Physical Fitness Predictors of a Warrior Task Simulation Test

Huang, H-C, Nagai, T, Lovalekar, M, Connaboy, C, and Nindl, BC. Physical fitness predictors of a warrior task simulation test. J Strength Cond Res 32(9): 2562-2568, 2018-The warrior task simulation test (WTST) has been developed in an attempt to better assess physical fitness required for soldiers to perform battlefield tasks and drills to determine whether laboratory-based measurements of physical fitness components could be used to predict the WTST. Forty-three healthy and physically active men participated in 2 sessions: the WTST and laboratory testing. The WTST comprised 282-m run, low hurdles, high crawl, casualty drag, balance beam, point-aim-move, 100-yard sprint, and agility sprint with participants wearing combat boots, uniform, helmet, and dummy rifle. The laboratory testing included assessments of participants' muscular strength and endurance, postural stability, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, flexibility, body fat, fat-free mass, and agility. Correlation and simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between the WTST and laboratory testing and predict the WTST, respectively (p < 0.05). The correlation and the simple linear regression analyses revealed that anaerobic capability, aerobic capacity, body fat, agility, and muscular endurance correlated with (r = 0.35-0.59) and accounted for 12-34% of the variance in (R = 0.12-0.34) the WTST performance (p < 0.05). The final model included aerobic capacity, agility, fat-free mass, muscular endurance, and body fat (R = 0.52, p < 0.001). The current results highlighted the importance of several components of physical fitness in simulated battlefield tasks and drills (assessed by the WTST). In particular, anaerobic capacity, aerobic capacity, and body fat had the highest correlational and predictive values of the WTST. Additionally, skill-related components of physical fitness, such as agility and muscular endurance, should not be ignored, and they should be assessed and tracked with the above-mentioned components.