In this guide, we'll introduce and walk you through the three crucial steps to preparing for your first military PT test.

Resist the urge to start training immediately and take a few minutes to zero in on your objective. Find out the PT standards for the test you’re taking. Before you can start setting goals and training to crush your PT test, you must know exactly what the minimum, average, and exemplary standards are. If you don’t know your destination, you can’t plan your journey to get there.

Once you’ve determined your goal (it should be to significantly surpass the PT standard), it’s time to compare your current performance to your ideal performance. To accomplish this, you’ll need to perform a simulation of your upcoming PT test.

The most critical mistake many aspiring operators make when testing their physical performance is not replicating the real test closely enough. If you want to take an accurate benchmark of your current abilities, you must simulate the PT test as closely as possible. Research your upcoming test and take note of the exact exercises and rest times you have between completing them. Then, do the entire PT test in one try. You might not realize it, but one PT test exercise can have a significant impact on how you perform in another. For example, the number of situps you can do after a 2-mile run is significantly lower than the amount you’ll be able to perform when fresh.

When you’re done with your realistic PT test, compare your performance with the ideal PT test performance. Chances are, there will be discrepancies between where you are and where you want to be. If that’s the case, no problem. The next step is all about creating a realistic action plan to improve your PT test performance.

Before you can create a training plan to achieve your PT test goals, there’s one more thing you must determine: your time horizon. Your time horizon is simply the amount of time you have before your PT test. The longer your time horizon, the longer you have to prepare. Your physical training techniques will vary depending on the length of your time horizon.

If you have a long time horizon (3 months or more until your PT test), you can create a more conservative training plan that balances recovery time, weight and endurance training, mobility, and so on. When you’re starting your PT test preparation with a long time horizon, simply increasing how often you do your PT test exercises can create significant improvements over time. Increase the intensity of your training every week and maximize it three weeks before your test. Then take the final 14 days to deload, recover, and get mentally prepared for your test.

If you have a medium time horizon (1-3 months until your PT test), use the above strategy but become more aggressive with how you train your PT test exercises. They should be part of your daily routine. As with the long time horizon plan, increase the intensity of your training leading up to the PT test but consider only giving yourself a week or so to deload.

If you have a short time horizon (less than 1 month until your PT test), you’re facing a difficult situation. You can still improve significantly under such a tight time constraint, but you’ll need to supercharge your training and give it your all. Train your PT exercises relentlessly – every rep gets you closer to accomplishing your goal. In terms of deload time before your PT test, only give yourself 72 hours. It’s not optimal, but you’ll need every bit of training you can get.

One of the best ways to improve your physical performance fast is to start an OA workout program. All of our training plans are proven to be effective and are created by special forces cadre who know what it takes to join the teams. If you need to enhance your physical performance in record time, you can depend on an OA workout program to get you the results you’re after. Don’t delay – browse our workout programs and get started today.