I want to join the army and need to get running!??? mile and a half in 13.15. Any ideas??

Question

I want to join the army and need to get my mile and a half run time down to 13 minutes. Whats the best way to do this ie. lots of long runs, sprinting, a mixture? Plus will other sports help like swimming? Need to do pull ups and push ups too and at the moment i have negative upper body strength, what is the best weight training to do this?? (i'm not unhealthy or overweight but do not do alot of exercise at the moment so am starting at square one!!

Thnks for the email mike, i will check it out later as i'm at work and cant access it!! x

I have no upper body strength!

Answer 1

You are making this too complicated. Do the exercises that you need to be able to complete for the test. Swimming will help your overall fitness but at the shape your in it won't improve your run, pushups, pullups or situps as much as actually doing those exercises.
The physical fitness assessment is designed to test your strength, flexibility, endurance and stamina. Remember, you have to pass all of the separate exercises in order to pass the entire assessment. Getting your run time down to 13:15 without being able to do pushups, pullups or situps is pointless because you'll still fail to test.
If your goal is simply to pass each component of the test than do those specific exercises until you meet the minimum requirements. There is no need to run more than 2 miles if all you are being tested on is 1.5 miles. Once you can run 2 miles nonstop work on getting faster until you are inside 13:15 at the 1.5 mile mark.
Do as many pushups, pullups and situps as you can at least 3 times a week until you reach your required minimum. If you can do more, continue to improve. Any extra upper body strength you have will help you during the test when all of the exercises have to be completed with only a 2 minute rest in between.

Answer 2

CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. Swimming is a great idea. the ultimate cardio. But also running. If you can run the mile and a half already even if slow, keep doing it. Try making sure you pace yourself so every next time you can step it up a little more. A great trick is to run 13 minutes. Dont worry about distance but make sure you keep track. then keep running faster and faster only focusing on the 13 minutes. Surely enough you will be running the 1.5 in 13 without even knowing. Dont over cardio before your runs though. In other words to over warm up. Otherwise you wont get your all out of the run. But dont not warm up because the same will happen. As for the other things. Work your biceps and tricepts chest really well. Every other day. NOT EVERYDAY. mucle doesnt build that way. Start with a light set. Something light with 5 sets of 10 reps one week. Then heavier. 4 sets of 8 the next week. then heavy. 3 sets of 5 reps. The heavier you lift the more you'll build but you cant expect to just start lifting heavy and build. You have to get your mucles a good stretch.

Answer 3

going out for long runs will probably be the most effective way to increase your speed and lower your time because you need to build up a strong endurance base. Also, stretching is important to prevent injury. Build up core strength as well, do push-ups and crunches/sit-up which will also increase endurance. Find a track that is nearby and run around it 6 times in lane 1, which is a mile and a half and time your self to get a starting point and then throughout training (once every two-three weeks) do it again to gauge progression. Most importantly, do not get discouraged! Running is a great way to build overall fitness as well.

Answer 4

for running try interval work on a running track run one lap at one and half mins then three minute cool off lap do this 6 six times to get your full mile and a half on alternate days do upper body the only way you will get better is by doing press ups, but do them in sets of 8-12 and differentiate them so do normal press then wide arm press then close arm press.
if you find them difficult then do them on your knees to start then build it up from there, weight training really wont do anything the only way to get better is by doing the exercise and doing it properly.
once a week say friday do the whole test so do 2 mins worth of press ups, 2 mins worht of sit ups and a mile and a half as fast as you can.

hope this helps.

Answer 5

I would say that running at least 3 miles alternating fast and slow running might be the best training. Running a mile in 10 minutes is considered to be slow and easy running so you are probably going to need to push yourself with a bit of fast running to do 1.5 miles in 13 minutes.

Answer 6

According to my friends who are in teh Army right now it all depends on the situation you are in and what kind of contract you are looking at. If you are going into the Army Reserve then the requirements are a little more lax and less strict. They are willing to train you up and set a path for you to get to where you /they want you to be at.

If you are looking to join as an active Army member then the requirements are a bit higher as they are looking to train you up straight away for you to be actively involved with the Army.

If you are like some of my friend who were in teh Army ROTC program there are certain restriction and requirements they put upon you to get the scholarship and such. They are looking to invest 4 years of their money to your education so they hold a higher bar for students (much like the Active Army).

Like I said in the beginning it depends on your status and where you want to go. You can always go Reserve then move to Active (the vice versa is a bit harder to do from Active to Reserve), when you decide you want to fully commit to the army. If you are still deciding the idea then you should go reserve to see how you fit into the army. I don't think it is too late after trying it out as a reserve and seeing how that contract time goes before fully committing.

P.S. It is a life decision and you should consider it as such. The reserve is willing to work with you more so if you are planning to set a high goal for yourself which might get you discouraged or falter in the middle then try it out and see.

Answer 7

Well, the best way to get better at running is unfortunately running :)

Swimming is a great exercise because it's fun and works the whole body. Cardio is great for endurance and it will help you in all categories.

For pushups, start slow:

Do them on your knees as best you can and keep doing more and more each day. Set a pace. Perhaps weekly goals and then one big day where you switch to real push-ups.

Doing push-ups will help with pull-ups but doing pull-ups is very difficult, so i'd suggest actually knowing how to do one properly to get better at it.

It's all pretty basic, but good luck and thanks for server America!

Answer 8

the running you just have to go to a running track and run.

there is a plan you can do for the situps and the push ups tho.

do 1 push up, rest for a few seconds, do 2 push ups, rest for a few seconds, do 3 push ups, rest for a few seconds. do this until you get up to 10 then count back down. do 10 push ups, rest a few seconds then do 9 push ups until you get back to 1. do that every day with the push ups and sit ups and you will have no problem with the pt tests.

Answer 9

Swimming should help you with all round strength as well as pushing you through the 13 minute barrier. Good luck.

Answer 10

What in the world is "Negative upper body strength"?