After years of serving their country, many veterans still seek to serve in some other meaningful way. Some choose the National Guard. Some select to become police officers. Some elect to go with the fire service. This email is concerning a veteran in transition from one service to another as he prepares for the physical fitness test of his next journey in life.
Dear Stew,
First, thanks for all the great articles, videos and products. I've passed the CPAT (with the help of your book) and am gearing up for our PST prior to the academy. The test consists of push-ups/sit-ups in a minute, pull-ups and 1.5-mile run – similar to the Air Force PAST you also teach. I've exceeded the standard quite significantly in the strength exercises; however, my run was clocked at a 13:46 during the test. It's just peculiar to me that for my recent test I conducted at the track, it was sub 11 minutes.
NOTE: I'm just getting over an upper-respiratory infection, but I was so shocked when I literally ran my worst run. The question is -- “Have you ever had a student crush his run times at practice but mess up on PFT day? Can you point me in the right direction to fix this? Any help would be great. Anthony.
Anthony, there are many reasons why that happens. Usually, if you consider doing a four- to six-week PFT prep cycle, you should be good to go with your current fitness levels and experience.
1. PST anxiety. The anxiety often can cause a poor night sleep, an upset stomach (butterflies) and force you not to eat as you do normally. This causes you not only to waste a lot of energy on nerves, but also not allow you to have some of the needed fuel for optimal performance. The most effective way to handing this anxiety is to breathe.
Focus on your breathing. Walk and breathe deeply (in nose -- out mouth). Learn more about the “box breathing” method of four seconds inhale, four seconds hold, four seconds exhale, four seconds hold. But you can use various methods of breathing to relax you as well as help you perform (see related post).
2. Recovering from a cold or flu or respiratory infection. These things will crush performance. It is difficult to keep training and too easy to lose ground, especially on cardiovascular events like running. Give yourself some time to recover. Make sure your lungs are clear before starting running again.
3. Lacking a general PFT strategy. You should take this test enough fully so you know where to push, where to pull back and still score optimally for your goals and capabilities. If you only do your runs fresh and not after other events, you may see a big difference in the test-day run. You have to get used to taking the test by making it a workout.
4. Too much time off. Being too busy with work or travel, illness or focusing on other athletic events can take away from your fitness test. If running is your weakness, you cannot skip many cardio days. You can replace running with tough non-impact options if you are feeling pain during running. See ideas for running workouts to help you run faster during tactical fitness tests.
The goal is to work out year-round, but cycle your tactical fitness programming throughout the year on such events tested in PT tests during testing cycles. Then do the workouts and sports you enjoy during the rest of the year. This form of tactical periodization allows you to prepare for the rigors of your profession, the health and wellness/fitness semiannual tests and enjoy your other athletic and aesthetic pursuits.
Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you’re looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.
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