MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT, San Diego -- A recruit’s physical endurance and development is important throughout recruit training. Each recruit is tested near the end of recruit training through a Physical Fitness Test, which is a test designed to measure a Marine’s physical strength, agility, and endurance.
Before the final PFT, recruits see where they stand physically through an inventory PFT. Recruits of Company E, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, test their physical abilities through the inventory PFT May 7 aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.
“The purpose of an inventory PFT is to see the progression of each recruit before the final,” said 1st Sgt. Kevin Hutson, company first sergeant, Co. E, 2nd RTBn. “It gives them a gauge to see how well they’ve done.”
A PFT is an annual training event that every Marine must complete. It is a combination of pull-ups, timed crunches and a timed three-mile run. Female Marines are required to do a seventy-second flex-armed hang instead of pull-ups.
Each recruit is required to run a PFT in order to graduate from recruit training, explained Hutson.
In week four of recruit training, recruits run an initial PFT. Depending on their performance, drill instructors are able to identify and focus on each recruits’ physical weaknesses.
Throughout training, recruits endure exercises and training events that build them mentally and physically.
In week nine of training, recruits run an inventory PFT, which is used as a tool to show the recruits where they’re at and what they need to do to get better, said Hutson.
A PFT begins with pull-ups. Each recruit mounts a bar and performs as many pull-ups as they can. After each recruit has recorded the number of repetitions completed, they assemble up at the starting line for the timed three-mile run. Once the recruits finish, they are instructed to do as many crunches as they can for two minutes.
Throughout the PFT, drill instructors run alongside of the recruits giving them motivation to continue by pushing them to their limits.
“The drill instructors help in their own way,” said Recruit Devon Hood, Platoon 2109, Co. E, 2nd RTBn. “It’s more like they’re building us instead of breaking us.”
The inventory PFT gives the recruits a sense of their physical accomplishments so far in training.
“It also boosts their confidence,” explained Hutson. “Recruits see how well they’ve improved from the beginning of boot camp and gives them the motivation to finish strong.”
Co. E is scheduled to run their final PFT May 17. After running the inventory PFT, recruits know where they stand physically and know what they have to improve.