Optimizing Remote Pre-Accession Training for AFSPECWAR using BridgeAthletic with Garmin Integration

Special Warfare Training Wing (SWTW) with support from Air Force Recruiting Command have opted to partner with BridgeAthletic to develop a virtual coaching and education program to modernize and personalize the pre-accession training programs recruits receive which will maximize their individual potential for success in Initial Fitness Test (IFT) passage. Through this Phase II effort, AFSPECWAR will qualify more airmen at a higher level of fitness while saving over $90 Million compared to the Army’s expensive, in-person pre-Basic Military Training (BMT) “fit camps.”  Bridge will operationalize biometric input from Garmin watches such as heart rate variability (an indicator of stress), sleep data, and respiration rate (an indicator of aerobic fitness) to inform automated yet individualized training plans which will increase the number of qualified AFSPECWAR candidates passing the IFT each  year– ensuring poor American fitness no longer impacts national security.  BridgeAthletic will accomplish this by first developing an application programming interface (API) enabling the Bridge platform with the capability to ingest physiological data from Garmin wearable devices. Then Bridge will develop a novel AI/ML-based algorithm that integrates with the company’s existing Workout Builder and utilizes the newly ingested physiological data from Garmin to provide prescriptive exercises. Simultaneously, at the request of SWTW HP SMEs, Bridge will further operationalize the incoming biometrics by developing a software functionality that allows HP SMEs to prescribe exercises using % of Max Power and % of Max Reps similar but more advanced to how practitioners prescribe using a % of max weight. Then, to further address the ongoing fitness crisis across the United States, Bridge will utilize its novel educational capabilities to develop nutrition logging capabilities and related, interactive nutrition education modules.  Finally, to make the delivery seamless, Bridge will develop the ability, through AI/ML software, to automate the entire training program delivery process where biometric inputs from the Garmin watch + Nutrition logging + Surveys + Time to IFT are collectively considered in the delivery of each recruit’s individualized pre-accession training program.  Operational Testing and Evaluation (OT&E) of the modified-COTS will be completed at University of Nevada Las Vegas and will include a 6-week feasibility study where at least 60  ROTC cadets will receive Garmin watches and complete a baseline Operator Fitness Test (OFT), minus the water components.  They will then be given automated training programs via the newly modified Bridge/Garmin platform to complete 5 days/week.  At the end of 6 weeks, cadets will complete a final OFT for comparison.  Both ROTC cadets and the HP SMEs at UNLV will additionally provide feedback on the utility and usability of the novel Bridge/Garmin programming to inform final modifications-- ensure transferability back to SWTW.