Alternative Military Fitness Test

Rob Shaul at militaryathlete.com has proposed this as an alternative to the run, pushups and situps the Army currently does. You can find his justifications there, but I thought I'd post the test itself and see what people thought

Phase 1

OPERATOR UGLY

Warm up: 4 Rounds
10x Goblet Squat @ 12kg
8x Push Ups
10x Sit ups

Training:

(1) Max Reps Bench Press @ 185#

Protocol: Do one warm up set of 10 reps @ 135#. Then do a second warm up set of 5 reps @ 165#. Then load up 185# and do as many reps as possible.

(2) Max Reps Front Squat @ 185#

Protocol: Do one warm up set of 10 reps @ 135#. Then do a second warm up set of 5 reps @ 165#. Then load up 185# and do as many reps as possible.

(3) Max Reps Dead Stop Dead Lift @ 225# in 60 seconds

Protocol: Do one warm up set of 10 reps @ 135#. Then do a second warm up set of 5 reps @ 185#. Then load up 225# and do as many reps as possible in 60 seconds. NOTE THAT THESE ARE DEAD STOP DEAD LIFTS - NO BOUNCING! The barbell must stop completely on the floor after each rep. Watch the clock, and when the second hand hits 60 seconds, stop.

(4) 4 Rounds for total Reps
60 second 25m sprint
60 second rest

Protocol: Each full length counts as 1 rep. Each full round trip counts as 2 reps. No partials! The athlete has to sprint a full length to get the point for the rep.

(5) Max Strict Pull Ups

Protocol: These are dead hang and strict, chin above bar pull ups. No kipping, no chicken necking, no bull****.

(6) 80# Sandbag Get up, max reps in 10 minutes

Protocol: Start standing with the sandbag on one shoulder. Lay all the way down, then "get up" any way you want. The "finish" position is full sanding position, knees and hips at full extension, feet shoulder width apart.


Rest between sets and exercises - Work through the test briskly enough so you can complete it in 60 minutes. For the bench press, front squat, and dead lift, there is no set rest period between sets. Rather, perform the test with a partner, or pretend that you are. By the time each guy does the set, plus weight changes, you'll be getting enough rest for these tests. Also, use the same barbell for each lift. The time it takes to unload the plates, re-set the racks for the front squat, and or, take off the barbell for the dead lift, etc, will give you the right amount of rest before starting the next exercise.

After the dead lifts, the athlete can take time to get a drink and catch his or her breath before starting the sprints. After the sprints, rest 3-5 minutes before doing the pull ups. You can take another couple of minutes between the pull ups and the sand bag get ups.

SCORING:

Bench Press reps x1
Front Squat reps x1
Dead Lift reps x1
Sprints x1
Strict Pull ups x1
SBGU /2.

Minimum passing score is 100 points
Phase 2
THE GRUDGE

Obj: Sport-specific work stamina

Training: 1000x step ups @ 40#, for time

Step to a box or bench 16-18" high, if possible. A minimum passing time is 50 minutes.

The U.S. Military is already having a hard enough time filling their recruiting quotas. This would probably make it even harder to hit those numbers.

I would have thought walking with weight would be a good test. Walking with a sandbag for example.

Stupid idea. In the military you do some things repeatedly. In general these are running long distances, short sprints and drops, marching with weights, and maeuvering yourself over and around obstacles.

The current fitness tests generally measure and improve abilities in all of these. Whereas this looks more like another attempt of 'functional training' to self-define itself as all important.

"And 1000x step ups? How fucking dumb of an idea is that?? Sport specific?...lol Why not get out and actually march somewhere through real terrain like you would actually do in the military?"

The military fitness guy says that weighted step-ups are closer to walking uphill with a pack than normal distance running.

The mountaineering program and the military program both include lots of running and hiking with a pack.

If he's right, though, it makes sense to use it as a test for whether you can hike uphill with a pack.

" how about an 8 mile hike? that makes a hell of a lot more sense to me."

not everyone lives near mountains.

isn't there a big Army base in a flat part of Texas?

it's just a convenient substitute when the real thing isn't available, not some sort of weird Bosu-ball functional training thing.

^ not to beat this to death, but I support the military fitness/mountain athlete guy.

He has good ideas for S&C. He doesn't seem like a kook (no cult-building or outre diet ideas). He doesn't overemphasize it over playing the sport. He's willing to learn from others.

Model citizen of the online training community, IMO.

It would be a freakin nightmare to administer that sort of PT test to an entire company or even a platoon in any reasonable amount of time and/or effort.

"how about an 8 mile hike? that makes a hell of a lot more sense to me."

This is actually one of the main tests of fitness in the British army.

The are 2 tests. The PFT (physical fitness test) and the BFT (battle fitness test). The PFT consists of as many press ups as you can do in 2 minutes, as many sit ups as you can do in 2 minutes, and a 1.5 mile timed run.

The BFT consists of an 8 mile weighted march - wearing boots and full uniform - across the hilliest terrain available locally, whilst carrying rifle, webbing, helmet, and bergen totalling 25kg (55lbs) in under 2 hours.

Think that looks pretty dumb.

Cranial Splatter - It would be a freakin nightmare to administer that sort of PT test to an entire company or even a platoon in any reasonable amount of time and/or effort.
This.



The Army test isn't really specific it to anything . It's a simple 3 exercise test to gauge physical ability. Simple and easy to administer.