How to Max the US ARMY Physical Fitness Test
A score of 300, which breaks down to 100 points in each category is considered perfect. Once you score “perfect” you’ll also receive an extended score which will give you a number over 300 allowing you to compare your results with other “perfect” score achievers. For most soldiers maxing this test proves to be very difficult, but it’s definitely possible with a few tips and a lot of training. As a former soldier of the US ARMY I’m proud to say that I maxed the physical fitness test with an extended score of 362. Here are some tips, tricks, and training advice so you can max it to.
General Test Information:
The scoring varies a little depending on your age, but I believe most people reading this article will be in the younger brackets and thus all have to meet roughly the same requirements for a score of 300. In addition the ARMY fitness test requirements are revised occasionally so be sure to check out exactly what you need to accomplish before deciding on a training regiment. Generally though, you’ll need to do 77+ pushups in two minutes, 82+ sit-ups in two minutes, and a two mile run in 13:00 minutes or less. When the test is administered the first fitness event is pushups, followed directly by sit-ups, which is followed by the run.
Do a pretest to determine your weakest and strongest area. Maybe you’re the rare person who is physically balanced and scores about the same in all 3 areas. For most soldiers they’re tests are slanted highly in one of the two following ways.
1. really good at pushups, running is extremely difficult
2. really good at running, pushups are extremely difficult.
For me, pushups were relatively easy and it was the run that caused me the most problems. Pushups:
PUSHUPS
Techniques & Tips:
A slightly different hand position can greatly change the muscles being strained. Putting your hands slightly closer together and down will use more of your triceps, while moving your hands outward will put more strain on your chest. Soldiers rarely do the most pushups from the complete standard pushups position. Test yourself and discover which position allows you to do the most repetitions. Once you discover this, practice doing that type of pushup in training. In addition see what other slightly different positions are agreeable to your body. Be able to switch quickly between them. Remember that you can’t lift up your hands during the test or you’ll be disqualified, but you can drag them slightly on the ground to reposition yourself. Be able to move a tiny bit and have it make a big different when you’re hitting fatigue.
Training
Build up your power. Remember that the test is only for 2 minutes so you want to really work on that explosive power. Practice doing sets of pushups as fast as possible and keep going until failure. Try to learn how to focus or stimulate your adrenaline which will help increase the explosive power you’ll need to pound out so many reps in a short time. One way to do this is to get angry or think of a scenario were your life would depend on you doing that many pushups. Exhale on your “up” push and inhale on your way down. For some soldiers it helps to actually make the exhale intense and audible. See what works for you.
Don’t just do regular pushups. Move your hands around and do sets that focus more on one particular muscle like tricep pushups or wide chest pushups. Practice resting in the up position and moving slightly to relieve fatiguing muscles and then do as many as possible and repeat.
During the Test
Don’t pace yourself, do as many as fast as you can within the first 45 seconds.
After 45 seconds rest for a few seconds in the “up” position and slightly reposition your hands to put the strain on a different muscle area. After a few seconds try to do as many as possible with your new hand position. When you fatigue, rest in the up position again and repeat. If you feel that you absolutely can’t do anymore and your muscles are starting to cramp, rest in the up position
SITUPS
Tips & Techniques:
Initially most soldiers don’t have the strength and power of their abdominals built up. Meaning they can do a lot of sit-ups, but not do them quickly and without resting. This test is in 2 minutes, but ideally 75% of your sit-ups should be completed in the first minute and the remaining minute is simply to intermittently rest in the up position and then pump out a few more.
On the way up and down you can slightly move your legs a little in or out. Remember that another soldier will be holding your feet so practice flexing your legs really hard sometimes and other times concentrate on keeping your legs mostly relaxed. By repositioning slightly and varying the leg tension you can use more of your leg muscles or more of your lower abdominal muscles etc. Practice until you can easily control what type of sit-up you want to do and where the strain will be. Be sure not to get a leg cramp, remember that you have to run directly after you finish.
Try to learn how to focus or stimulate your adrenaline which will help increase the explosive power you’ll need to pound out so many reps in a short time. One way to do this is to get angry or think of a scenario were your life would depend on you doing that many pushups. Exhale on your “up” push and inhale on your way down. For some soldiers it helps to actually make the exhale intense and audible. See what works for you.
Training
Practice doing as many as you can as fast as possible. You want to build up the power and strength of your abdominal muscles. Two minutes is a short period of time and you need to conserve some of your abs for the run. Practice sit-ups with your legs slightly more out or slightly more in. Be able to do one type of sit-up until failure and then rest in the up position for a few seconds on your way down slightly reposition yourself and then pound out some more until failure. Don’t focus on doing thousands of sit-ups or sets upon sets, instead focus on power and practice doing as many as possible. It’s better to do a 100 as fast as you possibly can then to do 200 slowly in a longer period of time. The test is only two minutes so most of your sit-ups will be done in a continuous explosive single set. In my experience don’t keep your neck stiff, let it move with you.
During the Test
Don’t pace yourself, do as many as fast as you can within the first 45 seconds.
After 45 seconds rest for a few seconds in the “up” position and slightly reposition your body and change leg tension to put the strain on a different muscle area. After a few seconds try to do as many as possible again. When you fatigue, rest in the up position again and repeat. If you feel that you absolutely can’t do anymore and your muscles are starting to cramp, rest in the up position. If you’ve already MAXED the sit-up requirement and are just going for extra points, you may not want to go all out here. If your stomach or leg muscles fatigue too badly it can affect your run time. This was one of the areas where I would stand up after completing 10 more then the max. I could have done a few more, but I wanted to conserve my abs a little for the run. I’m not entirely sure if that’s the way to go, but it definitely worked for me.
TWO-MILE RUN
Techniques & Tips:
Unlike the previous two tests, this one is all about endurance, not strength or power. Endurance, endurance, endurance! Sprints, adrenaline, and bulging muscles won’t necessarily help you out.
Practice your pace and timing. Learn what a 6:00 minute mile pace feels like and compare it to a 7:00 minute mile pace. Practice running at the slowest pace you need to max the test and then using sprints to pass people / objects. Be sure to test yourself often and verify that you can accurately change to a XX:XX minute pace. Maxing the test will be a lot more difficult if you have no idea what pace you need to keep and what is “too slow”.
Use the people around you to motivate you. Choose a person ahead of you and make a “resolution” to pass them in the next minute or so. After passing them choose the next person. It also works in reverse. Be determined not to let anyone pass you once you have your pace and are into the race. This type of mental “devotion” can help you stay motivated when things start to hurt.
This was the hardest event for me and I maxed this test a little differently then what experts would probably consider ideal. I learned what the different paces felt like, but I had a lot of difficulty keeping my motivation up in the 10th minute of a 6:00 minute mile pace. I either had an inclination to attack the run and run too fast, or my whole body felt like It just wanted to slow down to a cruising 7:00 minute mile speed. What ended up working for me was running the first half mile as fast as I possibly could, and then slow down to a 6:00 minute mile pace for another half a mile, and finishing off the last mile (where all the pain sets in) of the run at a 7:00 minute mile cruising speed. It ended up that I would finish the first mile in 5:30 minutes and the second in 7:00 minutes even, which resulted in a two mile run time of 12:30 and a MAX for the run on my PT scorecard. Another benefit about my technique is it greatly built up my half mile and one mile time, which is very useful in a ton of athletic activities where you have to “turn it on” but only for a few minutes.
Training
Alternate between running long distances 5 miles + to build your cardiovascular system with short Ã?½ – 1 mile runs giving it everything you got. The short runs will improve your leg muscles, speed, and your ability to push yourself all out for a long periods of time. Unlike the previous two tests where you accomplish most of work in the first 70 seconds, even at max speed you’ll be running hard for over 10 minutes. That’s a lot of pain and if you’re not a natural runner it takes a lot of “heart” to push yourself for that long.
As your fitness level increases practice running “wind sprints” on your long run days. In between your regular pace sprint for 20-50 meters and then return to your regular pace. In another few minutes do this repeat. This will shed time from your run like nothing else.
During the Test
Don’t let yourself be “blocked” by traffic. Make sure you start at the front of the race. If you can’t start at the front, then sprint ahead and once you’re in the clear then resume a quick pace. Double check your shoelaces before you start and if they come undone, don’t’ stop to tie them. You’ll waste more time stopping to tie them then the pressure difference between tied laces and untied laces will make at the finish line. Always sprint the last 50 meters, no matter how tired you feel, be able to muster up everything you got at the end. You’d be surprised how many people fail to meet their goals by a second or two just because they didn’t sprint the last leg.
OUTLOOK
It will take some time and a lot of hard work, but maxing the army physical fitness test is something every soldier should strive to achieve. The mark of physical excellence is something few soldiers will obtain. While most jobs in the modern military do not require that level of physical fitness, you strove to achieve it and that says you care about yourself enough to strive for perfection and a physical ideal.
