Physical Fitness

Stay In Great Physical Condition

All cadets are encouraged to maintain their physical health because if one maintains good physical health they will experience less stress and improved mental health. Below are some simple exercises everyone can do on a daily basis in order to improve the overall physical condition. Remember, if you can't do all the exercises, do as many as you can and with each day, you will be able to do more and more.

Cadets take the Cadet Challenge twice a year, once in the fall (typically in November) and once in the spring (typically in April). The challenge consists of sit-ups, push-ups and a one mile run. Although this is not a graded event, uniform ribbons are awarded based on how well each cadet performs overall. Good luck!

CADET CHALLENGE

1. Curl-ups: Conduct this event on a flat, clean surface, preferably with a mat. Start cadets in a lying position on their backs with their knees up so their feet are flat on the floor and about 12 inches from their buttocks. Cadets should have their arms crossed with their hands placed on opposite shoulders and their elbows held close to the chest throughout the exercise. The feet are to be held by a partner at the instep. At the command “ready, go,” cadets raise the trunks of their bodies, curling up to touch the elbows to the thighs. They must then lower their backs so that their shoulder blades touch the floor/mat. This constitutes one repetition of a curl-up. During each repetition, bouncing off the floor/mat is not allowed and the fingers must touch the shoulders at all times. Cadets have two minutes to complete curl-ups.

2. Right Angle Push-ups: The cadet lies face down on the mat in push- up position with hands under shoulders, fingers straight, and legs straight, parallel, and slightly apart, with the toes supporting the feet. The cadet straightens the arms, keeping the back and knees straight, then lowers the body until there is a 90-degree angle at the elbows, with the upper arms parallel to the floor. A partner may hold his/her hand at the point of 90-degree angle so that the cadet being tested goes down only until his/her shoulder touches the partner’s hand. Cadets have two minutes to complete push-ups.

3. One-Mile Run/Walk: Conduct this event on a flat area that has a known measured distance of 1 mile with a designated start and finish line. (Note: Giving the cadets a lightweight numbered device to carry or wear in any manner that will not slow them down while running makes it possible to have many cadets run at one time. A good practice would be to have them pair off before the start of the event, then have one cadet from each pair run while the other cadets keep track of the number of laps their partners complete as well as listening for their times as they cross the finish line.) Start cadets at the standing position. At the command “ready, go,” the cadets start running the 1-mile distance. Although walking is permitted, encourage cadets to cover the distance in the shortest time possible. Scoring should be to the nearest second.

AWARDS FOR COMPLETING

THE CADET CHALLENGE

The NJROTC Physical Fitness Ribbon will be awarded to cadets who attain satisfactory or better in each of the three Cadet Challenge events (curl-ups, push-ups and the one mile run/walk). Additional recognition of a gold, silver or bronze lamp is determined by overall point score. The most recent PRT cycle determines which device, if any, is worn by the cadet.

JROTC PRT Standards

Curl-Ups (2 min no cadence)

FEMALE MALE

AGE: 13 14 15 16 17 13 14 15 16 17

Outstanding 73 74 75 76 77 92 93 94 95 96

Excellent 58 59 60 61 62 77 78 79 80 81

Good 43 44 45 46 47 61 62 63 64 65

Satisfactory 29 30 31 32 33 45 46 47 48 49

Push-Ups (2 min no cadence)

FEMALE MALE

AGE: 13 14 15 16 17 13 14 15 16 17

Outstanding 20 20 20 24 25 39 40 42 44 53

Excellent 17 18 18 21 22 35 37 39 40 47

Good 14 15 16 18 19 31 34 35 36 42

Satisfactory 12 13 14 15 16 27 28 30 32 37

1-Mile Run/Walk

FEMALE MALE

AGE: 13 14 15 16 17 13 14 15 16 17

Outstanding 8:35 8:31 8:27 8:23 8:15 6:50 6:26 6:20 6:08 6:06

Excellent 9:20 9:15 9:10 9:05 9:00 7:20 7:10 7:00 6:48 6:45

Good 10:05 10:00 9:55 9:50 9:45 8:05 7:55 7:45 7:28 7:20

Satisfactory 11:40 11:30 11:20 11:10 11:00 9:05 8:55 8:45 8:30 8:20

COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Workouts

With school being canceled through the end of the 2020 school year, we are doing everything we can to stay in great physical condition. Each week we lead a 45-60 minute workout via Zoom video teleconference. These workouts will be uploaded to our website so everyone can join in. This week's workout was a different Deck of Cards workout. Good luck keeping up! Do the best you can!

The below video workout is the "Abdominal Ladder"! It's a tough one so good luck keeping up with all the exercises! You'll feel it in the morning!