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SFC Stephen King
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This has been a long time coming. I believe it will take time but it will eventually assist in the overall fitness of individuals. I have always said to people you can train for the APFT but that is not going to get you combat ready. These added events will again assist in people being ready but it comes down to. Physical Training is and will always be an individuals responsibility.
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MAJ Corporate Buyer
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I don't think I like it. 1) It requires special equipment that may not be available to all soldiers (thinking of the guard/reserves who train at home). 2) If you show up to the current APFT untrained you simply fail the test. If you show up to this one untrained you run the risk of injury. And yes, soldiers should show up trained and ready but this is the real world and plenty of them don't. 3) And just for fun, I can't wait to see people do the leg tuck. Most people I know wouldn't be able to just hang from a bar for 2 minutes. Much less pull their knees up over and over. But maybe that's the point of the test.

I'd rather see pull ups added to the test and call it a day. But I'll save that for when I'm General Everett. :)

Just my 2 cents.
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SPC Training Room Nco
SPC (Join to see)
6 y
My question is this, Sir, and always has been: How do pull-ups help prepare you for a combat environment? How does it really assist anything other than your bicep and latissimus muscles? Genuine question, not meant to troll or be cynical.
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MAJ (Join to see)
6 y
SPC (Join to see) - I'm all about body movement exercises. Meaning pushups and pull ups and whatnot. I don't necessarily need someone that can bench press 300 pounds, but I do need people who can move their own body through space. In Iraq, it was not uncommon to have to climb over walls and other such things. The ability to pull oneself up and over something is akin to being able to push yourself up off the ground and is something that I personally believe everyone should be able to do with relative ease. And pull ups, if not practiced continually, are very hard to do.

Also, pull ups work some of the biggest muscle groups in your body, your back muscles. That has a lot of carryover benefits. They also work grip strength.

Again, this is my opinion but if given the choice between going into combat with a platoon made up of NFL offensive linemen and American Ninja Warriors, I'll take the ANW's. The agility and ability they have to move through space is, in my opinion, a better attribute than sheer strength. But of course there are instances where brute strength is needed. They are just not as common in my experience.
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SPC Training Room Nco
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6 y
MAJ (Join to see) - Fair enough. I really hadn't considered the climbing over walls and railings thing. And I do absolutely agree that agility far outweighs brute strength on the battlefield. That's why I am constantly saying that I want to be stronger and faster, but not bigger. I don't care to be able to knock down a wall with a shoulder check, as long as I can maneuver through a fire ground without getting my fourth point of contact shot off.
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CPT Zachary Brooks
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Edited >1 y ago
Still not sure why we do a 2 mile run. 1.5 miles might actually be better.

I think lower back injuries will be extended greatly with this test.

Deadlifting, when done right, is actually great to combat the tightening of the hip flexors and the growth of the quadriceps by creating an equal balance. The issue therein is that it must be done right. In today's CrossFit world of "Do as many reps as possible however you can" I see many more back injuries on it's way.

Sprint-Drag-Carry, Leg Tuck, and 2 Mile run will continue to create more of the imbalance that many of the military members suffer from.

I like that they changed the pushups as that should help alleviate the momentum issue and therefore protect the shoulders, wrists, and elbows from further damage.

I also like the standing power throw as I understand it as it works the body into throwing behind instead of forward. This limits some of the force the body can provide and reduces overall injury. It also theoretically works the body as a whole in a better way as it appears to work the Hamstrings and the Biceps primarily.
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