Angela Papple Johnston - ACFT For Dummies

ACFT For Dummies®

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Copyright © 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2020949612

ISBN 978-1-119-70428-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-70429-4 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-70431-7 (ebk)

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here

5 Part 1: Getting to Know the ACFT Chapter 1: Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Readiness Saying Goodbye to the Old APFT Sculpting a Fit and Lethal Force Picking Up Performance Basics PRT: Love it or Hate it, It’s Here to Stay Understanding How the ACFT Fits into Your Army Role Chapter 2: Getting an Overview of the ACFT Reading Up on the Army’s Resources and Requirements for the ACFT Breaking Down the Six Events and Their Scoring Biking, Rowing, or Swimming Your Way through the Alternate Events Chapter 3: Understanding How the Army Administers the ACFT Counting Down the Minutes Doing Your Homework before the Test Having the Right Tools for the Job: Required Equipment Looking at Helpful Test-Day Details Making the Grade to Score the ACFT Chapter 4: Breaking Down ACFT Instructions and Scoring Following the Rules: The Official ACFT Instructions Addressing the ACFT’s Scoring Scale Accounting for the ACFT MOD Taking Another Shot: Army Policy on ACFT Failures

6 Part 2: Training for the ACFT on Your Own Time Chapter 5: Putting the (Mandatory) “Fun” in Functional Fitness Mastering the Science of Movement Training Finding Functional Fitness Basics Chapter 6: Stacking Up the Army’s Physical Fitness Components Tracing the Origins of PRT and the ACFT Counting on the Army’s Ten Fitness Components Getting Heart Smart for Aerobic Exercise Fitting FITT Principles into Your Workout Powering Your Way through Life with Anaerobic Exercise Chapter 7: Examining P3, PRT, H2F, and the ACFT Cornering the Army’s Performance Triad Reading Up on PRT Documentation Matching PRT Drills and ACFT Events Maximizing PRT for the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift Stepping up PRT for the Standing Power Throw Practicing PRT for the Hand Release Push-Up – Arm Extension Surveying PRT for the Sprint-Drag-Carry Looking at PRT for the Leg Tuck Tackling PRT for the Two-Mile Run Taking a Closer Look at PRT and Its Drills Using PRT to Train for the ACFT Chapter 8: Training to Standard on the ACFT Getting the Basics Down Before You Exercise Back and Legs: Maxing the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift Score Explosive Power: Training for the Standing Power Throw Practice Makes Perfect: Doing More Hand Release Arm–Extension Push-Ups Training for the Sprint-Drag-Carry to Boost Your Battlefield Skills Grip, Hips, Shoulders, and Elbows: Training for the Leg Tuck When My Granny Was 91: How to Improve Your Two-Mile Run Time Chapter 9: Stretching for Recovery and Peak Performance Bouncing Back Stronger through Recovery Stretching Out Your Workout Recovery Attending to Army Stretches Loosening up Your Legs and Hips Examining Essential Arm Stretches Beefing up Your Neck, Shoulder, and Back Stretches Priming the Pecs: Chest Stretches Stretching out Your Six-Pack Doing Dynamic Stretches for Multiple Muscles Chapter 10: Focusing on the ACFT for Females Factoring Female Physiology into Common ACFT Challenges Balancing Pregnancy and Physical Training Your (Kid’s) Mom Wears Combat Boots: Working Out Postpartum Chapter 11: Surveying ACFT Training for Seasoned Soldiers Safety First: Taking Workout Precautions Kicking around Exercises for Knee Issues Avoiding Certain Exercises for Back Issues Chapter 12: Dealing with Injuries An Ounce of Prevention: Avoiding Injury with P3 Covering Common Injuries across the Army Rub Some Dirt on It? Knowing When to Go to Sick Call When RICE Isn’t a Carb: Treating Injuries at Home

7 Part 3: Structure, Form, and Functional Fitness Chapter 13: Wising Up to Workout Wisdom Following Eight Habits of Highly Successful Exercisers Optimizing Your Breathing for Your Activity Resting between Workouts Chapter 14: Understanding Your Body’s Muscular Structure Putting Your Skeletal Muscles on the Map Zeroing in on the Cardiovascular System Chapter 15: Strength Training to Get Army Strong Bulking up Your Weight-Training Vocab Following Safety Principles Testing Your Strength Switching It up with Periodization Appreciating the Real Worth of Free Weights and Weight Machines Looking at Group Strength Training Chapter 16: Pumping Some Heart-Smart Aerobic Exercise Understanding the Cardiovascular System’s Role in Exercise Finding Your VO 2Max Queuing up the Cardio Chapter 17: Trying Functional Fitness Concepts for Your Core Introducing Your Core Muscles Strengthening Your Core with Beginner Core Exercises Pulling Your Own Weight During Core Training Trying Out the Army (Core) Ball — No ASUs Necessary Perusing Core Exercises for Pregnancy Profiles Stretching and Toning Your Core with Pilates and Yoga Chapter 18: Personalizing Your Workout Routine Building Your Own Workout Routine Sneaking in Daytime Workouts You Can Do Anywhere