how important is your level of physical fitness? How does your fitness affect your unit’s combat readiness?

You’re probably tired of hearing how important it is to be in great shape as an officer, but it’s a basic truth. You don’t have to be the best at everything, but you definitely need to be one of the most physically fit Soldiers in your platoon. Morale improves when your Soldiers are constantly trying to beat you in a run or in an individual event like pull-ups or the rope climb. When that happened to me as a platoon leader that meant instant respect. My Soldiers all knew I could run or road march to the end with any of them. You can’t motivate Soldiers in a road march if you are visibly in bad shape. It’s a sad [sight] when a lieutenant can’t lead his Soldiers physically. Ask yourself: How can you lead or motivate your Soldiers if you’re not at the head of the formation? When it comes to the combat environment, physical fitness is crucial. If you allow your Soldiers to deploy in poor condition, you have failed them. Being physically fit out here [in Afghanistan] will help your Soldiers bear some of the rigors of a combat tour: less sleep, very random and increasingly changing rest patterns, extreme heat, heavy weights, and less than standard nutrition, to name a few. Staying in shape in a combat environment can be a tough task, because you may lack the time or facilities to exercise as you may have been able to in garrison. However, solid cardiovascular fitness will make a significant difference in higher elevations, and upper body and leg strength may prevent exhaustion from heavy gear in hot weather Components of Fitness

Your physical fitness is your ability to perform physical work, training, and other activities

throughout your daily work schedule. Physical fitness is multidimensional, and—based on

your goals—some components will be more valuable than others.

Five key components define your physical fitness:

• Cardiorespiratory (CR) endurance—how efficiently your body delivers oxygen and

nutrients for muscular activity and transports waste from the cells

• Muscular strength—the greatest amount of force your muscle or muscle group

can exert in a single effort

• Muscular endurance—the ability of your muscle or muscle group to perform

repeated movements for extended periods

• Flexibility—the ability to move your joints (elbow or knee, for example) or any

group of joints through their entire normal range of motion

• Body composition—the amount of body fat you have in comparison with your total

body mass.

Improving the first three of these components will improve your body composition by

decreasing your body fat. Excessive body fat detracts from the other fitness measures,

reduces your physical and mental performance, detracts from your appearance, and

increases overall health risks. One measurement of body fat is as a percentage of your

total weight.

Besides your physical fitness, you should also work to improve your motor fitness. Motor fitness—speed, agility, muscle power, eye-hand coordination, and eye-foot coordination— directly affect a Soldier’s performance on the battlefield. Appropriate training will improve these elements up to each Soldier’s individual potential.