APFT Coming up/

[MWildPOWPOW]

So to all the military or former military or anyone really. I have a Army Physical Fitness Test coming up. even though i have never failed I tend to stay around the 250 area, im trying to get a little better of a score this time and I know alot of guys use pre work outs for extra energy and strength. What would be a good thing to take before this.

For non military this test consists of 2 minutes of push ups 2 minutes of sit ups and a 2 mile run. passing is a 180 which is a 60 in each event. I score between 245 and 252 consistantly. Highest score is a 300. Different age brackets and high and weight standards for the age brackets as well. Thanks for your help everyone.

[MWildPOWPOW]

Seriously no one? lol

[B-1Pilot]

What are you weaker in? I can't run for shit... Bad knees from playing catcher, but max push-ups and sit-ups... Try 100 push-ups /sit-ups apps for an easy training program... I P90X and cross fit and usually have no problems...

[WingZeroX5]

start training harder now

[reedo302]

Preworkouts don't do a whole lot for you if the body isn't able to process them and utilize them. You can take whatever preworkout you want, but if your body is low on glycogen, hydration and electrolytes, you're not going to get much benefit. Think of it like a car- Preworkout is basically just warming up the engine before going out on the track. You still need gas to drive (energy), and mechanical components to remain competitive (conditioning/fitness).
You're better off to start hydrating about two days out and keep hydrating up until the start of the test. Start eating better foods a couple days out as well if you don't have the best diet. Avoid excess fat, and try to avoid too much processed food. Eat a lot of complex carbs like sweet potatoes, long grain rice, yogurt and whatnot. The day before, do some serious carbo-loading. Pasta is especially popular for this.
Then, during your APFT, keep sipping a sports drink. I have my own intra-workout drink I make myself for the gym, but you can really use any decent sports drink like Gatorade or Powerade.
Also, make sure you get a LOT of sleep before hand. At least the two previous nights if possible. Sleep and hydration will do far more than any preworkout. In all my years in the Army, and then now with my lifting, I would go out on a limb and say that a majority of people are not properly hydrating.
If you have all that stuff covered, then you can start looking at a preworkout supplement to "prime" everything up.

I would recommend that you watch this video by Will Brink. He's a personal fitness SME, and he's pretty heavily invovled in the tactical community with relation to fitness.

[MWildPOWPOW]

92 points on my run and i do about 65-68 sit ups 72 is my max i believe i just suck at push ups usually around 50. then i hit muscle failure. i cant break that for some reason

[reedo302]

If you want faster results with pushups, start weight training. If you already are, be more intensive with it. You can increase numbers by either increasing endurance, or increasing strength. For many people increasing pushups is difficult.

Before I got serious about lifting, I could only do 50 pushups on my APFT. Right now I could max out the APFT pushups, and I've been out for 6 years. When I was in, no matter how much I did pushups for PT, I just couldn't get my numbers out of the 50s. Now I realize that my issue was outright strength, which I lacked at the time.

[MWildPOWPOW]

see thats my problem i can do 50 push ups in the first minute then im struggling to do any more but then i could do another 50 ten minutes later if i wanted.

[MWildPOWPOW]

see thats my problem i can do 50 push ups in the first minute then im struggling to do any more but then i could do another 50 ten minutes later if i wanted.

[MWildPOWPOW]

see thats my problem i can do 50 push ups in the first minute then im struggling to do any more but then i could do another 50 ten minutes later if i wanted.

[MWildPOWPOW]

see thats my problem i can do 50 push ups in the first minute then im struggling to do any more but then i could do another 50 ten minutes later if i wanted.

[TC_e90]

You can try training and doing wide pushups instead. Dunno if they still allow it, when i was in the army a lot of people did wide pushups instead of normal cause it required less distance/energy to break the plank and get credit for the push up.

One member mentioned weight training, that's what i did to continually max my APFT. Don't rely on the daily morning exercises your unit conducts as most are poorly constructed and only provide maintenance if your already fit. Get a gym membership or use the free one on base and start weight train.

Other than that, gets lots of sleep and stretch for an hour the night before your APFT. Also make sure you have a good breathing rhythm for your pushups/situps.

[SUMO12]

As already stated hydrate and rest well days leading to the PT test. Oh bananas and peanut butter is your friend
Run:
My recommendation is to try running a minimum of 4 miles to build endurance it helped me with my two mile run. I weigh 210 to 215 lbs an I don’t like to run long distance I can sprint which helps me somehow.
Alternate days with distance run versus interval sprints,
Push ups:
Elevated Push up helped me with increased push ups. Do wide, regular shoulder width and close hand push ups. Your hands do not need to be that close
Posture: face forward and pace your breathing with the up and down movement.
If you practice doing 30 to 40 elevated push up in a minute I am certain you will get to 58 or 69 push ups in one minute. The key is to push out as much as you can as fast as possible
Weight lifting will require post work out for faster recovery and does not help with proper form
For the next minute on push ups take deep breath while waiting for 10 to seconds. Give it you all attempting to get 15 or twenty more before your 2miutes is up.
Sit up:
I pretty much use my abs for the first minute and legs for the next. This is why I always require someone strong to hold the high area of my ankle down firmly.
Lower abdomen work will also help with sit ups
Good Luck!

[Bimmer84]

Try to also focus on using different muscle groups for your push ups. Visualize what muscles you are using when you push, and work on different hand placements to use the different muscles. I also do some pushups where I rotate my elbows when I push up, and it feels more like a mid back shrug pulling me up, instead of my arms pushing me up. Little secrets like that really help with extending your maximum amount of push ups. Also, get the Perfect Pushup bars, they really do work wonders for push ups...

[TheAMAZINGNorad]

Sounds like you have the run and situps down. For pushups, try the following: after you do your chest lift day, finish with 3x20 pushups. If you can't do it, do as many as you can then go to your knees to finish. It sounds easy, but by forcing your body to learn how to do it after completing a full chest workout, you would be suprised how many pushups you can do when fresh.

BTW, I am a 100% pushup/situp guy and a 60% run. 260 FTW lol.

[ussoldierforhire]

try actually exercising to get better

[Ashley Schaeffer BMW]

lol, its prob a mental block. Dont count your own pushups and just keep counting 1, 1, 1, 1 over and over in your head. Have a buddy count silently while you do that. Do it until you cant do anymore. You will prob do at least 10 more.

When I was in the Marines I could never get to 20 pullups because in my mind I knew I would get tired around 15. I stopped counting them out and was doing 17-18 after that. The minds a powerful thing.