Sowohl die Nutzung der mobilen Trainingsstation als auch die Akzeptanz dieser Trainingsform hat sich in der Truppe bewährt.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease. With MetS prevalence rates increasing in the U.S. population, prevention efforts have largely focused on diet and exercise interventions. Before retirement, military service members have met fitness requirements for at least 20 years, and have lower MetS rates compared to age-matched U.S. population controls (23.4% vs. 39.0%), which suggests a protective effect of the lifestyle associated with military service. However, MetS rates in military retirees have not been previously reported, so it is unknown whether this protective effect extends beyond military service. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of MetS and individual diagnostic criteria in a population of recent U.S. Air Force (USAF) retirees. METHODS: We obtained institutional review board approval for all participating sites at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center. From December 2011 to May 2013, USAF retirees within 8 years of their date of retirement were recruited at five USAF bases. Consenting subjects underwent examination and laboratory studies to assess the five diagnostic criteria measures for MetS. We used binary logistic regression to examine the relationship between various factors and the presence of MetS. RESULTS: The study population (n = 381) was primarily male (81.9%), enlisted (71.1%) and had a mean age of 48.2 years. When applying the American Heart Association MetS diagnostic criteria to this population, the MetS prevalence was 37.2%. When using alternative diagnostic criteria found in other published studies that did not include the use of cholesterol medications, the MetS prevalence was 33.6%. Per American Heart Association criteria, the prevalence of each of the MetS diagnostic criteria was as follows: central obesity, 39.8%; elevated fasting glucose, 32.4%; high blood pressure, 56.8%; low-high-density lipoproteins cholesterol, 33.3%; and elevated triglycerides, 42.7%. MetS was more common among males (odds ratio [OR] = 4.05; confidence interval [CI] = 1.94, 8.48) and enlisted (OR = 2.23; CI = 1.24, 4.01). It was also strongly associated with a history of participating in the Air Force Weight Management Program (OR = 2.82; CI = 1.41, 5.63) and increased weight since retirement (OR = 4.00; CI = 1.84, 8.70). However, the study did not find an association between the presence of MetS and time since retirement or self-reported diet and exercise changes since retirement. CONCLUSIONS: The MetS prevalence among recent USAF retirees represents a shift from age-matched active duty rates toward higher rates described in the overall U.S. POPULATION: This finding suggests the protective health effects of fitness standards may be reduced shortly after retirement. This is true despite activities such as screening before and during military service and exposure to USAF health promotion efforts and fitness standards throughout a period of active duty service lasting at least 20 years. In general, military members should be counseled that on retirement, efforts to maintain a healthy weight have continued benefit and should not be forgotten. The risk of MetS after retirement is particularly increased for those identified as being overweight during their active duty careers. Interventions that prevent and reduce unhealthy weight gain may be an appropriate investment of resources and should be studied further.

Exploring the Army's physical and mental selection process, my study intends to compare the procedures followed in France and in the United Kingdom at a time when a massive part of the male population's military fitness had to be assessed. In both countries access to the battlefield was conditioned to the favorable opinion of medical experts, as scientific examination resulted in the enrolment or exclusion of the would-be conscript from the military. According to a nomenclature of physical defects, disabilities and sicknesses, the medical examination supposedly circumscribed the weakest part of the population and prevented it to enlist. The process was intended to be scientific and as such a series of tests and statistical indexes were set to properly measure and evaluate suitability for military service. A long and high intensity conflict, the Great War, put this scientificity to the test. My PhD thesis aims to analyze the production of a scholarly discourse on military fitness, its sometime chaotic practical application in wartime as well as the public's reaction to what was rapidly perceived as a careless application of scientific selection methods endangering the nation. Indeed, both in France and Britain, the irruption of a "scandal of the unfits" into the public sphere caused the outbreak of an important epistemological debate resulting in a political crisis. Measures were therefore taken to address the criticisms. My dissertation will show how states used medical legitimacy to ease public's unrest and restore support of the population to the war effort. I intend to demonstrate that military fitness, far from being exclusively a medical concept, is a social and administrative construct mirroring its political context of production. ; Au début du XXe siècle, les armées européennes font dépendre le recrutement de leurs troupes d'un processus de sélection mené par des médecins militaires. Les candidats sont soumis à un examen au terme duquel les individus considérés comme inaptes sont écartés du rang. Au ...

Exploring the Army's physical and mental selection process, my study intends to compare the procedures followed in France and in the United Kingdom at a time when a massive part of the male population's military fitness had to be assessed. In both countries access to the battlefield was conditioned to the favorable opinion of medical experts, as scientific examination resulted in the enrolment or exclusion of the would-be conscript from the military. According to a nomenclature of physical defects, disabilities and sicknesses, the medical examination supposedly circumscribed the weakest part of the population and prevented it to enlist. The process was intended to be scientific and as such a series of tests and statistical indexes were set to properly measure and evaluate suitability for military service. A long and high intensity conflict, the Great War, put this scientificity to the test. My PhD thesis aims to analyze the production of a scholarly discourse on military fitness, its sometime chaotic practical application in wartime as well as the public's reaction to what was rapidly perceived as a careless application of scientific selection methods endangering the nation. Indeed, both in France and Britain, the irruption of a "scandal of the unfits" into the public sphere caused the outbreak of an important epistemological debate resulting in a political crisis. Measures were therefore taken to address the criticisms. My dissertation will show how states used medical legitimacy to ease public's unrest and restore support of the population to the war effort. I intend to demonstrate that military fitness, far from being exclusively a medical concept, is a social and administrative construct mirroring its political context of production. ; Au début du XXe siècle, les armées européennes font dépendre le recrutement de leurs troupes d'un processus de sélection mené par des médecins militaires. Les candidats sont soumis à un examen au terme duquel les individus considérés comme inaptes sont écartés du rang. Au ...

Exploring the Army's physical and mental selection process, my study intends to compare the procedures followed in France and in the United Kingdom at a time when a massive part of the male population's military fitness had to be assessed. In both countries access to the battlefield was conditioned to the favorable opinion of medical experts, as scientific examination resulted in the enrolment or exclusion of the would-be conscript from the military. According to a nomenclature of physical defects, disabilities and sicknesses, the medical examination supposedly circumscribed the weakest part of the population and prevented it to enlist. The process was intended to be scientific and as such a series of tests and statistical indexes were set to properly measure and evaluate suitability for military service. A long and high intensity conflict, the Great War, put this scientificity to the test. My PhD thesis aims to analyze the production of a scholarly discourse on military fitness, its sometime chaotic practical application in wartime as well as the public's reaction to what was rapidly perceived as a careless application of scientific selection methods endangering the nation. Indeed, both in France and Britain, the irruption of a "scandal of the unfits" into the public sphere caused the outbreak of an important epistemological debate resulting in a political crisis. Measures were therefore taken to address the criticisms. My dissertation will show how states used medical legitimacy to ease public's unrest and restore support of the population to the war effort. I intend to demonstrate that military fitness, far from being exclusively a medical concept, is a social and administrative construct mirroring its political context of production. ; Au début du XXe siècle, les armées européennes font dépendre le recrutement de leurs troupes d'un processus de sélection mené par des médecins militaires. Les candidats sont soumis à un examen au terme duquel les individus considérés comme inaptes sont écartés du rang. Au croisement de l'anthropologie historique, de l'histoire des sciences et de l'histoire des sociétés en guerre, cette thèse entend montrer que l'aptitude militaire est une notion aussi bien médicale qu'administrative et sociale, profondément dépendante du contexte politique dans lequel elle est invoquée. À la fois résultat et processus, la sélection médicale des recrues peut être abordée comme un dispositif : elle constitue un système organisé de manière rationnelle, influencé par des savoirs techniques et mis en œuvre par l'État par le biais de l'institution militaire. Ce dispositif a des visées pratiques : renforcer l'efficacité de l'armée, préserver la troupe de la menace épidémique et répartir équitablement les obligations militaires. Il a également une fonction stratégique de pouvoir. Du fait de la montée de l'eugénisme et des préoccupations liées à la puissance des armées de masse, les conditions, critères de l'aptitude, ainsi que les données statistiques issues de la sélection font l'objet d'un intense débat épistémologique et politique qui permet d'observer aussi bien les transferts et circulation des savoirs que la préservation d'irréductibles spécificités nationales.Dans un contexte de compétition internationale, l'intervention des experts médicaux dans le recrutement rejoint des enjeux stratégiques, politiques et sanitaires. En conséquence, l'ensemble du dispositif est placé sous haute surveillance. La Grande Guerre constitue à cet égard un moment critique. L'entrée en guerre met le processus de sélection à rude épreuve et l'examen médical est rapidement gouverné par une logique de rendement, qui fait primer la quantité des effectifs sur leur qualité. Face à l'affaiblissement de la sélection, émergent des entreprises de contestation qui parviennent à peser sur les gouvernements. La Grande-Bretagne se voit contrainte de procéder à une réforme en apparence radicale qui passe par la démilitarisation complète des opérations médicales du recrutement. En France, l'inquiétude reste circonscrite au débat technique et les solutions apportées sont le fait des hygiénistes. Elles relèvent de la gestion de crise sanitaire. Dans les deux pays toutefois, les mesures prises par la puissance publique visent essentiellement à restaurer la confiance en renforçant le poids des experts médicaux. Elles ont des effets limités sur le processus et les résultats de la sélection elle-même.

High intensity functional training (HIFT) programs are designed to address multiple fitness domains, potentially providing improved physical and mental readiness in a changing operational environment. Programs consistent with HIFT principals such as CrossFit, SEALFIT and the US Marine Corps' High Intensity Tactical Training (HITT) program are increasingly popular among military personnel. This article reviews the practical, health, body composition, and military fitness implications of HIFT exercise programs. We conclude that, given the unique benefits of HIFT, the military should consider evaluating whether these programs should be the standard for military fitness training.

Received 12/11/85. ; Item 325-C-01. ; "Adopted for use by the Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama. on 1 April 1983." ; Training support package. ; Cover title. ; Bibliography: p. D-1 - D-2. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; 2

This article focuses on the environmentalist agenda in fitness cultures. The article is an initial critical exploration and limited to an analysis of the key principles of political ecology and environmentalism and the concept of sustainability in understanding the emergence of an environmentalist agenda in fitness cultures marked by shades and grades of green consumerism. Author involvement in outdoor military fitness regimes and a series of visits to activity holiday centres and health/fitness spas in the UK all of which make some claim to being 'green', 'environmentally friendly', and/or 'natural', provided the empirical context for the discussion in this article. It argues for further research from the political ecological field, exploring human/non-human dynamics of the environment, to advance an understanding about which sports and fitness cultures get developed where, how and in whose interests.

Objectives The purpose of the present study was to investigate how aerobic fitness, muscle fitness and body mass index (BMI) change in relation to their baseline levels during 6-12 months of military service. Design Retrospective longitudinal follow-up study. Methods The study group consisted of 249 279 healthy young male conscripts (age 19.1 ± 0.4 yrs.) who completed their military service between the years 2005-2015. Anthropometrics (body mass, height, BMI), aerobic fitness (12-minute running test) and muscle fitness (sit-ups, push-ups, standing long jump) were measured. Results A 12-minute running test improved by 5% (107 ± 292 m), standing long jump 1% (2.1 ± 16.2 cm), 1-min sit-ups 19% (4 ± 8 repetitions/min) and 1-min push-ups 33% (5 ± 10 repetitions/min) (p < 0.001 for all). Baseline fitness and baseline BMI levels were inversely associated with their changes (r = −0.37 - −0.47, p < 0.001). Performance improved in conscripts in the lowest two baseline fitness quartiles in all tests, while it decreased in conscripts in the highest fitness quartiles. In addition, in conscripts who were obese at baseline, body mass decreased on average by 4.9 ± 7.0 kg (p < 0.001). Conclusions On average, the physical fitness of conscripts improved during their compulsory military service. In particular, conscripts with a lower baseline fitness level or higher BMI showed the largest improvements, which may be significant findings from both a military readiness and national health perspective. However, the decline in physical performance of high-fit conscripts highlights the importance of individualization of physical training and military training load during military service. ; peerReviewed

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the possibility of tracking and identifying military and other security personnel, operating in secretive or restricted areas. Such exposure might have dire consequences from the perspective of counterintelligence or physical security. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Social Media Intelligence methods and techniques were employed to gather and analyse information on security and military personnel and expose their activities on-line. The case studies presented in the article exemplify utilisation of the new "Suunto" fitness application for open-source-based intelligence research. Despite general Operational Security rules that require all personal data such as names, pictures and habits to be kept discreet, open-source based research with one of the most popular fitness applications allowed the identification of military personnel and government agents operating in Afghanistan, Mali, Syria or working at national military facilities. In a single case, it took the author less than thirty minutes to identify personal details of a US Army soldier in Afghanistan and a Special Forces officer in one of the European countries and obtain their home addresses and pictures of them and their families. The results of the research show how OSINT techniques concerning fitness applications are useful both for intelligence and counterintelligence, specifically for malicious and terrorist purposes, and how necessary it is to make fitness and other, supposedly personal, activity private, especially for those who carry out sensitive missions and work in a restricted or secretive environment.

Drawing explicitly upon the bodily techniques of military basic training and the corporeal competencies of ex-military personnel, military-themed fitness classes and physical challenges have become an increasingly popular civilian leisure pursuit in the UK over the last two decades. This paper explores the embodied regimes, experiences and interactions between civilians and ex-military personnel that occur in these emergent hybrid leisure spaces. Drawing on ethnographic data, I argue that commercial military fitness involves a repurposing and rearticulation of collective military discipline within a late modern physical culture that emphasizes the individual body as a site of self-discovery and personal responsibility. Military fitness is thus a site of a particular biopolitics, of feeling alive in a very specific way. The intensities and feelings of physical achievement and togetherness that are generated emerge filtered through a particular military lens, circulating around and clinging to the totem of the repurposed ex-martial body. In the commercial logic of the fitness market, being 'military' and the ex-soldier's body have thus become particularly trusted and affectively resonant brands.