The PFT

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Advice for readying yourself to perform well on the Physical Fitness Test
All advice I provide is based on my personal experience, but I am not a professional. You retain all risk and liability, so you should carefully consider whether you are able to perform any activity I mention, consulting a licensed medical professional as necessary.

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  • About the PFT
  • How to Improve
    • Crunches
    • Pull-ups
    • Run
    • Overall Strength
  • Calculate Your Score


About the PFT

The Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test consists of three events: crunches, pull-ups, and a 3-mile run.

To earn a perfect score of 300, an individual must:
  1. complete 100 crunches within 2 minutes,
  2. perform 20 dead-hang pull-ups, and
  3. finish the run in no more than 18 minutes.
While the minimum score to apply for Officer Candidates School is only 225, every applicant should aim for 300.

To view an excellent, detailed description of the PFT, how it is administered, and how it is scored click here:
USMC Physical Fitness Test | Military.com.

How to Improve

Let's be honest now: Very few are able to run a perfect 300 PFT without working at it. So here are some tips for increasing your score, both in training and in execution.

Crunches

For most people, crunches can be an easy way to get 100 points. Some will struggle, of course, as different body types make it easier for some than others.

Train

A good training regimen is Killer's Crunch Workout. You will find this recommended on many USMC Officer Selection Station websites and on other blogs like this because it is an effective routine. Put it on your calendar, set an alarm, and do it consistently.
Click here to get it as a PDF.

Perform

The key to maximizing your results on PFT Day is using the correct form.

Once you are laying on your back, bring your heels up as close to your hips as possible. This has the effect of pushing your thighs as far up as possible, making it easier to reach them with your elbows.

Your PFT buddy should hold your feet and legs securely in place. Get over any awkwardness in your mind and have him sit on your feet, then wrap his arms around your legs so he can hold them as tightly as possible. This provides leverage and minimizes useless movement. "Speed is the absence of wasted movement," I've heard it said.

With each hand, grasp the opposite arm's bicep. Your OSO may provide alternative grips, but this is the best one I've tried.

Keeping your back on the deck, curl up your spine and slouch your shoulders to bring your elbows as close to your thighs as possible. You must touch both elbows to your thighs and touch the bottom of your shoulder blades to the deck for each repetition, but you don't have to go all the way up or down; use this to your advantage.

If you have trained well and you use the correct form, you will find that the USMC PFT Crunch is nothing like a traditional sit-up and that pounding out 100 in 2 minutes will come easily.

Pull-ups

When first beginning to train, the need to reach 20 pull-ups for a perfect score may seem daunting. Don't let it get to you. I was unable to do a single repetition when I began my path to becoming a Marine officer, but I reached 20 by the time I ran my last PFT for the application to Officer Candidates School. If I can do it, so can you. Listen up.

Train

If you are currently unable to do any pull-ups, do a combination of lateral pull-down exercises and negative pull-ups until you can do a few sets of 2-4 pull-ups. Do not quit. Do not take easy days. Stay motivated and continue to push yourself. You might feel stupid doing negatives; get over it.

Once you can do 3-4 pull-ups, you are ready to do the Armstrong Pull-up Program. This is another popular program at Marine Officer Selection Stations because it is very effective. Typical results are to increase from 2-4 to 14-18 pull-ups.
Click here to get it as a PDF.

Use the correct form in training so that it is natural on PFT Day. Whenever you do not correctly execute a pull-up, you spend energy without earning 5 points. This is important while you're with your OSO and it will be critical when you are at OCS.

Know how far up you must pull yourself: your chin needs to pass the bar but not your entire head. Tilt your head back and push your chin up. If you pull yourself up further than necessary, you do not earn any extra points and you waste energy.

Know what it feels like to lock out your elbows. To learn this, hang from the bar with arms loose and shoulders relaxed so that you are in the most uncomfortable position from which to begin a pull-up; now tighten up your shoulders so they bear some weight; this is the dead-hang pull-up position. You must go all the way down to this point for each repetition.

Marines must do the pull-ups using the pronated (or outboard, or forward, or overhand) grip, but applicants have the option of doing them using the supinated (or inboard, backward, or underhand/backhand) grip. Wise applicants will train to do it with the pronated grip as it better prepares them for overcoming obstacles at OCS, among other things. (However, if you know you can get 20 pull-ups on PFT Day with a supinated grip but not pronated, get the 20.)

Perform

Here are some keys to success on PFT day at the pull-up bar.

Don't waste energy. Once you are up on the bar, begin your first pull-up immediately. Psych yourself up before mounting the bar so that you're ready to go when you step up. Time spent just hanging on the bar only takes away strength, so complete the set as quickly as you can.

Use the correct form. If you do not go all the way up, you will be told once you return to the starting position, and the energy will have been wasted.

Find your rhythm. You cannot raise your legs above your waist and you cannot swing your body, but some movement is allowed. As you reach bottom of the pull-up, time yourself so you can "pop" off your straightened elbows right back into the next repetition. This is hard to describe, so watch the other applicants to see who does it best and mimic them. If you aren't sure if your rhythm will be allowed, have your OSO watch you and give you suggestions.

It is important to remember that each pull-up earns you 5 points, making them arguably the quickest way to boost a score. By improving from 15 to 20 pull-ups for my last PFT for my application to OCS, I added 25 points. That's big.

Run

TODO: Compete this section.
My 5-day evening run plan:
Sunday, 2 miles easy to get the week started
Monday, 1.5-2 miles timed
Tuesday, 3 miles timed
Wednesday, quarter mile sprints and eighth mile sprints, timed if possible (this is legs day)
Thursday, 1.5-2 miles to stretch your legs

Also link to other run plans.

Overall Strength

TODO: Complete this section.
Link to the 5-day split workout from OSO as both PDF on Dropbox and the shared Google Doc
Link to my morning routine blog post?

Calculate Your Score

This is a good site for calculating your PFT score: http://usmc.pftcalculator.com/.
I suggest you create an account so that you can save your scores and track your progress over time. It's free.

The site uses Flash if you visit it from a desktop-grade browser, but it has a nice non-Flash mobile interface if you do it from your phone's browser.
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