Relative Strength and Physical Performance in US Army Male and Female Soldiers

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Human Performance
• Military Fitness

Background:

• Strength relative to body mass is a key indicator for physically demanding occupations.
• Understanding this relationship is vital for assessing and enhancing soldier capabilities.
• Previous research has highlighted the importance of relative strength in various physical tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between relative strength and physical performance in U.S. Army soldiers.
• To examine physical characteristics, training, and performance across different levels of relative strength.
• To compare performance metrics between male and female soldiers based on relative strength categories.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from 1,806 male and 319 female U.S. Army soldiers via electronic survey.
• Physical performance assessed using the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) comprising six events.
• Relative body mass deadlifted calculated and categorized into distinct groups for men and women.

Main Results:

• 33% of men and 30% of women met specific relative strength benchmarks (≥1.5x and ≥1.25x body mass, respectively).
• Soldiers in the highest relative strength categories outperformed those with lower relative strength in all ACFT events.
• Women with higher relative strength showed comparable or superior performance to certain male relative strength groups in specific ACFT events.

Conclusions:

• Higher strength relative to body mass is significantly associated with enhanced physical performance in soldiers.
• Relative strength is a critical factor for success across diverse physical demands assessed by the ACFT.
• These findings underscore the importance of optimizing relative strength for military readiness.