6-week-prt

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It’s easy to be hard, but it’s hard to be smart.

6 Week PRT Training PlanCAPT Mike Prevost, USN

7/24/2019 6-week-PRT


© Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Do not copy or redistribute without permission of the author.

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathanael Miller , www.navy.mil

Disclaimer: The advice and information contained in this document may not be appropriate for all individuals.

Therefore, the author, employees, company, affiliates, or any other parties involved in the creation or promotion of our

products are not responsible for any injuries or health conditions that may result from advice, opinions, and programs

represented in this program or any of our training programs or other products. The information on this website and in

the training program are the opinions of the author and are not a replacement for medical advice. You should consult a

physician before starting any diet or exercise program. If you choose to follow the program without consulting your

physician, you are doing so at your own risk. We claim no responsibility for any injuries you might sustain. The

opinions and assertions contained herein are the private opinions of the author and are not to be construed asofficial or reflecting the views of the Department of Defense.

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7/24/2019 6-week-PRT


This program is purely about PRT (Physical Readiness Test) performance. It is not a full fitness program. The

program applies the principles of specificity and progressive overload in a structured way to ensure that the

training load is optimum for quick gains in fitness. It has been tested with great success by hundreds of

Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. It is a stand-alone PRT program. Nothing else needs to be added.

Pushups and Sit-ups

The pushup and sit-up portions of the PRT measure muscular endurance, not strength. Muscular endurance

can be trained frequently. Muscular endurance responds well to lots of sub-maximal volume. This means that

we do lots of sets but stop short of failure on each set. By stopping shy of failure, we are able to do much more

volume, which is the key to improvement. Training to failure on every set is really hard on the shoulders over

time. This prevents you from training as frequently as you could. Think about how much your repetitions trail

off when you push sets to failure. You would be lucky to get half of your initial max after a set to failure. For

the next set, you would be lucky to get half of that. This really reduces the amount of volume that you could

do. Also, the recovery cost is high. It takes a couple of days to recover from even a couple of sets to failure,

especially if you do them over and over. If you were training for a marathon, you would not train by going out

and running as fast as you could until you had to stop, over and over again. Instead, you would use asubmaximal, sustainable pace because marathon running is about endurance. The same is true for pushups.

Pushups are muscular endurance, not strength. Like marathon running, volume and frequency are the keys to

improvement.

I used the pushup/sit-up plan below with hundreds of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. It was very

effective at increasing pushup and sit-up numbers. Perform the workout 3 times per week or every other day.

Choose non consecutive days (i.e., Mon, Wed, Fri). Do a set of the pushups, then sit-ups, then pushups etc.

There is no rest between sets. Continue in this fashion until you have completed all sets. You should be able

to complete the sit-up/pushup workout in about 10 minutes.

Always execute perfect form on every repetition. Start with your hands directly under your shoulders, or up to3 inches wider per side. Keep your head in a neutral position. Do not let your head drop down and don't hyper

extend your neck. Keep it neutral. Your torso should be straight. Do not let your hips sag. This places the

task of supporting your body on the bony structures of your spine, instead of your core muscles. Rotate your

pelvis back to avoid hyperextending your back. Your entire body should be rigid and should go up and down

as one unit. Go down until your upper arms are bent to a 90 degree angle (minimum). Remember to breathe.

Many people hold their breath while performing pushups. You can pick any breathing pattern you want, as

long as you are breathing. Some people find it helpful to hold their breath during the exertion because it helps

to stabilize the core. If you do this, breathe at the top of every pushup.

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Start at the top by selecting the column that represents your current 2 minute max sit-up or pushup

performance. Perform the 5 set workout for that day. If you get all of the reps, move down to the next workout

set in the column for your next workout. When you complete a column, move to the right one column. When

you get to the end, you are ready for 150 sit-ups and 100 pushups.

Sit-Up Chart

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Pushup Chart

Remember, use perfect form on the sit-ups and pushups. If you do partial range of motion during training, you

will have a hard time doing a full range of motion on the test. It is better to reduce your numbers a little bit

initially and do them right. It is possible to work up to a significant number of partial range of motion pushups

only to find that you cannot do a single full range of motion pushup during the test. Do them right during

training and you will never have a problem.

Run Plan

The run program uses 3 running tools:

Steady: This is a steady pace effort. It is not hard and it is not easy. It is the natural pace you would fall into iyou went out for a long but comfortable run. This is not easy pace. If you had to constantly hold yourself back

that would be easy pace. Steady is comfortable but you would not describe it as easy. For those who train

with a heart rate monitor, steady would be approximately 70-80% of your maximum heart rate. With steady

paced runs, you don’t run harder over time, you run faster at the same effort level. You can do this by

keeping your heart rate in your target “steady” zone. As you become fit, you will have to run faster to achieve

the same heart rate. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you will have to pace based on effort. Keep the

effort “steady” and eventually your “steady” pace will get faster and faster at the same heart rate or effort.

Remember; do not increase the effort of steady runs.

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Tempo: This is 10K race pace. This is definitely harder than steady pace but not your max pace. It is also

sometimes described as threshold pace. It is about at 90-95% of your max heart rate. Most people will run

these 30-45 seconds per mile slower than VO2 max interval pace. You can either use heart rate to pace your

tempo intervals, or you can periodically race a 10K and use pace. The effort should feel hard but it is not a

maximal effort.

VO2 max Intervals: Lots of people call these track intervals. That is because they are usually done on the

track. Heart rate is a poor way to pace these intervals because they are too short. It takes your heart rate 2-3

minutes to reach steady state at a new run pace. As a result, you will be done with your interval before your

heart rate catches up. That is why it is best to do these on the track or on a course with marked distances and

use pace to deliver the right intensity. The most common distances to do these are ¼ and ½ mile repeats.

However, in this program we will be using a range of interval distances in order to work on pacing. These are

done at your 1 mile race pace or slightly faster than PRT race pace. They are tough! What should you do

during your rest interval? You should rest! Seriously, you can jog slowly or walk or whatever it takes for you to

recover. The point is to recover. Run these hard and push the pace. However, the ideal session would have

your pace on your first and last intervals the same. If you are fading in your last intervals, you are going too

hard. Always leave a little gas in the tank and finish felling like you could have done another one or two. VO2

max intervals are potent medicine. You don’t need many. These intervals are best done on a track. If you

don't have a track, mark out a 3/4 mile straight section of road. Mark every 1/4 mile. Find a friend with abicycle that has a bike computer/odometer if you do not have a GPS or measuring wheel. Your car odometer

is not accurate enough. If you are on base, you can usually borrow a measuring wheel from MWR.

You can do your runs on the treadmill. However, you must always use a 1-1.5% grade on the treadmill to

simulate outdoor running. At the end of this workout document there is a miles per hour / minutes per mile

conversion chart that you can use on the treadmill.

Weekly Run Structure

Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun

VO2 Max

Intervals

30 min Steady Run Tempo Run 30 min Steady

Run

VO2 Max

Intervals

- -

You can do the sit-up/pushup workouts on the same day as the run or on different days.

Monday and Friday VO2 Max Intervals : These intervals are done twice per week as part of your run training

program. The intervals are shown on the chart on the next page. In the # of intervals column there is a range.

I have consistently used the lower end of that range with hundreds of Midshipmen with great success.

Intervals are potent medicine. You do not need many. Start the interval progression 7 weeks prior to the PRT.

The intervals are not all out. They are done at slightly faster than your goal PRT pace. This pace is going tobe the same as your treadmill pace for your 3rd quarter mile. If you are fading and your last interval is

significantly slower, you are going too fast on your first intervals. The goal is to achieve a consistent pace on

all intervals. If you are finishing your intervals feeling good and are hitting all of your split times, you can

increase the pace of your intervals for the next workout, but do so conservatively. Do a warm up lap or two

before the intervals.

Wednesday Tempo Runs: These are done as 5 minutes easy, 10 minutes at tempo pace, 5 minutes easy,

10 minutes at tempo pace, then 5 minutes easy. The biggest mistake that most people make is running the

easy part too hard and the hard part too easy. Make sure that the easy part is easy, so the hard part can be

hard. The only mistake you can make on the easy part is to run too fast. You can walk a little if you need to

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but get back to a slow jog as soon as you can. Keep a steady pace on the tempo intervals. Don't start too fast

and fade. The goal is a steady, consistent pace throughout.

Tuesday and Thursday Steady Paced Runs: Keep these runs relaxed and do not exceed the steady pace.

Try to work on running with good posture and a relaxed upper body. One of the steady paced runs is optional.

You can skip it or, if you are feeling good, you can do the run. You should probably skip it if feeling fatigued

though.

Interval Distances

Week

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

This is your interval schedule. These interval workouts are done twice per week. Start this program 7 weeks

prior to the PRT.

Sample Pacing Chart For Intervals

Interval 8:00

PRT

9:00

PRT

10:00

PRT

11:00

PRT

12:00

PRT

13:00

PRT

14:00

PRT

15:00

PRT

16:00

PRT

1/4 mile 1:20 1:30 1:40 1:50 2:00 2:10 2:20 2:30 2:40

1/2 mile 2:40 3:00 3:20 3:40 4:00 4:20 4:40 5:00 5:20

3/4 mile 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00

1 mile 5:20 6:00 6:40 7:20 8:00 8:40 9:20 10:00 10:40

These are the interval times for each distance on the left, that correspond with the pace per mile on top. For

example, if you wanted to run a 10:00 min/mile pace and you were doing 3/4 mile intervals, your time goal

would be 5:00 min.

PRT

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Miles Per Hour to Min/Mile Conversion

MPH Min/Mile

4 15:00

4.5 13:20

5 12:00

5.5 10:55

6 10:00

6.5 9:14

7 8:34

7.5 8:00

8 7:30

8.5 7:04

9 6:40

9.5 6:19

10 6:00

10.5 5:43

11 5:27

11.5 5:13

12 5:00

12.5 4:48

13 4:37

Use this chart to convert miles per hour on your treadmill to pace in minutes per mile.

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About the Author

Mike Prevost earned a PhD in exercise physiology from Louisiana State University in 1995. He

specialized in muscle physiology and metabolism. Throughout his college years (10 years total) he

worked as a personal trainer in various gyms and fitness centers. He has trained athletes for many

different sports including triathlon, ultra running, surfing, power lifting, bodybuilding, mixed martial

arts, football, basketball and more. After finishing his PhD, he took a commission in the U. S. Navyas an Aerospace Physiologist in the Navy Medical Service Corps. While serving in the Navy he

developed human performance training material for the U. S. Special Operations Command. He

developed new fitness standards for Navy rescue swimmers. He served as a consultant to the

USMC in evaluating the safety of the USMC Combat Fitness Test. He also served on a Navy

committee tasked with proposing alternatives to the Navy physical fitness test. He trained thousands

of aviators and aircrew on survival techniques, physiology, and human performance. He also served

as the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory at the U. S. Naval Academy, where he

performed physiological testing of athletes to improve performance, developed the Principles of

Strength and Conditioning Course for all Midshipmen, and served as the director of remedial fitness

training programs. He has over 25 years of experience in working with athletes.

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