Airmen complete running program as part of an Air Force study

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  A group of 14 Airmen recently completed a three stage running program as part of an Air Force level study. The study was conducted to see if such a program could benefit Airmen struggling with the run portion of the physical fitness test.

The program is broken down into three stages, which get progressively more difficult and focuses on maintaining a target heart rate. The participants ran three days a week and performed a low-impact aerobic spin class twice a week.

"The Airmen love it," said Karl Leonard, 97th Medical Group exercise physiologist. "They are seeing results and seeing themselves get better. That was the whole idea behind this, to start off easy and progress into harder stages."

Tech. Sgt. Alison Jones, 97th Force Support Squadron manpower analyst, decreased her 1.5 mile run time by 1 minute and 27 seconds.

"I did the math on it and everyday that I spent doing this program, not counting days that I didn't do anything, but every day that I did participate in the program I dropped my run time by 1.3 seconds," Jones said.

In the first stage all of the participants wore heart rate monitors and ran for 22 minutes at 65-75 percent of their Target Heart Rates.

"The first stage is meant to help the service member build an aerobic base," Leonard said.
"We're training them to start off slow. Basically they are running for 22 minutes and it is all based on heart rate percentage. The first stage is basically helping the individual start from scratch."

During the second stage, participants began interval training. Airmen completed four intervals of running for four minutes at 76-85 percent of their THR, then two minutes at 65-75 percent of their THR.

"Now in stage two, not only can the participants run the full 22 minutes at 75 percent or higher of their heart rate max, they are now able to do an interval type of training program, which is four minutes of higher intensity running.," Leonard said. "You can see it's not easy. These guys are sweating bullets."

The final stage pushed participants to their maximum. The participants were expected to complete three intervals of running one minute at 76-85 percent of their THR, one minute at 86-95 percent of their THR, two minutes at 76-85% of their THR, and then three minutes at 65-75 percent of their THR.

"We're not only helping them improve their aerobic development and speed, we are also teaching them about flexibility and running efficiency," Leonard said.

According to the Health and Wellness Center 45 percent of the participants improved their 1.5 mile run time.

"The overall goal of this study is to maximize performance and reduce injury," Leonard said.
"The most amount of injuries from every single squadron have been running injuries. We want to teach them how to run efficiently and decrease their chances of injury."

The three stage running program was conducted at 66 other Air Force bases around the world.
Before the program began, Leonard recommended that all of the participants perform a gait analysis, which analyzes how a person runs. They all conducted the analysis and Leonard believes it added to the success of the program.

"I would definitely recommend it, if for no other reason but for the gait analysis," Jones said. "Once you find out how you are running and how that affects your time, it is a massive difference. It takes time to shift into running the correct way and that is going to slow you down a little bit, but as long as you keep going with the program it's going to be a massive improvement."

"My biggest challenge during this program was changing my running form," said Tech. Sgt. Robert McCutcheon, 97th Force Support Squadron base training manager. "I've been a heel-striker for years and was already trying to transition to a natural running form - this program and Karl's guidance, showed me the right way to run."

Now that all of the bases have completed their programs, the information is being broken down and presented the commander of the Air Force Medical Operations Agency. A decision will then be made as to whether or not the program should be implemented Air Force-wide.