Jun 10, 2026 Health & Fitness Association launches effort to boost military readiness
The Health & Fitness Association, a global nonprofit focused on protecting, promoting and growing the health and fitness industry, has launched a new initiative called Service Ready, a program designed to help improve military readiness by expanding access to pre-enlistment fitness support for future service members.
The program was formally unveiled during HFA’s 2026 Fly-In and Advocacy Summit in Washington and mobilizes the fitness industry to provide verified military recruits with voluntary, no-cost access to participating fitness facilities and training support prior to basic training.
HFA said Service Ready was developed in response to growing national concerns around youth fitness, obesity and military preparedness and aims to help recruits enter training stronger, healthier and better prepared for the physical demands of military service.
According to the HFA, 41% of Americans age 17-24 currently meet both the physical activity and weight standards required for military service, while obesity disqualifies more than 52,000 applicants annually. The association also notes that musculoskeletal injuries continue to create significant readiness and cost burdens across the military.
“America’s military readiness challenges are increasingly tied to broader declines in physical activity and health outcomes among young adults,” HFA Chief of Staff Mike Goscinski said in a news release. “As the nation marks America’s 250th anniversary, Service Ready is an opportunity for the fitness industry to step up and support future service members before they arrive at basic training by leveraging the existing facilities, expertise and community infrastructure already operating across the country.
“This initiative is about improving preparedness, reducing preventable injuries and strengthening national resilience through greater access to physical activity.”
Through Service Ready, participating HFA member companies can voluntarily provide eight to 12 weeks of no-cost fitness facility access for verified recruits, optional coaching and movement technique sessions led by certified fitness professionals and optional body composition assessments.
HFA said the program is designed to complement existing military preparatory programs, including the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, Future Soldier Training System, Recruit Sustainment Program and Navy Operational Fitness and Fueling System.
Additionally, by leveraging existing community fitness infrastructure nationwide, HFA said Service Ready offers a scalable way to improve preparedness, reduce injury risk and expand access to structured physical activity prior to enlistment.
“It’s important to remember that a healthier nation is a stronger nation,” Adm. Brian Christine, M.D., assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, said during the fly-in. “We are stronger in our communities because healthy communities are more connected and more capable of weathering hardships together. We are stronger in our workforce because a nation burdened by preventable illness cannot fully prosper, innovate or compete. And we are stronger in our military readiness because the defense of liberty ultimately depends on citizens who are physically, mentally and morally prepared to answer the call of duty.”
Christine also noted only a fraction of military-aged Americans are physically, mentally and medically prepared to serve and argued that the strength of the U.S. has always depended on the health and readiness of its people.
The HFA said additional details on participating fitness facilities and rollout plans will be announced at a later date.
