Army National Guard Basic Training Workout
The Army National Guard is an option for those looking to earn extra money by serving their country as part-time soldiers. However, National Guard recruits go through the same basic training workout as those going into the regular Army, and with virtually the same fitness test standards.
-
Physical Fitness Test
-
All soldiers in the National Guard are required to meet a score of 50 on the Army Physical Fitness Test (active duty soldiers must score a 60). This is a requirement for graduation from Basic Training, and periodically re-certified during service. The test is a three-event test consisting of sit-ups, push-ups and running. The amount of work that must be done varies with the age of the solider. A 17- to 21-year-old male trooper must do at least 35 push-ups in 2 minutes, 47 sit-ups in 2 minutes and run 2 miles in 16 minutes, 36 seconds. A 37- to 41-year-old trooper must do 24 push-ups in 2 minutes, 29 sit-ups in 2 minutes and run 2 miles in 19 minutes, 30 seconds.
Basic Training
-
Basic Combat Training (BCT) is preceded by a 4 to 10 day period called "the Reception Battalion." This is often included in descriptions of how long BCT lasts, but strictly speaking, it is a separate phase of instruction. Basic training for a Army National Guard recruit who has never been in the U.S. military before will be identical to that of a new recruit to the US Army. Both recruits are required to graduate from the same 9-week BCT course. It is common for National Guardsmen to be sent to U.S. Army training camps for this purpose.
-
Initial Physical Test
-
All recruits going into BCT are evaluated with an initial physical test. For men, this test consists of doing 13 push-ups, 17 sit-ups and a 1-mile run in under 8 1/2 minutes. Failure means being transferred to a PT unit, sometimes called "Fat Camp," where recruits will spend a couple of weeks being trained up to the minimum standards necessary to begin BCT.
Physical Training (PT)
-
Physical Training (PT) is the basic workout of BCT, and recruits can expect it every day at approximately 6:00 am. It typically starts with a warm-up of 2 minutes jogging in place; neck, shoulder, knee and hip rotations; and basic stretches. This is a very quick warm-up and is barely adequate for avoiding injury.
From there, PT alternates between muscular strength training and running. Running alternates between one of three exercises: running as a platoon for 2 to 3 miles on a track in cadence, wind sprinting or a 3- to 5-mile ability run.
Muscular training involves push-up and sit-up exercises. These are mixed up for variety, so there are elevated push-ups, closed fist push-ups, clapping push-ups and so on.
The Fitness Test and Basic Training
-
Many reasonably physically fit people can pass the U.S. Army's fitness test. The PT encountered at Basic Training will actually be much more demanding than what is necessary to pass the Physical Fitness Test, because its purpose is to break down recruits and acclimate them to military life not to prepare them for the test.
-
Resources
- Photo Credit Department of Defense
