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Purpose: Assess and describe the physical demands and changes in subjective wellbeing of recruits completing the 12 week Australian Army Basic Military Training (BMT) course. Methods: Thirty-five recruits (24.8 ± 6.8 y; 177.4 ± 10.1 cm, 75.6 ± 14.7 kg) consented to daily activity monitoring and weekly measures of subjective wellbeing (Multi-component Training Distress Scale, MTDS). The physical demands of training were assessed via wrist worn activity monitors (Actigraph GT9X accelerometer). Physical fitness changes were assessed by push-ups, sit-ups and multi-stage shuttle run in weeks 2 and 8. Results: All objective and subjective measures significantly changed (p < 0.05) across the 12 week BMT course. In parallel, there was a significant improvement in measures of physical fitness from weeks 2 to 8 (p < 0.001). The greatest disturbance to subjective wellbeing occurred during week 10, which was a period of field training. Weeks 6 and 12 provided opportunities for recovery as reflected by improved wellbeing. Conclusions: The physical demands of training varied across the Australian Army 12 week BMT course and reflected the intended periodization of workload and recovery. Physical fitness improved from week 2 to 8, indicating a positive training response to BMT. Consistent with findings in sport, wellbeing measures were sensitive to fluctuations in training stress and appear to have utility for individual management of personnel in the military training environment.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to investigate changes in physical fitness and anthropometry of young men entering the military service in Finland during the years 1975–2015. Methods: The study included the fitness test results of 627,142 healthy young male conscripts (age 19.1 T 0.4 yr). Data included results of aerobic capacity, muscle fitness tests, and anthropometric characteristics. Results: The results show that the increase in mean body mass of young men has slowed down during the last 10 yr. However, the total increase in body mass was 6.8 kg (8.8%, P e 0.001) between 1993 and 2015. The mean distance achieved in the 12-min running test decreased by 337 m (12.2%, P e 0.001) between the peak in 1980 and 2015. The relative number of conscripts who ran less than 2200 m increased from 3.6% to 25.9% (P e 0.001) between 1980 and 2015, and the proportion who ran more than 3000 m decreased from 25.1% to 6.5% (P e 0.001). The relative number of conscripts who achieved an excellent or good muscle fitness index decreased from 66.8% to 40.1% (P e 0.001) between 1992 and 2000, and remained unchanged between 2000 and 2010. However, the proportion who achieved a poor muscle fitness index increased from 8.1% to 31.4% (P e 0.001) between 1992 and 2010. Discussion: The present study shows that the increase in mean body mass of young male conscripts has slowed down during the last 10 yr. However, their aerobic capacity has still decreased during recent decades. In addition, the proportion of conscripts with poor muscle fitness has increased. From the national defense and health perspective, more initiatives are needed to encourage young men to increase their level of daily physical activity to be fit and ready for operations. peerReviewed