Army PT Test Changes

Good and bad news for our Army.  They are changing the physical fitness test again.  In the past the changes have been so minor that most haven't noticed.  Guys were long required to have less time on their run than their female counterparts, more situps and more push ups.  While the run difference never changed the other two categories did slightly over the past twenty years.

Now things are about to get ugly.  For those of you on the Fat Boy program you now have no choice but to get into shape and stay in shape.  No more of the last week dieting before your scheduled APFT (Army Physical Fitness Training).  I think its about time.  A soldier, whether female or male, shouldn't be so fat as to have their uniform stretched to the limits showing their beer belly or rolls of flab.  Often I've been asked if I were an active duty soldier.  I always thought I was too fat to be even thought of as one.  However, since moving to this installation I've seen many a female that is my size or even larger and I wonder.  I wonder how the heck can they pass the APFT? 

There is no need for a soldier to be carrying around that extra weight.  You've got a job to do and you have to stay fit.  Put down that Jethro sized bowl of oreos and milk and grab a stick of celery soldiers because your days of over eating are over with.  There is no way you can possible do well on the new test system with your gut and flabby limbs.

The new APFT is now called an ACRT, Army Combat Readiness Test.  You will be having to do jumps, sprints, rows, slalom runs, balance beams, casualty drags, and ammo carries.

"The key difference is between ‘readiness' and fitness," said Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the Army's deputy commanding general for initial training.  "It's one thing to be fit … it's quite another thing to be ready for the things we are being asked to do. And in our case, it's becoming a ‘tactical athlete.' "  http://www.military.com/news/article/armys-big-pt-test-changes.html?ESRC=eb.nl 


"Soldiers will be required to hurdle over gates, negotiate barricades, drag a casualty, balance with weighted ammo cans, maneuver through a simulated shooting course, do 100 yards of wind sprints and weave through a slalom course.
And it's all timed."

Good luck to all of the soldiers out there.  Time for you to make healthy food decisions so that you'll be more able to pass this new test.