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I skimmed through and didn't see a board designated for this topic, so figured I'd create one.

 

Any suggestions on how to improve the 2 mile run, pushups, situps would be helpful.

 

Also, a few have asked this question: "If you re-take your APFT and score lower, can you use the older score?" The answer may be different for civilians vs. active. Any info on this question?

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My take, a lower PT score the second time would be a very bad thing. I would think the board would want to see improvement as time progressed and would see a lower score as not putting in the right effort to improve.

 

When I was trying to improve my PT score I focused on overall fitness improvement, down to my diet. I was getting after it from multiple angles. HIIT, distance, heavy lifting, and low weight high rep lifting. To get my feet moving faster I was on the treadmill on a very uncomfortable speed and just powering through it. Mixed in pushups at work between bathroom breaks. Sounds funny but knocking out 30 pushups after each bathroom break really starts to add up. In 2 months my pushups went from 57 to 74.

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Diet is huge. Try to eliminate dairy entirely, I mean literally all dairy, and you will start to see improvements. If you wanna push it even more, minimize meats and start eating a lot of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans. If you have a juicer, I recommend either supplementing or replacing a meal a day with a greens based juice (kale, spinach, celery, etc.. recipes online.) Seriously though, dairy is awful for you and if you eliminate that and keep your workout routine, you will start seeing improvements much quicker. That's what I did for my PT test training and I ended up not going back.

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The dairy and meat thing is hugely opinion based. I do not agree with it at all. Whole milk and good meats are huge staples in a diet for building and maintaining muscle. Whole grains, that can be eliminated and your carbs can be gained through veggies (broccoli, sweet potato ect)

 

Seriously check out military athletes APFT program it is very specific, not too Tim intensive and the results are amazing.

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Stop eating altogether, and only drink Mountain Dew.

 

Also, run about 4 miles after every bathroom break, and do 75 PU/SU everytime you fart. Obviously the gassier you are the stronger you become.

 

But in all seriousness... I crossfit... changed my life.

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i used to be able to barely pass apft when i first enlisted, but after a while in the army, when i was in a top shape, i got 270+.

 

for sit ups and push ups, the best bet is just repetition. do muscle failure every other day, and every other day you are not doing muscle failure, knock out 20~30 every bathroom break, every tv commercial break, or everytime you remember. running is a little different, at least for me. i had to do interval training to reduce my run time significantly. endurance run is good too but it doesn't decrease your run time. have to combine endurance and interval without injuring yourself is critical. also, your weight could affect your run time. don't starve yourself but being in ideal weight always helps.

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Everyone here posted really really good advice. Remember different things work for different people. In my opinion, the run is a lot more mental than the two other excersices. It's only 13 or so minutes of FEELING like you're going to collapse and die, that's not too bad.

 

The running is hard to everyone, it seems. When I feel like I'm going to collapse or die, I run harder. If you have that approach, you'll see dramatic improvement.

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The running is hard to everyone, it seems. When I feel like I'm going to collapse or die, I run harder. If you have that approach, you'll see dramatic improvement.

As soon soon as I adopted this approach I went from about a 14:15 to a 13:00 all the way down to a 12:31.

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As soon soon as I adopted this approach I went from about a 14:15 to a 13:00 all the way down to a 12:31.

 

It works, man. I was a swimmer and high school, and had a similar breakthrough my sophomore year. Once you understand that you're going to be dog ass tired anyways, pushing yourself to go that little bit faster really doesn't suck all that much anyways!

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It works, man. I was a swimmer and high school, and had a similar breakthrough my sophomore year. Once you understand that you're going to be dog ass tired anyways, pushing yourself to go that little bit faster really doesn't suck all that much anyways!

I'm not going to lie, I absolutely hate running. But I love the feeling I have after a good run, it's almost like a high. The harder I run the better the high. I used to run a 10:30 2 mile. My last PT test was 11:30ish. Getting old really sucks.

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I'm not going to lie, I absolutely hate running. But I love the feeling I have after a good run, it's almost like a high. The harder I run the better the high. I used to run a 10:30 2 mile. My last PT test was 11:30ish. Getting old really sucks.

 

Well you can just go sit in the corner by yourself with that run time. Ill be over here with the slow kids running 13-14's.

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Well you can just go sit in the corner by yourself with that run time. Ill be over here with the slow kids running 13-14's.

Nooooooo. I hate the corner. You've got a lot more muscle mass than me. I want to say you're like a freight train and I'm like a Prius..... But that makes me think of that picture I always send you with the two dudes.... You know.

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Nooooooo. I hate the corner. You've got a lot more muscle mass than me. I want to say you're like a freight train and I'm like a Prius..... But that makes me think of that picture I always send you with the two dudes.... You know.

 

Haha yea I know. I just busted out in laughter on the phone with my co-workers when I read that. On a lighter note, MEPS thinks im a hefty fella too with 21% BF.

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Haha yea I know. I just busted out in laughter on the phone with my co-workers when I read that. On a lighter note, MEPS thinks im a hefty fella too with 21% BF.

I was in a "meeting" at this law firm when I was typing that on my phone. The raised eyebrow look I was getting from everyone at the table only added to my laughter.

 

On a completely unrelated note.... Did anyone see that Star Wars movie trailer?! Or am I the biggest nerd here too???

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I'm not going to lie, I absolutely hate running. But I love the feeling I have after a good run, it's almost like a high. The harder I run the better the high. I used to run a 10:30 2 mile. My last PT test was 11:30ish. Getting old really sucks.

Ha, shut the f**k up man! You'll possibly be the fastest guy in the battalion if you run an 11:30. Certainly a 10:30.

 

Yer good.

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Ha, shut the f*ck up man! You'll possibly be the fastest guy in the battalion if you run an 11:30. Certainly a 10:30.

 

Yer good.

Ha. I run a lot more now than I did back when I was running 10 minute 2 miles. No matter how hard I push it I can't get below 11 minutes again. I've always been a good runner, I think I was just built for it. I'll never be as fast as my dad though.

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Most recent, just like in the military. You take a record APFT every 6 months on active duty, and every year in the Guard/Reserves. The one that goes on record is your most recent, not the last.

 

Which sucks if you, like me, get in a motorcycle accident and fracture your clavicle and humerus which keeps you out of the push-up game for three months... Seriously, I went from doing 78 push ups to 56. Major pain in the ass right there to get back up.

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If I have one good day of 30-60's or 60-120's (30 second sprint-60 second walk, 60 second sprint... you get the idea) I can lower my time significantly, if I did it every day I think I'd be an olympian. Seriously sprints.

 

On the PU/SU side. I'm 6'7" if anyone has a means to remove six inches of arm/lever that'd be great thanks.

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