Applied Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory, Oklahoma State University, 192 CRC, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
Mil Med Res. 2019 Sep 23;6(1):30. doi: 10.1186/s40779-019-0219-4.
The U.S. Air Force physical fitness assessment (PFA) is used to determine the overall fitness of their personnel. It is currently unknown to what extent the PFA scores of Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets are affected by mandatory physical training. The purpose of this investigation was to longitudinally examine the PFAs of ROTC cadets over a four-year period, evaluate the results across class ranks, and evaluate the sensitivity of the classification of the tests.
Air Force ROTC cadets performed the PFAs (abdominal circumference, 1-min pushups, 1-min sit-ups, and a 1.5-mile run) in both the spring (n = 26) and fall (n = 22) semesters. PFAs were compiled over a four-year period (Spring 2014 - Fall 2017) and were performed in accordance with Air Force Instruction 36-2905. A one-way repeated measures ANOVA was performed separately for the fall and spring groups for each dependent variable across the 4 years. Additionally, a one-way between groups ANOVA was performed for each dependent variable during the time point (fall 2015; N = 46) with the most recorded cadets for each class rank.
Longitudinal assessments revealed a main effect of time (P = 0.010) on abdominal circumference; cadets had a smaller abdominal circumference in their freshman year than in their senior year. A main effect of time (P = 0.006) was also observed on sit-up quantity; cadets performed more sit-ups in their junior year than in their freshman year. Examining between class ranks during the same year (between-subjects ANOVA) revealed a main effect of class rank on sit-up quantity (P = 0.003); the freshmen completed fewer repetitions than the sophomores (P = 0.018) and the juniors did (P = 0.001).
The results indicated that only the sit-up component showed differences between class ranks. These findings suggest that the Air Force PFA may not be sensitive enough to detect changes in physical fitness or distinguish between class ranks regarding physical performance, even after years of training. This limitation may be in part due to the limited duration of training incorporated by the ROTC program (2 h per week), which provided a maintenance effect rather than improvement in physical performance. We recommend that more attention be directed to the efficacy of physical training, the sensitivity of measures included in the PFA, or both.
美国空军体能评估（PFA）用于确定其人员的整体健康水平。目前尚不清楚后备军官训练团（ROTC）学员的 PFA 分数在多大程度上受到强制性体能训练的影响。本研究的目的是在四年内对 ROTC 学员的 PFA 进行纵向检查，评估各个年级的结果，并评估测试分类的敏感性。
空军 ROTC 学员在春季（n=26）和秋季（n=22）学期都进行了 PFA（腹部周长、1 分钟俯卧撑、1 分钟仰卧起坐和 1.5 英里跑）。在四年期间（2014 年春季至 2017 年秋季）编制了 PFA，并按照空军指令 36-2905 进行。对秋季和春季两组的每个因变量进行了四年的单向重复测量方差分析。此外，还对每个因变量在记录人数最多的每个年级（2015 年秋季；N=46）的时间点进行了组间方差分析。
纵向评估显示，腹部周长存在时间的主要影响（P=0.010）；新生的腹部周长比高年级的小。仰卧起坐数量也存在时间的主要影响（P=0.006）；学员在大三时做的仰卧起坐比大一的时候多。在同一年检查不同年级（组间方差分析）时，发现仰卧起坐数量存在年级的主要影响（P=0.003）；新生完成的次数少于大二学生（P=0.018）和大三学生（P=0.001）。
结果表明，只有仰卧起坐这一项在年级之间存在差异。这些发现表明，即使经过多年的训练，空军 PFA 可能不够敏感，无法检测到身体素质的变化，也无法区分年级之间的身体素质表现。这种局限性可能部分归因于 ROTC 项目中纳入的训练时间有限（每周 2 小时），这提供了维持效果，而不是提高身体素质。我们建议更多地关注体能训练的效果、PFA 中包含的措施的敏感性，或者两者兼而有之。
