Being shredded, it turns out, doesn’t mean you’re physically fit—at least, not according to the military. In a recent YouTube video, British bodybuilders MattDoesFitness and Mike Thurston attempted the US Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), and found themselves struggling to achieve a “pass” grade in a couple of tasks.
The test consists of three challenges, each of which is graded out of 100:
And while they are both optimistic about the pushup and situp portions of the test, the run gives them pause. They’re both bodybuilders, after all. As Mike puts it: “we’re not exactly cardio people.” Matt even admits to not having gone for a real run in over ten years. “I’m honestly fearing for my life,” he says.
First up, though, is the pushup challenge, during which they have to stay in position the entire time: putting their knees on the ground for even a moment means an instant fail. Managing anything over 39 push-ups in the two minute timeframe is considered a pass, while a “perfect score” would be 77 push-ups. Both attain a passing grade, with Mike doing 63 pushups and Matt doing 66.
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Next are the situps. For each rep, their heads and hands have to fully touch the ground, and then as they rise, their torsos need to be at a right angle to the ground. A pass is 45 situps in two minutes, while a perfect score is 82. Mike loses this round, only managing 41 reps, while Matt passes with 58.
Then, finally, comes the moment they both fear: a two mile run around a track in Regents Park, London. A pass for this section is a total time of 17 minutes or less, while a perfect score is 13 minutes. Both Mike and Matt pass, but the run completely takes it out of them, as their regular workouts don’t include the kind of cardio that builds stamina. They might want to consider adding it; sprint interval training, for instance, has been proven to improve stamina and burn fat.
Mike fails the overall test, with a score of 210 out of 300. Matt passes, with a score of 234. Getting a perfect score is notoriously difficult: earlier this year, a National Guard truck driver named Ryan Sowder broke records in the Army Combat Fitness Test (which is even tougher than the APFT) by achieving the highest mark ever, but even he was a few points shy of 100 per cent. Maybe Matt and Mike should attempt the Combat Fitness Test next?
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