How to Do Abdominal Crunches for the Marine Corps PFT

The abdominal crunch exercise doesn’t simply test how many “sit-ups” you can do in the two minutes allowed. It also serves as a measure of the overall abdominal strength critically necessary to ensure Marines can bear the weight of their heavy equipment, scale obstacles and come to the aid of their fellow Marine. It is a relatively easy exercise assuming you’re in shape and is usually administered as one of the first events during the Marine Corps physical fitness test—the PFT. In the abdominal crunch, the arms are crossed in front of your chest with the fingers pointing toward opposite shoulders. With your knees up and a partner holding your feet, you will have done one repetition when you raise your upper torso, brush your crossed forearms against your raised thighs and return to the starting position. Scoring the abdominal crunch is based solely on the number of repetitions accomplished. To achieve a minimum score, female and male Marines must complete at least 50 repetitions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Flat, possibly padded surface
• Partner
• Stopwatch

1. Get ready. The best warm-up for the abdominal crunch event is actually doing a few repetitions of the exercise. Additionally, stretching your lower back will help prepare you for the “instant on” performance demanded by the exercise.
2. Get set. Take your position in the testing area and lie back with your knees drawn up. Your partner will grab hold of your ankles or shoes to help immobilize you during the exercise. Cross your arms in front of your chest and wait for the scorekeeper to announce the start of the test.
3. Go. The scorekeeper will announce the time during the exercise, usually in 30-second increments until you’re 1:30 into the test. At that time, he or she will give the time remaining in 5-second intervals before finally counting down to zero. Your performance strategy during the exercise is based on feedback given by both the scorekeeper and your partner. Experience with the exercise will allow you to listen to and comprehend the information you receive.
4. Keeping pace. The objective of the test is to do as many repetitions as possible—-up to 100-—during the allotted two-minute time. Therefore, your strategy should be to maintain a pace that will allow you to do at least twenty-five repetitions every thirty seconds. Listen to the scorekeeper’s elapsed time reports, compare them with the repetitions being counted by your partner and adjust your pace accordingly.
5. Rest only if you’ve attempted to do too many repetitions during the first minute; however, resting during the test costs valuable points. It must also be done correctly so as not to void your performance. If you simply cannot continue without resting, do so in the “up” position for a very short period of time.
6. Unlike the run where it is important to proceed through the finish line at full speed, be sure to cease doing crunches when you’ve done one hundred repetitions. Doing more than the maximum amount-—100-—will not result in additional points.

Tips & Warnings

• Training for the abdominal crunch can be accomplished by doing crunches, leg lifts, leg extensions, sit-ups, flutter kicks or all of the above.
• Rehearse the test. Practice doing as many repetitions as possible during 30 second, one minute and 2-minute intervals.
• Don’t allow your buttocks to lose contact with the ground during the exercise. Attempting to “whip” yourself into a complete repetition is grounds for re-test or failure.
• Make sure your crossed arms remain in contact with your chest at all times during the exercise.
• Keep your feet flat on the ground at all times. Remember, you must educate your partner in your preferred method of immobilizing the feet.
• The Marine Corps PFT is not weather dependent. Be prepared to perform this exercise under any conditions including precipitation.