New APFT in the future?

[ErikTheRed]

I was looking at Yahoo.com yesterday and came across this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110302/...w_fitness_test


"... Soon every soldier will have to run on a balance beam with two 30-pound canisters of ammunition, drag a sled weighted with 180 pounds of sandbags and vault over obstacles while carrying a rifle. Those were just some of the tests the Army unveiled Tuesday as it moves toward making its physical training look more like combat.
Right now soldiers have to complete sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run twice a year within times that vary by age and gender. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the general in charge of the Army's initial military training, said he has been working to change that test for years.
..."

Erik

[scooter]

The new test is supposedly gender-neutral with regards to scoring, at least. It will be intersting to see how that works out... IMO we're either going to see a huge drop in female PT scores or the guys will maxing theirs.

[Turbored]

On Monday my company will be the first on Ft Benning to take the new APRT,

From the quick demo they gave us yesterday it consists of,

Up to 60 Yard shuttle sprint, sprint to a block, pick it up, sprint back and place it flat behind the start line, sprint to next block, place it behind the start line, sprint to last block and sprint back to and past the starting line without having to set the block down,

The rower, just like in the preparation drill, start with arms fully extended hands touching the ground, feet together heels flat on the ground, come up arms to parallel with the ground, base of the neck past base of the spine, feet together and flat on the ground, max effort in 60 seconds, no authorized rest positions, if you stop longer than two seconds the event is terminated.

The broad jump, feet must stay flat on the ground until you jump or the jump does not count, whatever part lands nearest the jumping line counts as your distance, this means if you fall backwards after jumping or put your hand behind you after you land, that point would be taken as your jump distance, you are given two attempts, they record whatever your farthest jump was

The push up, conducted the same as the normal APFT except your index fingers must stay within your shoulders, if you move your hands or feet at all after beginning the event it is terminated, if you stop for longer than 2 seconds the event is terminated, if you sag in the middle or flex your back the event is terminated, max effort in 60 seconds,

1.5 mile run,

There is no rest between events with the exception of two minutes to report from the completed push ups to the start point of the run.

So far there are no standards, but they said it is average for someone to be able to jump their own height, and up to a foot beyond your own height is considered good. The age groups are also undefined.

I'm 22, 76in, and 220lbs, I usually score between 280 and 300 on the normal pt test, I have no clue how well I will do on the sprint or the jump but everything else should be decent. I'll post my own and some of my buddy's results afterward.

This should be interesting.

[Romeo23]

Sounds like a fun new test. Much less static and boring since there is no rest between exercises. Keep that heart rate up and faster run speeds to enjoy. Just an inquiry but is the test to be conducted in combat gear or just the standard PT dress?

Good luck with your trial.

R

[MtnGoat]

I don't see what the rower and broad jump "Tests" do are really show as far as Combat testing. From whatI have read in Army Times and AKO that is.

Turbored - Please keep posting on the new test and how your Company handles the new testing. Thanks

[Turbored]

Good morning, just finished taking the army physical readiness test, APRT, with my company, here is some data on my last APFT and today's APRT

22 years old, 76 in, 220lbs,

Last APFT 20 APR 11 raw scores
PU: 82
SU: 87
2 mile run: 14:02

APRT Today
Shuttle Sprint : 15.01 seconds
Rower: 42
Broad Jump: 96in
PU: 41
1.5 mile run: 11:13
The test was done in the normal APFU.

The shuttle sprint: From the start line a square piece of 2x4 was placed at 5,10, and 15 yards away, you had to grab the blocks in that order and place them flat completely behind the starting line, if it wasn't placed right you had to go back and fix it while time was still running. This event really got some people, it was worth it to take the extra time to make sure you place the block right. We had 4 or 5 people not place the block completely past the line and have to go back to fix it, this usually made their time 3-4 seconds slower than what seemed normal. Some guys even dropped a block completely and had to go back, jacking up their times.

The Rower: It was conducted as I said in the previous post, they were extremely picky when it came to heels and then feet being together and flat on the ground, I had 7 reps not count due to this.

The Broad jump: I didn't have any problem with it, or notice anyone else having trouble with it, but at this point my heart rate was still up and I wasn't paying attention to anything but completely destroying the task at hand.

Push Ups: This was tricky, they considered "stopping for more than 2 seconds" if you were in the middle of a rep and sort of stuck half way up, I had a few friends get terminated for that, there was no "as long as you provide continuous effort" statement in the rules like in the APFT, I was terminated for not moving my body as a single unit, I could have knocked out 10-15 more reps but I rushed it, good form always wins, lesson learned.

1.5mile run: The only difficult part of this was trying to finish with nothing left, I kicked too late and my time reflects that.

Overall the test was interesting and fun, I like the fact there is no break between events.

Is it a good replacement for the old APFT? Thats above my pay grade to answer. But I could see it having benefits if used in conjunction with the normal pt test.

As soon as I get either the Company or Platoon scores I'll do a quick stats analysis and post it, or if they give us some scoring standards and any more info.

[glebo]

Good info...glad I don't have to do that crap anymore.. It's "kinda" like the old 5 event we had when I was in for my first few yrs..

Well, at least you said it was "fun"..

[MtnGoat]

Thanks for the POST..

The shuttle sprint with the fact that you had to grab the blocks then place them flat completely behind the starting line FLAT puzzles me. Puzzles because of the WHY Factor with how it ties into anything I guess. I can guess but REALLY.

PU event sounds like it sucked.. Sounds also to be more subjective vs objective by the grader(s). One says you have stopped during movement but you and I are drinking bodies so you OKAY or your the Company Shit head or I just don't like you beause your going SF. Yeah OLD AFPT you can not cound PU just as easy.

[MtnGoat]

glebo any word on SFAS and the new APRT??

Anyone jump on this??

Nice to know for everone coming to SFAS. I say to start getting ready for this new APRT to be your PT test coming VERY SOON.

[The Reaper]

Any female participants/scores?

TR

[glebo]

Originally Posted by MtnGoat

glebo any word on SFAS and the new APRT??

Anyone jump on this??

Nice to know for everone coming to SFAS. I say to start getting ready for this new APRT to be your PT test coming VERY SOON.

No, I'll check manana and see when they will implement it. Good point.

Folks been training for awhile, and to have a game changer....woohoo....let it roll

Or..could be like the Ranger Scholl APFT...25....25...30...30...30 no go...

But no...they don't do that.....honest..

[Turbored]

No females with us, or mention of previous female performances.

I did find some other stuff out today. The male average for the sprint is 15 seconds, the jump average is a few inches past your height, the average for both the rower and push ups is around 40. No word on 1.5 mile times, or if scoring will depend on height as well as age.

My lifting partner scored pretty similar even though he usually wrecks me on endurance and body weight exercises,

His info,
23 years old, 165lbs (less than 10% body fat) 69in tall

Sprint: 14.01 seconds
Rower: 43
Jump: 86in
PU: 44
1.5 mile: 10:14

He scored a 323 on his last APFT.

[MILON]

I wrote a newsletter article about the Army's new focus on PT, including the new manual and the new tests. Also, there are links to related sources. Some of these sources may have been mentioned already, but thought I'd post anyway.

Milon

[glebo]

Originally Posted by MtnGoat

glebo any word on SFAS and the new APRT??

Anyone jump on this??

Nice to know for everone coming to SFAS. I say to start getting ready for this new APRT to be your PT test coming VERY SOON.

SFAS hasn't incorporated the new PT test...yet. I believe when the transition date by big army nears, they most likely will. I myself, don't know what the date is though..

[Calvengeance]

Turbored, I had heard the rowers and push ups were done to a cadence.

Is there anything keeping you from doing as many as possible as fast as possible or are you limited at all?

Thanks.