Baseline fitness is an important component of admittance to the U.S. military. The armed services want their volunteers to be mission and combat ready. Failure to meet physical readiness standards can compromise the safety and welfare of your entire unit. While meeting minimum fitness standards will get you in, training to exceed the minimum will take some of the pressure off testing, and will serve you well when you begin your boot camp training.
Physical Fitness Test
To be accepted to any branch of the military, you must first pass the Physical Fitness Test, or PFT, which can be challenging, but you can easily train yourself in advance. Begin at least four weeks before your trip to MEPS, the Military Entrance Processing Station. The basic PFT includes two minutes of situps, two minutes of pushups and a two-mile run. The Marine PFT requires a three-mile run plus situps and includes dead-hang pullups for males and a flexed-arm hang for females.
Situps
The situp test is timed for two minutes, during which you perform as many situps as possible with good form. Begin with shoulder blades touching the mat, knees at 90 degrees, arms crossed at the chest with fingertips touching the shoulders. An assistant will anchor your feet. Flex your hips and lift your upper body off the mat until your elbows touch your thighs or knees, keeping your fingertips on your shoulders. Your shoulder blades must touch the mat for each repetition. Baseline standards are 47 for men and 40 for women.
Pushups
Pushups are timed for two minutes and scored based on the maximum performed with correct form. The test begins with your hands just outside your shoulders, fingers forward. Assume a prone position with a straight line from your shoulders to your heels, feet less than 12 inches apart. Bend your elbows and lower your entire body until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Return to the start position, extending your arms fully. Baseline standards are 35 for men and 15 for women.
Two-Mile Run
Baseline time standards for the two-mile run are 16:36 for men and 17:30 for women. Baseline times for the Marine three-mile run are 28 minutes for men and 31 minutes for women. Use a treadmill for initial training, striving to exceed the minimum speed. A week or more before your PFT, time your run on an outdoor track.
Pullups and Flexed-Arm Hang
If you want to be a Marine, you will have to perform pullups if you are a male, or a flexed-arm hang if you are a female. Pullups start from a "dead-hang" position with a pronated, or overhand grip, elbows fully extended and back muscles relaxed. You must pull yourself up until your jaw rises above the bar, with your chin parallel to the floor, then return to a dead hang between repetitions. Your score is based on the total repetitions in two minutes. For women, the flexed-arm hang is performed by assuming the jaw-above-bar position with a pronated grip, holding that position for as long as possible. Your score is recorded in seconds and tenths of seconds. Baselines are three pullups for men and 15 hang seconds for women.
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