The Army Training System - AskTOP

Conditioning drills areintended to supplementmuscular strength andendurance trainingsessions.CONDITIONING DRILLSSome large units prefer to use sets ofcalisthenic exercises as part of their PTsessions. Figure 7-4 shows three calisthenicconditioning drills for boththe poorly conditioned and physicallyfit soldiers. The drills are designed tobe done progressively and are intendedto supplement muscular strength andendurance training sessions.Leaders can mix the exercises toprovide greater intensity, based on thefitness level of the soldiers being trained.However, they should choose andsequence them to alternate the musclegroups being worked. Soldiers shoulddo each exercise progressively from 15to 40 or more repetitions (20 to 60 secondsfor timed sets) based on theirlevel of conditioning. They may alsodo each exercise in cadence unlesstimed sets are specified. For timedsets, soldiers do as many repetitions ofan exercise as possible in the allowedtime. Using timed sets, both the wellconditionedand less-fit soldiers canwork themselves to their limits.The following conditioning drills(Figure 7-4) are arranged according tothe phase of training.Grass DrillsGrass drills are exercise movementsthat feature rapid changes in bodyposition. These are vigorous drillswhich, when properly done, exerciseall the major muscle groups. Soldiersshould respond to commands as fast aspossible and do all movements at topspeed. They continue to do multiplerepetitions of each exercise until thenext command is given. No cadence iscounted.7-17