**5. Conclusions**

The US Army has recently adopted the maximum PH event as part of their annual fitness testing (i.e., ACFT) despite limited literature supporting its use to predict occupational performance or injury. Considering the variables associated with PH performance (i.e., body mass index, fat mass, push-ups, state physical energy), as well as the only variable within this study that was significantly different between PH pass and fail groups was VO2max, there are several preliminary conclusions that can be provided from this exploratory study. First, while the PH event is considered a test of core endurance, not aerobic fitness, it seems the two fitness measures may be intertwined and those with poor aerobic fitness are more at risk for failing the event. Additionally, individuals with greater BMI and fat mass may display worse performance on the PH. The lack of difference in PH performance between males and females in the study provides support for the PH as a 'gender neutral' assessment. Thus, to improve PH performance, it would be suggested that strength and conditioning practitioners implement training to enhance VO2max and body composition. In regard to PH assessment it is appears that a TA's physical energy on a testing day may influence their PH performance. Factors such as the time of day testing occurs, testing after a shift, or testing groups of TA together could all influence physical energy [67,68]. These should be documented to aid in interpreting individual results over multiple tests on the same individual.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, M.S.v.d.W., M.T. and J.M.; methodology, M.S.v.d.W., M.T., M.F.-M. and J.M.; formal analysis, M.T.; data curation, M.T. and J.M.; writing—original draft preparation, M.S.v.d.W. and M.T; writing—review and editing, M.S.v.d.W., M.T. and J.M.; visualization, M.S.v.d.W. and M.T.; supervision, M.F.-M. and J.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board of GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY (protocol code 12179B and 30 April 2019).

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

**Data Availability Statement:** The data and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, M.S.v.d.W., upon reasonable request.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to thank Prince William County Fire and Police Departments for their ongoing support of the authors' research projects.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
