Before YHC achieved 49 for a second time in December, he led the PAX on a 110 burpee challenge with some levee fun thrown in at the Birdcage. Not wanting to be redundant YHC did some digging on the Burpee we have all grown to love, and found out we are doing it wrong. Royal Huddleston Burpee Sr. was a physiologist who invented (arguably) one of the most effective exercises of all time in 1939 for his PhD thesis in Applied Physiology at Columbia Teacher’s College. The burpee is a squat thrust with a stand in between repetitions. Anything added – pushup (merkin) or a jump – is a modification of the original.
In pouring rain the PAX ran to Wolfpack and did some warmups of SSH, Windmills, Grass Grabbers, Toy Soldiers, Hillbillies and Imperial Walkers. Then the PAX proceeded through various elements of military physical fitness tests.
1. The first test – 50 burpees OYO
The exercise was popularized when the United States Armed Services made it one of the ways used to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered World War II.[3] Although the original test was not designed to be performed at high volume, the Army used the burpee to test how many times it can be performed by a soldier in 20 seconds[3] – 8 burpees in 20 seconds is considered poor, 10 is fair, 13 or more excellent. The Army also considered that a soldier fit enough for the rigor of war should be able to perform 40 or 50 burpees non-stop in an easy rhythm.
Then Pax paired up, one to exercise, one to count.
2. Second Test – Army Physical Fitness Test – 2 minutes pushups.
3. 2 minutes situps.
4. Pax then ran sprints of about 200 yards for an element of the Bar Or test of the IDF. a Sprinting in a straight line 150 meters then turning and sprinting back another 150 meters. Regular infantry must complete it under 50 seconds.
PAX then moseyed through even heavier rain to the ROTC pullup bars to complete that element of the Army Ranger test. Ranger Test – For soldiers attending the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP) (to join the 75th Ranger Regiment) a special Ranger Fitness Test is conducted for all age groups, which is separate from the Army Physical Fitness Test. The test is pass/fail and involves push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups, and a five-mile run. Push-ups and sit-ups are to be performed within 2 minutes. Pax also completed another element of Bar Or test – the dips. Below is the entire Bar Or in case some PAX would like to challenge themselves.
“Bar Or” – The official IDF fitness test
1) Pull – Ups (palms facing out) – Regular infantry are required to do at least 7 with a 7 kilo weighted vest.
2) Dips – Regular infantry are required to complete at least 11. (without weighted vest)
3) Trap Bar Jump Squats – 7 reps of 60 kilo
4) Sprints – 300 meter sprint ( usually performed after the 3 kilometer run) Sprinting in a straight line 150 meters then turning and sprinting back another 150 meters. Regular infantry must complet it under 50 seconds.
5) 3000 meter run (1.86 miles) – Regular infantry must complete it under 15:33 minutes in basic training and under 14:30 in advanced training.
Back to flag, COT.
