Army to scrap traditional pushups, situps as part of fitness test

Washington Times ^ | 07/10/2018 | Douglas Ernst

[Newbomb Turk]

Typically the article is WRONG !

Strength deadlift 120# minimum for three reps, increased weight requirement depending on military occupational specialty.

Standing power throw, 10# ball for a minimum distance depending again on MOS.

Hand release pushups. This does two things, stops the cheaters who can't do a proper pushup to save their ass and you start from a dead stop every rep. It uses mostly chest muscles and not triceps. I did 120 reps of this exercise yesterday. Took awhile to get the hang of it but it kicks ass. I own a rathole gym and I can bench over 330# at age 58 and this exercise is way harder that a standard pushup.

Spring, drag carry, 25 meters down and back 5 times for time. First round open sprint no weight, round 2 90# sled like you evacuate wounded troops on its called a SKED, round 3, side shuffle down and back, round 5, 40 pound weigh in each hand down and back, round 5, sprint down and back.

Leg tuck. Hanging from an overhead bar. One bar, hand over hand like you hold a baseball bat, Imagine hanging facing sideways holding on to one monkey bar, then touch your knees to your elbows, max reps for 3 minutes, not while standing, hanging.

Followed by a 2 mile run.

All in under 50 minutes start to finish.

One thing not mentioned. If you can't pass the test for your military specialty you have two choices, retrain to another specialty or get out.

No waivers for medical issues either if what I saw was correct.

Same standard, man or woman depending on your military job.

[Gay State Conservative]

It'll be 49 years ago this September when I reported to Fort Knox,KY.It would have been nice if this newly announced policy had been in force then.

However,I must admit that 2 months later I was in the best shape of my life...by far.

[Newbomb Turk]

Oh. I didn’t check out the hand release push up. The chest is resting on the ground? Sissies! I thought they made it harder

I did 5 sets of 25 yesterday just to see what kind of a rhythm I could develop doing this exercise. This variant almost totally eliminates triceps involvement and focuses on chest. When you are on the bottom and have to lift your hands off the ground that also causes a reverse chest stretch. Unlike the standard pushup test with the release pushup there is no rest period. No resting on the bottom.

I bench press every week. This exercise made me really sore but no shoulder involvement at all unlike standard pushups.

I'm actually in the military and I think this test is going to be a bitch for a lot of troops. But if they train for it, it will be a great thing. We routinely get young Soldiers with shockingly underdeveloped upper body strength.

[TBP]

They can’t do that. I was a situp CHAMPION! They wanted 80; I would consistently do well over 100.

[jmacusa]

Close Order Swanning About!

[trebb]

Lots of FReepers showing why we never win as big as we should - they base all their opinions on a few thoughts and never bother to actually read the article....then they get pissed at those who call them out as concern trolls and other such idiots.

[elbook]

being replaced with the 50 meter prance, and the 10 minute latte stand-wait-in-line ??

feeble.

[2CAVTrooper]

“The same clown who eliminated the grenade throw in BCT.”

And in the process depriving us of such comedic gold:

https://youtu.be/Yr2FTwTmz-g

[2CAVTrooper]

Females ALWAYS had lower PT standards.

[2CAVTrooper]

The sprint, drag, carry actually makes sense but the rest?

[unread]

"pink pussy hats are next."

Back in my day we did wear "cunt caps"... :)

[ptsal]

same here but was having a memory lapse

[DEPcom]

I had the same issue in the Army. I was 6 foot weight 131 pounds and knew I had issues with push ups. I just made it point to do extra pull ups and push ups through out the day.

When it came to the PT test, I had the fastest run time, but just meet the push up requirements. Did not get recycle because I knew I had it issue with my body build.

Did 22 years in the military, but always had issues with push up. I just work a little harder to make sure I pass my PT test. I still enjoy running and biking, just no upper body strength.

[wardaddy]

Bench presses are harder for tall folks too even if muscular

[Yaelle]

Oh, ok, not so bad. The deadlifts will show upper body strength too. Most of us are deficient in upper body strength. I’m getting there and it makes such a difference in all “life” things. I wouldn’t want to have weak upper body any more.

[daniel1212]

READ THE ARTICLE!

What's to read that combats the posters premise that this is a lowering of standards?

“It will reduce attrition and it will reduce musculoskeletal injuries and actually save, in the long run, the Army a heck of a lot of money.”

What kind of rationale is that? One of the objectives of basic is to weed out those who would likely fail in combat. If reducing attrition and musculoskeletal injuries and saving $ is the goal then why not just reduce more activities that one may need to do in actual combat?

From https://www.stripes.com/news/army-unveils-new-six-event-physical-fitness-test-to-help-ready-troops-for-combat-1.536807

Strength deadlift: Soldiers will perform three repetitions of deadlift at the heaviest weight they are capable of between 120 and 420 pounds. The deadlift replicates picking up heavy equipment or a wounded comrade in combat..”

Meaning a minimum of 120lbs must be lifted? Which (not at least) a 5'5'' 130lbs soldier ought to be able to do. "Weights will be increased" likely means to see how much more one can, but not need to, lift. But if they want to reduce attrition and musculoskeletal injuries then I suspect this will be reduced.

“Soldiers will throw a 10-pound medicine ball backward as far as they can."

"A 10-pound ball backward," that is basically the weight of a gallon of water, and backwards is easier. However, it does not mention how far one may need to throw this in order to pass.

Hand-release push-up: Soldiers will perform as many hand-release push-ups as possible in two minutes. In a hand-release push-up, soldiers lift their hands and arms from the ground at the bottom of the push-up.”

Which does not say how many one must do in two min. or else fail.

Sprint, drag, carry: Soldiers will twice sprint up and down a 25-meter lane, drag a 90-pound sled up and down the lane, and carry two 40-pound kettlebell weights up and down the lane

Dragging a 90-pound sled shoulkd not bne hard for one who can lift a 120lbs. And likekly the skids can be "greased" to "reduce attrition rates.

Leg tuck: Hanging from a pull-up bar, soldiers will lift their legs up and down touching their knees or thighs to their elbows as many times as possible during two minutes. The exercise strengthens core muscles, requiring more strength than traditional sit-ups

Sounds tough, but "as many times as possible" does not say they must do it more than once.

Two-mile run: Soldiers will complete the test with a two-mile run, as they must in the APFT. However, Frost said, soldiers will have only five minutes of rest between the leg tuck and the run, which will likely slow their times by 45 seconds to two minutes compared to the current test.

A two-mile run over what time period?

The new fitness test will be designed to be gender and age neutral, Frost said. That does not mean every soldier in the Army will be required to achieve the same base scores, however. =..To command at any level, leaders will have to pass the ACFT standards set for their unit or job.

But the test itself still needs some tweaking, Frost said Monday at the Pentagon.

- https://www.stripes.com/news/army-unveils-new-six-event-physical-fitness-test-to-help-ready-troops-for-combat-1.536807

Sounds like increasing dead weight to meet numerical goals, numbers over quality. Like so many churches (and i need to be in better spiritual shape).

[BlueLancer]

During my last tour to Korea in 1993-1994, we laid out our two-mile run path quite logically: from the barracks for HQ, 2nd Infantry Division, we ran to the northern-most gate on the MSR of Camp Casey. It was exactly two miles in length, all downhill at a gentle slope, and there was a bus stop there to bring us back to the barracks.

Had some really good running times in the JAG office for that test ...