The Army Training System - AskTOP

and set a good example, these leadersmust maintain and demonstrate a highlevel of physical fitness. Since theirnormal duties may be stressful butnonphysical, they must take part regularlyin a physical fitness program. Theneed to be physically fit does notdecrease with increased age.People undergo many changes asthey grow older. For example, theamount of blood the heart can pumpper beat and per minute decreasesduring maximal exercise, as does themaximum heart rate. This lowers aperson’s physical ability, and performancesuffers. Also, the percent ofbody weight composed of fat generallyincreases, while total muscle mass decreases.The result is that muscularstrength and endurance, CR endurance,and body composition suffer. Adecrease in flexibility also occurs.Men tend to maintain their peaklevels of muscular strength and enduranceand CR fitness until age 30.After 30 there is a gradual declinethroughout their lives. Women tend toreach their peak in physical capabilityshortly after puberty and then undergoa progressive decline.Although a decline in performancenormally occurs with aging, those whostay physically active do not have thesame rate of decline as those who donot. Decreases in muscular strengthand endurance, CR endurance, andflexibility occur to a lesser extent inthose who regularly train these fitnesscomponents.Soldiers who are fit at age 40 andcontinue to exercise show a lesserdecrease in many of the physiologicalfunctions related to fitness than dothose who seldom exercise. A trained60-year-old, for example, may havethe same level of CR fitness as asedentary 20-year-old. In short, regularexercise can help add life to youryears and years to your life.The assessment phase of a programis especially important for those age 40and over. However, it is not necessaryor desirable to develop special fitnessprograms for these soldiers. Those whohave been exercising regularly maycontinue to exercise at the same level asthey did before reaching age 40. Aprogram based on the principles of exerciseand the training concepts in thismanual will result in a safe, long-termconditioning program for all soldiers.Only those age 40 and over who havenot been exercising regularly may needto start their exercise program at alower level and progress more slowlythan younger soldiers. Years of inactivityand possible abuse of the bodycannot be corrected in a few weeks ormonths.As of 1 January 1989, soldiers reachingage 40 are no longer required to getclearance from a cardiovascular screeningprogram before taking the APFT.Only a medical profile will exemptthem from taking the biannual recordAPFT. They must, however, haveperiodic physical examinations in accordancewith AR 40-501 and NGR40-501. These include screening forcardiovascular risk factors.EvaluationTo evaluate their physical fitnessand the effectiveness of their physicalfitness training programs, all militarypersonnel are tested biannually usingthe APFT in accordance with AR 350-15. (Refer to Chapter 14.) However,commanders may evaluate their physicalfitness programs more frequentlythan biannually.SCORING CATEGORIESThere are two APFT categories oftesting for all military personnel InitialEntry Training (IET) and the ArmyStandard.1-14