Fitness
Army to expand holistic health and fitness program to all soldiers
The Army is expanding its new all-around health and fitness program, which includes professional civilian staffing, workout gear and more, to all soldiers rather than only combat brigades.
Army Vice Chief of Staff James Mingus told soldiers at the Maneuver Warfighter Conference at Fort Moore, Georgia, on Wednesday that the Holistic Health and Fitness program, also called H2F, will roll out across the entire force.
The program was showing too much benefit to be used only by the combat arms brigades, according to the four-star.
“It is an Army program, and it is making a huge difference on how our soldiers are performing out there,” Mingus said.
The Army launched a pilot H2F program in late 2018 and began equipping combat arms brigades with full complements of gym equipment and H2F staff, including physical therapists, dietitians, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and cognitive performance specialists, in 2020.
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The program’s holistic approach addresses five domains: physical, spiritual, mental, sleep and nutrition.
The original plan called for the service to outfit all 110 combat arms brigades by 2030. Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George announced last year that the Army would speed up fielding by increasing the annual number of brigades from 10 to 15. The fully resourced program had reached 50 brigades this year, including some military police, medical, engineer and sustainment brigades, according to Army data.
Mingus didn’t share specifics or timelines on the rollout, which will require more funding from Congress. But he advised leaders to begin work in their units now.
“A lot of our formations still don’t have it but there are things you can do,” Mingus said. “I would challenge you to study what is the essence of how you assess the program and execute functional fitness, nutrition, sleep.”
The Center for Initial Military Training, or CIMT, at Fort Eustis, Virginia, launched the Holistic Health and Fitness website in late August. The site contains information on all aspects of the program such as unit resources, the H2F Academy and the command’s annual H2F Symposium.
“We wanted to develop a website that provides tools for soldiers to help them take a hard look at themselves and really assess their personal health and fitness while also providing resources from subject matter experts so they can improve in all five readiness domains,” Lt. Gen. David Francis, CIMT commander, said in a statement.
Francis described the H2F program as the “largest human performance optimization project ever fielded.”
The program’s top priority since its inception has been reducing physical injuries among soldiers during deployment and training. Francis touted the results.
“The initial return on investment shows H2F will pay for itself as it decreases musculoskeletal injuries, reduces non-deployables, and helps soldiers who do get injured return to duty faster,” Francis said.
Early data released by CIMT in April showed H2F-resourced brigades saw a 23% higher increase in Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) passing rates, along with other performance and behavior improvements.
Behavior and performance data from H2F-resourced brigades compared with non-resourced brigades demonstrated:
- 14% lower increase* in musculoskeletal injuries = 6,489 fewer injured soldiers.
- 30% lower increase in musculoskeletal injuries lasting more than 90 days = 3,002 fewer injured soldiers on profile for more than 90 days.
- 22% lower increase in behavioral health reports = 2,962 fewer soldiers on behavioral health profiles.
- 20% lower increase in behavioral health reports lasting more than 90 days = 3,002 fewer soldiers on behavioral health profiles greater than 90 days.
- 502% lower increase in substance abuse profiles = 13,947 fewer soldiers on substance abuse profiles.
- 23% greater Army combat fitness test passing rate = 4,455 more soldiers passing the ACFT.
- 27% more soldiers reaching expert on rifle marksmanship qualification = 88,000 more soldiers receiving expert rifle marksmanship qualification.
*Brigades analyzed, both with and without H2F teams, saw increases in most areas from 2021–2023, but those units with H2F teams saw significantly lower increases in all categories.
Source: Center for Initial Military Training
As the Army implements the program across the force, the active-duty combat arms brigades remain a priority, with the Army National Guard and Army Reserve likely waiting longer for resources.
However, the new website can help fill those gaps in the meantime, Sgt. 1st Class Nicholas Rice, an Army Reserve H2F system developer, said in a statement.
“It’s a vital tool in our shared mission to ensure that every investment made in our Soldiers is an investment in a better, more capable version of themselves,” Rice said.
At Wednesday’s conference, the vice chief praised his experience with a precursor program that used similar principles when he served the 75th Ranger Regiment. That program, known as the Ranger Athlete Warrior Program, emerged in the early 2000s to decrease injuries in the notoriously demanding unit.
Mingus carried a version of that program with him when he assumed command of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colorado, he said.
The program prepared his soldiers to perform in some of the roughest terrain during demanding missions during their 2012 deployment to Afghanistan, according to the general.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
I’ll rant to anyone I know about the importance of maintaining muscle mass as we age to prevent conditions like sacropeonia and even osteoporosis.
Cardiovascular health has also been linked to longevity.
But what about flexibility? Though it might be less talked about than the other two, this, too, has been linked to a longer life, especially among men.
You may know the importance of lifting weights for strength and understand that everything from tennis to cycling and running can improve your heart health.
What, though, does a person to increase their flexibility – and does it change over time?
We asked personal trainers to share their thoughts:
In your 20s and 30s
James Bickerstaff, a personal trainer at Origym, told us: “In your 20s and 30s, your body still has natural elasticity, so muscles and joints move easily and recover quickly”.
Nonetheless, he adds, sitting for long periods of time (as you may do for work) can hold your flexibility back.
“To maintain mobility, focus on stretching major muscle groups by performing dynamic stretches such as leg swings for the hips and static chest openers for the upper body,” he advised.
“Short daily sessions, along with activities like yoga, Pilates, or tai chi, can help prevent stiffness.”
In your 40s and 50s
Trainer and owner of Made Possible Personal Training, a gym which works mainly with those aged 50 and up, Heather Lachance, said: “One of the biggest things I try to help people understand is that losing flexibility isn’t a given”.
But in our 40s and 50s, she said, more of us notice we’re not as flexible as we used to be.
“At this stage, adding 10 minutes of mobility work a few times a week, especially dynamic movements before workouts and static stretches afterwards, can go a long way,” she advised.
“Leg swings, hip openers, thoracic rotations, that sort of thing. It doesn’t need to be complicated; it just needs to be done consistently.”
For his part, Bickerstaff recommends swimming and dancing alongside stretches.
In your 60s
“In your 60s and later years, joints become less mobile, cartilage thins, and muscles tighten more easily,” Bickerstaff explained.
“This can make everyday tasks feel restricted and raise the risk of falls. At this stage, flexibility work is about protecting independence and helping you move safely.”
Lachance stated that yoga and pilates can be great in this decade as they provide a “low-impact” form of exercise.
In your 70s and beyond
At this age, Lachance said, “The conversation becomes more about maintaining independence, things like being able to get up off the floor, move confidently through space, and reduce the falling risk.
“Here, I pair flexibility with balance and strength work. Chair-based stretching, simple guided routines, and daily movement all play a role.”
Sated hamstring and tricep stretches can help, Bickerstaff agreed, as can resistance bands and plain ol’ walking ― gentle, daily movement is key.
“No matter the age, the message is the same: you don’t need to be able to do the splits, but you do need to move well enough to live your life without restriction,” Lachance ended.
“Flexibility is really about freedom! Freedom to keep doing the things you enjoy without pain or hesitation.”
It’s not hard to find somewhere or some way to exercise these days, with gyms, studios, free online videos and personal trainers generally easy to access.
But more than four decades ago, the fitness industry as we know it was just getting off the ground, becoming linked with celebrity as stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger started monetising everything from books to gyms to running shoes.
One of the key figures in this growth was Jane Fonda, who released her first aerobics video, titled Jane Fonda Workout, on April 24, 1982.
It became the biggest selling VHS in history as people snapped up 850,000 copies in its first three years, helping to usher in the fitness culture we know today and, according to some, helping to launch the entire VHS industry.
Bill Hayes, the author of Sweat: A History of Exercise, said Fonda was one of the most important figures in the history of exercise because of her workout videos.
“What’s important about Jane Fonda is she democratised exercise, especially for women … all around the world,” he said.
“All you had to do was buy a videotape, which was quite inexpensive, at least compared to joining a gym.
“You could do it at home. You didn’t have to hire a babysitter. And they were fun, and they made exercise seem fun and sexy.
“She had a huge influence. I really don’t hesitate to say she was one of the most important figures in the whole history of exercise.”
Bill Hayes is the author of Sweat: A History of Exercise. (Supplied: Bill Hayes)
Building a fitness empire
Fonda, who was in her 40s when the first video was released, went on to make more than 20 additional workout videos and write several books, all of which sold well.
They were embraced by young mothers who found it difficult to exercise outside the home, and by women who felt self-conscious about going to the gym or could not afford it.
“It really made a huge difference for women,” Fonda told the ABC in 2024.
“Up until then, women weren’t supposed to have muscles,” she said.
“I mean, it was a joke what a workout for women looked like back then, but they started doing my workout and people began to develop muscles … and they’ve never looked back.”
Fitness has been an important part of Jane Fonda’s life for decades. She is pictured during World Fitness Day in 2010. (Facebook: Jane Fonda)
Speaking to Ellen Degeneres in 2014, Fonda said that before her video, if a woman went to a health club, there would be a gym for men and nothing for women.
“We were not supposed to be strong and fit,” she said.
How it all began
While Fonda’s workout videos were embraced by people keen to improve their fitness, there was a political reason behind the production of the first.
Fonda was, at the time, married to political activist Tom Hayden, who later served in the California State Assembly and State Senate.
They were trying to find ways to make money outside of Fonda’s acting career to fund a political action committee and establish chapters across the state.
Jane Fonda released her first workout video in 1982. (Supplied)
Fonda had started attending an early type of aerobics class in Beverly Hills and enjoyed it so much, she opened her own studio and taught classes.
Then someone approached her about making a video.
Fonda initially said no because she thought it might cheapen her acting career, but she was eventually talked into it.
According to Hayes, Fonda turned out to be a gifted teacher.
“She could explain the movements that you needed to make and why you were doing them and what muscles were affected,” he said.
“Anyone who’s taken a group fitness class, whether yoga or aerobics or other kinds of group fitness, you know when you have a good teacher.
“Her videos were also kind of revolutionary in that they were very diverse.
“The people in her videotapes, there were men and women, people of colour. It was a very mixed group, and I think that in itself was revolutionary too.”
Videos still relevant today
Hayes said Fonda’s workout videos were “very solid, very sensible, very well-structured, and she had done her research”.
“She incorporated using music and dance, which was part of her own background. She was trained in ballet,” he said.
“So it’s natural for her, I think, to bring in music and dance into her aerobic workouts.”
He said the videos had not dated — but that perhaps does not apply to the fitness wear at the time (think brightly coloured leotards, tights and leg warmers. It was, after all, the 80s).
Jane Fonda says she still exercises every day. (Reuters: Kylie Cooper)
Now aged 88, Fonda said her fitness routine had remained the same over the years, but she worked at a different pace.
She told People magazine earlier this year: “I essentially do everything I used to do, just slower.”
Fonda also is keeping up with the times in the exercise industry, having worked with a virtual reality fitness platform to produce four classes.
“We really bridged the past and future of fitness with this series. Aside from the technology, it felt as if no time had passed,” she told People.
Fitness
At 50, Hrithik Roshan’s ex-wife Sussanne sets fitness goals with challenging Pilates exercise
Sussanne Khan performs Pilates
In the clip, Sussanne Khan was seen giving it her all to the workout. She was dressed in a black tank top and a pair of grey gym tights. The interior designer indulged in different forms of Pilates on a reformer machine, showcasing remarkable grit, strength, and balance. Despite taking a few measured breaths, she aced the difficult exercise like an expert.
According to Pilates instructor and celebrity fitness trainer Namrata Purohit, who has trained Bollywood actresses like Janhvi Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan, Pilates is a type of exercise that is suitable for all. Namrata revealed that pilates is a form of mind and body workout that targets the entire body and every muscle while also working on breath control.
Benefits of Pilates and more about Sussanne Khan
Besides establishing a mind-body connection, Pilates helps to manage stress, anxiety and depression, providing people with an opportunity to socialize, altering brain chemical levels like serotonin, cortisol, and endorphins, claimed Namrata Purohit. Additionally, Pilates strengthens the body, improves lean body mass, increases flexibility and prevents injuries in the long run. ‘It is appropriate for everyone, and at any age, it meets you right where you are,’ she said.
Coming to Sussanee Khan, she is a mother to two sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan Roshan, whom she shares with actor, ex-husband Hrithik Roshan. Although the couple parted ways in 2014, they continue to share an amicable bond, co-parenting their kids together. The duo has also found love for the second time. While Sussanne is in a loving relationship with Arslan Goni, Hrithik is dating actress Saba Azad. The four have been spotted together on several occasions.
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