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The New Army Combat Field Test (CFT)? Can You Pass It?

The New Combat Field Test (CFT) is the newest combat-specific fitness assessment for soldiers serving in 24 designated combat Military Occupational Specialties (MOSs).

Therefore, the test was designed to better reflect the physical demands of modern combat:
-Sprinting
-Lifting equipment
-Carrying and dragging heavy loads
- Performing under fatigue

Even if you're not in an army, it’s an effective test for anyone to test their fitness levels.

Here’s what it consists of. 7 events you run back-to-back until completion.
- 1-Mile Run
- 30 Dead-Stop Push-Ups (resting on the ground between reps)
- 100-Meter Sprint
- 16 Sandbag Lifts (40-pound sandbags onto a 65-inch platform)
- 50-Meter Water Can Carry (two 40-pound water cans)
- Movement Drill (25-meter high crawl followed by a 25-meter 3-5 second rush)
- 1-Mile Run

You need to complete it in 30 minutes or less. Can you pass?

Check out our article for more info and tips on training strategies

https://www.setforset.com/blogs/news/can-you-pass-the-new-army-combat-field-test-cft

Does Endurance Training Increase Health Risk?
No.

There have been many claims made against cardio and endurance training as a reason to not to do it. Lately, there have been some who suggest it’s actually unhealthy for us.

Is it? Absolutely not.

Humans are the greatest endurance athletes on the planet. In fact, endurance running is thought to have driven our evolution.

Bramble & Lieberman 2004 research states:

“The fossil evidence…suggests that endurance running is a derived capability of the genus Homo…and may have been instrumental in the evolution of the human body form”

Adaptations include:
Eccrine Sweat Glands
Loss of Body Hair.
Bipedal Foot Structure
Enormous Gluteus Maximus
Nuchal Ligament
Achilles Tendon (Bramble & Lieberman, 2004)

It’s hard to suggest that endurance training is bad for us when our bodies evolved for it.

There’s also concern about increased arterial fibrillation (AF). This is seen but only in athletes who perform a large volume of high endurance training.

In other words, it’s not seen by people doing 10Ks, half marathons or a single marathon a year.

A large study actually examined this and found while it does occur, it doesn’t seem to have a detrimental effect in athletes.

"However, the studies analyzed here...do not support that such type of exercise is overall harmful to the human heart.”

“Veteran athletes with arrhythmias have higher heart rate variability, which has a cardio protective effect." (Garatachea et al., 2014)

And last…Endurance athletes live longer.

A Meta-Analysis of 165,000 Former Athletes determined:

"Endurance and team sport athlete’s all-cause and CVD mortality was significantly lower than the general population" (Runacres et al., 2021)

The problem comes when an individual fixates on a single mechanism instead of the overall picture.

And the overall picture says endurance exercise supports a longer life.

Bramble, D., Lieberman, D. Endurance running and the evolution of Homo. Nature 432, 345–352 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03052

Garatachea et al. (2014). Elite athletes live longer than the general population: a meta-analysis. Mayo Clinic proceedings, 89(9), 1195–1200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2014.06.004

Runacres, et al(2021). Health Consequences of an Elite Sporting Career: Long-Term Detriment or Long-Term Gain? A Meta-Analysis of 165,000 Former Athletes. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 51(2), 289–301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01379-5

GLP-1 medications don't magically destroy muscle.

With all the talk about muscle loss on GLP-1, you’d think that GLP-1 itself breaks down your muscle.

It doesn’t. What does is the large caloric deficit.

Most muscle loss happens because people suddenly eat far less, don't consume enough protein, and stop challenging their muscles.

The good news is that we already know how to dramatically reduce muscle loss.

Prioritize:
- Progressive resistance training
- 1.6-2.5 g/kg of protein per day
- Quality sleep

Avoid unnecessarily aggressive calorie deficits

Lose fat—not your hard-earned muscle.

"Train your deep core."

It's one of the biggest trends in fitness right now, but do you actually need specialized exercises to target it?

For most healthy people, probably not.

Your “deep core” is a group of 4 muscles that create a cylinder around your torso and spine.

Their job isn't to create movement. It's to create stability by increasing intra-abdominal pressure.

A very important function but it happens naturally. Every time you lift heavy or move quickly, they fire. This means you can’t not train them.

But this doesn’t mean it should be ignored; it just means you probably don’t need a “deep core” workout.

Instead, your time is often better spent learning how to brace properly. That one skill can improve lifting, protect your spine, and transfer to nearly every exercise you perform.

Swipe through to learn what your deep core actually does, why most "deep core workouts" are overstated, and the exercises that really build a stronger, more stable core.

Are fitness slogans like "Eat Less, Move More," "Calories In, Calories Out (CICO)," and "If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM)" outdated? No.

But if you believed everything on the internet you’d think so.

Many of the internet's biggest criticisms of these slogans don't actually disprove these principles, they simply add context and often actually prove them.

Modern research has improved our understanding of hormones, metabolism, appetite, and food quality. And while there may be differences on the individual level, it hasn't changed the fundamental physiology behind fat loss.

In this article, we explore what these popular sayings were originally meant to communicate, how they've been misinterpreted online, and why simple advice can still be good advice.

Read the full article and let us know: Which fitness slogan do you think has been misunderstood the most?

3 Questions With Dr. Belinda Beck And Bone Health
Are you lifting heavy enough for bone growth?

If you listen to mainstream fitness advice, probably not.

Especially if you want to optimize your results.

But there’s a lot of confusing messaging that makes it difficult to know the right answer.

So we stopped looking at what experts in muscle growth said and asked the experts in bone growth. Specifically Dr. Belinda Beck.

Dr. Beck was head researcher of the now famous LIFTMOR study which showed heavy barbell training produced superior improvements in bone growth. This is just one of the many studies her and her team have carried out on training for bone health..

In other words, she’s the Bone Expert. This is what we asked.

Need a refresher on the LIFTMOR study? Check out our full breakdown here!

Watson, S. L., Weeks, B. K., Weis, L. J., Harding, A. T., Horan, S. A., & Beck, B. R. (2018). High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, 33(2), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284

The LIFTMOR Study: They’re Not Telling You Everything!

The LIFTMOR study proved that resistance training increases bone mineral density (BMD) and improves bone health.

A lot of people that use this study to promote resistance training stop there.

But that just scratches the surface.

When we look at the actual study, we find a lot is often left out of the conversation.

1.The RT group used heavy loads (80-85% 1RM) with squats and deadlifts (And no one got hurt)

2. The RT group GAINED BMD, GAINED stature, and IMPROVED function.

3. The Body Weight group LOST BMD, LOST stature, and DECLINED in function.

4. The same protocol is now taught to practitioners to treat osteoporosis. It’s called the ONERO Academy

The LIFTMOR study didn’t just show resistance training is great for BONE GROWTH; it showed HEAVY LIFTING is vastly superior, while training with light loads may not even be enough to stop BONE LOSS.

Check out our full breakdown at setforset.com - link in comments!