Changes to the USNA PRT
Crunches are out- Planking and Push-ups with cadence are in!
For the first time this Saturday (Feb 8 2020) planking is an official part of the USNA PRT. Additionally, the sailors push up portion is executed to the rhythm of a two second cadence. Changes to the USNA PRT are the first step in these changes becoming an official part of the Navy PRT over all.
“We want the Naval Academy and their graduates to be the leading edge of physical education.” states Deputy Director of physical education Jody Smotherman.
Navy-prt.com is dedicated to keeping sailors updated on changes to the PRT and this is an important one.
Planking
This change has been in the works for a while. Crunches are notoriously hard on the back and hip flexors. Planking on the other hand, is an isometric exercise shown to strengthen the core. Core strength is important for keeping sailors injury free through out their careers.
Proper form for the plank will be sailors in a prone position, elbows flexed, supported on fore arms and toes. A shoe will be used at the sailors knees to ensure proper form. If the sailor’s plank fails and they touch the shoe the test will be complete and their time will stop.
Push-ups
The push-up segment of the test also has some notable changes. Sailors will perform pushups for two minutes with a two second cadence. The max score will be 60 push-ups. Adding the cadence element is shown to be a better test of the endurance. Additionally, sailors are able to demonstrate proper form of the push-up by utilizing the full range of motion.
This test will also use a shoe for measurement. In this test the shoe will be at the sailors chest. Each push up the sailor must make contact with the shoe to have the repetition counted.
These changes to the USNA PRT have been in the works for a while and we can only assume that the Navy PRT is not far behind! Connect with a coach today to be ready!
Planks good. Cadance push ups bad, and idiotic. Whoever thought of this should be fired.
Change for the sake of improving fitness standards and lowering risk of personal injury is great, but whoever came up with the idea to utilize a shoe as measurement of correct form should be really proud of how “official“ this looks… as if it weren’t bad enough other branches ridicule the Navy already for its physical fitness standards, now this! Hooyah Navy!
Agreed – how hard would it be to get something like a foam rubber block cut to a standard size? I think my shoe size just went up to EE in width!
Fired after made to perform and pass a PRT with those rules…
How about the Naval Academy do something great like have a women’s wrestling team? Daughter was GA’s first female state champ and selected to be in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. She wanted to go to the Academy. No team, so she didn’t. Sad. She got an academic and athletic scholarship to the only D1 wrestling school in the nation instead. She would have made a fine Naval Officer.
I am in Physical Therapy for injuries sustained while Active Duty. More effort needs to be put into proper core training. Everything we do, should start with the core. From walking, lifting, squatting, to excercising. All Commands need to create a Command PT that emphises the core. Taichi, and Yoga should be mandatory as part of the Command PT. It creates balance, stress release, toning, and core toning. Too many Commands are lax on the Command PT. It should be twice a day, at a minimum 30 minutes, but no more than an hour, per session.
My recommendation would be to use a yoga block and not a shoe for getting to correct depth in the push up. Also, I don’t believe a shoe is really necessary for the plank at the knees. If someone breaks load bearing joint alignment the test is over. But if a shoe is a requirement a yoga block would still be better. I would also like to hear and see an example of the cadence that will be used.
A shoe as guidance for pushups is not efficient. Participants with longer arms will over bent (past 90 degrees) while participants with shorter arms will have an advantage. I also would like to see how the time at plank position is counted and how it will affect the push ups as both involve the shoulders and arms.
Hi Melanie! Many Sailors have expressed concern over this method of measuring. What do you suggest as a reasonable alternative?
I have always done my pushups (both incline and regular) with my chest touching the ground (or very close). a shoe would effectively make the pushup much easier. I’m quite unsure about the cadence component as I feel that people should be able to do pushups at their own pace but I suppose that’s one way to standarize things.
The suggested cadence is 2 seconds so it will be something like “Up…1,2 Down…1, 2 UP” and so on.
Also on the plank shorter participant will also have an advantage as pure physics should tell you that a longer body will be harder to hold than a shorter one.