Calvin Britt

Date of Award

2019

Type

Thesis

Major

Health and Physical Education

Degree Type

Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Sciences

Department

Health, Physical Education, and Exercise Science

First Advisor

Dr. Clayton Nicks

Second Advisor

Dr. Kate Early

Third Advisor

Dr. Brian Tyo

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) and Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) in U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) cadets. Eighteen ROTC cadets volunteered to participate in the study (age; 21.9±3.4 years, height; 67.9 ± 3.1 in, weight; 165.3 ± 22.9 lbs., body fat percentage [BF%]; 16.3±7.4%). All participants performed two separate test sessions (APFT & ACFT) seven days apart, at the same time of day. Physiological data was collected for the ACFT using a Zephyr BioHarness monitoring device which included: physiological load (PL), physiological intensity (PI), maximal heart rate (MHR), and average heart rate (AVGHR). Pearson moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine relationships between selected variables. Mean ACFT scores were 453.7 ± 88.1 with a 72% pass rate and APFT scores were 265.4 ± 26.9 with a 100% pass rate. Significant relationships were found between raw scores for the hand-release push-up and standard APFT push-ups (r =.75, p < .01), and ACFT and APFT 2-mile runs (r =.96, p < .01). However, the relationship between total scores for the APFT and the ACFT was not significant (r =.28, p >.05). A significant relationship was observed between BF% and total ACFT score (r = -.55, p< .05). Physiological data for the ACFT were: MHR =197.0± 18.0, AVGHR =123.0 ± 29, PL = 454.5 ± 141.8, and PI = 6.1 ± 2. In conclusion, the results demonstrate that high performance in the APFT may not translate to high performance in the ACFT. In addition, the ACFT requires moderate to vigorous effort throughout the duration of the test. The results are this study are useful as Army leaders prepare to train cadets and soldiers for successful completion of the new ACFT.

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