New Fitness Rules

[FLEA]

6 hours ago, dream big said:

 

Exactly.  This will just make it more painful for those who maintain physical standards in the squadron.

That’s being said, If you are an able bodied 20-30 year old, you have zero excuse for failing the test.  Most airmen in my squadron that fail just don’t care.  

 

Most dudes in the younger generation now, honestly have no idea how to stay fit, and I've realized that. They think that being fit requires a commitment to go to the gym 5X / week, run a shit ton and do hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups. They practice what they're tested on because noone has ever taught them how much easier it to stay fit with smart resistance training and VO2 work. And culturally we are all at fault for it because we tend to celebrate things like 45 min CrossFit workouts that are total slog fest when the reality is you don't need anything near that. We aren't trying to make division 1 athletes here. We are just trying to keep a dude at an appropriate waist and cardio capacity for his age. So education is a big point of it I think.

Right now, I've never seen a fitness center class that is focused on basics of health. Our highschool's don't do it either. Nothing out there tells you that hitting a bench press for 15 reps a week is 100X better than doing 200 push-ups a day. And that if you run just 5-6 min every 2-3/days at Max pace you will sufficiently challenge your VO2 max (which is 90% a genetic baseline btw) to increase. 

Its one of my biggest gripes because you see a lot more kids these days who never played sports. And they are taught their perceptions of fitness from basic where it is (arguably) designed to smoke you, and be an uncomfortable expereince. And then we tell them they need to maintain that year round and in their head they're rightfully thinking that repeating that expereince sucks. More so, there is no data or research behind the exercise programs in Ascension programs. At least from my own expereince in ROTC, it was just a random cadet who was picked to design a workout based off of the 10-12 movements that ROTC prescribed and it was not scientific or useful by any means. 

Edited September 21, 2019 by FLEA

[Smokin]

I call BS on this.  I get that some of the younger generation seem inept and to have no common sense.  They seem to have had the easiest childhood and have no real problems to worry about.  Everything has been handed to them.  But I'd bet that almost every generation has said that about the generation that followed them.  I don't think it possible to imagine anyone who can get a passing ASVAB score for even a cop to enter the military is dumb enough to think that the only choices for working out is either to not work out at all or to become a division one athlete.

The problem we have with people failing the PFT is that they just don't care.  Show me someone who wants to stay in and is actually concerned with passing the PFT and I bet that person could run a single mile a week and end up passing.  Problem with not caring is all the training in the world won't help a bit.  It's not that hard; our fitness standards are embarrassingly low.

[Bigred]

With the current PT test, as long as you aren’t a lazy fatbody, you can pass this test without ever working out, and I mean literally never working out. I know quite a few dudes in the Navy that are proud of the “3 mile a year club”, and the standards are fairly similar between the two services. 

It’s not an issue of being fit, it’s an issue of just simply giving a shit. 

Edited September 22, 2019 by Bigred

[bronxbomber252]

With the current PT test, as long as you aren’t a lazy fatbody, you can pass this test without ever working out, and I mean literally never working out.

Honestly, that depends quite a bit on genetics. I, for example need to run semi-regularly to pass, but even a couple times a month and then a couple times a week the month leading up to the test is sufficient. I have to do similar for push ups and sit ups. I am not complaining, I am genetically predisposed to perform poorly in these areas so I make an effort to compensate and I do well, everyone has weaknesses they need to overcome and natural baseline fitness is mine. But that said, if realistically to just pass, someone like me who had this weakness can pass with just a couple workouts a month and a few a week leading up to the test, there is no excuse for failing. That said, I work put significantly more than this but I am just discussing the minimum I require.

[brabus]

1 hour ago, Bigred said:

It’s not an issue of being fit, it’s an issue of just simply giving a shit. 

Shack. Once per year I watch several fighter pilots, who otherwise rarely work out, embarrass the shit out shoes at the PT test. They may be gasping for breath at the end of the run, but they sure as hell ran the fuck out of it for no other reason than to beat their bros (and everyone else). It’s called mental strength and a desire to win; about 90% of the non-ops people don’t have either trait.

[Runr6730]

So long waist measurement!  Also, fitness tests further delayed until April 2021.

AF.mil Link

[FUSEPLUG]

Sweet.  Two more justifications to keep getting fatter!  

This virus thing ain't so bad after all!

[Guardian]

Just the Air Force towing the line of Big is Beautiful. And nothing is wrong with it.

[Waingro]

6 hours ago, Guardian said:

Just the Air Force towing the line of Big is Beautiful. And nothing is wrong with it.

Toeing* the line. No flatbed wreckers involved with this platitude. 

[bcuziknow]

On 9/21/2019 at 9:18 PM, brabus said:

 It’s called mental strength and a desire to win; about 90% of the non-ops people don’t have either trait.

Yes, your supreme leadership has won the worst of the worst status of all services year in and year out for decades. Lead on bro!

Edited December 8, 2020 by bcuziknow

[Bigred]

3 hours ago, Waingro said:

Toeing* the line. No flatbed wreckers involved with this platitude. 

I dunno, if Big is Beautiful, ‘towing’ may have been correct. How else will the fatties finish the run?

[dream big]

10 hours ago, Guardian said:

Just the Air Force towing the line of Big is Beautiful. And nothing is wrong with it.

Come on man some of the most in shape people I know can barely pass the waist measurement.  It is archaic and in no way shape or form is a measure of physical health.  

[Guardian]

So do you think there are more healthy people with a big waist or more unhealthy?

[brabus]

32 minutes ago, Guardian said:

So do you think there are more healthy people with a big waist or more unhealthy?

There’s only one correct answer here, but that said, you know there’s plenty of genetically larger dudes who it is impossible to not lose points on the waist measurement. I don’t see the point of the measurement...just assess people on their ability to do physical work that hopefully translates to real world execution (even if only on a contingency basis). The translate part is another discussion when it comes to the current PT test. 

[Guardian]

So your answer is?

[Stoker]

Abdominal fat is highly correlated to health problems later on, and the PT test is first and foremost a healthcare cost management device. If you can run a mile and half in a reasonable time, and have a waist less than 40 inches, you will on average cost the government far less in healthcare. That's it. Push-ups and sit-ups were explicitly added to satisfy people who wanted a "military" test.

Edited December 8, 2020 by Stoker

[pawnman]

35 minutes ago, Guardian said:

So your answer is?

There are probably more people with big waistlines who are unhealthy.  But that doesn't make it a good measure alone. 

One could also ask...if the PT test is about measuring health, why is it accounted for in my OPR?  And...if it's about being healthy, why are people who don't run fast or have a big waist penalized, but not people who smoke or use dip?  Why are we the only service that doesn't use BMI and at least account for height?

[dream big]

3 hours ago, Guardian said:

So do you think there are more healthy people with a big waist or more unhealthy?

I’m saying as long as you don’t look like Santa Clause who gives a shit about your waist size? Make it part of the PHA.

[Guardian]

There are probably more people with big waistlines who are unhealthy.  But that doesn't make it a good measure alone. 
One could also ask...if the PT test is about measuring health, why is it accounted for in my OPR?  And...if it's about being healthy, why are people who don't run fast or have a big waist penalized, but not people who smoke or use dip?  Why are we the only service that doesn't use BMI and at least account for height?

Agreed

[Guardian]

I’m saying as long as you don’t look like Santa Clause who gives a shit about your waist size? Make it part of the PHA.

I wasn’t pontificating. I was asking you a simple a or b question.

[jazzdude]

I wasn’t pontificating. I was asking you a simple a or b question.

It's a stupid question that ignores the original, more important question: does the waist measurement add or measure anything to what makes a good Airman?

The AF is clearly saying "no, it doesn't," and is deleting the requirement.

Is a skinny person better than a fat person? Is it more important than primary job performance? Not to say height/weight standards won't be captured elsewhere.

Still have to run, and if you're big waisted and out of shape, you're probably still going to fail anyways.

[streak]

I wonder how this will play out for the ~10% (I'd guess) of folks who test "waist measurement-only" due to a variety of acute and/or chronic conditions.  The waist measurement was the only health standard we enforced for this group, and now that's gone.

 

  

[SurelySerious]

11 minutes ago, streak said:

I wonder how this will play out for the ~10% (I'd guess) of folks who test "waist measurement-only" due to a variety of acute and/or chronic conditions.  The waist measurement was the only health standard we enforced for this group, and now that's gone.

 

  

Probably continue getting whatever waiver they already have and move along. 

[Blue]

3 hours ago, Stoker said:

Abdominal fat is highly correlated to health problems later on, and the PT test is first and foremost a healthcare cost management device.

I've heard that before, but I'm not sure I buy it.

When has the DoD/VA given a shit about managing healthcare costs?   

[Hawg15]

5 hours ago, Guardian said:

So do you think there are more healthy people with a big waist or more unhealthy?

I think there are plenty of healthy people who lose points on the waist measurement with how different the body can be due to genetics, especially when you start looking at women and how the Air Force thinks they are all tiny twigs. It doesn’t help that everyone also has a different interpretation of how to take the measurement either. I’ve never thought it was value added to the Force.