Special Forces - Special Operations Fitness Test

Pushtoday

MuscleChemistry Registered Member
by Stew Smith

There is a new Special Forces / Special Operations fitness test making its way around the Team areas and creating a fun and competitive event for many of our Army, Navy, Air Force, USMC Special Operators. It is called the Upper body Round Robin (UBRR). The test consists of seven upper body exercises, a speed and long distance run. The UBRR provides a minimum standard for passing which are reasonable scores as you see below, BUT if you want to be competitive with the best of the best you have to push yourself far above the minimums. See events and grading scale below:
The UBRR (Upper Body Round Robin) Events:
EventMin. StandardGrading Scale for Min. Plus
1 Minute of Pushups402 Pts Each Rep Above Min
1 Minute of Situps403 Pts Each Rep Above Min
Pullups6 - Not Timed3 Pts Each Rep Above Min
Dips6 - Not Timed2 Pts Each Rep Above Min
Bench Press 80% Body Weight6 - Not Timed3 Pts Each Rep Above Min
20 ft. Rope Climb in Body Armor or Weight Vest - 25#1Pass / Fail
1 Minute Kip-ups (Pullup with a Kip)62 Pts Every Rep Above Min
4 x 25 M Shuttle RunMax 24 Secs2 Pts Every 1/10 of a Sec Under
5 Mile Run or 5 Mile Ruck March w/ 45# Dry WeightRun - Max 40 Mins, Ruck - 75 Min2 Pts Every Full 15 Sec from 35 to 30 Min

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* Minimal rest in between events < 1 min
If you do not meet the minimum standards in EVERY event you will fail the entire test. The least you can score is 900 points. By adding your extra repetitions / time per exercise you can create a team competition or have a way to grade prospective candidates seeking to enter these Special Operations Teams. A good score is considered 1300 and above with some scores getting about 1500 in many of the Spec Ops units.


Common Issues and Tips for Performance:
Pushups - Regular pushups. Do not lift your hands / feet off the floor. Once the time runs out or your knee touches the floor the event is over.
Situps -- Place your hands interlocked behind your head. The up position is when your elbows touch your knees and down position is when your forearms touch the floor next to your head.
Pullups - Regular grip with palms facing away from you. Chin must go over the bar and arms must be straight in the down position. These are dead hang pullups -- no kipping / cheating with lower body movement.
Dips -- Elbows must form a 90 degree angle for each repetition to count in the down position and arm locked / straight in the up position.
Bench Press -- 80% of your body weight for max reps. No bridging with your hips. Keep feet flat on the floor. Bar much touch your chest in the down position and elbows must be fully straightened in the up position.
Rope Climb -- Climb a rope in body armor / weight vest of 25#. If you do not have a rope available, try doing a rope pull-up by hanging a piece of rope over a pull-up bar and performing six rope pullups to simulate the rope climb.
The Kip Up (not a kipping pullup) -- This is a grip and ab exercise. The individual will position himself underneath the pull-up bar as if he were doing a regular pull-up. Do a left or right facing movement so the pull-up bar is now perpendicular to the individual. Grasp the bar with palms facing each other, no more than 5"� apart, arms fully extended and body hanging without touching the ground. Bring your ankles over the bar with the bar being in between your ankles in the UP position.
4 x 25m shuttle run can be done with blocks to pick up at the 25m marks. Pick up and drop blocks at each change of direction as you run four -- 25m sprints in a shuttle run method. Every 1/10 of a second counts!
5 mile run under 40 minutes is not a horribly fast pace but if you are not prepared for a 5 mile run it can be tough and potentially injurious so build up to get 5 miles of running at sub 8 min mile pace.
Or you can opt for the 5 mile ruck with 45#. Get it done in less than 75 minutes and you are good to go.
Whether you are a future Special Operator or looking for a fun and challenging workout plan that ranks your counterparts, the UBRR is a tool to put in your backpack. Enjoy adding this to your fitness maintenance / testing program.
 
Great information. Former Marine here but things have changed a lot since 96. New challenges keep life fun
 
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