RLSH physical fitness test

I wonder if you could just measure so that the first 100-meters of the run had to be completed in 20 seconds or less?

I'd thought about a sprint instead of a 1-mile run...

...or a walk...

This sits at maybe a little over an hour to do the test as written, unless the person taking it decides against any breaks.

EON, I guess you could do it that way, but 100 meters in 20 seconds is not a sprinting pace for a reasonably healthy individual under 45 years old. If you do the sprint separately, you'll get a better measurement of how fast they are. If they try to sprint the first hundred, it could throw off their pace for the rest of the mile. 100 meters in 17 seconds should be doable. Three seconds may not sound like a lot, but in terms of distance covered, it's vast. You could also have a timed sprint. That is, run full out for 20 seconds and see how far they get. Also, I'd have them sprint twice. Once when they're fresh, and once after they do the rest of the test.

In my case when it comes to physical fittness I prefer a playground for a workout over the gymnasium any day Im not set to work in the same old sweat stinking enviroment every day I get more of a challenge when the wind picks up or it starts raining or snowing I know the equipment Im on where as in a gym I wouldnt know how to set the stuff to my personal level I can work out in my full outfit instead of having to wear crappy running shoes which really kill my feet Its great for my parkour workout Its fun to sometimes see somebody's dog chase me up the stairs and down the slide They got theese great new wheel thingies I think im supposed to hang upside down while spinning circles as fast as I possibly can then walk the straight line on the wooden platform Anyhow Its great practice for keeping the contents of my meals down as well However I still miss doing that on the old tire swings and the merry go round and the monkey bars are great for chin ups I also miss the 2 rool bars that used to be side by side Great for stretching my arms while I used them to "Walk from one platform to another

Crossfire, my point was that being fat is not a superpower.

Eon, those sound like great parameters and very fair.

My suggestion is to make the test doable with no equipment and able to be filmed. That way you could film yourself doing the exercises and have them available as private videos on YouTube. The submission of a passing test video could be a quick and easy way to show your fitness level to people before you patrol with them, and see how they fair against the same test. Also, no way to talk big or BS, either you can do the required amount in the required time or you can't.

Basically this would replace the running with a comparable amount of jumping jacks or up downs.

20 push-ups in two minutes
30 sit-ups in two minutes

I would change those to 20 PU in 1 minute with stops only in the Front Leaning Rest.

30 Crunches 1 minute with stops done as long as the feet don’t touch the floor. (sit-ups are bad mmm’kay)

Zimmer wrote:

make the test doable with no equipment and able to be filmed...

... replace the running with a comparable amount of jumping jacks or up downs.

This is also a good idea because there is no way for a friend to pencil whip a pass. You are on film doing the test or you are not.

How many jumping jacks or up-downs would be a comparable substitute? A nine minute mile seems inordinately more difficult than the rest of the test. It is the required speed of the US airborne regiments.

Tell you what, when you get this all hammered-out, Ill talk to Fat Tony and see if he can pass the test. I'm betting that the push-ups will be no problem but the crunches will be a tough one. The killer will be the run or its surrogate. That is if he is willing to do it. lol

Just make sure it's done safely. I'd hate to hear if him injuring himself because he put too much of a demand on his heart.

Zim - I agree...just providing the counterpoint

Being fat is not good. If it were, I wouldnt be struggling to shed these extra pounds. The extra weight was gained after an accident and the weight makes the injuries I sustained in that accident even harder to compensate for.

The only advantage being large/fat gives you is that you are harder to move. It can be a good advantage if you know how to use it, but in a long drawn out fight, the extra weight will work against you. Its not good for speed or endurance. People who have known me for years have mentioned that I fight differently now than I did in my 20s and thats because of the extra weight. Im more direct...more brutal...because I know that every second that the fight continues, the odds will shift away from me due to my health issues...which is directly related to my weight.

@Eon...The standard looks good but I would change one thing. The Stun gun should be a seperate qualification. If a person canot pass the basic fitness test, the stun gun could be dangerous to use on them.

When I took the class to certify for use of pepper spray at Department of Corrections they required us to be sprayed...however Since I had just missed work two days before becuase of a respiratory infection they reused to spray me...they were too afraid of something going wrong.

The same caution should be used with a stun gun. If a person is in poor health, a sudden jolt of electricity could cause some serious problems.

But once a person has proven themselves fit I say zap them!

Crossfire: Not trying to pick on anyone, but the conversation started to turn towards all these benefits in a fight, and I don't want anyone thinking that if they eat a bunch of Oreos they'll be unstoppable in bar brawl against 20 men.

Everyone: How about a clean 20 pushups, 30 crunches and 50 jumping jacks? It would make a quick video and it would demonstrate a minimum level of fitness. An additional video could be made with a next higher level, such as 30 pushups, 50 crunches, 20 up downs, etc. if you want to show something more brutal.

if you want to fight 20 men and win you have to eat a can of raw spinach...right before the fight begins...and then wait for the trumpet fanfare to play in the background...works every time

Zimmer wrote:

Everyone: How about a clean 20 pushups, 30 crunches and 50 jumping jacks? It would make a quick video and it would demonstrate a minimum level of fitness. An additional video could be made with a next higher level, such as 30 pushups, 50 crunches, 20 up downs, etc. if you want to show something more brutal.

That seems like a good place to start. Some will rap that out and some will need to train up to it. But the training if taken seriously could be done in a month by someone pretty out of shape if they just did it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Once achieved, it could be maintained and improved upon pretty readily if the individual so wished. That and it can be worked on in the living room with zero out of pocket expense or equipment and no tester or other individuals are needed.

Would the 20, 30. 50 be considered “level 1” fitness as a minimum benchmark?

Also, whom would one send the video to?

Zimmer wrote:

Crossfire: Not trying to pick on anyone, but the conversation started to turn towards all these benefits in a fight, and I don't want anyone thinking that if they eat a bunch of Oreos they'll be unstoppable in bar brawl against 20 men.

Everyone: How about a clean 20 pushups, 30 crunches and 50 jumping jacks? It would make a quick video and it would demonstrate a minimum level of fitness. An additional video could be made with a next higher level, such as 30 pushups, 50 crunches, 20 up downs, etc. if you want to show something more brutal.

I think this is more than fair.

The 20/30/50 seems fair and like something people might do on a bigger scale. It's easy to remember, too.

Now how to introduce that so that people will actually care?

Also -- I like crunches, but as something you measure... they're really easy to fake.

The longer thing I had in mind at least 3 people to ensure honesty... most conspiracies to pencil whip happen at the 2 person level. But I've been thinking of it as more a team thing than a show the world thing.

When I was in the navy, the NATO-requirement was:
3k run in 15min
4 Pull-Ups
16 Push-Ups
20 Situps
I think that's a good start.

For Marinejeger Training (a bit like Navy SEAL, just a lot more badass):
5k run in field gear in 27 min​
​400m swimming in ​10 min
​25m swimming under water
45 ​Push-ups
​45 Sit-ups in 2 min
8 ​Pull-ups

Dogman wrote:

When I was in the navy, the NATO-requirement was:
3k run in 15min
4 Pull-Ups
16 Push-Ups
20 Situps

Seems like (in order) HARD, HARD, EASY, EASY to me.

I don't think a 9-minute pace for a 1-mile run is that hard, though. Most people without knee or other physical problems could do that just by wanting to do it and believing in themselves and all that fluffy stuff. You don't even really bust into cardio type whatchamacallit reserves until around 12 minutes of continuous running.

Pull-ups are hard for me. The most I ever did in my life was in my early 20s and was only ten correctly performed pullups. I'm literally not built for them.

I took 15 pull-ups when I took that test, but only 20 push-ups. That's the reason I don't think the bars should be to high. Sucking on one thing shouldn't unqualify you.

Anybody can make those demands if they put some effort in it.

Actually Crossfire scince spinach is hard to come by because its almost never fresh and its always really expencive I find picking up a handfull of ice or snow and shoving it down another person's back would stop anyone in their tracks yet They try that with me and I love it

The videos could be uploaded to YouTube. Workouts would need to be done in mask if anonymity is your thing, but it would work.

IF YOU CAN KEEP UP WITH ME!!
WAAHAA!

Zimmer wrote:

The videos could be uploaded to YouTube. Workouts would need to be done in mask if anonymity is your thing, but it would work.

I would love to see work-outs done in your intended hero gear. The point of this is having at least minimum capability right? Well, its in your gear that this stuff is going to count. When we did a road march it wasn’t in tennis shoes and cargo shorts, it was full battle rattle. Not that this is supposed to be the military or anything but if a gimmick is going to flub you up doing theses exercises, then it will be good info for the hero themselves to have.

Hm. Maybe a whole new thread like “Your Gimmick. Heroic or Hindrance?”

I dunno, its been a long week guys. My brain is a bit punchy.

I would not want to see these videos nor would I want them on youtube. This only works for groups.

The only way something bigger than a local team would work is if there was some sort of voluntary certification program people went through to get them some type of official credentials.

Prior Physical Exam: Individuals that wish to test should be able to pass a physical beforehand, much like the ones people must pass before trying out for a sports team.

Testing Levels: As far as the "fair" test portion, I feel there should be a Level One Test which could then be followed by a harder Level 2 and then Level 3 and so on and so forth as long as the person testing is willing. Different levels would test for different things. One such Level should include a patrol gear test where individuals participate in full gimmick, gear and all.

Gauging Fighting Ability: On the subject of testing fighting ability, we could look at the testing methods used by several martial arts. Here, a combatant must face off against several black belts in order to qualify to become a black belt themselves. I'm not sure how the evaluation from judges is made but that wouldn't be hard to find out.

Running the Mile In So Many Minutes VS Running In Full Sprint In So Many Seconds: I feel we should test for both of these instead of one or the other.

Pepper-Spray Test: Inclusion of a pepper-spray test should be seriously considered, I think.

The video would BE the certification test.

Zimmer wrote:

The video would BE the certification test.

This.

There needs to be a level four Flora!

This video idea reminds me of the get your black belt if you buy this video series type stuff.