Welcome to SHTF Survival, Disaster and Emergency Preparedness Forums. Click here to register

Voluntary Prepper Fitness Test

Physical fitness is generally achieved through exercise, correct nutrition and enough rest.
User avatar
SHTF Expert
SHTF Expert
Posts: 667
Joined: Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:25 pm
Gave Thanks: 88 times
Been Thanked: 235 times

Blog:
View Blog (0)
PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 6:44 am
Three events is hard to do without someone to enforce certain boundaries upon you. It would probably have to change to match each person situation, but there are a few generic events that anyone could do anywhere without drawing too much attention to themselves. I would myself recommend 5 events for physical testing. All of these events would need to be done in a single sitting.

- 3-5 Mile timed "march" with 70-90 pounds of equipment. This would be to simulate Patrols during WTSHTF. Maybe sneak in a weighted bar(10 lbs.) to simulate a rifle.

- 1-3 mile timed run. This would be done at/or near the end of a fitness cycle (usually either 3 or 6 months) and then a period of not less than 4 weeks of cycling down to make sure that your recovers from the hard push of this test while not losing all cardiovascular fitness. It is common for say the 3 mile PFT run in the Marine Corps to be followed by 10 minute mile formation runs to keep the body fit but not ever stress the body during it's recovery.

- Upper body test. Chopping wood, Pull ups, push ups, and the like. In instances like chopping wood you need to have a tracking system in place. so many pieces in 30 minutes. For Pull ups it's a bit easier, your done when you cannot do anymore pull ups. Push ups is normally how many push ups you can do in a single minute. Doing pull ups or push ups is easy because you can just borrow Marine Corps or Army standards to track yourself.

- Core fitness test. This is a test for your core's fitness, use sit ups if you have a strong back or crunches if you do not have a strong back. It is easy like the upper body. Use Marine Corps or Army standards to gauge your ability.

- Lower body fitness test. An area not covered by the military. I myself use jump squats. I see how many times that I can do Jump squats onto an 18 inch platform in 2 minutes. do not try this without prior training on how to do a jump squat from a lower platform.

My recommendation would be to have a 5 minute run in place warm up period with stretching for each person, then you would perform the upper body test, then don your pack and/or weighted gear and do a 3 mile timed March(time limit/goal should be about 3 miles per hour), then when you get back and your body is nice and warm do your Jump squats for one minute, then off to a 1 mile run for you(8 minute mile or less is your goal), then when your done with that you have 2 minutes for your core fitness test, & then a 2-minute cool down and light stretching. Resting for 60-90 seconds in between each strength test event is recommended to assess your ability to continue to the next event and a 5 minute rest in between the Patrol test and the run should be taken to take gear off and rehydrate a bit. You might be changing from a boot to a running shoe, but you should not be changing clothes completely. Drop your pack, change socks and shoes, rehydrate.

-5 minute warmup
-Upper body fitness test (60-90 sec rest)
-Core fitness test (60-90 sec rest)
-Lower Body fitness test (60-90 sec rest or as long as it takes to don your gear in a timely manner)
-Timed Patrol (3 miles per hour or better is the goal. 5 minutes to take gear off/change footwear and rehydrate before the run.)
-Timed 1-2 mile run(1 mile recommended, 2 miles max due to having a Timed Patrol. 8 Minute mile or better is the goal.)
-2 minute cool down and light stretching

Sorry I got long winded.


Previous

Return to Physical Fitness

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

Donate To SHTFM   
Loading...