Attn PT gurus.... Help me improve my Academy PFT.

[SamuelBLong]

Currently a reserve with the neighboring county's sheriffs office, and I am preparing for going full time & applying with a couple different agencies both here in NM, as well as out of state. I've been working hard at a local crossfit box doing a 3 on 1 off schedule. I've been on a paleo diet since december, and so far I've dropped about 30 -35 lbs and put on alot of muscle since starting crossfit in March.

For those of you who have met me at ECQC and other coursework, you know I'm built for power, not for speed (6'1", 275 now, big structure... JodyH hates me). Maybe my current lifting numbers will give you an idea:

Deadlift - 425
Front Squat - 285
Back Squat - 345
Clean & Jerk - 205 (I have a timing error thats keeping me from cleaning 210+ currently... but I know I can go higher. Im working on it.)

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The NM standards are (and keep in mind we are at 5500- 6000 ft ASL when you look at this.. but that 1.5 mile "run" is kind of a joke) :

1.5 Mile Run 15:20
Push-Ups 29/min
Sit-Ups 31/min
300 M 65.4sec
Illinois Agility Run 18sec

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My Academy PFT practice results taken today:

1.5 mi @ 12:45
Sit-Ups 1 min - 35
Push-Ups 1 min - 34
300 m Sprint - 62.2 sec
Illinois Agility - 17.4

I've got another 2-3 months of training time before its go time, depending on what testing dates I get assigned.

After passing initial testing, I'll have roughly 4 - 5 months of workup time before the academy starts in spring / early summer.

I also figure if I can pass these standards at this altitude of 5500 ASL, doing this at sea level is going to be no problem. The run should be faster.

Illinois Agility Run:


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My Analysis:

Shaved 2:21 off my previous PFT run time taken in mid Febuary. Only 2 sec faster than my previous 300m sprint time.

Need to make push-ups and the 300 m sprint suck less. My arms are feeling a bit weak at the moment cause I've been working them at crossfit hard this week w/ pushups, pullups & handstands.

The Illinois is cutting it close, I have managed to shave 1.2 sec off (Failed my 1st PFT a few months ago with an 18.6, cutoff at 18.0), but this needs work.

I'm not yet happy with my 1.5 mile time, but I'm getting faster by the week.

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Goals:

Improve sprint time.
Improve Illinois Agility Run time.
Dont' be just skating by. Doing the minimum to pass isn't acceptable to me.

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So all that being said, does anyone have suggestions on how to improve my sprint times or speed in the agility run? Any other things I should be doing or concentrating on? Come on you PT gurus... help me out.

[breakingtime91]

What's your lifting and running schedule look like currently?

[SamuelBLong]

3 on, 1 off at Crossfit... our box does a variety of training... some nights its cardio only - Row or Run, some nights its strict power lifting. Some nights its an all out mix of insanity.

I have been adding additional runs from 1 - 3 miles in either AM or PM as I can fit them in with my work, shooting & training schedule.

[pablo]

Have realistic expectations, and don't over do it and get hurt. Most agencies' initial PT test are pass/fail. Getting hurt and not passing the pre-hire physical is a show stopper. If you're not a runner, getting out there and pounding out the miles is a good way to end up with all sorts of injuries.

Try taking two days off, do a 30 minute jog on the 3rd day and your PT test on the 4th. Just giving your body a chance to recover and rebuild from a hard workout routine can work wonders for run times

[breakingtime91]

3 on, 1 off at Crossfit... our box does a variety of training... some nights its cardio only - Row or Run, some nights its strict power lifting. Some nights its an all out mix of insanity.

I have been adding additional runs from 1 - 3 miles in either AM or PM as I can fit them in with my work, shooting & training schedule.

Sounds like a solid routine, I would add timed miles into it. I run 5 times a week currently, 4 of those are timed miles (before I lift) and one is a long run 30-60 mins. This has worked well for me as far as lowering run times. Push ups are an area I need improvements also but I find dips help me out a lot.

[jetfire]

A long, long time ago, a guy that looked a lot like me with shorter hair and no beard ran a 48 second 300 meter.

Luckily the older, slower me remembers the training plan for that. Lots of plyo, lots of sprints, and never any runs longer than 2400 meters. I ran a lot of 800 meter sprints, I figured if I could get my half mile down I could do 300 easy.

I haven't run a timed 400 in ages, but for the sake of this thread I'll pound one out on Tuesday. I've been training for a 5k, but a quarter mile sprint should be fun.

[breakingtime91]

What have you been doing to train for your 5k Caleb?

[tanner]

Twenty some years ago (God I hate saying that part) when I took that test for Michigan standards, it was an agility driven test. Sounds like the OP and I are of similar build, maybe with inverse fat to muscle ratios though...

Anyways, I could "do" everything on the test (180 lb dummy drag, 90 lb dummy lift, obstacle course), I just couldn't do it quickly. The thing that helped me the most was simply practicing the exact test as much as I could. Developing my technique provided the most gains. The agility test listed above looks easy to re-create at home or at the crossfit gym. If it were me, I would do the exact test every day on top of your regular workouts. The longer runs would be helpful too, the formation PT runs in my academy were a challenge for me.

And I thought Pablo made an excellent point. DON'T GET HURT. There is no reward for pushing yourself to the brink of breaking down.

[frankepc]

I would probably get something a little more structured than crossfit something along the lines of Chad Waterbury’s full body program. The problem with crossfit is going to be the high likelihood of injury and the lack of structure will delay your maximum ability to make gains. Stick to the big lifts (compound lifts no isolation) and their variants, to maximize fat loss and improve conditioning I would finish at least the first and last workout of the week with sprints.
For 6 Weeks try something along these lines
Warm up: 2-5 mins of jumping rope, mobility work, or Defranco’s agile 8 (it’s on youtube)
Workout: Monday 8X3, Wednesday 5X5 and Friday 4X10
Three exercises per workout with an upper body push, a upper body pull, and alternate between a squat variation, a lunge variation and deadlifts.
Finish at least two of the workouts with 5 sets of 100 yard sprints, only rest on the way back to the starting point.

[LittleLebowski]

Are you a swimmer?