Effect of Prolonged Military Field Training and Different Physical Training Programmes on Physiological Responses and Physical Performance in Soldiers

Abstract

To fulfil their required missions, soldiers need adequate physical fitness and sufficient ability to move in different terrains. During the Finnish conscript service, the physical fitness of conscripts can be improved to the required occupational level using different military tasks. Carefully planned, periodized, and progressive physical fitness training can help soldiers to reach different required occupational task levels before the end of the military service. The present study was carried out in two phases. The first phase consisted of a 21-day military field training, which concentrated on the effects of prolonged military field training on the physiological characteristics of the soldiers. The second phase included a 12-week physical training intervention, which focused on the effects of different types of physical training and the physiological characteristics of the soldiers. The first part of the study showed that physical activity during prolonged military training mainly consists of long duration and low intensity aerobic work, which includes load carriage and lifting of different amounts of loads. When looking at the combat phase of the exercise, it was observed that speed and anaerobic performance are also required. The daily occupational duties of a soldier mainly consist of low intensity physical work, and therefore it is important that training regimens would provide sufficient variation in physical intensity for the soldiers. The training intervention study showed that strength training in soldiers needs to be systematically planned and supervised. Interval training was found to efficiently improve endurance performance in soldiers. Additionally, it was found that systematic and well-planned strength training is connected to the development of strength, power, and speed, as well as to the development of motor skills. The results of the present study showed that task-specific and traditional strength training did not differ in regard to the conferred gains in strength; however, both training groups improved strength abilities significantly more than the group that did traditional military physical training. In the future, it is important to include more task-specific strength or traditional strength training into military physical training programs to enhance occupational performance in soldiers.