Do you wear headphones during unit physical training and physical fitness tests?

As a Navy guy who worked aboard a Marine Corps base, I found the Marine Corps' rules to be overkill. I can see not wearing headphones while running on roads, but the base gym at Quantico prohibited wearing headphones at all. As far as prohibiting wearing headphones during physical fitness tests, unless the run is being held on a course that is open to vehicle traffic, there's no good reason to do so. If you do a few extra reps of an exercise after time expires, the person counting your reps knows not to include them in your score, and if there is any negative effect from wearing headphones while running on a track (or a closed road course) it's so minimal that it doesn't provide enough benefit to make up for the fact that some people perform better while listening to music. If you're trying to measure physical fitness, you want to measure everyone's best possible effort, rather than some people's best results and a less-than-best possible results for others. Likewise, when I was administering PFAs, I would hold separate tests with the run at the track and on the road, if there were people in the command who felt that they could get better results with one or the other.

Not while in the military. Infantry unit for my first duty station and both deployment and an Armor regiment for my state NG.
Seems the standards for the Chair Force are lower. Even during a PT test, 52 Card Pickup PT, and Medic PT only wired earbuds would stay in the best.
When I do it on my own I have wireless over ear buds and wired over ear buds. I've found that music does help when exercising.
I have yet to see the Army retract and allow it but on your own time do whatever.

It's great to have music to give you that extra drive when working out. But for the test or general PT I personally don't think it's a good idea. Your not going to have music in the field. That's what OR is for

SSgt, I've never been allowed to wear headphones while PTing. After a while, I trained myself to get used to working out without the aid of music to "psyche" myself up. If I couldn't wear them during the PT test, I figured I would be doing myself a disservice by training with them. Train like you fight!

I personally do use headphones whenever I am doing my PT test, because I feel it helps me push myself a little more. However whether it does or it doesn't I am not too sure because I have ran without them in the past and gotten the same results or sometimes better. Just depends if I forget my headphones that day or not.

I wear them usually during the run portion of the PT test, it's nice to have something to distract the mind a bit. As far as running on my own on base, I haven't had any problems in the past. I think as long as you are only using one ear piece you should be fine. Granted I have seen people with them plugged in to both ears. I don't like it unless I am on a track or indoors as I like to be able to hear traffic and such when I am near roadways.

I would say they should be allowed in all branches. Nothing wrong with or unprofessional about listening to music while working out unless you have a PT leader who is giving specific instructions. When we still did large unit PT at Keesler the MTLs (NCOs running the show for new Airmen) allowed us to have iPods/MP3s during the running portions as we really didn't need to hear anything. You just had to have them out for the muscle workouts.

The Army has the same policy as the Marines do, not head phone during unit PT or a PT test. Only in civvies.

I have never had unit PT because of my career field so I'm not sure what the requirements are, but we are allowed to have headphones on while doing the AFPT test on the track. I don't see it as a big deal, as long as it's for the track.

As far as for unit PT, keep it off until the run. I don't think it's a big deal wearing it around base either. I don't see it as unprofessional, or anything. I call it "keeping up with the times". We can't always be too traditional.

I never wore them doing any type of unit PT or PT test. I was surprised as a BN XO in an Army Reserve unit when the BC brought out a tape player (dating myself) and listened to music during his 2-mile run. Now as I no longer do unit PT, I listen to music all the time when I am working out, running or bicycling. I have always wondered how much music would affect scores, especially on the run. I thought it would be interesting to do a test program at a basic training unit with one company listening to music and another doing it the old school way.

I think there are a lot of rules with regards to PT that is overkill.

Headphones should be allowed if you are running on a closed road to vehicular traffic and you are not in a formation run. They should also be allowed if you are in the gym trying to get a workout in, be it during PT time or any other time.

I am deeply disturbed by senior leaders making rules that they believe will keep us being professional without providing deep thought on the matter. i.e. Shaving while on leave or over the weekends; wearing the PT uniform in the gyms on post even on the weekends; no headphones anywhere.