Own the Other 28 Days: Part 5
Building a Support System with Integration and Unit Accountability
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The fitness blueprint is only half the equation. A program alone, no matter how good, won’t move the needle without support, structure, and accountability. Reserve soldiers operate in a uniquely challenging environment: balancing full-time civilian careers, family demands, and the expectations of military readiness with limited face-to-face interaction. This is where the integration of the Holistic Health and Fitness Integrator (H2F-I), contracted professionals, and a deliberate approach to accountability and support within the unit becomes critical.
Why H2F-I Integration Matters for the Reserve Component
H2F-Is and contracted performance professionals are embedded to deliver education, oversight, and individualized coaching. While most of the H2F infrastructure was built with active-duty formations in mind, its application in the Reserve space is perhaps even more crucial.
Unlike active-duty units that have daily access to strength coaches, physical therapists, and cognitive sports performance experts, most Reserve soldiers rely entirely on what they learn during Battle Assembly or on their own. The Other 28 Days become a blind spot without access, guidance, or check-ins. H2F-Is and contracted professionals help close that gap by:
Interpreting AFT and screening data to build custom “next steps” for soldiers based on needs and limitations
Creating injury-modified versions of the Other 28 Days template to ensure soldiers stay engaged during recovery
Running short workshops or 10-minute clinics during BA to teach movement prep, mobility techniques, recovery protocols, or fueling strategies
Establishing scalable progressions to help soldiers self-adjust intensity from month to month
Serving as a central source of feedback, troubleshooting, and encouragement in between drills
Whether it’s a quick consult after PT, a readiness brief, or an online check-in, H2F-Is and empowered unit fitness leaders become the tactical thread that ties the Other 28 Days together.
Accountability: The Invisible Force Behind Consistency
You can’t improve what you don’t track, and you won’t sustain what you don’t share. Accountability is the lever that turns a good plan into consistent action. But in the Reserve environment, where units don’t see each other daily, accountability must be engineered.
Ways to Create Accountability Outside of BA:
Weekly check-ins: Designate an H2F-I, squad leader, or empowered fitness leaders to poll the formation each week. Simple message: “Did you complete your workouts this week?”
Monthly leaderboards: Track ruck miles, number of completed sessions, or personal bests. Spotlight soldiers in unit chats or at formation.
Peer buddy systems: Pair soldiers to check in weekly on their progress, using fitness as a point of camaraderie, not just obligation.
Goal declarations: Have each soldier write down one performance and one mindset goal during BA and revisit at the next drill.
Accountability should not be punitive; it can be communal, mission-oriented, and empowering. Soldiers are far more likely to train when they know someone notices and cares whether they’re following through.
Leverage What You Already Have: Building Structure Without Adding Burden
You don’t need a new app, budget line, or program to support this. Units can lean on what already exists:
WhatsApp, Signal, or GroupMe: Quick, informal platforms to share workout wins, post weekly polls, or drop reminder messages
Teams or Google Drive: Store the Other 28 Days templates, injury-modified versions, and demo video folders for easy soldier access
AFT and movement screen data: Already collected, use it to assign focused priorities, not just pass/fail outcomes
Readiness NCOs and H2F-Is: Already in position, use them as information channels and facilitators, not just administrators
Structure isn’t about complexity. It’s about predictability and ownership. By establishing repeatable routines and communication habits, you make it easier for soldiers to take initiative and harder for them to fall through the cracks.
Culture Eats Program for Breakfast
At its core, fitness in the Reserve is less about knowledge and more about culture. Soldiers know they need to train. What they lack is often clarity, confidence, and community. That’s what the Other 28 Days, when supported by H2F-Is and accountability structures, helps solve with more than just a training plan. It becomes a cultural framework, one that shifts the unit mindset from compliance to commitment, from “I have to work out” to “this is who we are.”
The Role of Community in Behavior Change
Behavioral science has shown that shared identity and belonging are major drivers of consistent action. According to a 2024 study in Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, “individuals who perceive stronger group cohesion are more likely to adopt and maintain health behaviors consistent with group norms” (Haslam et al., 2024). In other words, when a soldier sees that fitness is part of the unit’s shared values and that their peers are engaged, they’re more likely to follow through.
Further, self-determination theory highlights the need for relatedness (connection to others), competence (feeling capable), and autonomy (choice) as keys to sustained motivation. Programs like the Other 28 Days can support all three:
Relatedness is built through peer check-ins, public recognition, and group fitness challenges.
Competence grows when soldiers receive structured plans and feedback from H2F-Is and contracted professionals.
Autonomy is preserved by offering multiple training tracks (bodyweight, gym, injury-modified) that soldiers can choose from based on context.
Why Unit Fitness Culture Matters More Than Programming
The military is a tribe. It operates on shared rituals, standards, and symbols. When fitness becomes one of those symbols, like the way you greet each other, the way leaders speak about health, or the way soldiers recognize effort, it shifts from being a requirement to a reflection of who the team is.
A unit that embeds physical training into its identity does more than improve its AFT metrics. It builds:
More deployable soldiers
Fewer injury profiles due to better movement prep, recovery culture, and awareness
More confident and engaged leaders who lead from the front and model wellness
A shared standard that raises everyone’s performance, even when no one’s watching
This isn’t hypothetical. Research on unit cohesion in tactical populations shows that shared fitness routines improve not only physical performance but emotional resilience (Kearnes, Micheal R 2022). Units that train together build trust. Units that share effort share identity. And identity, when positive, is the most sustainable motivator of all.
From Program to Culture: How It Happens
Start with language. Leaders should frame PT as performance, not punishment.
Celebrate consistency, not just PRs. Spotlight soldiers who train weekly, not just the fittest.
Model buy-in. If the chain of command trains, the unit trains.
Use rituals. Start BA with a mindset huddle or end with a team cool-down.
Measure growth. Track more than AFT scores, log total run miles, improved sleep habits, or attendance on mobility days.
Conclusion: It’s Not Just a Plan
The Other 28 Days is more than just a training plan. It’s a framework for readiness, resilience, and retention. When supported by H2F-Is, contracted human performance professionals, reinforced by accountability, and nested within the unit’s existing structure, it becomes a living system that meets soldiers where they are and helps them move forward.
Whether you’re a commander, squad leader, H2F-I, or soldier looking for direction, the question is no longer “Do we have a program?” It’s “Do we have a structure that supports follow-through?”
If the answer is yes, then your unit is no longer just passing fitness tests. You’re building a team that’s ready, together, for all of the other 28 days out of the month.
Sources
Haslam, S. A., Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Sharman, L. S., Hayes, S., Walter, Z., Jetten, J., Steffens, N. K., Cardona, M., La Rue, C. J., McNamara, N., Këllezi, B., Wakefield, J. R. H., Stevenson, C., Bowe, M., McEvoy, P., Robertson, A. M., Tarrant, M., Dingle, G., & Young, T. (2024). Tackling loneliness together: A three-tier social identity framework for social prescribing. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 27(5), 1128-1150. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302241242434 (Original work published 2024)
Kearnes, Michael R.. Lessons in Unit Cohesion: From the United States Army’s COHORT (Cohesion, Operational Readiness, and Training) Experiment of 1981 to 1995. November 2022 https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/Research%20and%20Books/AoW/Unit-Cohesion/AoW_Unit_Cohesion_book_and_covers_WEB-UA.pdf.
Mark A. Christiani is a Tactical Strength, and Special Operations Army Veteran. He has human performance experience in the worksite wellness, collegiate and tactical settings. Mark holds a Master of Science in Sports Medicine from Georgia Southern University and several certifications, including CSCS and RSCC. Currently, he serves as an on-site Human Performance Specialist with the US Army Reserves. Mark's extensive background in research, coaching, and injury rehabilitation underscores his commitment to advancing the field of sports science and human performance.