The Master Fitness Trainer Program is designed to improve individual readiness at the unit level. The program provides a Master Fitness Trainer at every echelon of the organization, starting with individual Companies, and provides two MFTs for each Recruit Sustainment Detachment (RSD). For Indiana National Guard members, your MFT is similar to a trusted personal trainer or fitness coach. He or she will help you on your personalized path to fitness and health, leading you to a higher level of readiness that will pay off both personally and professionally.
The U.S. Army's Combat Fitness Test (ACFT)
The Indiana National Guard is committed to providing the tools and education soldiers will need to successfully complete the Army Combat Fitness Test. Soldiers who follow the foundations of fitness and wellness and who are taking or training for the new test are not expected to have any unusual risk of injury, and will more than likely excel. The 1-293rd Infantry Battalion is one of the field test units for the ACFT, which will allow the Indiana National Guard to gain firsthand intimate knowledge of everything required to conduct the test and an opportunity to help shape testing procedures and policies.
The Pivotal Role of Master Fitness Trainers in the National Guard's Fitness Culture
Master Fitness Trainers (MFTs) are force enablers who are trained to instruct soldiers in all 10 components of fitness required to pass the ACFT. The Indiana National Guard is dedicated to ongoing MFT training to ensure every trainer understands his or her pivotal role in establishing a wellness and fitness culture within each company in the organization. Such programs include the following:
- Understanding and integrating the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Initiative
- Providing soldiers with the tools to develop a personalized program of exercise and nutrition
- Preparing foundationally for the Army Combat Fitness Test
The Train-the-Trainer (T3) Course is a five-day course conducted at the Indiana Wellness Directorate designed to teach Master Fitness Trainers to apply the principles they learned at the MFT course in accordance with Indiana adjutant general and IWD directives. MFTs are graded on conducting functional movement screening (FMS), coaching stability and mobility exercises, and foundational movements of squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-up and overhead press. MFTs also learn how to design and implement training sessions.
The Army Combat Fitness Test Strength and Conditioning Course is a five-day course conducted at the Indiana Wellness Directorate and taught by Master Fitness Trainers and IWD Health Educators for soldiers who want to begin preparing for the new test. Soldiers are given a functional movement screening (FMS) to help determine their fitness and mobility levels, and are coached throughout on stability and mobility exercises and the foundational movements of squat, deadlift, bench press, pull-up and overhead press. Students also learn how to design and implement their own training sessions.
The Master Fitness Trainer Conference is a one-day conference and workshop that introduces the MFT support structure to the director of Indiana wellness, state MFT, IWD and LIFEFIT staff. The purpose of the conference is to disseminate synchronized guidance from the adjutant general, state command sergeant major, IWD and state MFT on the health and wellness programs they support in the INNG, refresh knowledge of the foundations of movement and nutrition, and discuss and examine best practices for facilitating the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) initiative.
The Tactical Athlete Conditioning Course (TACC) is a two-phase, 15-day total course conducted at the 138th Regional Training Institute (RTI) designed to assist soldiers in developing a plan for healthy lifestyle and fitness improvement. Phase I is a 10-day resident course focusing on the Army Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) initiative. Students receive instruction on the five foundational movements, exercise programming, nutrition and food preparation, resilience, and resilience campus services in order to implement lifestyle changes needed to improve individual readiness.
