Mission Essential Fitness (MEF) for the

US Army Soldier

Mission Essential Fitness (MEF) for the

US Army Soldier

Doug Briggs, Ph.D., CSCS,*D , RSCC,*DDirector of Human Performance

&John Barela, MS, CSCS, RSCCSports Specialist, Strength &

Conditioning2 September 2015

Doug Briggs, Ph.D., CSCS,*D , RSCC,*DDirector of Human Performance

&John Barela, MS, CSCS, RSCCSports Specialist, Strength &

Conditioning2 September 2015

Doug Briggs, Ph.D., CSCS*D, RSCC,*D

• Tactical Strength & Conditioning Facilitator of the Year 2014-National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA)

• Author of “16 Weeks to Weight Training Success” & “Built for Strength: A Basic Approach to Weight Training Success for Men and Women”.

• International Olympic Weightlifting Champion- 2x US National & 2 x Pan American• Competitive Athlete for 26 Years• Faculty Member at New Mexico State University- 19 Years• Associate Professor, University of Texas-El Paso, Biomedical

Engineering-Current• Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, CSCS,*D NSCA• Registered Strength & Conditioning Coach, RSCC,*D, NSCA• Certified by The Cooper Institute as a Master Fitness Specialist• Powerhouse Gym Owner for 13 Years

John Barela, MS, CSCS, RSCCSports Specialist Strength & Conditioning-Ironworks Gym

• Registered Strength & Conditioning Coach, RSCC, NSCA• Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, CSCS,

NSCA• Strength and Conditioning Coach at University of Texas at

El Paso - 4 years• Strength and Conditioning Coach at theUniversity of Tulsa

– 2 years• Total years as a strength and conditioning coach in private and collegiate setting -10 years• Master of Science degree – Utah State University• Bachelor of Science degree – Arizona State University

Mission Essential Fitness

THE MEF CONCEPT

Soldiers require high levels of strength, power, speed & agility to carry out their mission in today’s modern combat environment. Not only has their equipment changed, but also the physiological demands placed on their bodies.

To modernize the US Army, we must embrace the concept that a Soldier is a “Tactical Athlete.” As defined by the foremost subject matter expert in this area, the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), the tactical athlete is a Soldier that engages in combat and requires high levels of strength, speed, power, and agility. This soldier must be both aerobically and anaerobically fit to meet the demands of combat in order to defeat the enemy.

Old-style PT and many modern variations do not address this demand due to limitations in the time required to achieve a cardiovascular workout. Contained within this presentation are recommendations for establishing a new training protocol that will address the issue of Soldier fitness, both individually and in a group setting.

Currently, Army PT Trains a Soldier in the Sagittal Plane

Why is this important?

Unacceptable Statistics

In an APFT administered on 15 August 2006 the following results were reported:

• 105 Soldiers Tested• 72 Passed• 33 Failed

This is a 31.4% failure rate. Average age: 19.96 years old. 13 Female Soldiers and 20 Male Soldiers failed the APFT.

These numbers are unacceptable.

BACKGROUND

• The Mission Essential Fitness (MEF) program’s primary purpose is to develop operational fitness for military personnel. When developing a comprehensive strength and conditioning program, the strength & conditioning specialist must consider the physical demands of operational related activities. There is a purpose to the design and it is not a randomly thrown together workout with no quantifiable measures. Throughout history, warriors and soldiers physically trained by performing various strength and conditioning exercises. Eventually this evolved into athletic events, thus the first athletes were Soldiers. Today our Soldiers have evolved into tactical athletes.

• When preparing for competition, athletes dedicate many long, hard hours to physical preparation. All successful athletes commit their mind, body, and spirit to the task. This level of commitment includes practicing sport skills, improving strength, conditioning, nutrition, and wellness.

• Typically, the tactical athlete devotes time to improving operational skill without much focus on improving operational strength, conditioning, and nutrition. The MEF program addresses these needs.

• By training Soldiers in the same fashion as professional athletes, the MEF program offers the same expertise in developing the tactical athlete for mission related duties.

This is what MEF prepares a Soldier to do…

Spl. Taylor Jordan lifts weights in the rain at Camp Restrepo, Afghanistan

To be effective a Functional Exercise Program should include several different elements:

Specific to the Mission - All training should be mission specific, working to develop and maintain mission specific strength.

Integrated – It should include a variety of exercises that work on power, strength, speed, and agility.

Increases Core Stability – Core stability is crucial for any mission. A stable core allows for a more efficient transfer of power from the lower to upper body, and an increased ability to maintain correct athletic posture over long periods of time.

Progressive – Progressive resistance training steadily increases the power/strength demand from workout to workout. While most people are aware of the need for this in relation to traditional power/strength training, it is sometimes overlooked in functional training. For functional training it also means varying speed of movement to make it more mission specific.

Periodization - For professional soldiers and tactical athletes, functional training needs to fit into their training cycle. In broad terms this means that the program will vary throughout the year to achieve optimal results, peaking for deployment and maintaining their power and strength while in theater. Usually there are four (4), 12 week training cycles per year with one (1) week rest between each cycle.

Mission Essential Fitness (MEF)Army Force Generation Model (ARFORGEN)

MEF Functional Training

Mission Essential Fitness (MEF)Army Force Generation Model (ARFORGEN)

Functional Training has its origins in rehabilitation, where physical therapists would develop exercises to duplicate what a patient did in their daily lives at work or home in order to return after injury or surgery. Functional training is the utilization of weight bearing activities to target core muscles of the abdomen and lower back to allow the individual to perform daily activities more easily and without injury.

Functional Exercises lead to better muscular balance and joint stability, possibly impacting the number of injuries sustained and a Soldier’s performance in the demands of combat. Functional exercises use training that emphasizes the body's natural ability to move forward/backward, side-to-side, up/down and rotationally to mimic the movements of that a Soldier is required to make in combat situations. For a tactical Soldier those movements must replicate an unbalanced movement pattern due to a heavy ruck, while maintaining explosive, agile movements required in urban environments.

Mission Essential Fitness (MEF)Army Force Generation Model (ARFORGEN)

Where the program has the greatest impact on ARFORGEN

Routine Daily Life Preparing to Deploy Deployed Coming Home

• Unit PT

• Entry Circuits

• High Intensity Circuit

• Online Access Circuit

• TRX Straps Certification

• Tactical Strength and

Conditioning (TSAC) Certification

• Pre-Hab/Post-Hab Circuit

• Functional Training Kits

• Custom Functional Workouts

• Kettle Bells

• Bosu Balls

• Bands

• TRX Straps

• Microfit FAS-2 Assessments

Ready/TrainReset Available Reset

Variety is the key…

But should Soldier training be non-specific…as in the current, fad, cross training programs

I have had many conversations recently that Soldiers should be trained “non-specifically”.

By non-specific, the idea is that a program is not developed, but rather a random assortment of exercises in a non-specific order are performed.

The thought is that Soldiers need to move in many different directions in quick order…

Non-specific training continued…

…such as up or down, forward or backward, and side-to-side. Is this truly non-specific?

Remember, the #1 rule of training is “training must be specific to the task that one is asked to complete or compete in…

…and non-specific training would be more applicable to a definition of “cross training,” however, cross training produces a mediocre performance in specific demands.

Specific Training

Given that a Soldier needs to move up or down, forward or backward, and side-to-side, one specific program that we could apply would be for football players at the high school, college, or pro-level.

The program for training is very specific involving poundages and percentiles as well as speed & agility work, coupled with endurance, plyometrics and core training.

Specific Training continued…

The difference is that the specific training is measurable and repeatable, whereas the non-specific training is not.

This is a quote from one of the premier cross trainers, “We see the most gains out of those who are traditionally the weakest performers.”

Exactly! It takes nothing to produce results from a de-conditioned or never conditioned person…the true trainer can produce results in highly trained individuals. Any entry level trainer can get results from someone who has done nothing!

I challenge you…

…to name one college team, professional sports team, or Olympic sport that relies on cross training to get better. Some have tried, but all have failed and many have produced severe injuries.

In sports, it is about gaining the advantage, and that is only done with specific training programs, thus the saying, “Training is specific!”

MEF Study

The Department of Human Performance conducted a 4-week study comparing Army Standard PT to MEF Training utilizing 24 active duty Soldiers broken into two groups of 12 Soldiers. Both groups went through the same pre- and post-test and the results are presented on the following slide. The differences are significant and achieved in 12 actual training sessions.

Fort Bliss Study-MEF ResultsMEF AVG PRE MEF AVG POST MEF DIFF PT Group Difference

Resting Heart Rate 83.09 60.18 -22.91 -26.09

Height 71.52 71.52 0.00 0.00

Weight 193.45 195.70 2.25 0.46

Body Composition 19.77 20.18 0.41 0.87

Metabolic Rate 2129.00 2118.00 -11.00 -14.00

3-Minute Step Test (Beats/Min) 95.36 83.45 -11.91 -8.91

Sit and Reach (inches) 16.52 17.14 0.61 0.41

1 Minute Sit Up/Curl Up (reps) 43.18 44.82 1.64 0.36

1 Minute Push Up (reps) 39.33 49.30 9.97 9.73

Bench Press (lbs) 3-reps 211.36 239.55 28.18 15.00

Vertical Jump 21.50 22.08 0.57 0.35

Standing Broad Jump 81.82 91.23 9.41 6.14

Pro-Agility 4.96 4.74 -0.22 -0.15

1.5 Mile Run Time 12:40 10:40 -2.00 -0.58

1.5 Mile Run HR 180.70 179.10 -1.60 -5.82

2.0 Mile Run Time 16:32 15:25 -1.07 -1.07

2.0 Mile Run HR 192.60 183.70 -8.90 -4.36

Fort Riley StudyPublished in Military Medicine

October 2012

IRONWORKS GYM

Fort Bliss has a one-of-a-kind program in the Army that is housed at Ironworks Gym. This strength & conditioning center mirrors what would be found at an NCAA Division I university. The program that it houses (MEF) started in July 2008 at Stout PFC and moved to this custom designed location in October 2008. MEF originally started training Soldiers from the 4/1 AD before their deployment to Iraq and continues to train Soldiers from 1/1 AD, 3/1 AD, and various other units at Fort Bliss.

The MEF program employs certified professional strength & conditioning coaches who design strength & conditioning programs based on a Soldier’s need. Not only do these professionals design the programs, but they lead the Soldiers in PT with the largest group having been 200 Soldiers. The purpose in the program is to not only train the Soldiers in proper and appropriate physical fitness, but to train them to train other Soldiers in the field as well. We see 400 Soldiers on a daily basis engaging in this training in preparation for deployment.

Ironworks Gym-Mission Essential Fitness

New MEF Facility Opened 14 October 2009-East Biggs

Ironworks Gym-Building T20700

Ironworks Gym-Building T20700

1. Burpee-Squat2. TRX pullovers3. Agility ladder (angled 8-12 in

hops)4. Step-ups weighted (high)5. TRX scorpions6. TRX knee-ups7. DB push-up w/ DB backrow8. Walking lunges w/ weight

overhead9. Push-ups w/feet elev. med. ball10. Plank w/ feet elev. med. ball11. 4-way tricep ext. 12. Band bicep curl13. Team tire flip relay14. Cone course with shell15. Team prowler (180lbs/90 lbs)

1

5

2

6

313

11

10

7

8

9

4 12

14

15

Circuit 17

SUPPORT WHILE DEPLOYED

• While deployed, Soldiers can visit the following website to get new circuits to use for training:

• http://www.blissmwr.com/functionaltraining/

• This website provides useful information about training and offers 52 weeks of circuits that can be adapted to whatever equipment is available wherever the Soldier is:

CERTIFICATIONS

In teaching the Soldiers how to train each other in proper form and

technique, we certify the Soldiers in Tactical Strength & Conditioning from the NSCA. Not only does this ensure that everyone is utilizing the same, proven methods, but it allows the Soldiers to build on their knowledge base and take this information to theater with them.

The Soldiers are trained using TRX straps, conventional weight lifting apparatus, dumbbells, kettlebells, hoops, tires, bands, sledge hammers, agility ladders, hurdles, and so forth. The training utilizes items that can be found anywhere and does not require large expenditures of money to purchase pieces of equipment with a large foot print.

By doing the training in-house, using US Army personnel, we ensure that what is being taught is correct, current, and repeatable. In essence, we are the quality control that may not be found with external organizations.

CERTIFICATIONS

Dr. Briggs and Mr. Barela travel to the host installation to conduct the

training and certification. Certification typically is one-week in duration, lasting 40-hours, but can be adjusted based on the needs of the installation.

Cost is the responsibility of the hosting installation in a standard TDY format.

Facilities where training is conducted need to have a standard functional weight type set-up where exercise and classroom sessions can be conducted.

Facility design for MEF style training is also available and will include a scaled CAD diagram of facility and equipment layout.

Strength and Conditioning Center (Floor Plan)

Strength and Conditioning Center (Site Plan)

Porch Area

Staff ParkingOutdoor Training Area

1/1 & 4/1 Functional Training Courseon 9 October 2008

The course was taught by Doug Briggs and Jake

Wurth to instruct PT Leaders in how to use and

design a functional training course for their Soldiers:

Functional Training with 200 Soldiers on Wednesday, 8 October 2008

The Soldiers were from 4/1 AD, Dona Ana Base Camp, and the University of Texas-El Paso ROTC

This demonstrates how easy it is to train large numbers of Soldiers at one time.

Functional Training with 200 Soldiers on Wednesday, 8 October 2008

This functional training design utilized three (3), ten (10) station circuits where the Soldier never did the same exercise twice. Soldiers started at one station and rotated through a total of 30 stations in a 50 minute time frame.

Functional Training Results

Within one platoon from 4/1 AD the following results were observed:• A decrease in 2-mile run times of between 2-4 minutes• Maxing of sit-up and push-ups • Loss of fat weight on one Soldier of 25 lbs.

Soldiers in C and D companies, 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, take turns jumping hurdles as part of a newly

designed functional training program Friday at Stout Gym. Photo by Virginia Reza.

Functional Training Thoughts

• Colonel Newell said many Soldiers coming back from deployment have knee, back and shoulder problems, which are probably due to the stress of wearing extra body armor, and PT programs have not done enough to prevent those types of injuries.  Newell said Briggs has trained professional teams and understands what it takes to train somebody to function under duress for long periods of time. He said it was great working with people who have made strides in understanding how the human body works and what it takes to protect it.

• Capt. Allen Trujillo, commander of C Co., 4th Bn., 6th Inf. Regt., who went through the training about a month and a half ago, said Newell got all the first sergeants and company commanders together to participate in the circuit training. Trujillo liked it so much that he asked Briggs if he could start training his company on Fridays, and Briggs has been doing so for the past four weeks. 

“First of all, the training has helped motivate the Soldiers by breaking the monotony of doing regular PT,” Trujillo said. “Second, it is actually helping Soldiers get in shape. We took a diagnostic PT test about three days ago and there was substantial improvement. This training might not be the whole reason for the improvement, but it’s a significant part of it.” 

Trujillo said Soldiers often struggle with getting back into physical training after deployment. He said the circuit training, which is completely different every Friday, makes PT more enjoyable for his Soldiers.  

Wrap-Up

This initiative is mission oriented and designed to improve the physical fitness of all Soldiers, not just a select group.

• Soldiers will be able to train as “Tactical Athletes.”• Units will be able to train in groups up to approximately

200 Soldiers.• Individual Soldiers will be able to train to resolve issues

that may hinder them on APFT scores.• Unit PT leaders will be able to become certified through the

NSCA to train “Tactical Athletes.”• Brigade Combat Team Strength & Conditioning Centers

(BCTSCC) will provide and host ongoing educational enrichment opportunities for everything fitness related including diet and nutrition, improvement in PT scores, post-rehabilitation training, alternative APFT methods, and ongoing supervision in correct usage of equipment and design of programs.

Closing

In closing: This is the model for training Soldiers for future warfare. Soldiers in the US Army are now tactical athletes due to the dynamic nature of their mission and the amount of equipment they are required to carry. These are not the Soldiers of days-gone-by.

Contact Information: Doug Briggs, Ph.D., CSCS, *D, RSCC,*D

Director of Human Performance, US Army/MWRBldg. 2930, Cassidy Road, Stout PFC,

Fort Bliss, Texas 79916(915) 568-6458

e-mail: douglas.briggs1@us.army.mil