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Candidate Question: I am currently pushing for a Marine PLC contract. I have no doubt my pull ups and crunches can be easily improved but the run always gets me. I ran a 21:07 my first PFT and lately its at a 21:30. I have tried doing fartleks and sprint intervals to no avail and generally run anywhere from 4-5 times a week. What I … Continue reading Three Keys to Training for the PFT Run
Female Candidate’s Q: Hi! I’m getting ready to leave for OCS in about 7 weeks. I’m confident about my core and upper body strength, but my run time is not ideal. My max is about 25 minutes. I could use some advice. Should I be doing 3 miles 5 days a week, focusing on hills and sprints, or doing distance? Should I be using weight … Continue reading Female Candidate Q: Running and Lower Body Preparation
Hate running? Want Less Train and More Gain? It sounds like a late-night commercial gimmick, but according to recent scientific studies, you can improve health and aerobic performance with less training. Work Smarter, Not Harder They say it’s easy to work hard, but hard to work smart. This is especially true of the community known as “Jarheads” or “Leathernecks”. So how would you increase your … Continue reading Use the 10-20-30 Training Concept to Run Faster by Running Less
Pull-ups In, Flexed Arm Hang Out Finally the long-discussed changes to the female PFT were announced by the Commandant in a message to all Marines last November. Effective 1 January 2014, pull-ups will replace the Flexed Arm Hang (FAH). This change will take place in two phases with phase one beginning 1 January 2013. Phase one will serve as a transition period and is intended to … Continue reading Pull-ups and the Female PFT
Treatment of Shin What? You hate running. But you’d love to become an officer in the Marines. So you start training for the PFT and when you go from zero to ten miles of running per week, the front of your shins start barking! Shin splints are one of the most common running injuries, and affect a large amount of candidates and would-be candidates every year. … Continue reading Treatment of Shin Splints
USMC Crunches: PFT Rules MCO P6100.12Â MARINE CORPS PHYSICAL FITNESS TEST AND BODY COMPOSITION PROGRAM MANUAL Abdominal Crunch. The goal of the abdominal crunch event is for a Marine to execute as many proper and complete crunches within the prescribed time limit. The procedures are: (1) 2-minute time limit. (2) On a flat surface, Marines will lie flat on their back with shoulder blades touching … Continue reading USMC Crunches Video: PFT Rules
So your goal is a 300 PFT, and OCS success on the way to becoming an officer. You know you should be doing a few hundred pullups a week, and get up to that 20 pullup set with confidence–but you’re not. Are you. Mhmm. Well, with an indoor pullup bar, you’ll have no excuse since a set of pullups will be closer than your TV, … Continue reading What’s the Best Piece of Gear for Becoming an Officer?
Anyone who has ever attempted to complete the Marine Corps PFT will tell you that it is no easy task. Completing the test is challenging enough by itself, let alone attempting to earn a perfect 300 PFT score.
To earn a perfect score, a Marine must execute 20 dead hang pull-ups/chin-ups, 100 crunches in 2 minutes or less, and a 3-mile run in 18 minutes or less. Anyone that could achieve 300 points on this test is a true warrior-athlete. It is a balance between upper body strength and cardiovascular strength.
The Army PFT is different and challenging as well. The APFT consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 2-mile run. A Soldier maxes it by executing 75 push-ups in 2 minutes or less, 80 sit-ups in 2 minutes or less, and a 2-mile run in 13:00 minutes or less.
These standards are relative to the age group they belong in, in this case 21-26 year olds.
Now that we have a basic overview of each PFT, let’s take a look at how well they stack up against each other. As you read on I want to pose the following questions. Which PFT is more challenging? If you earn a 300 on one, would you able to earn the same score on the other? Which one produces the better warrior-athlete?
We didn’t even have a female platoon in our company.  But one of the things I can straighten out is that all pull-ups in my PFT discussions now apply to males and females. Women now do Pullups, not the flexed arm hang.
How do I get faster in my running for my Marine Corps PFT? I am an OCS Applicant. I did a PFT Saturday which did not go well. I did 20 Pull Ups, 99 Crunches (I can hit all 100 easily, but not sure what happened) and I ran a 23:39 3 Mile (cut off for OCS candidates is 23:59). A score 265. Captain said … Continue reading PFT: Run. Your Most Pressing Questions, Answers
