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Quan i ica ion o Rec ui T aining Demands and Subjec i e Wellbeing du ing Basic
Mili a y T aining
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Published e sion
Bulme , Sean; D ain, Jace R.; Tai , Jamie L.; Co igan, Sean L.; Gas in, Paul B.;
Aisbe , B ad; Ran alainen, Timo; Main, Luana C.
Bulme , S., D ain, J. R., Tai , J. L., Co igan, S. L., Gas in, P. B., Aisbe , B., Ran alainen, T., & Main,
L. C. (2022). Quan i ica ion o Rec ui T aining Demands and Subjec i e Wellbeing du ing Basic
Mili a y T aining. In e na ional Jou nal o En i onmen al Resea ch and Public Heal h, 19(12),
A icle 7360. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ije ph19127360
2022
Ci a ion: Bulme , S.; D ain, J.R.; Tai ,
J.L.; Co igan, S.L.; Gas in, P.B.;
Aisbe , B.; Ran alainen, T.; Main, L.C.
Quan i ica ion o Rec ui T aining
Demands and Subjec i e Wellbeing
du ing Basic Mili a y T aining. In . J.
En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19,
7360. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/
ije ph19127360
Academic Edi o : Paul B. Tchounwou
Recei ed: 9 May 2022
Accep ed: 8 June 2022
Published: 15 June 2022
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In e na ional Jou nal o
En i onmen al Resea ch
and Public Heal h
A icle
Quan i ica ion o Rec ui T aining Demands and Subjec i e
Wellbeing du ing Basic Mili a y T aining
Sean Bulme 1, Jace R. D ain 2, Jamie L. Tai 3, Sean L. Co igan 1, Paul B. Gas in 4, B ad Aisbe 3,
Timo Ran alainen 5and Luana C. Main 3,*
1Cen e o Spo Resea ch, School o Exe cise and Nu i ion Sciences, Deakin Uni e si y,
Geelong 3220, Aus alia; [email p o ec ed] (S.B.); [email p o ec ed] (S.L.C.)
2De ence Science and Technology G oup, Fishe mans Bend 3207, Aus alia; [email p o ec ed].au
3Ins i u e o Physical Ac i i y and Nu i ion (IPAN), School o Exe cise and Nu i ion Sciences,
Deakin Uni e si y, Geelong 3220, Aus alia; [email p o ec ed] (J.L.T.); [email p o ec ed] (B.A.)
4La T obe Spo and Exe cise Medicine Resea ch Cen e, School o Allied Heal h, Human Se ices and Spo ,
La T obe Uni e si y, Bundoo a 3083, Aus alia; p.gas in@la obe.edu.au
5Ge on ology Resea ch Cen e and Facul y o Spo and Heal h Sciences, Uni e si y o Jy äskylä,
40014 Jy äskylä, Finland; [email p o ec ed]
*Co espondence: [email p o ec ed]; Tel.: +61-39244-5030
Abs ac :
Pu pose: Assess and desc ibe he physical demands and changes in subjec i e wellbeing o
ec ui s comple ing he 12 week Aus alian A my Basic Mili a y T aining (BMT) cou se. Me hods:
Thi y- i e ec ui s (24.8
±
6.8 y; 177.4
±
10.1 cm, 75.6
±
14.7 kg) consen ed o daily ac i i y moni o ing
and weekly measu es o subjec i e wellbeing (Mul i-componen T aining Dis ess Scale, MTDS).
The physical demands o aining we e assessed ia w is wo n ac i i y moni o s (Ac ig aph GT9X
accele ome e ). Physical i ness changes we e assessed by push-ups, si -ups and mul i-s age shu le
un in weeks 2 and 8. Resul s: All objec i e and subjec i e measu es signi ican ly changed (p< 0.05)
ac oss he 12 week BMT cou se. In pa allel, he e was a signi ican imp o emen in measu es
o physical i ness om weeks 2 o 8 (p< 0.001). The g ea es dis u bance o subjec i e wellbeing
occu ed du ing week 10, which was a pe iod o ield aining. Weeks 6 and 12 p o ided oppo uni ies
o eco e y as e lec ed by imp o ed wellbeing. Conclusions: The physical demands o aining
a ied ac oss he Aus alian A my 12 week BMT cou se and e lec ed he in ended pe iodiza ion o
wo kload and eco e y. Physical i ness imp o ed om week 2 o 8, indica ing a posi i e aining
esponse o BMT. Consis en wi h indings in spo , wellbeing measu es we e sensi i e o luc ua ions
in aining s ess and appea o ha e u ili y o indi idual managemen o pe sonnel in he mili a y
aining en i onmen .
Keywo ds: soldie ; a my; sel - epo ; moni o ing; ec ui ; allos a ic load
1. In oduc ion
Basic Mili a y T aining (BMT) p o ides ec ui s wi h ounda ional aining, p epa ing
hem o he igo s o mili a y se ice. Du ing BMT, ec ui s a e exposed o a a ie y o
physical and cogni i e demands, including a newly egimen ed li es yle, new social and
en i onmen al s esso s, and he cons an p essu e o ins uc o and pee assessmen [
1
–
3
].
Rec ui s mus mee a ange o mili a y compe encies and s anda ds o g adua e om BMT
and p og ess o ade-speci ic aining (e.g., in an y, logis ics, a mo ed). The de elopmen
o mili a y- ele an physical capaci y is he e o e undamen al o many o hese aining
ou comes. Howe e , high physical aining olumes, insu icien eco e y oppo uni ies,
and inc eased s ess du ing mili a y aining ha e been linked o a numbe o maladap i e
ou comes, such as musculoskele al inju y, illness and aining a i ion [
4
]. These nega i e
ou comes inc ease aining cos s, bu den he heal hca e sys em, inc ease u u e inju y
isk, and can impai ca ee p og ession [
5
]. Maladap a ion o a aining s imulus can
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/ije ph19127360 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/ije ph
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 2 o 10
be caused by combina ions o a sudden inc ease in aining load, high o al aining
load, inadequa e eco e y, aining mono ony o en i onmen al and li es yle s esso s [
6
].
A oiding maladap a ion and achie ing ime-e icien physical pe o mance gains wi h he
lowes possible inju y a e is he e o e essen ial o a success ul, sus ainable mili a y [7].
T adi ionally, mili a y physical aining p og ams ha e a o ed ca dio espi a o y and
muscula endu ance aining [
7
,
8
]. S eady-s a e unning, long-dis ance ma ching, and
ci cui aining ha e made up a subs an ial po ion o he p esc ibed wo kload [
2
,
8
,
9
]. In
compa ison, he de elopmen o muscula s eng h, and he p o ision o delibe a e eco e y
pe iods ha e been a lesse ocus [
8
,
9
]. This combina ion o mode a e o high olume
aining and inadequa e eco e y has been associa ed wi h symp oms o maladap a ion
and inc eased inju y incidence [
7
]. Con empo a y mili a y aining ecommenda ions
ha e subsequen ly speci ied ha physical aining (PT) p og ams include ocused s eng h
aining [
9
] wi hin a pe iodised p og am ha p o ides p og essi e o e load coupled wi h
adequa e eco e y [
7
]. In 2015, he Aus alian A my adop ed a mo e con empo a y PT
p og am ha inco po a ed muscula s eng h and high-in ensi y in e al aining, o be e
align wi h occupa ional demands and mi iga e he isk o p e en able musculoskele al
inju ies. Fo p ac icali y, his PT p og am is implemen ed in a g oup aining o ma ,
wi h some oppo uni y o indi idualiza ion o help ensu e equi alen ela i e in ensi y
ac oss he g oup. Howe e , i is unlikely ha he g oup-deli e ed aining s imuli will
be op imal o all ec ui s, gi en a iances in i ness and aining his o y [
10
]. Mo eo e ,
g oup-le el aining p esc ip ion wi hou s a egies o moni o indi idual ec ui s’ aining
s ain could lead o sub-op imal aining adap a ions, unsus ainable loads o ad e se e en s
(i.e., inju y).
While PT is an ob ious sou ce o aining demands du ing BMT, om a scheduling
pe spec i e, PT lessons ep esen <10% o he o al lesson ime in he Aus alian A my
BMT p og am [
9
], which is simila o o he BMT cou ses [
2
]. In addi ion o PT, he e a e
a ious mili a y skill and educa ion lessons (e.g., pa olling, o ensi e and de ensi e g ound
maneu e s, na iga ion, d ill, ma ching) ha simila ly impose physical and physiological
demands. On op o hese physical demands a e psychological and cogni i e challenges,
and dis up ed sleep, all collec i ely con ibu ing o high allos a ic loads [
1
,
11
,
12
]. Con-
sequen ly, gi en p e iously obse ed high a es o musculoskele al inju y and aining
a i ion, he e would be measu able bene i s associa ed wi h he implemen a ion o an
ongoing moni o ing sys em o he managemen o he aining demands imposed on
ec ui s unde aking BMT.
Op imiza ion o high loads in a g oup aining en i onmen is a challenge ha BMT
sha es wi h eli e eam spo s. In spo o ganiza ions, consis en and ac ionable in o ma ion
o load managemen is ou inely ga he ed ia sel - epo moni o ing s a egies ha ack
changes in a hle e wellbeing [
13
]. These le e age an indi idual’s pe cep ion o hei
wellbeing o e ime, o iden i y a hle es a isk o poo aining ou comes o comp omised
pe o mance. Subsequen aining modi ica ions and in e en ions p esc ibed based on
known ela ionships be ween aining load and s ess esponses can mi iga e he isk o
hese nega i e ou comes [
14
]. Sel - epo measu es o subjec i e wellbeing a e widely used
o hei cos -e ec i eness and o he minimal ime equi ed o adminis e and analyze he
esul s, which makes hem p ac ical o la ge o ganiza ions o implemen . These measu es
cha ac e ize an indi idual’s subjec i e s a e in dis inc domains such as s ess, dep essed
mood s a es and physical ailmen s (e.g., muscle and join so eness/pain) ela ing o physical
and men al wellbeing. Scales measu ing changes in mul iple domains a once (i.e., mood,
pe cei ed s ess, symp om checklis s and eco e y s a us) p o ide a mo e holis ic pic u e o
an indi idual’s pe cep ion o hei wellbeing, when compa ed wi h measu es om a single
domain [
15
]. Such measu es a e gaining ac ion, as hey p o ide immedia e insigh s in o
he mos a ec ed domains and iden i y a eas ha should be p io i ized o in e en ion. To
da e, he demands o aining du ing he ecen ly modi ied Aus alian A my BMT p og am
and he p og am’s e ec s on wellbeing ha e no been quan i ied. The e o e, he aims o he
cu en s udy we e o (1a) assess and desc ibe he physical demands imposed on ec ui s
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 3 o 10
du ing BMT; (1b) quan i y subjec i e wellbeing o ec ui s du ing BMT; and (2) explo e
ela ionships be ween he physical demands and subjec i e wellbeing du ing BMT.
2. Me hods
2.1. Pa icipan s
Pa icipan s we e Aus alian A my ec ui s commencing he 12-week BMT p og am
a he A my Rec ui T aining Cen e, Blamey Ba acks, Kapooka, Aus alia in July 2018.
The ec ui s we e om wo pla oons wi hin he same aining company and commenced
BMT on he same day. Po en ial pa icipan s we e e bally b ie ed and p o ided a w i en
p ojec desc ip ion by an in es iga o in acco dance wi h he p o ocol app o ed by he
Depa men o De ence and Ve e ans’ A ai s Human Resea ch E hics Commi ee (p o ocol
numbe : 021-17). No uni o med pe sonnel we e p esen o he b ie ing, and i was made
clea ha pa icipa ion was olun a y and would ha e no bea ing on cu en o u u e
ca ee oppo uni ies. W i en in o med consen o pa icipa e was p o ided by 48 ec ui s,
and desc ip i e da a is p o ided in Table 1. All pa icipan s me he Aus alian A my
enlis men i ness equi emen s o 45 si -ups wi h ee held, a 7.5 mul i-s age shu le un
sco e, and 8 ( emale) o 15 (male) push-ups.
Table 1. Desc ip i e da a o pa icipan s.
Pa icipan Va iable Value
N 48
Age 24.4 ±7.1
Heigh (cm) 176.5 ±9.9
Body Mass (kg) 76.8 ±14.7
2.2. Expe imen al Design and P ocedu es
Following he p o ision o consen du ing he i s week o BMT, a baseline physical
ac i i y ques ionnai e, he In e na ional Physical Ac i i y Ques ionnai e (IPAQ) Sho Fo m
was comple ed wi hin 48 h. The ques ionnai e consis s o ou ques ions (wi h embedded
sub-ques ions) ela ing o igo ous, mode a e, and walking physical ac i i y, as well as
seden a y beha io pe o med in he pas se en days [
16
]. The IPAQ esul s showed ha
pe day p io o BMT, ec ui s spen a daily a e age o 4.8 h si ing, 1.7 h walking, 1 h a
mode a e in ensi ies, and 0.8 h a igo ous in ensi ies. An h opome ic da a was ga he ed
om he A my’s ini ial sc eening o he ec ui s by heal h cen e nu sing s a .
Fo he du a ion o BMT, pa icipan s wo e an Ac iG aph GT9x (Ac iG aph, Pensacola,
FL, USA) on hei non-dominan w is . Uni s we e se a a collec ion a e o 30 Hz using
60 s epochs. Daily s eps and physical ac i i y coun s we e used o quan i y he physical
demands o aining. Ac i i y coun s we e con e ed o a daily es ima ion o ene gy
expendi u e (EE) ia he me hod o neu al ne wo k, including absolu e accele a ion alues
and ‘ ea u e se 1
0
o w is -independen EE es ima ion, as desc ibed by Mon oye e al. [
17
].
The calcula ed METs pe day o each pa icipan we e summed o epo daily MET
minu es, wi h he weekly o al ene gy expendi u e being he accumula ion o MET minu es
om Monday o Sunday each week.
These esul s a e epo ed as weekly ene gy expendi u e (MET minu es) and % weekly
o al ime in zones o seden a y, ligh , mode a e, igo ous, as well as mode a e and
igo ous physical ac i i y (MVPA) [
18
]. A minimum o i e days o da a pe week pe
pa icipan was equi ed o inclusion in he physical ac i i y analysis pe week. Due o
ha ing less han a ull week o da a a e consen was g an ed, week 1 accele ome e da a
we e no included in he analysis. Pa icipan s wo e he Ac iG aphs o he en i e du a ion
o he s udy, excep o any pe iods o wa e imme sion (i.e., showe ing o swimming),
and o cha ge he uni s. The de ices we e collec ed by esea ch s a Monday nigh p io
o bed ime; he da a we e downloaded, and he de ices cha ged, p io o hei e u n o
pa icipan s upon waking Tuesday mo ning. Non-wea ime was de e mined as mo e han
h ee hou s o consecu i e ‘0
0
o al accele a ion pe day, excep Monday and Tuesday, whe e
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 4 o 10
eigh hou s was used o accoun o downloading and cha ging ime. The 3 h non-wea
h eshold is mo e s ingen han he s anda d minimum 10 h/day o al wea ime o en
used in ee-li ing adul s [19].
Subjec i e assessmen o aining demands was quan i ied ia Ra ing o Pe cei ed
Exe ion (RPE) [
20
] p io o bed each day as close o 10:00 p.m. as p ac icable using pen
and pape . RPE is an indica o o exe ion and was used o add con ex o EE each day.
Pa icipan s used a ca ego y a io scale (CR-10) o 0 o 10 o a e hei exe ion o he day
whe e 0 = ‘no hing a all’, 2 = ‘weak’, 5 = ‘s ong’, 7 = ‘ e y s ong’ and 10 = ‘ e y, e y
s ong’. While his measu e has his o ically been used o a e a single aining ‘session’, i
has been p e iously u ilized as a daily measu e in mili a y se ings [21,22].
Subjec i e wellbeing was assessed using he Mul i-componen T aining Dis ess Scale
(MTDS), which is a alida ed measu e o a hle e popula ions [
15
] and has p e iously been
used o i e igh e s [
23
]. The sho 22-i em measu e was comple ed ia pen and pape
upon wakening e e y Sunday mo ning o he du a ion o he s udy. Twen y- wo i ems,
g ouped unde six ac o s: dep ession, igo , physical symp oms, sleep dis u bances, s ess
and a igue we e answe ed on a i e-poin scale (ze o o ou : 0 = ‘no a all’, 1 = ‘a li le’,
2 = ‘mode a ely’, 3 = ‘qui e a bi ’, 4 = ‘ex emely’). In e nal consis ency o he subscales
ha e p e iously been epo ed wi h C onbach alpha anging om 0.72 o 0.86 [15].
Physical i ness was assessed in weeks 2 and 8 o BMT. The physical i ness es s
included maximum push-ups and si -ups ( ee held) in wo minu es, and he mul i-s age
shu le un (i.e., he Beep es ) [
9
]. Mul i-s age shu le un pe o mance was used o p edic
VO2peak [24].
2.3. Da a Analysis
All s a is ical analyses we e pe o med using SPSS so wa e (IBM SPSS S a is ics
o Windows, Ve sion 26.0, 2019, A monk, NY, USA). Pa icipan s wi h da a om
≥
75%
o BMT we e included in he analysis o adequa ely ep esen BMT. All da a and hei
esiduals we e checked o no mali y. To de e mine changes in physical i ness, a epea ed
measu e ANOVA was conduc ed. In cases whe e Mauchly’s es s o sphe ici y indica ed
ha sphe ici y had been iola ed (p< 0.001), mul i a ia e es s a e epo ed in he o m
o he Huynh–Feld co ec ion. Whe e he e was a signi ican change o e ime, pos hoc
analyses we e conduc ed using he Bon e oni adjus men . Fo assessing he changes in
subjec i e wellbeing and aining demands ac oss he wel e weeks o BMT (aim 1a and
1b), linea mixed models we e used. Pai wise compa isons wi h a signi icance le el o
p= 0.05 using a Bon e oni co ec ion we e u ilized i a main e ec o ime was p esen
(p< 0.05).
To explo e ela ionships be ween aining demands and subjec i e wellbeing (Aim 2),
linea mixed models we e employed. Fo subjec i e wellbeing, he MTDS o al sco e was
u ilized as he ou come a iable. A i s o de au o eg essi e co a iance s uc u e was
u ilized o he epea ed measu es o imepoin s, due o a educ ion in co a iance o
inc easing imepoin lags o he uns uc u ed ma ix. Bo h singula p edic o s and an
o e all model o bes i we e used o de e mine which indices o aining demands and
indi idual cha ac e is ics p edic ed MTDS o al sco e. Fo singula p edic o s, each a iable
in solida i y was assessed on i s p edic i e capaci y o MTDS o al sco e. Fo he model
o bes i , all possible models comp ising combina ions o indices o aining demands,
physical i ness, age, gende , and BMI a iables we e c ea ed. Models we e compa ed o
achie e he lowes Akaike’s In o ma ion C i e ion (AIC), an indica ion o model i ha
accoun s o model pa simoniousness. The ixed e ec s o he mos pa simonious model
wi h he lowes AIC a e epo ed. Fo ixed e ec s o he indi idual p edic o s and he
o e all model o bes i , F-s a is ics (F), coe icien s (ß) and p alues (p) a e epo ed wi h
he signi icance se a p= 0.05.

In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 5 o 10
3. Resul s
O he 48 ec ui s who pa icipa ed in he s udy, 35 ec ui s (29 men and 6 women;
aged 24.8
±
6.8 y; heigh 177.38
±
10.1 cm; body mass 75.6
±
14.7 kg) had da a o
≥
75% o BMT and we e included in he analysis. All ma ke s o aining demands changed
(p< 0.05) du ing BMT. Pai wise compa isons be ween weeks o physical ac i i y, subjec i e
assessmen s o aining demands and wellbeing a e depic ed in Figu es 1and 2. Physical
i ness as measu ed by push-ups, si -ups, and p edic ed VO
2peak
imp o ed be ween weeks
wo and eigh . Pa icipan s comple ed 5.4
±
1.7 mo e (p= 0.003) push-ups. Simila ly, ec ui
si -up pe o mance also signi ican ly imp o ed (p< 0.001),wi h pa icipan s a e age si -up
pe o mance mo e han doubling du ing he same pe iod o ime. Es ima ed VO
2peak
, as
measu ed by he beep es , also signi ican ly inc eased o e ime (p< 0.001), wi h a mean
imp o emen o 4.96 mL.kg−1.min−1.
Figu e 1.
Physical ac i i y measu es ac oss he 12 week BMT p og am (mean
±
95% con idence
in e als). No e: Numbe s abo e da a poin s deno e a signi ican di e ence o he de ailed week
(p< 0.05).
Signi ican singula p edic o s o MTDS o al included daily s eps (F = 14.92, ß = 0.001,
p< 0.001), % igo ous physical ac i i y (F = 8.63, ß =
−
141.3, p= 0.004), NASA TLX
(F = 46.08, ß = 0.26, p< 0.001), RPE (F = 33.65, ß = 2.03, p< 0.001) and gende (F = 6.01,
ß = 9.54, p= 0.020); wi h emales mo e likely o epo highe MTDS o al sco es. The o e all
model o bes i o p edic ing MTDS o al sco e is de ailed in Table 2.
Table 2. Model o bes i o p edic ing MTDS o al sco e.
P edic o Va iable Fixed E ec Measu es
F ß p
In e cep 0.12 −2.093 0.734
NASA TLX 15.27 0.229 <0.001 *
Daily s eps 9.70 0.001 0.002 *
% Vigo ous ac i i y 8.05 −140.175 0.005 *
% Mode a e ac i i y 3.37 −56.335 0.067
% Ligh ac i i y 0.42 5.843 0.516
RPE 1.22 0.594 0.270
Gende 1.78 5.450 0.192
Push up pe o mance change
1.53 −0.180 0.225
Model AIC 2157.519
No e: NASA TLX, Na ional Ae onau ical Space Agency ask load index; RPE, a ing o pe cei ed exe ion; AIC,
Akaike’s In o ma ion C i e ion. * indica es signi icance a p< 0.01.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 6 o 10
Figu e 2.
Changes in subjec i e assessmen s o aining demands and wellbeing ac oss he 12-week
BMT p og am (mean
±
95% con idence in e als). No e: RPE, a ing o pe cei ed exe ion; MTDS,
mul i-componen aining dis ess scale; NASA TLX, Na ional Ae onau ical Space Agency ask load
index; au, a bi a y uni s. Numbe s abo e da a poin s deno e a signi ican di e ence o he de ailed
week (p< 0.05).
4. Discussion
This s udy is he i s o sys ema ically cha ac e ize he physical demands o aining
du ing he Aus alian A my BMT p og am (weeks 2–12), p o iding bo h accele ome y-
de i ed and subjec i e measu es. Acco dingly, he p ima y aim o his s udy was o quan i y
he physical demands imposed on ec ui s, and changes in ec ui esponses (subjec i e
wellbeing and physical i ness) ac oss he 12 weeks o BMT. Resul s showed ha ec ui s
we e exposed o high olumes o physical ac i i y du ing BMT (~17,000 s eps
·
day
−1
and
~18 MJ
·
day
−1
). Resul s also indica ed ha all indices o he aining demands changed
signi ican ly o e he 12 weeks. Impo an ly, subjec i e wellbeing imp o ed du ing BMT,
wi h weeks 6 and 12 p o iding eco e y oppo uni ies. The second aim o his s udy was
o explo e ela ionships be ween he aining demands and subjec i e wellbeing. T aining
demands we e associa ed wi h subjec i e measu es o wellbeing, suppo ing he po en ial
u ili y o measu es o subjec i e wellbeing o manage ec ui s ain du ing BMT, which is
consis en wi h heo e ical expec a ions.
Rec ui s a e aged 17,031 s eps pe day du ing BMT, which is highe han ecen s udies
in Aus alian, B i ish, and U.S. ec ui s (10,000–14,000 s eps pe day) [
9
,
21
,
25
,
26
]. Howe e ,
he physical ac i i y in ensi y dis ibu ion was simila o ecen esul s om he U.S. A my
BMT, wi h he majo i y o ac i i y classi ied as ‘seden a y’ o ‘ligh ’ [
25
]. Consis en wi h
s eps, accele ome e -de i ed ene gy expendi u e was also highe han a ecen s udy o U.S.
A my ec ui s (~18 MJ s. ~14 MJ pe day) [
26
] bu simila o ene gy expendi u e in B i ish
A my ec ui s measu ed by doubly-labelled wa e [
21
]. I is acknowledged ha di ec
compa ison o o he BMT p og ams is di icul due o p og amma ic and me hodological
di e ences [
27
], bu hese p e ious indings help o con ex ualize he cu en indings.
Rega dless, hese indings clea ly demons a e ha Aus alian A my ec ui s a e exposed
o a high olume o physical ac i i y du ing BMT, albei mos ly low in ensi y. This olume
o physical ac i i y is likely o ep esen a la ge inc ease in habi ual ac i i y le els o many
ec ui s based on ends in he gene al popula ion [25,28].
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 7 o 10
Challenging aining s imuli ollowed by adequa e eco e y pe iods can elici im-
p o ed physical pe o mance and dec ease inju y p e alence when compa ed wi h con-
di ions o inadequa e eco e y [
6
]. On a e age, ec ui s’ physical i ness signi ican ly
inc eased om week 2 o week 8 o BMT, which sugges s ha he aining s imuli imposed
was su icien o elici posi i e adap a ions o mos ec ui s. This p o ides a leas pa ial
suppo o he e ec i eness o he cu en BMT p og am o p o ide a pe iodized aining
s imulus wi h adequa e eco e y oppo uni y. Howe e , he e is some di e gence in he
p esc ibed weekly PT demand and he o al physical demand o ha week, pa icula ly
in weeks wo o i e. This obse a ion is suppo ed by p e ious s udies showing ha
PT ep esen s a ela i ely small p opo ion o he scheduled aining p og am, and i is
ac i i ies ou side o PT (e.g., load ca iage, ield and comba aining, d ill, walking) ha
can impose g ea e aining s ess [
2
,
9
,
29
]. I has been no ed ha ec ui s appea o be
mos suscep ible o inju y du ing he i s i e o six weeks o BMT [
30
–
32
]; o example
Hall [
30
] epo ed ha 71% o inju ies in B i ish A my ec ui s occu wi hin he i s six
weeks o BMT.
The cu en s udy obse ed a change in pe cep ion o e o o e BMT, which is consis-
en wi h p e ious s udies in ec ui s unde aking BMT [
21
] and consc ip s unde aking
ield aining [
22
]. Howe e , a he han iden i ying weeks o in ensi ied aining demands,
he cu en esul s e ealed weeks o dec eased pe cep ion o e o , appea ing o o e
ec ui s an oppo uni y o eco e om he demands o BMT. High aining demands ha e
been shown o inc ease mood dis u bance du ing mili a y aining [
11
,
33
], and symp oms
o o e eaching ha e been epo ed p e iously in ec ui coho s [
11
,
12
]. Consis en wi h
hese p e ious indings, he MTDS was sensi i e o weekly a ia ions in aining demands.
This was ue o he o al MTDS sco e and he indi idual subscales o dep essed moods,
igo , physical signs and symp oms, and sleep dis u bances. The p og essi e imp o emen
in subjec i e wellness measu es o e he i s ou weeks is likely o ep esen a pe iod o
adjus men o he new aining en i onmen [
34
], and he ansi ion om ci ilian li e o he
mili a y aining en i onmen , which supe imposes a a ie y o addi ional s esso s on op
o he physical demands [3,35].
MTDS o al sco es we e lowes in weeks 6 and 12, which coincided wi h he weeks o
lowes physical demands. This is simila o he indings o O’Lea y e al. [
21
] who obse ed
a mode a e associa ion be ween pe cei ed aining demands and dis ance a elled. In
he same s udy, daily RPE was also associa ed wi h TRIMP and %HRR. In he cu en
s udy, he g ea es aining dis ess (i.e., MTDS o al sco e) was epo ed in week 10, which
included he i s hal o he ield aining phase. Anecdo ally, he ield- aining phase
is he mos challenging componen o BMT o ec ui s as i in ol es dis up ed sleep
and nu i ion combined wi h a ious physical and cogni i e s esso s. The esul s o he
cu en s udy indica e ha he MTDS o al sco e e lec s he s ain associa ed wi h he mul i-
s esso aining en i onmen (i.e., PT, mili a y skills and educa ion classes, inciden al PA,
psychological and cogni i e demands), no jus he physical demands o aining. The e o e,
he esul s suppo he e ec i eness o he mul i-dimensional wellbeing ques ionnai e in
cap u ing a ious ac o s ha in luence o al subjec i e wellbeing.
The cu en indings suppo he po en ial u ili y o subjec i e wellbeing as a cos -and
ime-e ec i e ool o he ongoing moni o ing o ec ui s. I builds on he p e ious esea ch
o Ojanen e al. [
12
] who epo ed an inc ease in pe cep ions o exe ion du ing mul i-
s esso mili a y aining. The obse ed inc eases in dep essed moods wi h inc eases in
aining load, a e consis en wi h p e ious li e a u e examining he e ec s o high aining
demands, o po en ial o e aining, whe e he accumula ion o s esso s ha e he po en ial
o exceed an indi idual’s capaci y o cope [
36
,
37
]. Simila ly, he ela ionship be ween sel -
epo ed physical signs and symp oms o aining s ess and indices o aining demands
in he cu en s udy a e consis en wi h p e ious indings in mili a y con ex s. Inc eases
in muscle so eness ha e been shown o inc ease when load and EE a e inc eased du ing
s enuous win e mili a y aining [
38
]. The lack o signi icance o ligh physical ac i i y
po en ially suppo s he sensi i i y o he MTDS physical signs and symp oms subscale.
In . J. En i on. Res. Public Heal h 2022,19, 7360 8 o 10
5. Conclusions
In summa y, he aining demands imposed ac oss Aus alian A my BMT a ied
ac oss he 12 weeks and e lec ed in ended pe iodiza ion o aining and eco e y. The six h
and wel h weeks p o ided an oppo uni y o eco e om he mul i-s esso aining
en i onmen , as demons a ed by he lowe physical demands combined wi h imp o ed
subjec i e wellbeing. Physical i ness imp o ed om week 2 o week 8, indica ing a posi i e
aining e ec om he BMT p og am. Sel - epo ed measu es we e sensi i e o luc ua ions
in aining s esso s consis en wi h heo e ical expec a ions. The MTDS exhibi ed signi -
ican associa ions wi h indices o aining demands (i.e., ligh PA, mode a e PA, weekly
EE and RPE). Simila o applied spo con ex s, subjec i e measu es o s ess esponses
may o e mo e u ili y o indi idual managemen o pe sonnel han quan i ica ion o
aining s esso s in he mili a y aining en i onmen . The daily use o accele ome e s
and mul i-domain sel - epo ools may, he e o e, help o be e manage how ec ui s a e
coping wi h he demands o aining du ing BMT, p o iding oppo uni ies o he ea ly
iden i ica ion o ec ui s a isk o inju y, maladap a ion o a i ion.
Au ho Con ibu ions:
L.C.M., S.B., P.B.G. and J.R.D. concei ed and designed esea ch. S.B., wi h
assis ance om L.C.M., J.R.D., J.L.T., S.L.C. and P.B.G. comple ed da a collec ion. S.B., T.R., S.L.C. and
L.C.M. p ocessed and analysed he da a, wi h assis ance on in e p e a ion o he esul s by J.R.D.,
J.L.T., P.B.G. and B.A., S.B., L.C.M. and J.R.D. w o e he manusc ip . All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed
o he published e sion o he manusc ip .
Funding:
This wo k was suppo ed by a Human Pe o mance Resea ch Ne wo k g an om he
Commonweal h o Aus alia ep esen ed by The De ence and Science Technology G oup o he
Depa men o De ence.
Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d S a emen :
This s udy was app o ed by he Depa men o De ence and
Ve e an’s A ai s Human Resea ch E hics Commi ee (021-17), and pa icipan s ga e in o med consen .
In o med Consen S a emen :
W i en in o med consen was ob ained om all subjec s in ol ed in
he s udy.
Da a A ailabili y S a emen :
The da a a e no publicly a ailable. I may be possible o eques
access om he De ence Science and Technology G oup, wi h app op ia e e hical app o al om he
Depa men o De ence and Ve e ans’ A ai s Human Resea ch E hics Commi ee.
Acknowledgmen s:
The au ho s wish o hank he ec ui pa icipan s and aining s a o he
Aus alian A my o hei insigh , ime and e o s making his s udy possible.
Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic s.
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