What should the PT standard be?

[Global Scout]

USMC-03 posted

In my case, while I could run the distance and then some, I was never very fast; 20 minutes or so on the 3-mile run. The thing that always irritated me was to see the "jackrabbits" that could break a 15 minute three mile, darlings of the command and quickly promoted, fold like a jackknifes after about 5 miles with an 80+ pack on their back. I fell into the "mule" class; load us up with all the gear and we'll get to the objective 30 miles down the road combat ready. For my own part I'd rather surround myself with mules rather than jackrabbits…

Running 3 miles in around 20 minutes represents a high level of fitness (but as you stated, it definitely does make you an elite runner). However, you can't automatically associate jack rabbit with a guy who can't carry a ruck. I do believe it is true that those who train excessively for triathalons and marathons are basically one trick ponies and their fitness levels for combat are questionable, and I have seen them collapse, especially when climbing mountains. Not sure why, but those conditioned to run marathons do not perform well at altitude or in combatives (this is understandable).

Posted by Gute,

We have gotten away from the long runs and now take the trainees out and have em sprint then, run flights of stairs with vest, shield, ram, etc. You prepare yourself for the PFT on your own time.

Exactly what they should be doing, the only long distance activity we should be doing is force marching (not a casual stroll) with the appropriate loads. Running is designed to get you somewhere fast, as fast as possible. 300m sprints, hill runs, sled pulls, tire flips, pushing cars, etc. are a much more effective way to develop functional fitness than the typical candy ass military P.T. so called long run, which is generally a painfully slow 4-5 mile run to what end?

I'm well past that stage in my career where I do organized P.T., so I'm actually able to focus on functional fitness instead of mass stupidity. Funny, we all know how important fitness is to our jobs, and yet many spend so little time studying it, and simply waste hours of their life repeating mindless sets of push ups and running. With the same about of time and a lot more science in program design we could really develop some physical animals. They exist in our ranks already, but that is due to their own efforts and programs, not unit P.T.

[USMC-03]

Global Scout, you are certainly correct that blanket statements are often inaccurate. By no means does my observation apply to all runners in the elite category and there were certainly plenty of service members that could neither run nor hump a pack. My statement is purely anecdotal but occurred enough times for me to take note.

Actually though, since you mention triathletes I trained for and participated in several. Not only was it great fun but I considered it fantastic training since the body had to adapt to more than one discipline. I also think the summer biathlon (running and shooting) superior training since in really did simulate the stresses on both the mind and body that one might find in any number of situations. There are thousands of ways to train physically, it's just finding those that work best for the individual.

And always think mission…