Posted on Jul 29, 2014
SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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Push ups
In a recent Army Times Articel:

Soldiers across the Army say there’s a simple way to better measure an individual’s strength and prepare them for combat — add pullups to the PT test.

“They’re difficult to do, and it’s the kind of thing that can save your life — to be able to pull your own body weight,” said Sgt. Maj. Alfred Todd, a medical official with the California Army National Guard.

Sgt. First Class Daniel Lopez-Bonaglia, a Fort Hood soldier with 4th Sustainment Brigade, said pullups provide a better snapshot of overall fitness compared with the pushup.

“You can fake a pushup, but not a pullup, because your chin has to go to that bar,” said Lopez-Bonaglia, who deployed twice to Iraq. “If you’re overweight, there’s no way you’d be able to do a pullup.”

These soldiers are not alone in their views. Army Times recently asked readers to weigh in on what PT changes they wanted to see. The request received thousands of responses and many endorsed the idea of making pullups a part of the Army Physical Fitness Test.

The current APFT, required of soldiers twice annually, is meant to test their strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness. Soldiers must complete pushups, situps and a 2-mile run, and receive a score from zero to 100 in each event. A minimum of 60 points for each is required to pass.
Training and Doctrine Command is spearheading a potential overhaul of the test as part of larger efforts toward a gender-neutral Army and more combat jobs for women.

Pullups are likely part of the discussion.
In the World War II and Korean War eras, pullups were part of Army physical fitness tests, according to Army physical fitness scholar Whitfield East’s book on the topic. The pullup was part of discussions to revise the test in the 1980s and in 2010. A requirement that the test be performed with minimal or no equipment was a likely factor in excluding the exercise.

Pullup supporters

William Brechue, director of the Center for Physical Development Excellence at West Point, called the pullup a “good exercise” and said he favors it over the pushup if forced to pick one for the PT test.

The two are complimentary exercises, and both are beneficial in training, he said. The pullup primarily uses the latimus dorsi, or upper back muscles, the rear deltoid to a lesser degree, and the chest and biceps. The pushup is the opposite exercise, primarily using the chest, with the arms, and upper back muscles for stability.

“If I’m climbing a rope or mesh, anything where I’m trying to pull my body up, I’ll be using those pullup muscles, but I’ll be using my pushup muscles as stabilizers,” Brechue said.As a measure of strength, the pullup is more demanding.

“When you’re doing a pullup you’re suspending your whole body weight, and when you do a pushup you only suspend 70 percent of your body weight, which means the pullup is much more strength oriented,” Brechue said.
Brechue acknowledged that women tend to have less upper body strength than men, but it doesn’t mean they cannot do pullups.

“There are plenty of female cadets here who can do 10 pullups,” he said. “If you train them, train them properly, stick with it and train the upper body musculature, you’ll find they’re going to be okay and gain the strength that needs to be gained.”

UFC fighter Sgt. 1st Class Tim Kennedy said that because pullups are part of the Ranger Physical Fitness
Test, the exercise has a certain cache. He favors including pullups in the APFT because the “the shape of the force should change.”
“It’s an athletic muscle movement,” Kennedy, who is in the Texas National Guard, told Army Times by phone, “and they’re supposed to be protecting our freedom and they can’t do one?”

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Marsh, a Ranger-turned-Black Hawk pilot said pullups should be required, but only for soldiers in physically demanding jobs.
“Upper body strength is key in light infantry,” Marsh told Army Times by phone, “as far as maneuvering, climbing rocks and obstacles, and carrying battle buddies.”
Support personnel should not be required, he said.
Lopez-Bonaglia, on the other hand, endorsed separate requirements for men and women. Male soldiers would have to perform 10, he said, while women would only have to complete three.

Arlene Lucia, one of the many Facebook supporters for pullups, said the current test is just too easy and pullups would up the ante.
“I’ve never had an issue passing the APFT, and I’m a 44-year-old female soldier with 22 years of service,” she said.

Anti-pullups

Not everyone believes pullups are the right answer.
Lee Kind, an Army captain turned fitness guru, said pullups demonstrate upper body strength and are essential for air assault and parachute missions, carrying heavy gear, throwing grenades and gripping power. But he believes that for the Army, the pushup is superior
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“The pullup is a great exercise, but it would be a terrible PT test event for the regular Army,” said Kind, author of “MAX Out the Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force Physical Fitness and Combat Fitness Tests.”

Pullups are primarily a muscle-building exercise, he said, whereas pushups combine muscle building with muscular and cardiovascular endurance. Brute strength is important, but every soldier needs sustained endurance, he said.
He listed other drawbacks: Pushups can be performed almost anywhere and anytime while pullups can’t. People can get hurt slipping off the pullup bar or kicking their legs for extra reps, which can cause severe lower back injuries.
A woman’s physiology differs from men, making it more difficult for women to perform pullups, Kind said.

“If you added pullups, the Army would probably get down to less than 100,000 personnel,” a reader, Brandon Ward, said on Facebook.
Another commenter, Matthew McBride, said he did not see a need to change the test for everyone and suggested giving commanders more discretion.
“Let certain units tailor it to their needs; for example, let airborne units add pullups because those types of units need or value that skill,” he said. “We keep trying make a cookie cutter PT test when that isn’t the answer.”
Joe Christenson also suggested leaving well-enough alone.

“Keep pushups because you can do them anywhere and you need no props, no pullup bar,” he said.

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20140414/NEWS/304150032/The-push-pullups-Why-soldiers-want-added-PT-test
Edited 11 y ago
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SSG Byron Hewett
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Edited >1 y ago
easy answer keep it simple why make it harder, why add all the extra paper work for counseling statements and the extra work when there is far more important training and yes PT is very important just remember the K.I.S.S. acronym and you can't go wrong.
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CW5 Regimental Chief Warrant Officer
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What we need to do before adjusting the APFT is to determine what the requirements are for the APFT. What are we trying to measure? Cardiovascular, strength, and/or flexibility and which muscle groups or range of motion? Then see what types of exercises and drills we can employ.

Use of equipment required is a secondary concern. The USMC still does pull-ups for their tests and equipment does not seem to be a problem for them. When deployed we seem to find a way to construct at the very least a form of prison gym. If all else fails then find a way to waive the APFT for deployments or have alternate events.
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CW2 AH-64D Attack Pilot
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It should be added for all of the reasons listed in the article. Also the events should be changed to physical attributes you want to develop. The current setup only requires you to train for the test. The biggest drawback is the lack of a strength exercise which anyone who has been deployed will tell you it is a strength sport.

I think they should just take the USMC PFT and CFT use that change the Sit-up to a lower body exercise or whatever silliness they want and call it a day.
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SPC David S.
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As a large person at 6'4" 250lbs I feel that adding the pull-up would have ruined my day when I was in. In my prime I was able to bench press over 300lbs but I sucked at pull-ups, however I maxed out the push-ups and sits-ups and did fairly decent on the run. In order for larger guys or girls to build enough functional muscle mass to pull up 250lb plus bodies it would more than likely result in a musle bound physique. Additionally there is also possible physical damange that could result. The joints, ligaments, and tendons are vulnerable with this exercise using improper techique. Just my 2 cents Sargent Davis.
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SGT Jerrold Pesz
SGT Jerrold Pesz
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I agree. Pull-ups seem to be quite easy for light weight guys but hard as hell for big men. I saw a number of really muscular athletes when I was in school who had a really hard time with pull-ups. When I was in the army we didn't have pull-ups on the PT test but we did have to do them and I saw the same thing. The little guys could do lots of them and the big guys hardly any.
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SFC Walter Mack
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We should go back to the 1946 PT test. Most Soldiers now couldn't pass it, but it would force Soldiers to develop a work ethic and spend time away from the PS4.
http://www.ihpra.org/1946%20(world%20war%20ii)%20army%20physical%20fitness%20test.htm
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SFC Intelligence Analyst
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I don't know if pull ups are better than pushups, but honestly I rather do pull ups any day of the week
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