The previous two responses pointed out many resources you have available to you at large installations, and are things that you should use in creating your fitness plans. There are other factors, however, that you should understand as a junior officer.

First, as my current First Sergeant put it when he was my Team Sergeant, there is the Army Standard for many things, and that is the minimum standard. Units can create their own goals and expectations, but at the end of the day the Army has deemed that a 180 on an APFT is good enough. That should not be your minimum goal as an officer, nor is that the goal of many enlisted Soldiers, but there are certainly plenty of Soldiers who take their fitness only seriously enough to not get fired (Office Space anyone?). This carries through to many others areas, and I have seen it across the ranks.

Another important thing to remember is you unit’s mission and how you can train to be at peak fitness for that mission. Having served at Ft. Hood for 3 years as a PL in an ACR and SBCT, I expected my Soldiers to be strong first, agile second, and fast third. The APFT is an efficient means of measuring general fitness, not specific mission fitness. Changing a Stryker Tire, breaking track on a Abrams or Bradley, or doing anything with a weapon large enough to actual destroy vehicles requires strength in awkward positions. My platoon did not ruck march often, as we fought mounted.

As a West Point Cadet, you are held to an exceptionally higher standard in all things. As an ROTC graduate, it is similar but lesser (I had fun in college). Mirroring your self onto your subordinates is a poor way to approach the mechanics of leadership and training management, as you will assume a higher level of competence than actually exists. The “back to the basics” idea, and building from individual to small-unit collective to platoon collective tasks and skills can and should be utilized for all training, including PT. Recognize and reward both exceptional performance and exceptional progress, as well as extra-curricular accomplishments to sustain and build towards your goals.