Comments on: 30 Days to a Better Man Day 26: Take the Marine Corps Fitness Test

By: Seth

Seth — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:35:04 +0000

true the minium adds to 105 but you need at least 135 to pass. it just means for each individual event you need that minimum but overall there is another minimum. and girls have a different test, they have a 3 mile run but more time is alotted, the same crunchs but they do a flexed arm hang not pull ups.

By: Dutch

Dutch — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:13:29 +0000

What am I not seeing here?

Class Age 17-26 Age 27-39 Age 40-45 Age 46+
1st 225 200 175 150
2nd 175 150 125 100
3rd 135 110 88 65
Minimum Fitness Requirements

The Department of the Navy has established minimum fitness requirements for all Marines depending on their age to ensure that they’re ready for combat. The minimum requirements below would give a soldier enough points to meet a class three standard.
Age Pull-Ups Crunches 3-Mile Run
17-26 3 50 28:00
27-39 3 45 29:00
40-45 3 45 30:00
>46+ 3 40 33:00

let’s say we take age 17-26:
3 pull ups 15 points
50 crunches 50 points
28 minutes 40 points
———————————–
105 points

Minimum for class 3 in that age group: 135???

Well it makes sense when I hear you guys have girl Marines too :)

Greetings,

Dutch Marine Corps veteran

Qua Patet Orbis

By: Heisenberg

Heisenberg — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:52:57 +0000

As a former Marine myself, I fully endorse this. But like the other Marines on here, allow me to clarify the pull-ups.
The terms ‘pull-up’ and ‘chin-up’ are/can be used interchangeably. I never once heard any Marine administering the test worry about which is which.
As for which one is harder, it solely depends on your conditioning at the moment. Granted underhand pull ups are easier if you don’t have much back strength, as they do concentrate your biceps more. However, overhand is much easer if you have really strong lats…and the stronger the lats, the wider grip you can use and the shorter the range of motion each rep is.
One thing the author and other Marines didn’t mention, is you can even switch grips mid test, but you have to stay on the bar, and you have to come to a dead hang. Meaning if you did 10 overhand, and want to do 10 underhand, come to a dead hang, switch grips, then commence. \
Oh, and you aren’t allowed to ‘kip’ (use legs for momentum) either.

@Charlie,
Whether or not the Army test is harder depends on who you ask. I personally think someone could work up to 50 (or even 100 pushups) well before they could work up to doing 20 pull ups.
And like Shane said, crunches isolate your abs. And sit-ups can easily be done sloppy which can wreak havoc on your neck and upper back. The Marine Corps used to do sit ups. They switched to crunches for a reason.

@Austin,
I would recommend the Perfect Pull-up bar system. It locks into brackets that you screw fasten to the inside of the threshold of the door of your choice. The bar is easily removed from the door if need be but rests there over your head if you decide to leave it there.

By: Austin

Austin — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:44:33 +0000

Word of caution about the Iron Man Pullup bar — be VERY careful to use controlled form. I suffered a level 2 ankle sprain injury last week during training doing explosive pullups (pulling up as hard as possible to generate force), cheated on my form, and the bar accelerated up and back. It flew off the door and my ankle caught underneath the fall of my body weight. It was extremely painful.

By: Britt

Britt — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 01:47:07 +0000

I decided to look through the archives and came across this. I find it amusing that I was at USMC Boot Camp when this post was released. Running was always my biggest issue. It’s amazing what 13 weeks can do for someone’s body.