• Michel J H Heijnen, Angila Berni, Phoebe McNabb, Steven Caldwell, Stephen Holland, Bill Kawczynski, Alexander T McDaniel, Sarah Noland, Shaila Strayhorn, and Wayland Tseh.
• University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.
• Mil Med. 2025 Jan 30.

IntroductionThe dearth of research investigating the efficacy of virtual Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) training programs among female populations necessitates further exploration. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week ACFT virtual exercise program among female participants.Materials And MethodsNine female participants (age = 19.7 ± 1.3 years, height = 165.9 ± 4.9 cm, and body mass = 62.7 ± 5.9 kg) volunteered to complete 2 assessment sessions and the 12-week ACFT virtual exercise training program. In session 1, baseline height, body mass, body composition, and ACFT scores were collected. Upon completion of session 1, under supervisory guidance, all participants were scheduled to complete the 12-week exercise training program in-person. The ACFT exercise training program required participants to complete a warmup/cool down and exercise with suspension training straps 4 days per week, 60 minutes for 12 weeks. In session 2, post-assessments of body mass, body composition, and ACFT scores were collected. Statistical analyses were conducted utilizing paired sample t-tests to assess differences between pre- and post-intervention ACFT scores with P ≤ .05. Cohen's d was calculated to quantify the magnitude of the observed effect.ResultsOverall mean ACFT pre-intervention scores (487.2 ± 66.5) increased significantly when compared to mean ACFT post-intervention scores (521.6 ± 44.0) (Cohen's d = 0.86, P = .03). No statistical differences were displayed among the individual mean ACFT pre- versus post-intervention scores. A consistent decline in adherence of 3.9% per week ensued from week 1 through week 12.ConclusionsFollowing the intervention, female participants experienced a significant increase of approximately 7% in their overall ACFT scores, with upward trends observed across all 6 individual ACFT events. These findings suggest that 12-week virtual suspension training can be a valuable tool for enhancing physical fitness and performance among female participants, particularly within the context of military readiness.© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2025. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site–for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

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