Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Part 1: Getting to Know the ACFT 5 Chapter 1: Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Readiness 7 Saying Goodbye to the Old APFT 8 Sculpting a Fit and Lethal Force 8 Picking Up Performance Basics 10 Range of motion and flexibility 11 Balance 11 Agility 12 Explosive power 12 Muscular strength and endurance 12 Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular endurance 13 Anaerobic exercise for short-term muscle strength 14 PRT: Love it or Hate it, It''s Here to Stay 14 Understanding How the ACFT Fits into Your Army Role 15 Making the grade 15 Training on your own time -- and helping your team 16 The Army Performance Triad 16 Chapter 2: Getting an Overview of the ACFT 17 Reading Up on the Army''s Resources and Requirements for the ACFT 18 Checking out Army regs and training resources 18 Surveying site and equipment requirements 18 Getting used to gender- and age-neutral scoring requirements 19 Diagnostic ACFTs versus record ACFTs: Pinning down test frequency 19 Breaking Down the Six Events and Their Scoring 20 The Preparation Drill 22 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift 23 Standing Power Throw 25 Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension 28 Sprint-Drag-Carry 30 Leg Tuck 33 Two-Mile Run 36 The Recovery Drill 37 Biking, Rowing, or Swimming Your Way through the Alternate Events 37 Bike 38 Row 38 Swim 39 Chapter 3: Understanding How the Army Administers the ACFT 41 Counting Down the Minutes 42 Doing Your Homework before the Test 43 Having the Right Tools for the Job: Required Equipment 43 Looking at Helpful Test-Day Details 46 Equipment on the lanes 47 Soldier testing order 47 Card-carrying ACFT-takers: Scorecards 47 Stylin'' and profilin'': What you can''t use during the ACFT 48 Making the Grade to Score the ACFT 48 Level I ACFT graders 48 Level II ACFT graders 49 Level III ACFT grader-instructors 49 Chapter 4: Breaking Down ACFT Instructions and Scoring 51 Following the Rules: The Official ACFT Instructions 52 Lifting with your legs: 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift instructions 52 Trying MDL tips and techniques 53 Watching for trouble spots on the MDL 53 Exercising explosive power: Standing Power Throw instructions 55 Surveying SPT tips and techniques 55 Watching for trouble spots on the SPT 56 Letting it go: Hand Release Push-up - Arm Extension instructions 56 Harping on HRP tips and techniques 57 Watching for trouble spots on the HRP 59 Showing your combat moves: Sprint-Drag-Carry instructions 59 Sorting out SDC tips and techniques 60 Watching for trouble spots on the SDC 61 Considering core strength: Leg Tuck instructions 62 Looking for LTK tips and techniques 63 Watching for trouble spots on the LTK 64 Welcoming an old friend: Two-Mile Run instructions 65 Marking 2MR tips and techniques 65 Watching for trouble spots on the 2MR 66 Addressing the ACFT''s Scoring Scale 66 Perusing Physical Demand Categories 66 Weighing your score on the scale 74 Tallying up your score on the new ACFT scorecard 75 Accounting for the ACFT MOD 77 Sailing through the 5,000-Meter Row 77 Braking for the 15,000-Meter Bike 77 Soaking up the 1,000-Meter Swim 78 Taking Another Shot: Army Policy on ACFT Failures 78 Part 2: Training for the ACFT on Your Own Time 81 Chapter 5: Putting the (Mandatory) "Fun" in Functional Fitness 83 Mastering the Science of Movement Training 83 Distinguishing muscle training from movement training 84 Playing with planar movement 85 Sectioning off the 4Q model 86 Finding Functional Fitness Basics 88 Core strength 91 Leg strength 91 Back strength 94 Chest strength 95 Bicep, tricep, forearm, and shoulder strength 95 Chapter 6: Stacking Up the Army''s Physical Fitness Components 99 Tracing the Origins of PRT and the ACFT 100 Counting on the Army''s Ten Fitness Components 101 Muscular strength 101 Muscular endurance 102 Power 102 Speed 102 Agility 103 Aerobic endurance 103 Balance 103 Flexibility 104 Coordination 104 Reaction time 104 Getting Heart Smart for Aerobic Exercise 105 Calculating your resting heart rate 105 Finding your target heart rate for aerobic exercise 106 Fitting FITT Principles into Your Workout 108 Frequency 108 Intensity 108 Type 110 Time 110 Powering Your Way through Life with Anaerobic Exercise 110 Chapter 7: Examining P3, PRT, H2F, and the ACFT 113 Cornering the Army''s Performance Triad 113 Sleep 114 Activity 114 Nutrition 115 Reading Up on PRT Documentation 115 Matching PRT Drills and ACFT Events 116 Maximizing PRT for the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift 118 The sumo squat 118 Alternate staggered squat jump 119 Forward lunge 120 Stepping up PRT for the Standing Power Throw 122 Power jump 122 Overhead push-press 123 Tuck jump 125 Practicing PRT for the Hand Release Push-Up - Arm Extension 126 Supine chest press 127 8-count T push-up 128 Incline bench 130 Surveying PRT for the Sprint-Drag-Carry 132 Straight-leg deadlift 132 Bent over row 133 300-meter shuttle run 135 Looking at PRT for the Leg Tuck 135 Bent-leg raise 136 Leg tuck and twist 137 Alternating grip pull-up 139 Tackling PRT for the Two-Mile Run 141 Sprint intervals (30:60s and 60:120s) 141 Release run 141 Hill repeats 142 Taking a Closer Look at PRT and Its Drills 143 Preparation Drill 144 4 for the Core 145 Conditioning Drills 1, 2, and 3 145 Climbing Drills 1 and 2 147 The Guerilla Drill 147 The Hip Stability Drill 147 The Push-Up and Sit-Up Drill 147 The Shoulder Stability Drill 147 Running, Endurance and Mobility Activities: Military Movement Drills 1 and 2 148 The Strength Training Circuit 148 Recovery Drill 149 Using PRT to Train for the ACFT 150 Chapter 8: Training to Standard on the ACFT 151 Getting the Basics Down Before You Exercise 152 Back and Legs: Maxing the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift Score 154 Sumo squats 155 Staggered squats 156 Lunges 157 Conventional deadlifts 157 Bent over rows 160 Grip work 162 Explosive Power: Training for the Standing Power Throw 162 Power jumps 162 Overhead push presses 163 Tuck jumps 166 Romanian deadlifts 167 Kettlebell swings 168 Medicine ball power jumps 169 Standing front shoulder raises with bands 170 Practice Makes Perfect: Doing More Hand Release Arm-Extension Push-Ups 171 Supine chest presses 171 Incline bench presses 172 Chest flys 174 Renegade row push-ups 175 Medicine Ball push-ups 177 Training for the Sprint-Drag-Carry to Boost Your Battlefield Skills 178 Shuttle runs 178 Straight-leg deadlifts 179 Zercher carries 180 Planks 181 Glute-hamstring raises 182 Grip, Hips, Shoulders, and Elbows: Training for the Leg Tuck 184 Bent-leg raises 184 The leg tuck and twist 184 Mixed-grip pull-ups 186 Rope climbs 187 Isometric hangs 189 Side pillar holds 190 The contralateral dead bug 190 Is, Ys, and Ts 192 Kettlebell pull-throughs 193 Internal, external, and elevated shoulder rotations 194 When My Granny Was 91: How to Improve Your Two-Mile Run Time 197 Sprint interval training 198 Hill repeats 198 Walking lunge 199 Barbell squats 200 Calf raises 202 Glute bridges 203 Chapter 9: Stretching for Recovery and Peak Performance 205 Bouncing Back Stronger through Recovery 206 Getting back on your feet after training with active recovery 206 Discovering delayed-onset muscle soreness 207 Building in recovery days and taking care of injuries 208 Avoiding overtraining syndrome 209 Stretching Out Your Workout Recovery 209 Attending to Army Stretches 211 Overhead arm pull 211 Rear lunge 212 Extend and flex 213 Thigh stretch 213 Single-leg over 215 Loosening up Your Legs and Hips 216 Standing hamstring stretch 216 Piriformis stretch 217 Frog stretch 217 Butterfly stretch 219 Lunging hip flexor stretch 220 Lying quad stretch 221 Calf stretch 221 Examining Essential Arm Stretches 222 Triceps stretch 222 Standing bicep stretch 224 Seated bicep stretch 224 Wrist extension and flexion 225 Forearm flexor stretch 226 Beefing up Your Neck, Shoulder, and Back Stretches 227 Seated shoulder squeeze 227 Upper back stretch 228 Knee to chest stretch 229 Seated back rotation 230 Side-lying thoracic rotation 231 Upper trap stretch 232 Cross-body shoulder stretch 233 Priming t.