For those of you looking for something different to level your workout up with:

[doc_brietz]

So, I was thinking, for those of you on the outside looking in who wonder if they could hack it in the Army, maybe I could come up with a little something for you to try for a Goal...just to say you did it. Some of you are all about doing the next big thing, So I present to you a small challenge that has been around as long as I have been in. In this there are 5 events:

The PT Test, which is based off timed Situps, Pushups, and a 2 mile run

And the 18t Airborne Corps standard of a 4 mile run in 36 minutes and a 20K ruck in 4 hours.

Now for the rules broken down by section:

The PT test is completed all in one sitting, in order:

The first event is the push up. No knees allowed. You quit and that is it. You can arch and bow in-between reps.

Depending on your age and sex is your score. I will post guidelines for your score in another post. Passing grade is 60 points with a max of 100.

You fail one of these events, you fail them all, but you can do this...too easy. You have 2 minutes to do as many as you can.

-now take a 5-10 minute break when done-

The second event is the sit-up. you will need either a buddy, a situp bar, or 2 heavy dumbells for this one. You have 2 minutes to do as many as possible. You start on the floor and every time you come back down, that is one rep. Unlike pushups, the scores for males and females are the same, only the age of the person changes it. Passing is 60 out of 100.

-now take a 5-10 minute break-

The last is the run. You must complete 2 miles as fast as possible. nothing downhill at more than a 3% grade. laps are fine. down and back is fine.

This one can be easy for some to pass and difficult to master

Once you are done, you tally up the score. 210 is passing as long as you got 60 in each event. 270 is considered mastery. 250 is a great score and a 300 is the max. You actually get bonus points if you max all 3 events and do more reps past max. award yourself 1 point for each rep past max if and only if you max out all 3 events. These are what I call show off points. :-)

So, now that you passed your PT test, now you can set up your plan for a ruck.

Now for the ruck march. If you want to be a real trooper, you will complete this 12 mile road march in 3 hours to Army Schools Standard. If you use this standard, 3 hours + 1 second = fail. Just to be nice, let's go with 4 hours, which is the normal standard. The plan? Find a place 6 miles away. Go there and come back! Oh, but there are some rules. To best simulate the Army, you will wear a long sleeve shirt, a cap, and a pair of pants (cargo pants are good). You will also have hiking boots on. Yea, there are uniform constraints...it sucks I know.

You will also have a backpack on and at least 2 quarts of water on you. This back pack needs to have a rain jacket and anything else to make it weigh 35 lbs. Maybe throw a child in there. Anyways, so say you have the proper atire, your water to stay hydrated, your heavy backpack, and your route: You are good to go! You may want to have someone be at the halfway mark or follow behind you or something like this. Start very early in the morning, just when the sun comes up. The only thing your missing is your weapon, but I wont make you carry an empty rifle. If you wanna be hard-core, carry an umbrella at the low-ready. J/K

Now, say you were awesome enough to pass or ace the PT test and actually did a ruck march...12 miles in 4 hours (3 if you are hard core)

last up is your fun run. Now, the PT test scores were based off sex and age, the ruck and fun run are not. I dont care how old or young you are, gal or guy, tall or short....the ruck is the same and so is this run. Another run? yep.

4 miles in 36 minutes. That is it. Perferably with a high sense of motivation. I only have one rule. If you have 2 or more people running with you, I want to hear a cadence. Sing to each other. Have fun with it. Once this is done, you got your smiley face, your gold star, your check the block.

If you want to ace it, go for the 300 on the PT test and the 12 mile in 3 hours instead of 4. Make sure you warm up, cool down, take care of your feet, and drink water! All you have to do is pass, and you win. :-)

[doc_brietz]

For an easy way to figure your score:

http://550cord.com/products/info.asp?ProductID=7&product=Army-Fitness-Calculator

OR

http://apftcalculator.com/

Go here for all your information needs, as I think it is correct:

http://www.apft-standards.com/

It even has cadences to sing!

[unicornassassin]

To pass that has been a longterm goal of mine for YEARS. I'm getting near the ballpark finally.