Health is so important in all aspects of life, whether you’re in the military or a civilian. Today, there are so many outlets to find inspiration to get healthy and to find workouts all of kinds. While civilians have the flexibility to set their own fitness standards, we know that’s not the case with the military, for many reasons that benefit us and our country.
We recently celebrated National Women’s Health and Fitness Day, so it’s a great time to focus on fitness for the female military community specifically. The Army just unveiled a new set of fitness standards that will measure combat readiness in an age and gender-neutral way, but the changes that were made to the Army Combat Fitness Test make it even more important for female soldiers to exercise regularly, make smart dietary choices, and practice healthy living. Even civilians can be inspired by the requirements in this fitness test.
All service members are required to show that they are capable of handling the demands of the job by maintaining a healthy weight, staying in shape, and passing medical screenings.
Many resources are available to help female personnel understand these requirements. Women in the Army have access to branch-specific resources such as the Women’s Health Portal from the Army Public Health Center, the Army Physical Fitness Test Calculator at GoArmy.com, and information about the Periodic Health Assessment from the Human Resources Command.
In order to meet the minimum standards of readiness, the Army provides a Physical Training guide that includes sections on nutrition, safety considerations, standard exercises, and specialized drills. The guide is available in PDF and interactive formats. Many of the exercises in the PT guide can be done without any equipment so they are perfect for deployed environments or when you are traveling on orders.
Apps are great for trying new workouts, keeping track of calories and nutritional content, and maintaining good mental health habits. Forbes puts out an annual list of the best health and fitness apps. The 2019 list included apps that covered everything from meditation and mindfulness to locating a personal trainer or a local gym. Most of the apps are available to download on iOS and Android devices and some can be used on other devices like Amazon Fire, Roku, Apple TV, Apple desktops and MacBooks, and PCs as well.
When you are on TDY or on leave, there’s usually a gym nearby. Most Army posts have one or more gyms that are open to active duty personnel and some are even open to dependents, veterans, DOD employees, and military contractors. A wide range of strength and cardiovascular equipment is available at most installation gyms.
Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs offer other opportunities to maintain fitness standards. The MWR provides access to a variety of recreation and fitness programs designed to keep soldiers and their families active.
If you don’t have access to a gym on post, you can use one of more than 3,000 YMCA and private fitness centers that offer military memberships through the Department of Defense’s Military Outreach Initiative. Off-post gyms that are not part of this initiative may also offer discount memberships to active duty military and veterans.
IHG® Army Hotels honors guests’ commitment to health by providing fitness facilities at most on-post locations.
However you prepare yourself to be Army Strong, IHG® and IHG® Army Hotels salute you and thank you for your service.
