Physical Fitness

An additional advantage of training as a Soldier in the Army National Guard is achieving physical fitness. Many diseases are preventable with regular exercise. The Army National Guard is a great way to achieve optimal physical fitness for improved health.

Unit readiness begins with physically fit Soldiers and leaders. Combat drains Soldiers physically, mentally, and emotionally. To minimize those effects, Army leaders are physically fit and they make sure their subordinates are fit as well. Physically fit Soldiers perform better in all areas. Physically fit leaders are better able to think, decide, and act appropriately under pressure. Physical readiness provides a foundation for combat readiness.

Make every effort to design a physical fitness program that prepares you for the rigors of combat. Readiness should be your program’s primary focus; preparation for the APFT itself is secondary. (FM 21-20 is your primary physical fitness resource.)

"You have to lead men in war by requiring more from the individual than he thinks he can do. You have to (bring) them along to endure and to display qualities of fortitude that are beyond the average man’s thought of what he should be expected to do. You have to inspire them when they are hungry and exhausted and desperately uncomfortable and in great danger; and only a man of positive characteristics of leadership, with the physical stamina (fitness) that goes with it, can function under those conditions."

--General of the Army George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff, World War II