This 15 day plan was written for a military member who had two weeks to pass his fitness test of 1.5 mile run, pushups, and situps. It is not designed for those members who have not exercised in months, but for those who just need an extra push to surpass the minimums. You could also use this routine to help you hit the maximum standards if you are hitting a plateau in your testing for the Most Common PFT. Knowing that this test is the most common fitness test in the military and law enforcement, I thought I would post the routine online as it is a combination of three routines:
The Pushup Push Workout - Add 50-100% to your Pushups in two weeks. You will be doing pushups for the first 11 days of this workout, then rest for 3 days of no pushups and test on day 15 of this routine. If your test requires pullups, you can do the same for that exercise - see Pullup Push
The Need for Speed Workout - Ace the 300m and 1.5 mile runs for FBI Academy, but this plan below is geared for any timed run no matter how short or long it is.
Proper Situps Technique - Learn your pace when it comes to situps. Find a goal and pace yourself to the goal. If your test is a 1 minute test, then you should strive for a pace of nearly 1 situp per second so you score in the high 40-50s for your situp test. If your test is a 2 minute test, pace is more important and you may need to slow it down to 20 situps per 30 seconds to score in the high 70 / low 80's.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
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Repeat 3-4 times Pushups max reps 1 min Situps - 15-20 reps in 30 seconds Repeat 2-4 times
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Run 400m – rest 5:00 / stretch Run 1.5 mile run timed Do 100 pushups and
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Repeat 3 times Repeat 2 times
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Warm-up jog 10:00 Do 100 pushups and
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Repeat 4 times Warmup Jog 5:00
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| Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 |
Repeat 3-5 times 400m run squats – 20 lunges – 10/leg Do 100 pushups and 100 situps total throughout the day
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100-150 pushups and situps in as few sets Repeat 4 times Run 1.5-2 mile run timed
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3 miles at close to Do 100 pushups and
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Repeat 2-4 times Bike Pyramid: Manual mode
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Warmup Jog 5:00 Do 100 pushups and 100 situps total throughout the day
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| Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 |
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Pushup test 1 or 2 minutes Situp test 1 or 2 minutes Bike Pyramid: |
Repeat 2 times Run 1.5 mile run timed no pushups / situps
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Swim or elliptical glide or both 20:00 of either or both no pushups / situps
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Warm-up jog 5:00 stretch well - sleep well - get ready to test with a day of rest... no pushups / situps
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Sample Test Day Test your fitness test today at the time you need to take it for real later this month...
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Here is an explanation of the chart below:
1 - Supplemental Plan - You can use this plan below in addition to your current workout if you wish, but it is a pretty challenging plan. I would not do this option unless you are pretty fit now and seeking to improve your PFT scores to near maxing the test.
2 - Stand-alone Plan - If you are an intermediate / beginner level (not complete beginner) I would recommend to just follow the plan for the next two weeks. This will challenge your pushups and situps and push you in the running category as well. If you are not used to running 1-2 miles then I would not attempt this program as this is NOT a program for beginners.
Goal Pace Runs - Learning to pace your runs will help you score better on 1.5, 2, and 3 mile timed run tests. Typically, I like to teach at a 400m track so students will learn the distance and muscle memory the time to do that distance. For instance, if you want to score a 12 minute 2 mile run - that means you need a 6 minute mile, 3 minute 1/2 mile, and a 90 second 1/4 mile *(400m) run. This will help you understand not to start out too fast on your timed run and a teach you a strategy to PACE the run. Just divide your timed run distance / goal into 1/4 mile distances and strive to learn the pace at 1/4 mile, then 1/2 mile and so on... also read - Drop Mile Pace
400m runs - You can also replace this distance with a 300m run distance especially if you are seeking to ace the 300m sprint used by many law enforcement departments around the United States as well as the FBI Academy. BUT instead of running at goal 1.5 mile pace you should run it at goal 300m sprint pace.
Lower Back Plan - Great for Strength / Flexibility - Add this into the daily routine at the end of the day.
Try this routine if you wish. It does work and let me know how you do after the 15 Day PFT Challenge. This is not something I would repeat several times in a row but only once in a while (every 6 months). Your pushups / situps muscles need rest like all other muscle groups. Typically, I recommend resting 48 hours after hard pushups / ab workouts before challenging that muscle group again. Please feel free to email if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com
So last PRT I had less than 90 Pushup's and Situps and a run in the mid 12's...This morning I hit 104 pushups 94 situps and low 11's on the run. I have a lot of room to go, but I haven't worked out at all, I only did your 15 day program.
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Just wanted to let you know that I used your program and it was great. Before I started your program I could only run for 10 minutes on a treadmill at 4.5-5mph. Now I can run a 1.5 mile distance in 12 minutes and run 3.5 miles straight without stopping. I did the program twice in 30 days and it has taken me to a whole different level. What I did was after the first 15 days were over I just started the program all over again from day one and ended on day 30. I just wanted to let you know that this program really works and can used for more than just getting ready for a law enforcement or military PFT.