Aerobic Exercise—A Foundation for Fitness
Physical readiness is comprised of muscular strength, muscular endurance, aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance and power. This kind of training provides a foundation for your general health and fitness and is called Endurance in
FM 7-22 
, Holistic Health and Fitness.
One hundred fifty minutes of endurance training per week helps:
- Create staying power. Maintain your physical performance throughout long missions and training events.
- Build resistance to injury. Soldiers who have greater aerobic fitness are less likely to be injured.
- Increase the health and strength of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. This makes fit Soldiers healthier in the long run.
- Improve children's endurance for those late nights spent studying and long days at school.
Activity Target: The Performance Triad aerobic exercise goal is 150 minutes of moderate or greater intensity exercise per week.
What counts as moderate intensity?
- About a 40–60% effort level
- Brisk walking
- Light jogging, under about 6 mph
- Hiking or trail walking on easy flat surfaces
- Light cycling—indoors or out
- Light recreational swimming
- Light to moderate weight training or using long rest periods
- Endurance training machines on a low or light setting, like rowers, elliptical trainers, or step machines.
- Gardening, grass mowing and light outdoor chores
- Setting up/taking down tents and field equipment
- Loading and unloading gear continuously, about 40lbs or less
- Skateboarding on an even surface
- School yard games like tag, swings, monkey bars and slides
- Physical Readiness Training (PRT) Recovery and Prep Drills. There are 38 Drills with a total of 201 exercises in the H2F physical training domain (see table 6-2). Modifications in weight, numbers of repetitions, distances and range of motion provide an even greater variety to accommodate the widest range of Soldier physical readiness. See ATP 7-22.02 for the standards, modifications, and illustrations for each drill.
Activity Plus Target: Add 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise per week to reach the Performance Triad aerobic activity plus goal.
What counts for my vigorous 75 minutes?
- Vigorous is about a 60–90% effort level
- Running or jogging, at about 6 mph or greater
- Hiking uphill
- Fast cycling—indoors or out
- Fast swimming laps
- Heavy weight training or with short rest periods
- Endurance training machines on a fast or difficult setting, like rowers, elliptical trainers, or step machines.
- Heavy outdoor work, shoveling or digging, moving higher loads of 40 lbs. or more
- Competitive sports like soccer, flag football, basketball, wrestling, and combatives training
- Loading and unloading heavy gear continuously; over about 40 lbs.
