Who doesn’t want to maximize their athletic capability?
Whether it’s surpassing a personal record on the bench or excelling in sport events under pressure, pushing ourselves to fulfill “the measure of our creation” is a commonly held and divinely inspired ambition. Recently, the Department of Exercise Sciences and Air Force ROTC have tapped into this drive for improvement, collaborating on an initiative to help cadets enhance their comprehensive physical fitness and prepare for a challenging fitness test.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, BYU’s Air Force ROTC cadets exercise together. The cadets have four separate workout stations and, over the course of two weeks, participate in each station. Everything they practice from body-weight exercises to weight training is designed to help them prepare for the culminating event of the semester: the physical fitness assessment (PFA). Because the PFA measures an individual’s overall fitness, it includes a variety of different sections, including how many push-ups a cadet can do in a minute, how many sit-ups they can do in a minute, and how quickly they can run a mile and a half.
Last semester, the Air Force ROTC reached out to the Department of Exercise Sciences, hoping a collaboration would increase cadet pass rates on the PFA. Responding to this request, students Noa Poulsen (MS ’25, EXSC), Katelynn Hales (MS ’26, EXSC), and a handful of other exercise science students began to attend the ROTC’s group exercises each Tuesday and Thursday morning, leading cadets in pre-workout warm-ups and working with individuals on specific areas for improvement.
“I've loved working with the military,” shared Hales. She and Poulsen have worked hard to modify workouts the ROTC was already using to better target the specific exercises they’d be tested on. These warm-ups use the typical military exercise movements—with everyone counting and moving in unison—that air force leadership has requested.
Though the Air Force ROTC had already created routines with specific PFA pass requirements in mind, Poulsen and Hales are able to make a difference by fine-tuning cadet form. “We focus a lot on push-ups and sit-ups,” Hales shares. “We want to make sure the cadets are doing their already established exercises in a manner that would allow them to pass the PFA.” For example, to pass the push-up portion of the test cadets need to come down to at least 90 degrees without sagging their hips or bringing them up too high. Hales and Poulsen provide corrections throughout the exercise when necessary, ensuring that come test day the cadets will pass with flying colors.
The exercise sciences team also provides opportunities for individual consultations. “They’ve been a godsend,” shares ROTC cadet Nolen Shubin (Computer Science ’25). “If we had two cadets with different levels of physical activity—one struggling to meet standards, the other feeling like they want to take it to the next level—the exercise sciences students have been able to really tailor specific plans to them, while also providing the workouts necessary for the general group.”
After a semester spent embracing the science-backed fitness program, the Air Force ROTC reported a higher number of pass rates on the PFA. This is an impressive achievement which the exercise sciences students attribute to the Air Force ROTC’s ability to accept and implement feedback with alacrity.
“Working with the ROTC is just so meaningful,” Poulsen shares. “These cadets are sacrificing their time to be able to serve other people. Because of this, working with them has brought me closer to the Spirit and inspired me to be the best version of myself so that I can be ready to serve wherever God needs me to serve.”
Hales agrees wholeheartedly with Poulsen. She has felt intimately connected with God throughout the collaboration with the ROTC cadets. “Each time I approach making a workout for an individual cadet, I honestly do pray for inspiration and clarity,” she shares.
Both Hales and Poulsen hope the Air Force ROTC will continue to utilize the Department of Exercise Sciences in future semesters. As Shubin points out, “The military needs strong and capable men and women. Having the exercise sciences people here in the program is a great first step in enabling people who might have not met standards before to reach those standards. Having them here helps us create a ‘we’re here to win’ culture.”
Ultimately, this collaboration has been about more than passing a fitness test—it’s about shaping resilient, well-rounded individuals who are ready to serve with excellence, both physically and spiritually.