Try to relax (bouncing and jarring traps gas and creates "stitches") and reduce undue pounding. Try reaching forward more with your arms, as if you were puling yourself down the road with a long rope. Many naturally swing their arms more side to side, close across their front, which shortens your stride and wastes energy and promotes stitches.

For push-ups remember this simple rule: Train for the second minute.

I figured this out early and have used this to always do well, and also to "cure" countless people who "just can't do push-ups". Most who can't do push-ups are training for the first minute. This is so obvious most seem to miss it, but it is how many push-ups one can do in the second minute that separates a failure from a maximum score. If one does 1000 push-ups every other day; but only 20-30 at a pop they are training for the first minute and may still do poorly on the test. If one does just 200 push-ups, but does it in 4 successive sets of 50, adhering to the rules for resting within each set that apply during the test, (with say a set of ab work, pull-ups, or both in between as "rest") they train for the second minute. Any program that replicates the fatigue of the second minute will build your score.

Similarly obvious, but when taking the test "never go down if you can't get up" (i.e., learn your body. Most tap out attempting a set of 3 when they should have done just 2 before taking another short rest. You will be amazed at how many sets of 1 you can knock out when your body is a quivering mess unable to do a single set of 2). You learn your body when you train for the second minute, and also build the core strength necessary to maintain a front leaning rest for the full 2 minutes.


Though now that I am "old" and retired, I am finding that the diversity of Yoga, Plyometrics, Kempo, etc in the P90X program are curing the imbalances of a lifetime of military physical activity. Flexibility is getting better, small but important muscles are being recruited, and chronic lower back pain is gone. Point being, train for life, but while in the military you must also focus on certain activities simply because those are the metrics you are assessed by your subordinates, peers, and superiors on.