Side Effects of Physical Training. Association of Fitness Improvement to Esprit de Corps, Performance, Health, and Attrition in Marine Corps Basic Training

Physical training PT is a significant element of Marine Corps basic training BT which may affect nonfitness BT outcomes in addition to improve fitness. If so, PT side effects should be considered when designing and evaluating PT programs. This study capitalized on naturally occurring platoon differences in fitness outcomes to classify BT platoons into relatively low and high improvement groups. The high improvement group had better attitudes toward the Marine Corps, greater perceived self-improvement, and performed better during BT. The groups had comparable illness rates during BT, but there was more medical attrition and overall attrition in the high improvement group. The groups did no differ with regard to Fleet Marine Force promotion or attrition rates. These findings demonstrate that PT programs may indeed influence nonfitness BT outcomes. Additional research is needed to verify that PT differences actually cause nonfitness BT outcomes, to determine whether these side effects are large enough to be of practical importance, and to identify specific aspects of PT programs that are important for promoting nonfitness BT objectives.