Cold operational readiness in the military: from science to practice.

Cold weather operations are logistically difficult to orchestrate and extremely challenging for soldiers. Decades of research and empirical evidence indicate that humans are extremely vulnerable to cold and that individual responses are highly variable. In this context, it may be necessary to develop personalised strategies to sustain soldiers' performance and ensure overall mission success in the cold.

Lower-body muscular power predicts performance on urban combat simulation.

Background: Military operations in urban environments requires faster movements and therefore may place greater demands on soldier strength and anaerobic ability.

Objective: The aim was to study how physical fitness and body composition are associated with occupational test for urban combat soldiers before and after a 5-day military field exercise (MFE).

Methods: Twenty-six conscripts (age = 20±1 yrs.

Exercise self-efficacy remains unaltered during military service.

Background: Exercise self-efficacy is a crucial aspect of adopting and maintaining a physically active lifestyle. Regular physical activity may enhance exercise self-efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the baseline associations of physical fitness, physical activity, and body composition with exercise self-efficacy and the effects of military service on exercise self-efficacy.

Effects of male paratroopers' initial body composition on changes in physical performance and recovery during a 20-day winter military field training.

Changes in physiological markers and physical performance in relation to paratroopers' initial body composition were investigated during a 20-day winter military field training (MFT) and the subsequent 10-day recovery period. Body composition, serum hormone concentrations and enzymatic biomarkers, and physical performance of 58 soldiers were measured before, during, and after MFT. Comparisons were done according to soldiers' body fat percentage before MFT between low-fat (<12% body fat) and high-fat (>12% body fat) groups.

Effects of 12-Month Training Intervention on Physical Fitness, Body Composition, and Health Markers in Finnish Navy Soldiers.

Background: Most Western adults do not meet the recommendations for sufficient activity, and obesity is a global problem. Similar trends are also seen among Western military personnel. Many successful physical training interventions have been carried out in military environments, but the interventions have been quite short term, and the training has been supervised.

Effects of 36-hour recovery on marksmanship and hormone concentrations during strenuous winter military survival training.

Objectives: Survival training can provide a unique setting for scientific examination of human stress responses and physical performance in a realistic operational military context. The aim of the present study was to observe effects of a 36-h recovery period on serum hormone concentrations, salivary cortisol, and marksmanship during 10-day winter military survival training in north of the Arctic Circle.

Design And Methods: Sixty-eight male soldiers were randomly divided into two groups; EXP (n = 26) and CON (n = 42).

Introduction: Training is more important than technology (for performance in the cold).

After more than 50 years of studying soldiers in the cold, we are well past the phase of defining the unique problems; the research requirements are known but the solutions have been slow in coming. This requires iterative testing of proposed lab-based solutions with soldiers in the real environment. Representing a renewed effort to produce and implement solutions to human biomedical challenges in Arctic operations, this journal supplement highlights presentations from a three-day NATO Human Factors and Medicine panel-sponsored symposium in Washington DC in October 2022.

High-Intensity Functional Training Induces Superior Training Adaptations Compared With Traditional Military Physical Training.

Helén, J, Kyröläinen, H, Ojanen, T, Pihlainen, K, Santtila, M, Heikkinen, R, and Vaara, JP. High-intensity functional training induces superior training adaptations compared with traditional military physical training. J Strength Cond Res 37(12): 2477-2483, 2023-This study examined the effectiveness of concurrent strength and endurance training with an emphasis on high-intensity functional training (HIFT) during military service.

Cognitive Performance changes during a 20-day Winter Military Training Course and the Following 10-day Recovery Period.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a winter military field training course consisting of strenuous physical stressors (e.g. physical activity, sleep deprivation and cold weather) on cognitive performance among Finnish soldiers.

Physiological and physical performance changes during a 20-day winter military training course and its subsequent 10-day recovery period.

The present study investigated physiological, mental and physical performance changes during a 20-day winter military training course and the following 10-day recovery period. Fifty-eight (age 19 ± 1 years, height 182 ± 6 cm, body mass 78.5 ± 7.

A systematic review of HRV during diving in very cold water.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a useful method to study the autonomic nervous system (ANS) status. As measuring devices have developed and become smaller, many researchers have become interested in the possibilities to implement the method for diving medicine research. The aim of this study was to review human ANS responses in cold water diving (water temperature <5°C), and to comprise the current knowledge of HRV studies in diving and hyperbaric exposure into one review article.

Performance changes during repeated military occupational test and its associations to physical performance.

The present study investigated performance changes during three runs (1 min recovery) of repeated military simulation task test (RMST) and its associations with physical performance. Voluntary male soldiers ( = 114) participated in a series of measurements of physical performance. Lower body explosive force production, anaerobic endurance and upper body strength endurance together explained 58% of the variance in the first RSMT ( < 0.

Energy Balance, Hormonal Status, and Military Performance in Strenuous Winter Training.

Severe energy deficit may impair hormonal regulation and physical performance in military trainings. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between energy intake, expenditure, and balance, hormones and military performance during a winter survival training. Two groups were studied: the FEX group ( = 46) had 8-day garrison and field training, whereas the RECO group ( = 26) had a 36-h recovery period after the 6-day garrison and field training phase.

The Effects of Individual Characteristics of the Naval Personnel on Sleepiness and Stress during Two Different Watchkeeping Schedules.

Background: Naval service can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of seafarers, and the operation of warships is highly dependent on the personnel on board. Nevertheless, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the impact of seafarers' individual characteristics on their wellbeing in a naval environment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate individual characteristics of the naval personnel that may be associated with the amount of sleepiness, fatigue and stress responses experienced during shift work and irregular working hours in a naval environment.

Effects of overnight military training and acute battle stress on the cognitive performance of soldiers in simulated urban combat.

Understanding the effect of stress, fatigue, and sleep deprivation on the ability to maintain an alert and attentive state in an ecologically valid setting is of importance as lapsing attention can, in many safety-critical professions, have devastating consequences. Here we studied the effect of close-quarters battle (CQ battle) exercise combined with overnight military training with sleep deprivation on cognitive performance, namely sustained attention and response inhibition. In addition, the effect of the CQ battle and overnight training on cardiac activity [heart rate and root mean square of the successive differences (RMSSD)] during the cognitive testing and the relationship between cardiac activity and cognitive performance were examined.

Effects of operational assessment of the 4:4 and 4:4/6:6 watch systems on sleepiness, fatigue, and stress responses during patrolling on a navy missile patrol boat.

The operation of naval vessels involves watchkeeping 24 h per day, which is globally carried out by a variety of different watch systems. In this study, the rotating 4:4 and fixed 4:4/6:6 two-section watch systems were compared in terms of sleepiness, fatigue, and stress responses. The data collection took place on a Finnish Defence Forces' (FDF) Navy missile patrol boat with 15 crew members serving as study participants.

Changes in Body Composition, Energy Metabolites and Electrolytes During Winter Survival Training in Male Soldiers.

The aim of this study was to examine changes in body composition, energy metabolites and electrolytes during a 10-day winter survival training period. Two groups of male soldiers were examined: the REC group ( = 26; age 19.7 ± 1.

Physical training considerations for optimizing performance in essential military tasks.

Physically demanding essential military tasks include load carriage, manual material handling and casualty evacuation. This narrative review characterizes the main physical attributes related to performance of these occupational tasks and reviews physical training intervention studies in military settings to improve performance in these military tasks. Load carriage performance requires both aerobic and neuromuscular fitness with greater emphasis on maximal strength and absolute maximal oxygen uptake, especially when carrying heavier loads.

Diving Responses in Experienced Rebreather Divers: Short-Term Heart Rate Variability in Cold Water Diving.

Introduction: Technical diving is very popular in Finland throughout the year despite diving conditions being challenging, especially due to arctic water and poor visibility. Cold water, immersion, submersion, hyperoxia, as well as psychological and physiological stress, all have an effect on the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

Materials And Methods: To evaluate divers' ANS responses, short-term (5 min) heart rate variability (HRV) during dives in 2-4°C water was measured.

Training-Induced Acute Neuromuscular Responses to Military Specific Test during a Six-Month Military Operation.

Limited data are available regarding strength and endurance training adaptations to occupational physical performance during deployment. This study assessed acute training-induced changes in neuromuscular (electromyography; EMG) and metabolic (blood lactate, BLa) responses during a high-intensity military simulation test (MST), performed in the beginning (PRE) and at the end (POST) of a six-month crisis-management operation. MST time shortened (145 ± 21 vs.

Device-Based Measures of Sedentary Time and Physical Activity Are Associated With Physical Fitness and Body Fat Content.

Physical activity and sedentary time may associate with physical fitness and body composition. Yet, there exists some observational studies that have investigated the associations of device-based measures of sedentary time and physical activity (PA) with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and body composition but associations with muscular fitness (MF) are less studied. Objective sedentary time and physical activity was measured by a hip worn accelerometer from 415 young adult men (age: mean 26, standard deviation 7 years).

Effects of Combined Strength and Endurance Training on Body Composition, Physical Fitness, and Serum Hormones During a 6-Month Crisis Management Operation.

Pihlainen, K, Kyröläinen, H, Santtila, M, Ojanen, T, Raitanen, J, and Häkkinen, K. Effects of combined strength and endurance training on body composition, physical fitness, and serum hormones during a 6-month crisis management operation. J Strength Cond Res 36(9): 2361-2370, 2022-Very few studies have examined the impact of training interventions on soldier readiness during an international military operation.

Can Physiological and Psychological Factors Predict Dropout from Intense 10-Day Winter Military Survival Training?

In the military context, high levels of physiological and psychological stress together can compromise individual's ability to complete given duty or mission and increase dropout rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate if baseline physical fitness, body composition, hormonal and psychological factors could predict dropout from a 10-day intense winter military survival training. 69 conscripts volunteered to participate in the study.

Effects of Task-Specific and Strength Training on Simulated Military Task Performance in Soldiers.

A soldier's occupational physical task requirements are diverse and varied. However, the type of physical training that most effectively improves soldiers' occupational task requirements has not been studied previously. The purpose of this study was to determine the important strength characteristics for soldiers during a repeated simulated military task course, and the type of training that may be effective to improve these abilities during a specialized military training period.

Changes in strength and power performance and serum hormone concentrations during 12 weeks of task-specific or strength training in conscripts.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two different training programs on strength and power performance and serum hormone concentrations. A total of 104 male soldiers volunteered and took part in the 12-week training period with baseline, mid-, and post-measurements of body composition, muscle strength, lower and upper body power, and blood samples to determine serum hormone concentrations. The mean (±SD) age of subjects was 20 ± 1 years, height 180 ± 6 cm and body mass 72.