Notes

Military Fitness Test
How can you stack up?

Yes I know it's the dreaded term we all hear, either at the gym once we watch staff post the monthly gym challenge on the board, or as part of our fitness training with a trainer, as well as within our working lives.

It's also something some people never even consider; we visit the gym, or run, swim, cycle and lift weights day in and day trip and sometimes start to see the benefits of what we reap. However, do we really know if we are making progress.

Some of us are disciplined enough to keep training diaries and can see progress on the sort of training we have been conducting. But! Do we actually know it's working - well that is where fitness tests or fitness assessments enter into their own.

Generally speaking, you can find unlimited numbers of tests some standard, some invented by trainers or coaches for a particular purpose; however they all do a similar thing. They give a baseline on the standard of fitness one has and further tests evaluate progress.

Most general fitness tests cover the following main areas

Strength

Speed

Suppleness

Stamina

Don't be worried about the "ins and outs" of the test and the "why", all we have to know is that it is a way of testing and evaluating our progress with regards to our programme. In the primary, we have to test ourselves approximately every six weeks and try to make sure that the tests are conducted as close as possible to the prior test conditions.

After this, we can incorporate the tests into our training programme and make the required alterations to make certain we progress rather than regress.

Try this simple tests the next time your at the fitness center or outside and see how you stack up. read more , the majority of it can be done outside or within the confines of a gym, be sure to have a pen and paper to record your results.

Military Fitness Test

The following test is an adaptation of the non-public fitness test, utilized by the Army to check fitness standards. All you have to is really a stopwatch and partner to count and score your outcomes.

The test includes a group of basic exercises designed to test strength and stamina:

� A timed 1500 meter run (best effort)

� Maximum repetitions of the next exercises over a 2 minute period:-

Sit ups

Press ups

Burpees

The scoring system is really as follows:

How to Score the Assessment

Exercise Level Novice

1500m Run 7.40mns+

Press Ups 1-20 reps

Sit Ups 10-37 reps

Burpees 1-15 reps

Exercise Level Intermediate

1500m Run Under 6.30mins

Press Ups 21-40 reps

Sit Ups 38-61 reps

Burpees 15-30 reps

Exercise Level Advanced

1500m Run 4.20-6.25

Press Ups 41-60 reps

Sit Ups 62+ reps

Burpees 31+ reps

Press Ups- for just two 2 minutes- Standard full press up, arms just over shoulder width apart, legs together, back straight. You need to lower your body until it is one inch from the floor, if you have an exercise partner start to see the following:

Male - One fist your chest should touch your partners fist which is placed on the floor below your chest thumb on top
Female - Half press ups knees on floor, your lover should have one fist along with the other.

Sit Ups - for 2 2 minutes- Lie on your own back, feet flat, knees bend, neck only should touch the bottom, hands on thighs. When you start the sit up, your wrists must pass your knees to be counted, along the way back your shoulder blades only should touch the ground

1500m run as fast as you can- this can be done as a walk, run, cycle, row.

Treadmill, Static cycle, *1% incline, level 1, speed as fast as you can

Ergometer - Level 4 ( roughly same fluidity as water)

Outside- if you can't measure 1500m, try walking or running for 5-20 minutes then make a note of what your location is e.g outside number 14, lamppost number 16NW (all lampposts are numbered)
*Incline on treadmill

The test and assessment are only helpful information to your current fitness ability and many factors such as

� Rest

� Training

� Eating

� Competing

� Commitment to the test

May [and can] affect your results each time.

That is the end of the Military Fitness Test. All you need to do is conduct the test, score your results and tweak your training to boost in all areas, weak and strong alike. Just remember to conduct the tests as close to the original test conditions as possible every time. Over testing is simply as bad as over training!

References: Table Reference: McArdle W.D. et al; Essential of Exercise Physiology; 2000

Health and fitness
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