Posted on Mar 23, 2015
CSM Command Sergeant Major
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Push up
If you are grading the Push-Up event and the Soldier you are grading does the first 2 push-ups correctly and on the 3rd one the Soldier doesn't perform it correctly, as a grader, what do you do? Tell him "go lower" and not count that rep and let him continue or tell him to stop, have him go to his knees, explain his deficiencies and send him to the end of the line to be retested?

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Posted in these groups: P542 APFT
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CSM Executive Officer
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1SG Essig. Great post. The correct way is if at ANY time during the first 10 push ups you have to repeat ANY number, You are to tell the Soldier to go to his/her knees and explain what the Soldiers is doing incorrectly. If not, you risk not having the soldier doing an excessive amount of incorrect push ups during their first attempt. It is nearly impossible to keep up with the number of incorrect push ups and the number if total push ups simultaneously.
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CSM Command Sergeant Major
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Exactly my point 1SG, I know it's an unused practice but my goal is to inform people to get them to do it correctly.
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CSM Brigade Operations (S3) Sergeant Major
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Great info 1SGs! If they look "funky" from the get go make the correction. I would usually send them to a different line for their second try.
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SSG Robert Burns
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This is what I do and it aint text book or anything. When they come to my line before the get ready command I ask them to do one push up for me. If it was good, I say make them all like that, if its not I tell them whats wrong. Then we go from there. Works good for me. And no, I've never had one person fail by one pushup and blame it on the practice one.
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LTC Senior Observer   Coach/Trainer
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SSG Robert Burns , I like that technique, I've also had graders do that and it always worked out well.
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SSG Information Technology Specialist
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I, like some of my counterparts on RP, ask the "testee" (hehehe) to do one push up and explain what they are doing wrong.
I have soldiers remove their jackets so I can see their arm going to at least parallel. I also watch for full lock out. And if a soldier does the bare minimum and gets up...I tend to loose my ever-loving mind....
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Grading the Push-Up event on the APFT with incorrect push ups?
SSG Richard Reilly
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I just stop them. If they can't get to 10 right then as a NCO it was my duty to tell them how to fix themselves and send them to the end of the line. It pisses Soldiers (mostly officers) off but I was not there to make friends I was there to grade Soldiers. The hardest is when you get someone boasting of a 300 pt score and they say "They always counted them before". Well I am sorry if they failed you before. But now their failure is becoming yours if you cannot fix what you are doing wrong.
Note stop them on any of the numbers between 1-10 that are wrong. Even if it is number 10. Becuase if they are shit (sorry about the cuss, it is a sentence enhancer) within the first 10 they will be worse later on. Do not get past that bad push up let them think about what you are telling them and try and improve.
I will say I graded a lot of PT test becuase I couldn't do PT toward the end of my service due to injuries. And yet I would show them what they were doing and what was right...then go back to my house and take percocet...lol. Don't be afraid of getting your ACUs dirty get down and show them right and see what they are doing at their level.
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SFC Bde Mobility Nco
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I tell them to go lower and explain as they are doing the push up. If they don't correct it, I will stop them before 10.
I usually have them do 1 or 2 push ups before I start to correct their form before the clock starts 1SG
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CW5 Desk Officer
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Edited >1 y ago
The way I've seen it done, CSM (Join to see), is that you tell the Soldier to go lower and explain that the unsatisfactory repetition doesn't count. When counting, it would be 1, 2, 2 (explain why - "Must go lower") ... and allow the Soldier to continue. That's the way I've seen it done.

If all ten of the first ten pushups are done incorrectly, I would follow the instructions highlighted in your image: Stop the Soldier, tell them to go to their knees, explain the problem, and send them to the end of the line.
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CSM Command Sergeant Major
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Sir,
I agree with your first part, that is also how I've seen it most of my career but that's not correct. Your second part I must disagree with you, you should never let a soldier do 10 incorrect push-ups before stopping.... This is why I felt the needed to post this. If at anytime you repeat a number during the first 10 repetitions, that Soldier should be instructed to go to their knees, Etc etc. The purpose of doing this the FIRST time the soldier is executing this is because, Look at it this way, If you only count every other push up, continuously having to tell him to go lower, the Soldier would get credit for completing 10 correctly but have put in a physical effort into attempting to complete 20 of them. Multiply that by three ..most Soldiers, if not all would still fail with only doing 30 correct but putting the physical effort into 60 of them. That is why you must stop them within the first 10 if they do 1 incorrect and explain their deficiencies to them.
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LTC Senior Observer   Coach/Trainer
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RGR 1SG, the reg is pretty specific, "if you fail to perform the first 10 repetitions correctly....," the problem is that people don't make the correction right from the get go. My record many years ago, I was a 2LT at the time, was 108 push-ups. The NCO grading me was not nice and some didn't count, mostly near the end because fatigue set in. Many Soldiers I have seen recently struggle with even doing 50 push-ups, barely passing for a young male, and wouldn't pass if graded honestly, but we fail them by allowing them to do any incorrectly. As leaders we also fail them during organized PT. Train the way you fight is a very important Army philosophy yet we let Soldiers do push-up incorrectly during unit PT. If we as leaders corrected them then, trained them correctly then, and enforced the standard then, the rest would become a moot point. Thoughts?
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SFC Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Operations Specialist
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I have had numerous people tell me I am too strict when grading pushups. I hate people that don't "break the plane" or "return to the start position," IE lock their elbows in the up position. Maybe I am, but I feel proper form is important.
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SFC Senior Instructor
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"UNTIL YOUR
UPPER ARMS ARE AT LEAST PARALLEL TO THE GROUND" and "UNTIL YOUR ARMS ARE
FULLY EXTENDED" is pretty simple to understand, However you need to take into account diffrent body types and make sure your garding fairly - IE some one breaks the 90deg angle and fully extend thier arms to their full capability. the Reg states clearly fully extended not "locked out" that also means that the arms reach the 90deg angle (AT LEAST PARALLEL) not beyond. so once some on has reached that angle that's as low as the need to go per reg. (Id suggets you get with some other NCO's and grade eachother to identify your diffrences) that should give you an idea if your overdoing or hitting the mark.
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