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As weird and counter-intuitive as it sounds, I sort of disagree. I find that if I go hard on my legs and really beef them up, I tend to run slower. It's almost like the bigger muscles take more energy and I get winded earlier.

 

I agree that you should have a dedicated leg day, I would stipulate however not to go really heavy. Instead make your leg days all about your leg's endurance.

I completely agree with you on that. Lighter weight with higher repetitions is the way to go for endurance. Just because you have a dedicated leg day doesn't mean you will bulk muscle!

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Started working at the Post Office back in July, so far I am down 30.6 lbs. Just need 10 more Inches off my waist and I can start working on my packet. Does anyone know how much weight that is? I don't feel like I would even be competitive at WOCS unless I was in the 200 Range. I am currently 238 lbs and 57 Inches.

How tall are you? Have you attempted the Army Physical Fitness Test?

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2–20. Height

The causes for disqualification are—

a.Men: Height below 60 inches or over 80 inches does not meet the standard.

b.Women: Height below 58 inches or over 80 inches does not meet the standard.

2–21. Weight

a.Army applicants for initial appointment as commissioned officers (to include appointment as commissioned

warrant officers) must meet the standards of AR 600–9. Body fat composition is used as the final determinant in

evaluating an applicant’s acceptability when the weight exceeds that listed in the weight tables.

b.All other applicants must meet the standards of tables 2-l and 2–2. Body fat composition is used as the final

determinant in evaluating an applicant’s acceptability when the weight exceeds that listed in the weight tables.


The above is from AR 40-501




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I've taken a mock test, push ups, situps, and 1 mile run due to time restraints. I almost passed and that was when I was 260 lbs.

 

 

Do you mean 5 foot 7 inches? Keep working to improve your fitness. It sounds like you have some work to do. Don't get discouraged though. The more you exercise, the easier it gets. Slow progress is still progress.

 

 

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Do you mean 5 foot 7 inches? Keep working to improve your fitness. It sounds like you have some work to do. Don't get discouraged though. The more you exercise, the easier it gets. Slow progress is still progress.

 

 

 

Yes, sorry, late night postings -_- I walk anywhere from 8-16 miles under load 6 days a week, sometimes 7. Being the low guy on the totem has it's advantages/disadvantages.

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Yes, sorry, late night postings -_- I walk anywhere from 8-16 miles under load 6 days a week, sometimes 7. Being the low guy on the totem has it's advantages/disadvantages.

I will say it again, work on your physical fitness. You cannot do anything in the Army, regardless of MOS if you do not meet the physical fitness standards. Per AR 600-9, your maximum weight cannot exceed 169 pounds if you're 21 to 27. If you are over weight, you may be taped to determine your body fat percentage. In that same age group the maximum body fat is 22%.

 

Look up:

FM 7-22 Army Physical Readiness Training. AR 600-9 The Army Body Composition Program

and DA Form 705 Army Physical Fitness Test Scorecard ( page 3,4, and 5).

 

Just some food for thought. I'm not trying to discourage you.

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What is your age? At 5'7" or 67" your limits are:

 

Min wt regardless of age: 121lbs (not a factor for you)

 

17-20 = 165 max

21-27 = 169 max

28-39 = 174 max

40+ = 176 max

 

You have at least 60 plus pounds to lose before you can meet the max weight per even the 40+ column. As a former unit MFT I have had some buff MFers that I had to tape because they busted weight but were obviously in good physical condition. It's a silly game.

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Some things that have always helped me with APFT improvement.

 

1. Every single run, do at least 100 situps before you run. You need to condition your body to running when you abs and legs are beat up a little.

 

2. Pushups until muscle failure then on your knees. If you only do 50 pushups then another 20 on your knees your still pushing your body to its limits.

 

3. Pyramids pushups, incline and perfect pushup bars. Do 10 pushups, then 9, 8 ect. In between the pushup sets do situps or pullups.

 

4. Interval training with sprints. This really is key, if you can't get on a track use city blocks as sprint distances. Also, the treadmill is great for INTIAL conditioning because it drives you to run faster.

 

5. Diet, booze seriously effects your gains. If you want to see best results from your training eat as healthy as possible. Use BCAA and protien supplements you'll see a huge difference in recovery.

 

6. Pool, swimming increases your cardiovascular endurance more than anything else. I will run to the pool, do an hour of laps then jog home. Also, try doing pushups and situps or flutter kicks in between your lap sets.

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As weird and counter-intuitive as it sounds, I sort of disagree. I find that if I go hard on my legs and really beef them up, I tend to run slower. It's almost like the bigger muscles take more energy and I get winded earlier.

 

I agree that you should have a dedicated leg day, I would stipulate however not to go really heavy. Instead make your leg days all about your leg's endurance.

I agree. I still do legs 3 days a week but I go for light reps and focus on lunges instead of squats, suprisingly doing legs helps on runs, the crappy part is fighting through the soreness.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I'm glad I started this thread, I didn't know the Army did min/max weights, for my height (74") it is 197... I am about 10 lbs over that. If I do get taped I measure at 14% body fat.

 

Anyway, my run. I have been running almost every day the past few weeks, and haven't made much progress. I still hover around the 15:30 mark. I feel a lot better when I run, but I can't seem to make myself get faster, I just finish less tired. I have started doing light leg workouts because I do get some muscle fatigue after a mile or so, I'm hoping this will help build some muscular endurance.

 

My push-ups and sit-ups are going well. I can pretty confidently max those on the test, I just have to get my running game up.

 

Thanks again to everyone who has provided some advice here.

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There's definitely a plateau around that 15:00 mark... Funny story, I was coaching my daughters soccer team and Doug the workouts with them like a good leader and the short power sprints and lunges helped my time out a ton....

 

If your able to get a 15:30, without walking, you've got the endurance. Just gotta get that strength built up so you have the stride length for speed

Edited by Yamer
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There's definitely a plateau around that 15:00 mark... Funny story, I was coaching my daughters soccer team and Doug the workouts with them like a good leader and the short power sprints and lunges helped my time out a ton....

 

If your able to get a 15:30, without walking, you've got the endurance. Just gotta get that strength built up so you have the stride length for speed

Agreed. I'm always running high 14s low 15s, and it's always my legs, never my breathing. I have a pt test coming up in my unit and I use a skid and weighted lunges to boost my speed. Also, strength in the core is vital. My legs feel like crap after I max sit ups. Edited by Seth G.
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Max Max relax. If you max your push ups and sit ups, which are easier than maxing the run for those who are inept at running, you will still get a decent score. What worked for me on the push ups was to do 50 straight 3 times a day. In OCS we had to do pushups and sit ups after each meal, I just kept that routine and would do it once I hear about a possible APFT in the near future. Sit ups for me is also tough, not sure why hip flexors are important to the Army. Anyways, what worked for me was to do my max(82) while I have my 2 min timer running...usually get to the 70s when time runs out. Eventually I'll get that 82 under 2 min. After the 2 min sit ups or max, which ever you get to, I'd do 2 min of planks. One min in the front leaning rest position and the other on my elbow with out stopping.

 

I have a harder time maxing push ups and sit ups than the Marines' Pull ups and crunches. Push ups are easy, but when you have to do 77 of them...its just horrible. I dont even want to get started on the army's sit ups...I feel it more on my hip flexors than my core.

 

I preach it to my Soldiers all the time, work on maxing push ups and sit ups and you will get a decent good score even if you take it easy on the run as long as you pass it.

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I went running this past Saturday, and clocked a 14:40 2-mile. I couldn't believe it, I assumed my run-tracking app got terribly inaccurate overnight, so I ran another 2-miler on Sunday on the official PT test track, got a 14:48. I ran again on Monday, got 7.5 miles in a little over 1:10.

 

I have been doing "IOTV lunges" (I'm sure you can use your imagination on that one) 2-3x a week, 200 reps per leg, with pushups sprinkled in between. I have also been concentrating on taking longer strides while running, that will take some getting used to but I feel like it is helping.

 

It is below freezing most mornings here now, so I will most likely start running almost exclusively on the treadmill in the coming weeks. I will probably incorporate some weight lifting into my routine, but I prefer to concentrate on calisthenics.

 

Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread again, your advice has been most helpful.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm gonna be 30 this year and I have a tendency to push myself too hard too fast when it comes to my runs. How often should I run per week? I'm OK with doing other non-running cardio throughout the week, but I don't want to trash my body running too much (been there done that). Also how many days should I take off prior to a mock/actual PT test?

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If you've had issues with running injuries in the past, or really if you are just getting back into running after a while, make sure you have good new(er) shoes from a running store that watches you run and looks at your feet. I dealt with shin splints forever until I started going to a real running store whenever I needed new shoes. Also, only use your running shoes for running. Make sure you stretch as well.

 

If you haven't run at all or been doing any cardio recently, I'd recommend trying a couch to 5K program, there are plenty online. Again, you want to be sure you aren't hurting yourself. If you feel you need more cardio than that provides, do some rowing or other cardio on the days the programs don't call for running. It's really easy to get hurt running, especially if you've had issues in the past.

 

 

Mike

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Do one day of sprints (400m, 800m or 60/120)

One day of a timed 2-3 mile run.

And one day a longer 3-5 mile run.

 

This will most likely not get you to a sub 12:00 but should be respectable as long as you push hard on sprints.

 

 

Don't skip leg day!! The best way to get better at running is to run for sure. However, having a dedicated leg day will help out your endurance for sure. I just do squats, lunges, step-ups...etc one day a week. Having that strength in your legs will give you that little bit extra that you need!

 

A lot of good info in this thread. For me, these 2 would be the best advice. I think consistency is most important. I find when I'm running consistently, it consistently gets better (over weeks and weeks).

I like to do a quick warm up (1/4 mile jog, stretch it out a little before run days).

Run day 1. I enjoy 30/60s x 10-15 (as long as you give 100%, feels pretty good when you're done)

Run day 2. 3-5 mile run at a comfortable pace (save your times, try to beat it every week)

Run day 3. Timed 2 mile (just do your best, record and try again next week)

 

As far as push up and sit ups, definitely quantity and consistency is the answer. Do 100 of each in as few set as possible for a week, then 200 a day for a week leading up to a PT test (you'll always see good results with that). Then for maintenance, throw in 2 mins of each a couple days a week.

 

And like Dmurray said, don't skip leg day (or the gym for that matter), I've never seen the importance in weight lifting as far as PT, but I'm finding that I'm dead wrong. Running, push-ups and sit-ups will only get you so far, you will plateau and you won't max your pt test.

 

-(Coming from a guy whose never scored higher than 285) :(

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