How To Improve Your APFT Score PART 2:

Now that we got your 2-mile time heading in the right direction, lets max out the other pieces of that APFT puzzle, Push-Ups and Sit-Ups. But, in case you missed it, here is How To Improve Your APFT PART 1. Just like with improving your 2-Mile time there are plenty of misplaced “old school beliefs” in how best to improve your push-ups and sit-ups for an APFT, so before we get into it lets take a quick look into some of these first.

You Only Need To Be Doing Push-Ups & Sit-Ups…

There is more than one way to skin a cat. When it comes down to it, if all you do is pushups and situps to improve you are going to plateau rather quickly and most likely not maximize your potential. Will you see improvement by only doing those? Probably, but in the long run it’s not the best way to train. Yes, you have to do them, but you don’t want to miss out on the benefits of adding some strength and core work. Even by adding just a few simple exercises you will be able to boost your score in no time as well as decrease the likelihood of overuse injuries. And just because an exercise is “simple” does not mean it is going to be easy. Focus on doing the simple things savagely well and you will reap the benefits that carry over into the more complex movements. Exercises like Planks, Hollow Holds, Ring Push-Ups and Ring Rows are just a few of the simple exercises that you can add to boost your numbers.

You Need To Be Benching More…

Not exactly. No one cares how much you bench. At least I hope that no one cares. Slowly those days are going away, but they aren’t gone yet. A 1 rep max bench press and a 2 min max rep push-up test are two totally different animals, let alone two different energy systems. There are plenty of soldiers out there that believe the more they can bench press the more push-ups they can do. That’s like comparing a 100m sprinter to a Marathoner. I’ve worked with soldiers that can bench press well over 1.5x body weight, but struggle with being able to blast out 30 chest to floor push-ups in a row. And I’ve also worked with soldiers that can barely bench their body weight, yet can max their pushups with ease. Benching is not bad and that it does have a carryover, but it is not the end all be all. I’ve witnessed strong benchers attempt some pushups in a pair of rings and they look like a baby giraffe trying to walk, limbs just flying around every which way because they have never had to stabilize themselves while lying flat on a bench. So next time you are in the gym, skip the bench and find a pair of rings. Lower them down to an inch or two off of the floor and do some pushups in them. You might be surprised how difficult they are when you have to actually stabilize yourself. Laying on your back benching doesn’t require you to fully engage your core and shoulder blades, but a properly performed pushup does. By adding a variety of exercises you will be challenging your upper body and core in a new way to maximize your performance. Plus your shoulders will thank you for not benching everyday. TRY THIS to save your shoulders! This is coming from someone who LOVED to bench!

You Need To Do Push-Ups & Sit-Ups Every Day…

You don’t. Just like running, you don’t want to do pushups or situps everyday when training up for an APFT. Firstly it’s boring and it is a sure fire way to increase your risk of an overuse injury. Your shoulders, hip flexors and lower backs will soon begin to hate you very much. I’ve seen it a 1000 times. The only thing I recommend anyone to do everyday is self care like foam rolling, stretching and working on mobility. And Planks, you can do those everyday too. Working on your pushups and sit-ups 3-4x/week is plenty. Like always just be smart. People often try to cram for an APFT like a biology test in high school. Often people neglect how localized and isolated the movements are and that they can actually hurt their score by over doing it too close to an APFT. Physically your body typically needs 24-48 hours for optimal recovery pending numerous factors, like getting 8+ hours of sleep, being well trained and having proper nutrition. In all honesty how many of you actually sleep that much? You should probably READ THIS!

Never Put Your Knees Down For Push-Ups…

If you can’t do it perfect find a way to make it perfect. When you do a pushup you should be in a straight line from your ankles through every joint all the way up to your shoulders. Think rigid like a 2×4, not curved like a banana. In order for your body to maintain rigidity you need to be mechanically sound throughout your entire core. That means full activation of everything between your shoulders and your knees. Don’t get it twisted, your core is way more than those 6-pack abs everyone wants. When someone is sagging through the middle drooping their hips, they are using the boney structures in their spine to hold them up in place and not their muscles. This is not only a massive red flag for lacking endurance and strength throughout ones core but WILL lead to an injury eventually. But, by doing something as simple as dropping to your knees you now allow yourself to continue to train with a fully engaged core. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Drop to your knees when your form fails and practice perfect technique.

Sit-Ups Are A Great Way To Train Your Abs…

Stop. They aren’t. The dirty little secret with the APFT situps is you aren’t necessarily even training your “core” but more so isolating your hip flexors. Anyone that says the situp is a great core exercise in my personal opinion is wrong. It’s one of those exercises that I am a firm believer in using the minimal effective dose. With the APFT someone is holding your feet down and this anchors your legs to the ground and puts the emphasis on your hip flexors to be the primary mover. Did you ever wonder why your lower back gets super tight during your 2-mile on testing day after your 2-mins of situps? That’s your hip flexors screaming at you while cranking on your lower back. All that being said you still have to do them to max your APFT, but just be sure to stretch your HIP FLEXORS every time you do them…especially when you are being tested! The stronger you can make all of your core, legs included, the easier it will be to max out those situps. I’m a firm believer for every situp style rep (crunches, v-ups etc) that you perform in a given day, you should be doing that many seconds worth of Front & Side Planks. 100 situps in a day = 100 seconds of Front & Side Planks in that day. The easy way to do this is by just adding 4 sets x 0:30 seconds to get you to 120 seconds of each.

Save Your Energy The APFT Will Warm You Up…

The number of people that have told me that the pushups and situps gets them warmed up for the run is staggering. The thought that it’s better to save all of your energy for the tests is a bad idea. It’s also a great way to get hurt. I know you’ve seen someone go down with an injury on an APFT at some point in your career. There is a much better way then just jumping into the tests. I know the majority of the time everyone is already there super early talking about the Game of Thrones or Orange is the New Black, but why not get your body prepared to crush your APFT. I’m very confident just by doing our DYNAMIC WARMUP with some added T,Y,W & L’s, GLUTE BRIDGES, SHOULDER TAPS and 3-5 sets of 5 push-ups and 3-5 sets of 5 situps your body will be primed to max your test.

Now for what you’ve been waiting for an 8-Week APFT boost…

Below you will find a simple, minimal equipment plan to help you with your Push-Ups & Sit-Ups. You can do this in conjunction with the running from Part 1. Like always, remember to warm up and prepare your body to do the work you are about to ask it to do, don’t just jump into it cold.

Week 1 & 2: —READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU START—

Day 1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (30,25,20,15,10,5) No Rest

Day 2 – Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×5+, 5×0:20ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set

Day 4 WK1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (8×0:15 seconds of each) 0:45 Rest

Day 4 WK2 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (8×0:20 seconds of each) 0:45 Rest

Day 6 – Ring Rows + Ring Push-Ups + Hollow Holds (3×10+, 3×10+, 3x(3×0:10/0:10) 1:00 Rest

Week 3 & 4:

Day 1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (35,30,25,20,15,10,5) No Rest

Day 2 – Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×5-7+, 5×0:25ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set

Day 4 WK3 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (6×0:25 seconds of each) 0:45 Rest

Day 4 WK4 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (6×0:30 seconds of each) 0:30 Rest

Day 6 – Ring Rows + Ring Push-Ups + Hollow Holds (4×10+, 4×10+, 4x(3×0:15/0:15) 1:00 Rest

Week 5 & 6:

Day 1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (40,35,30,25,20,15,10,5) No Rest

Day 2 – Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×7-9+, 5×0:30ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set

Day 4 WK5– Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (4×0:45 seconds of each) 0:45 Rest

Day 4 WK6 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (5×0:45 seconds of each) 0:30 Rest

Day 6 – Ring Rows + Ring Push-Ups + Hollow Holds (4×10+, 4×10+, 4x(3×0:15/0:10) 1:00 Rest

Week 7:

Day 1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (40,35,30,25,20,15,10,5) No Rest

Day 2 – Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×7-9+, 5×0:30ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set

Day 4 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (3×1:00 of each) 1:00 Rest

Day 6 – Ring Rows + Ring Push-Ups + Hollow Holds (4×10+, 4×10+, 4x(3×0:15/0:10) 1:00 Rest

Week 8: —RETEST WEEK—

Day 1 – Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (15,15,15,15) No Rest

Day 2 – Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×7-9, 5×0:30ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set

Day 4 – Push-Ups and Sit-Ups (3×15) 0:30 Rest

Day 6 – Retest APFT

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.
• Always Warm-Up before starting. LEARN OUR WARMUP
• When it is listed as “Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (30,25,…) No Rest” your goal is to complete 30 pushups and immediately follow those with 30 situps, then complete 25 PU’s then 25 SU’s and so on. If you have to lower to your knees that is ok and encouraged.
• When it is listed “Pull-Ups paired w/ Planks (5×5+, 5×0:20ea) ~1:00-2:00 Rest/Set” your goal is to pair 5 pullups with 0:20 of each front & side planks, then rest for 1:00-2:00 and repeat for 5 total sets. 5×5+ is read 5 sets x 5 reps and the + sign means to max reps on your last set.
• When it is listed as “Push-Ups + Sit-Ups (6×0:20 seconds of each) 1:00 Rest” your goal is to max out your pushups for 0:20 rest 1:00 and do the same for your situps. Continue to rest 1:00 between sets until all are completed.
• When it is listed as “Push-Ups and Sit-Ups (3×15 of each) 1:00 Rest)” your goal is to do 25 pushups, rest 1:00 and repeat for the 4 total sets, then rest 1:00 and do the same with situps.
• When it is listed as “Ring Rows + Ring Push-Ups + Hollow Holds (3×10+, 3×10+, 3x(3×0:10/0:10)” your goal is to complete 10 ring rows, followed by 10 ring pushups followed by 3 mini-sets of 0:10 on 0:10 off hollow holds. That would be 1 complete set. Rest 1:00 and repeat for total number of sets.
• If the volume is to high initially for you just cut the reps/time by 50% and increase the rest breaks by 50%.
• If you can do the prescribed pull-ups, ring rows, ring pushups with ease either add more reps or add a weight vest, but don’t burn yourself out on your early sets. If it says 5 pullups but you can do 10, do 7-8 each set. It’s always best to leave 1-2 reps in the tank and complete every set strong and then just max out your reps on the last set. For ring rows or ring pushups you can always elevate your feet up onto a bench for an added challenge.
• If you cannot do the prescribed pull-ups, ring rows or ring push-ups as listed, modify accordingly. For the pull-ups perform negatives for the same number of reps and try to lower yourself on 0:05 count. If the ring rows are very challenging just walk your feet back away from the rings. The closer your get your body to vertical the easier they will become. The same principle applies to the pushups as well. If they are too hard walk your feet close under the anchor point of where they are hanging to get yourself into a more vertical position.