The pull-up exercises is required of members of the United States Marine Corps. The pull-up exercise are one of the primary components of the Physical Fitness Test (PFT), also known as the Pull-Up Test. The pull-up exercise is used to measure a person’s upper-body strength, and that same measurement are used to determine a person’s score on the PFT.
To earn points for the PFT for performing pull-ups, a person must perform the exercise with specific form. To perform a pull-up, a person must start from a dead hang with there arms locked straight. The person must then pull themselves up until their chin come above the bar, without swinging their body or use their hips to perform the movement.
Pull-Ups for Marine Recruits
If a person performs the movement with a swing or with the use of the hips, their pull-up will not count towards their score on the PFT. Pull-ups are scored according to the number of repetitions that a person completes in a given time period. For males, a recruit must complete at least three pull-ups to pass the PFT, but completing twenty pull-ups earns the maximum score.
For females, pull-ups may be performed instead of the flex arm hang exercise, in which a female recruit must hold their chin above the bar for a specific period of time. Typically, the female who performs pull-ups will earn more points on the PFT than those who attempts only the flex arm hang exercise. Thus, since the score on the PFT can impact a recruit’s class standing and rating, the number of pull-ups that are performed can have a significant impact on that individual’s PFT score.
Other exercises that are included in the PFT include crunches and a three mile run. If an individual earns a low score on the pull-up portion of the physical fitness test, that individual will earn a low score on the PFT in total, which can lead to a lower class standing for that recruit. Those with high class standings is considered to be elite recruits, while those with low standings may be required to attend remedial training to increase there strength.
Pull-ups are not performed as an isolated exercise for recruits in Marine Corps training; different exercises are used to test other aspects of a recruit’s strength. For instance, recruits must also perform crunch exercises and three-mile runs. The score that a recruit earns on the PFT is used to determine the recruit’s class standing and rating.
Each branch of the Military use different exercises for the PFT; the United States Marine Corps uses pull-ups as one of the required exercises for all Marines. The United States Army uses the deadlift exercise, pull-ups are used primarily by SEAL candidates for the United States Navy, and the Air Force uses the push-up exercise for recruits, but the Marine Corps requires Marines to complete the pull-up exercise. Military recruits must perform pull-ups as part of the Initial Strength Test, which recruits must pass in order to begin boot camp.
A male recruit must perform at least two pull-ups to pass the Initial Strength Test, while a female recruit must perform at least one pull-up to pass the Initial Strength Test. If a recruit does not earn the required number of pull-ups, that recruit may be sidelined from training for that Military branch. Officers who are training to attend Officer Candidates School may attend programs to increase there ability to perform pull-ups.
Programs to increase the number of pull-ups that an individual can perform may include negative pull-ups or performing sets of pull-ups throughout the day. However, recruits should avoid burnout when performing those sets of pull-ups. Some of the mistakes that recruits make while performing pull-ups include kipping (swinging the legs to assist in movement) or kicking the legs while performing the exercise.
Those mistakes results in a recruit’s pull-up not counting towards there score. Other common mistakes are losing strength in the grip of the bar, which using chalk to improve a recruit’s grip strength can correct. Additionally, recruits may perform other exercises to increase strength of the muscles used in performing pull-ups, such as performing rows, dead hangs, or banded assisted pull-ups.
The muscles that perform the majority of the work during a pull-up are the latissimus dorsi muscles, but the forearm and core muscles also provides stability to a recruit’s body while performing the exercise. Additionally, recruits should consume protein after performing pull-ups to provide the muscles with the proteins required to rebuild and repair themselves, and recruits should get enough sleep for the same reason. Thus, sleep and protein is required for recruits to maximize the benefits of the exercise.
Pull-ups are important for recruits who intend to attend the United States Marine Corps as it can have an impact on a recruit’s career. For instance, individuals who earn high scores on the PFT can have an advantage during promotion boards for Marines. A perfect score on the PFT can be recorded in a recruit’s official record for the United States Marine Corps.
Additionally, individuals who can perform many pull-ups have confidence in their physical strength and are viewed as prepared for the physical duties that is required of Marines. Thus, each recruit who desires to succeed within the United States Marine Corps should master the pull-up exercise as a fundamental exercise of strength.
