Barbell Logic stands better prepared to meet the military’s physical readiness needs than anyone else in the fitness industry.

Physical Readiness Woes

Physical readiness difficulties plague the military, with challenges finding fit recruits, preventing acute and permanent injuries to service members, and reducing medical retirement rates. Failure to address these issues reduces combat power, harms the United States’ national security, and leads to more expensive treatment options instead of cheaper preventive measures.

The military has identified it needs to abandon one-size-fits-all solutions centered around endurance and bodyweight exercises.

• Studies conducted by the Army found that “Endurance-centric approaches to training did not support all of the baseline requirements of being a Soldier,” and “the studies demonstrated that muscular strength and power drove 60 percent of the variability in physical demands.” (FM 7-22, 4-1 to 4-2 para 4-8) Strength and high-intensity interval training improve combat readiness by training more aspects of physical fitness in less time.
• Air Force Materiel Command’s Community Action Plan 2019-2021 listed “musculoskeletal injury as the number one reason for lost duty days in the US Air Force and improving the physical health readiness of military members as a priority goal for the command.”
• General Charles Q. Brown, the Air Force Chief of Staff, has said, “We are moving away from a one-size-fits-all model. [More] options will put flexibility in the hands of our Airmen—where it belongs.”

Physical Readiness Solutions

Barbell Logic is the only company that can meet the military’s needs, addressing this challenge on a scale sufficient to make a difference. We can deliver training programs to service members wherever they are: on- or off-duty, deployed or at home, with access to a fully-outfitted commercial gym or constrained to only bodyweight movements, injured or fully physically capable. Training plans can be personalized to their schedule, equipment, and goals.

Barbell Logic has four integrated services to offer military units: Barbell Logic Online Coaching, the Barbell Academy, TurnKey Coach, and automated coaching services. Each service has met a clear need in the personal training market, and each can be used as a tool to meet any military unit’s needs or scale to meet the needs of the military as a whole.

Barbell Logic Online Coaching

Online strength, conditioning, and nutrition coaching connects expert professional coaches to individual clients seeking to improve their health and fitness. This is our longest-standing service. Our online coaching allows our clients to achieve their strength and health goals and improve their overall quality of life at a fraction of the cost of in-person coaching. These clients range from special operations service members to grandparents and include everyone in between. Our commitment to providing personal, professional coaching while maintaining scalable and sustainable systems sets us apart in an industry too often focused on impersonal and inflexible approaches.

Any unit can request online coaching from Barbell Logic—alone or packaged with other services.

The Barbell Academy

The Barbell Academy educates and certifies aspiring and professional coaches in an online learning environment, as we saw a need to provide rigorous yet practical education. The Academy has educated over 500 coaches and certified over 60 coaches.

The Academy has developed a Tactical Athlete Program (TAP) course that prepares tactical athlete leaders to better program for and coach their service members. This empowers junior leaders to do what they do best—train their service members.

Military units seeking a train-the-trainer approach to physical readiness can benefit from the Tactical Athlete Program. This can be paired with personalized online coaching as part of a train-the-trainer approach or automated coaching, with the educational component enhancing the effectiveness of the automated programming.

TurnKey Coach & The Web Application

TurnKey Coach is our proprietary software that Barbell Logic uses to deliver online coaching services. This intuitive, user-friendly platform facilitates all day-to-day communication between coaches and clients. Athletes film the exercises they perform and leave notes on the workout, and the coach provides feedback to their athletes in the application.

Barbell Logic’s web application can track strength, endurance, conditioning, health, and mental health metrics. Because we own the application, we can update and improve it to meet the needs of our customers, including the military. TurnKey Coach also allows for in-depth statistical analysis, allowing us to respond immediately to issues such as client compliance. Data collected on the platform is used for coaching purposes only: individual personal data is not and will not be shared with third parties.

Military units seeking personalized coaching, automated coaching, or both, will utilize the web application for service members to receive their programs. Furthermore, a train-the-trainer approach will have designated physical training leaders programming for other service members in the application. For unit leadership, data is automatically tracked, including compliance, so you can see the effectiveness of unit training programs.

Automated Coaching Services

Automated coaching (delivered from Barbell Logic Online Coaching through the TurnKey Coach web application) provides a low price point option for the online fitness market. It utilizes TurnKey Coach, lessons learned from online coaching, and existing content.

Combining expert coaching for service members who need it most with automated coaching for the unit at large combines the scalability and affordability of an automated service with the high-tough and extreme effectiveness of one-on-one expert coaching. Both services can be delivered with fitness programs planned, logged, tracked, and assessed on one web application. This may be the perfect approach for a Reserve or Guard unit, looking to help service members maintain and improve physical fitness when they are off duty.

Track Record of Military Success

Barbell Logic has repeatedly improved military unit physical readiness and individual service member physical fitness. In 2020, Barbell Logic conducted a 6-month voluntary trial for service members. Participants paid for online coaching without command oversight and faced several challenges—including the Afghanistan withdrawal, injuries, and time without gym access. Despite these obstacles, the 20 participants (out of an original 27) who completed the trial increased their 5-rep deadlift by an average of 23.8%, 5-rep overhead press by 23.6%, and 5-rep squat by 25.2%. Those who conducted a final service PFA increased their score by an average of 9.0%. Separately, a 6-month SAM contract to work with six Airmen at Fairchild AFB in 2019-2020 resulted in participants improving their estimated 1RM for the deadlift by 80.4% and the bench press by 62.3%. Also, Barbell Logic just began a train-the-trainer program for Air Force EOD units using personalized coaching, online education, and offering its web application.

Contact Us

If you are interested in further information, or are aware of a funding opportunity (such as a grant), don’t hesitate to reach out to our Head Administrator, Dan Shell, at dshell@barbell-logic.com.