9 PT changes that airmen want now - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

9 PT changes that airmen want now

Ditch the waistline measurement. Tweak the minimums for sit-ups and push-ups.

Lengthen the run. Shorten the run.

Get rid of physical training altogether and put in martial arts.

It seems there are as many ideas about how to improve the fitness test as there are airmen.

Four-stars took a look at the tougher scoring standards in February at their Corona meeting at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Their main point of discussion: when to put PT failures on an airman’s personnel record.

Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz put PT on the Corona agenda late last year, before the overhaul had been in place even six months. Any changes to the test, though, won’t come until at least summer, he told Air Force Times in a December interview.

“A factor in this is, when do you introduce the failure into our formal documentation?” Schwartz said in nearly hour-long question-and-answer session. “One of the things we’ll be looking at ... is, do we have that right? Is there enough commander discretion involved? That’s one area we’ll be looking at, because I understand people worry. They fret about consequences.

“We need to be authentic here. This is a significant part, in my view, of Air Force military readiness. But on the other hand, you want to be fair,” he said.

If the brass thinks the PT test needs a second look, Air Force Times figured you do, too. Dozens of suggestions came flooding in when the call went out for your thoughts on the exam.

After sorting through the responses, Air Force Times came up with nine categories for changes, many of them addressing the test’s four components — sit-ups, push-ups, the waist measurement, the 1.5-mile run.

The Air Force chose not to comment when Air Force Times asked about the merit of your ideas.

1. Waist is a waste

Your biggest gripe, by far, is the waist measurement. Not the numbers per se — the max for men is 39 inches and 35.5 for women — but the Air Force’s absolute refusal to adjust them for height and age.

In other words, it doesn’t matter if you’re 5’1” or 6’4” or if you’re 19 or 59, your waist can’t be bigger than 39 inches or 35.5 inches, depending on your gender.

Col. Michael Skomrock of the Ohio Air National Guard has a 6-foot-8 airman with a 39-inch waist who “looks downright skinny.” Another is 5-foot-2 who “looks more like a bowling ball.”

“I am right at 5-foot-11, so it isn’t unfair or unreasonable for me,” Skomrock wrote, “but not taking height into consideration seems really unfair to the tall.”

Tech. Sgt. David Hanneman stands 6 feet and weighs 260. He works out regularly and breezes through the run and the push-ups and sit-ups. His waist measurement is another story. It’s 38 inches.

“It’s frustrating to me that my entire career can hinge on an [abdominal circumference] measurement, and even though I am ‘within regs,’ the fact that I have never felt comfortable about a test, regardless of the fact that I am outperforming a lot of the people at the gym, seems ridiculous to me,” wrote Hanneman of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. “That one inch between my best-ever measurement and instant failure is a horrifying thing.”

2. Run, schmun

A mile and a half?

C’mon. When the mortar alarm goes off in Iraq, all that matters is how fast you can scamper to a bunker.

“So a guy can’t run the mile and a half in 10 minutes or less. Can he do his job and get the bullets and beans downrange when it matters?” wrote Staff Sgt. Chris Macharelli of Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. “Chances are yes he can, as is the case with most people who struggle with this new test.

“Some of us Texas boys are cornfed and it would be almost impossible to get a 32-inch waist and weight what the Air Force says I should weigh,” he continued. “But I bet you I can turn wrenches with the best of them and ensure that my Herc takes off, which is after all what I’m paid to do.”

Capt. Craig Mohr of the Kentucky Air National Guard wants a test that “actually tests our fitness, not just our ability to run.” Many people can be physically fit, he argues, but might not perform well at one or more of the components of the Air Force test.

“Anyone who competes regularly in fitness events can tell you that someone who is an avid swimmer may not necessarily be a good runner as may not someone who cycles, whitewater kayaks, or any other sport that requires a decent amount of cardiovascular fitness,” wrote Mohr, a maintenance officer.

For Capt. Michael Johnson, training for the run is the problem. The three- to five-milers are “only breaking your body down quicker,” he wrote

“You now have 24-year-old guys/gals with knee injuries, ankle injuries, back problems, profiles, medical expenses — [I] thought PT was to eliminate this,” Johnson wrote. “The cost continues to rise! You can’t shock a culture into becoming fit at the drop of a hat.”

“Be cautious how you train your force,” he wrote later. “Not everyone is a ‘skinny mini’ — and if you are, I’d like you to carry the 250-pound guy that can carry ammo cans, gear, and equipment to safety after he’s been shot.”

3. Run, run, run

Whoa. Not so fast on trashing the run. Two readers want more running.

Kenneth Stuart, a ROTC cadet at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., believes a three-mile run would be a better indicator of fitness. And Master Sgt. Craig Callan wants to see an end of the waist measurement but increase the run distance to 5 kilometers, roughly 3 miles.

“This would get rid of the most controversial and time-consuming portion of the test and would make it much more difficult to run without actually training regularly,” wrote Callan, a flight chief at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington. “I know some people who can run 1.5 miles with little to no training prior, but a 5K would be hard to run without being in shape.”

4. Wanted: Combat component

The PT test’s biggest problem?

It’s too simple, one NCO wrote.

“Combat-oriented performance standards need to be included,” said Tech. Sgt. Philip Davis of Misawa Air Base, Japan. “The Marines have it right with including obstacle courses, pull-ups, ammo can presses and shorter, more intense runs into their [Combat Fitness Test].”

Davis, an acquisitions flight NCO in charge, agrees with leaders’ focus on better physical fitness but questions the likelihood of airmen ever running 1.5 miles in combat with no gear. He contends a more realistic scenario would be running “800 meters or less, with full gear, while possibly carrying a comrade, or simply finding the nearest cover.”

“I’d much rather have a 500-pound deadlifter that can sprint 800 meters in under 2:30 watch my back than a 98-pound weakling that runs marathons and can’t bench his own bodyweight,” he said.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan prove a need for a different approach, Davis said.

“This war has proven that traditional calisthenics and long, slow runs don’t get the job done,” he wrote. “Nontraditional training methods such as P90X, kettlebells, CrossFit and agility/mobility training is how we should be training for unconventional warfare and it’s how we should be being tested as well. The performance measurements of yesteryear are outdated and irrelevant for modern warfare.”

Mohr, the Kentucky Air National Guard officer, agrees.

“Let’s do something more practical, a warrior fitness challenge,” he wrote. “Today’s airmen should be lifting weights and combining it with a solid cardiovascular workout to their enjoyment.”

5. Down with the ’ups

Sit-ups measure abdominal strength. Push-ups rely on a strong upper body.

Master Sgt. Dannica Zenquiz doesn’t believe either accurately measure fitness.

“Too many great airmen are receiving career impacting referral EPR/OPRs and/or being separated from the military because they couldn’t meet the sit-up or push-up minimum — yet they’ve scored in the upper 80s on their overall test,” wrote Zenquiz, a Tricare operations and patient administration flight chief at Misawa Air Base, Japan.

“I think either scaling back on the minimum for those two components or getting rid of them altogether would reduce the stress level of many taking the test and would enhance retention for our star performers who maybe just don’t have the greatest upper body strength.”

6. Your aching backs

Sit-ups are nothing but bad for your back, one NCO wrote, so the Air Force should dump them.

“Research on a crunch or traditional sit-up generates at least 3,350 newtons (the equivalent of 748 pounds) of compressive force on the spine. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that anything above 3,300 newtons is unsafe,” wrote Master Sgt. Gregg Thibodeau of Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.

Thibodeau pointed to research by Youngstown State University in Ohio scientists published two years ago that concluded various abdominal exercises in the sample groups didn’t lead to any strength gains or waistline shrinkage.

The production supervisor doesn’t need any more convincing that sit-ups aren’t a proper measurement.

“Sit-ups do more harm than good,” he concluded.

7. Double trouble

Maj. Arthur Paine wonders why the service uses a one-size-fits-all test. He wants a base PT test for everybody and a second one for airmen in career fields that require extra endurance.

“Forward air controllers, loadmasters, a number of maintenance or civil engineering positions that deal with heavy equipment, and working in security forces are but a few examples of physically taxing career fields,” wrote Paine, a chaplain at Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base New Orleans. “I also know there are many fields such as finance, the dental corps, JAG personnel and services whose personnel are probably not going to need the same level of physical fitness to do their job with excellence.”

The base PT test also should be more tailored to operating in a war zone.

“I would think that everyone needs to be in proper shape to wear the battle rattle for extended periods, to be able to run quickly in case of a battlefield or urban conflict emergency, and to be able to lift a certain amount of gear regularly in hot weather,” he wrote. “I see the 600-yard dash as a more practical application run, for example, than the mile and a half. I would think that lifting weights over one’s head repeatedly would be more practical than push-ups to judge whether someone is physically capable of doing their job in a war zone.”

Each Air Force Specialty Code-specific test would be tailored to the demands of that career field.

“I would gather together senior folks from that AFSC to set the standard of what they need,” Paine wrote. “Some might need their folks to be faster. Others might need them to have more core strength. Others still might need troops who are more agile.”

8. Add a stripe

If the Air Force really wants to motivate its members to excel on the test, several airmen wrote, tie it to performance reviews and promotion testing.

Senior Airman James Hansen of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., thinks airmen should receive three points on promotion testing for scoring a 90 or above and one point for 80 and above.

“It seems very out of place that so much of our physical fitness is stressed to be fit to fight, yet we are only ‘rewarded’ with a pass or fail rating,” wrote Hansen, the base equipment control officer for automated data processing equipment. “I think that the incentive of applying your score toward promotion would be a huge motivation factor, rather than just with a few days off. This would also be salient because other than your test scores and EPR ratings, this would be one more factor that you have direct control over (compared to points for time in service and grade).”

Tech. Sgt. Kolbi Shartzer suggested raising the cutoff score for promotions but factoring in an airman’s PT score.

“If the cutoff for technical sergeant is now 320, make it 400,” wrote Shartzer, the Air Combat Command Personnel Reliability program manager at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. “If you score a 310 and score 78 on your PT test, that 78 points will go toward your promotion score for a total of 388.”

9. Black-belt blue suiters

What the Air Force needs to get and keep you fit is martial arts, in the opinion of one officer.

The approach, which could include a standard set of push-ups, sit-ups and stretching during each class, has worked for millions of troops in Asian militaries, said Lt. Col. Terry McGovern of National Defense University. On days when airmen aren’t learning martial arts, they could have mandatory unit runs.

Martial arts use colored belts to keep you motivated and the Air Force could ice the cake by assigning a point total for participation and completion of classes.

And martial arts require no equipment and just a little space — “so this can be done on the flight line, in a hangar, on a field, etc,” he wrote.

In McGovern’s perfect world, testing would be required only for airmen who don’t participate at the minimum level.

“What does success look like for the AF PT program?” wrote McGovern, an instructor at NDU. “Do we want airmen to pass a test or live a physically fit lifestyle? If it is the latter, then require a physically fit lifestyle (yes, within duty hours) and stop the testing.”