There was a 2-mile run on my HH10K schedule for tonight. So I decided to combine that with my current fascination with the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and to head over to the local high school track and take the test.
I walked a lap, and then jogged a lap, and felt decently warmed up. Hit start on the Garmin and ran harder than I have in months. Basically kept it sub 7:00/mi for the first lap, and then started slowing down a bit. Ended up running 2.00 miles in 16:13 (8:06/mi pace) with an average speed of 7.4 MPH and a max of 11.2 MPH. Splits were 7:46 and 8:26. Burned about 300 calories.
So how did I stack up against the APFT 2-mile run standard?
You must score at least a 50 in each event in order to graduate Basic Combat Training. Active Duty soldiers will need to score at least 60 to pass the APFT.
I scored 73 points out of a hundred, easily meeting the BCT standard and passing the Active Duty standard by 13 points. Even though my time was slower than my 15:51 PR, I’m quite happy with it.
There was also some strength training on the schedule for tonight, but I’m putting that off until tomorrow. I have to do OHP W1D3 anyway.
I recently checked out the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) standards, and it looks like a decent way to gauge basic physical fitness. Here’s how they describe it:
All soldiers in the Active Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve must take the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) regardless of their age. The APFT is a three-event physical performance test used to assess muscular endurance and cardio respiratory (CR) fitness. It is a simple way to measure a soldier’s ability to effectively move his body by using his major muscle groups and CR system. Performance on the APFT is strongly linked to the soldier’s fitness level and his ability to do fitness-related tasks.
There are three main components of the test: push-ups, sit-ups, and a two-mile run. Each component has age-adjusted standards based on a 100 point scoring system. You need to score least a 50 in each event in order to graduate Basic Combat Training, and Active Duty soldiers need to score at least 60 in each event to pass.
For my age, that means I need to be able to do 36 push-ups in two minutes, 42 sit-ups in two minutes, and run two miles in 17:42 or less (8:51/mi).
How well do I stack up against that right now? Well, my current push-up max stands at 16 (39 points), so I’m not passing that one. But my two mile is PR is 15:51 from back in October (76 points). I’m a little slower now, but I’m sure I could still easily beat 17:42.
I haven’t tried doing timed sit-ups in a long time, so tonight I set the timer for 2 minutes and gave it a shot. Surprisingly, I was able to get in 45 decent sit-ups before the time ran out… a passing score of 64 points. I’m pretty happy with that.
It’d be cool to be able to pass all three APFT test by the time I run the Army Ten-Miler in October.
I’m starting the One Hundred Push-up training plan tomorrow, so I figured tonight would be a good night to get a baseline. I was able to crank out 16 well-formed push-ups before my arms crumbled under me.
That’s a score of 39 on the APFT.
Pretty sad, but that’s about 10 more than I thought I’d be able to do.
The One Hundred Push-ups site has apparently been generating some buzz lately. It’s basically a six week training plan that claims to be able to take just about anyone and get them doing 100 push-ups in a row using only “a good plan, plenty of discipline and about 30 minutes a week.” Honestly, I’m a little bit skeptical, but after reading that Eric started the plan on Tuesday, I’m now interested in trying it.
Just in case there’s any question as to what a push-up is, here’s what Wikipedia has to say:
A press-up (UK English), or push-up (USA English), is a common strength training exercise performed in a prone position, lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering the body using the arms. They develop the pectoral muscles and triceps, with ancillary benefits to the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole.
There are three “difficulty” tracks for the plan, based on how many push-ups you can do before beginning. I’ll definitely be using the lowest/easiest track.
So far Nate, Christian, and The Hath are in, with all of us starting on Monday (6/23).
Who else is in? Post a comment below if you are interested!
Nate pointed out to me today that my one year anniversary of running came and went without comment on my blog. So I guess I should post something…
Although I did some informal jog/walk stuff in the few weeks leading up to it, I went for my first “run” of the Couch-to-5K program on January 2, 2007. The Week 1 Day 1 (W1D1) workout included “a brisk 5-minute warm-up walk, and then alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.” After the workout I wrote, “The weather was around 45°F and clear. And I actually didn’t feel too horrible after I was done. But I was pretty winded.”
It was rough, but my goal was to somehow complete the C25K plan and then go on to complete a single 5K race in under 30 minutes (9:39/mi pace). At the time, it seemed like an almost impossible goal.
That was a year ago.
I finished the C25K plan in May, and ran my first race later that month (30:27)… and then I kept running.
I worked my way through some Hal Higdon running plans, and ran nine more races, with my fastest (PR) time at a respectable 24:21. I’ve run the battlefield at Gettysburg, on the Dover XC course, around City Island, and through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel with over 20,000 other people. Now I’m signed up for the YRRC Winter Series, running a 5K race this Sunday and my first 10K later this month.
It’s been a good year, and I hope to be looking back on two years of running this time next year.
I’m faster than I was, but hopefully still slower than I will be. ;)
One of the “perks” of my job is that I get an annual physical to meet the OSHA respirator requirements (§1910.143), including a basic spirometry test:
Spirometry (meaning the measuring of breath) is the most common of the Pulmonary Function Tests (PFTs), measuring lung function, specifically the measurement of the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled.
I scored 102% of the predicted value for someone of my height, weight, age. That’s up a little bit from 98% last November, which was before I started running. Certainly, not enough data to show causation, but I like to think running has helped. :)
I’ve been doing some reading on VO2 max and came across a discussion of the Cooper Fitness Test:
The Cooper test is a test of physical fitness. It was designed by Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968 for US military use. In the original form, the point of the test is to run as far as possible within 12 minutes.
There are rating brackets for how much distance you can cover in the allotted time. Basically if you can run more than 2300 meters (1.42 miles @ 8:24/mi) that is considered good. If you can hit 2700 meters (1.68 miles @ 7:09/mi) that is considered excellent. Ratings differ slightly depending on age and sex.
And supposedly there is a decent correlation between the Cooper Test results and VO2 max.
Makes me want to head over to the local track and try it.
