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PHYSICAL TRAINING


he Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) is used by the Basic Airborne Course (BAC) to ensure Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines meet minimum physical fitness requirements necessary to successfully complete Airborne training. In order to enter the course, the prospective student MUST score a MINIMUM of 60% on the lowest age group scale. This equates to 42 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, and a 15:54 or faster on the 2-mile run for males and 19 push-ups, 53 sit-ups, and an 18:54 or faster on the 2-mile run for females.

Physical fitness is conducted daily at the BAC for three reasons:
Esprit de corps - doing PT together reinforces training together.
PT sparks the mind and body to be ready for a full day of training.
PT provides cadre with a means to assess for injuries.
The BAC is NOT a physical fitness school. Our primary task is to teach members of the Department of Defense how to safely conduct static line parachuting. PT is included to indoctrinate Soldiers into the Army lifestyle and to ensure they are mentally and physically prepared for the rigors of daily Airborne training. A lack of either could be grounds for dismissal from the course.

Injuries. Many Soldiers try to "gut" through an injury so as not to be perceived as "weak." This can result in them becoming more serious injuries during the most critical phase of the course - jump week. Daily PT is yet another means of risk mitigation focusing on Soldier safety here at the BAC.

Hot and cold weather mitigation. All PT sessions are subject to change based on current weather and humidity conditions Typical PT Session. You must participate in daily PT by completing the exercises and distance run. A typical daily PT session includes warm up exercises, Calisthenics, Guerilla/Grass Drills, Circuit Training or a 3.2 to 4-mile formation run. Males and females run in the same formation during PT and the average pace is approximately 9-minutes per mile.

APFT Entrance Standard
1. Basic Airborne Course Physical Fitness Test (APFT) Entrance Standard
a. The APFT will be administered to aid in quickly determining the physical readiness of Soldiers attending the Basic Airborne Course.
b. Soldiers will be afforded a primary and retest during the first day of the ground training week.
c. Soldiers who are a two-time failure in any event will be dropped from the course.
d. Every Soldier still has a right to appeal to the 1SG, company commander, or CSM for consideration. At no time will a Soldiers right to appeal be denied.
2. Administering the APFT.
a. The PI for the APFT will read the APFT instructions with demonstrators posted on the uppermost portion of the PT pit directly in front of each platoon. The demonstrators will react to the commands of the PI. APFT instructions will be read in the sequence executed for the test and in strict adherence to guidelines outlined in TC 3- 22.20.
b. There are 15 points on each side of the PT Pit, consisting of a milk crate and placard for push-ups.
c. Students will line up behind the milk crate facing out, at the position of parade rest.
d. The cadre then cover down on the milk crates and annotate the roster numbers of the students in their lane.
e. The retest pit will be set up in a similar manner with milk crates and placards in the far SLT pit. A minimum of 2 instructors and 1 timekeeper from the ground company will cover down on the retest pit.
f. One representative will be at the entrance of the PT pit for quality control and to control the flow of students in and out of the pit. One instructor (usually the PI for the test administration instructions) will act as the administrator for the APFT.
g. The PI will announce the following commands in sequence:
(1) “Next student, get ready” – the student will then get on all fours with their head pointed toward the center of the PT pit.
(2) “Get set” – the student responds by getting into the front leaning rest or start position for the sit-up event.
(3) “Go” – the student will begin the designated exercise. The grader will count each repetition loud enough for the student to hear the count; but not as loud enough to disrupt other
graders inside the pit. The grader will tell the student to “stop” and “recover” upon meeting the minimum requirement OR when time expires, whichever comes first.
(4) “1-minute” – This is to signal students that they have 1-minute remaining to complete their repetitions.
(5) “30-seconds” – This is to signal students that they have 30-seconds remaining to complete their repetitions.
(6) “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – stop – change over” – At 10-seconds remaining, the timekeeper will execute this command. At “stop,” the students must now discontinue any further attempts at the exercise and recover.
h. If a student fails to meet the minimum standard, the instructor/grader will fill out the administrative portion of the DA form 705 (APFT card), to include placing his name in black letters in the grader portion of the DA form 705, and hand it to the student. The student will move up the middle of the PT pit and report to the QC NCO.
i. After logging the students’ roster number on a master list, the QC NCO will direct the student to the retest pit.
j. Each student must have a minimum of 10 minutes rest between push-ups and/or sit-ups retest and 20 minutes rest before the run retest.
k. The 2-mile run will be conducted with two platoons starting at the mock door and two platoons starting at the patches building (see diagram 2). Using a 2-way radio, all platoons will start the run at the same time.
l. While Soldiers are running past your start points, timekeepers will announce the current time.
m. 1 Mile is from the start point around to the next white mark on the track. 2 Miles is from the 1-mile mark around the track to the 3d white mark on the track.
o. APFT failures who wish to protest their results of an event, of which they failed; will have the opportunity to do so with the Company Commander at the APFT location only.