Tackling the F.B.I. Physical Fitness Test

Zach and I know someone who is going through the process to become an F.B.I. agent. There are several hoops to jump through during that process, one of which is a physical fitness test. It's a simple, but rigorous, test and we wanted to see how we might score. So this weekend, we went up to the track and did the F.B.I. physical fitness test.

Here is what the test consists of:

1. Maximum number of sit-ups in one minute
2. Timed 300-meter sprint
3. Maximum number of push-ups (untimed)
4. Timed one and one-half mile (1.5 mile) run

You must score a combined 12 points based on the following rubrics:

Scoring Scale for One-Minute Sit-Ups

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	29 and below	31 and below
0	30-34	32-37
1	35-36	38
2	37-40	39-42
3	41-42	43-44
4	43-46	45-47
5	47-48	48-49
6	49-50	50-51
7	51-52	52-53
8	53-54	54-55
9	55-56	56-57
10	57 and over	58 and over

Scoring Scale for Timed 300-Meter Sprint (in seconds)

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	67.5 and over	55.1 and over
0	67.4-65.0	55.0-52.5
1	64.9-62.5	52.4-51.1
2	62.4-60.0	51.0-49.5
3	59.9-57.5	49.4-48.0
4	57.4-56.0	47.9-46.1
5	55.9-54.0	46.0-45.0
6	53.9-53.0	44.9-44.0
7	52.9-52.0	43.9-43.0
8	51.9-51.0	42.9-42.0
9	50.9-50.0	41.9-41.0
10	49.9 and below	40.9 and below

Scoring Scale for Push-Ups (untimed)

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	4 and below	19 and below
0	5-13	20-29
1	14-18	30-32
2	19-21	33-39
3	22-26	40-43
4	27-29	44-49
5	30-32	50-53
6	33-35	54-56
7	36-38	57-60
8	39-41	61-64
9	42-44	65-70
10	45 and over	71 and over

Scoring Scale for 1.5 Mile Run (in minutes:seconds)

Score	Female Range	Male Range
-2	15:00 and over	13:30 and over
0	14:59-14:00	13:29-12:25
1	13:59-13:35	12:24-12:15
2	13:34-13:00	12:14-11:35
3	12:59-12:30	11:34-11:10
4	12:29-11:57	11:09-10:35
5	11:56-11:35	10:34-10:15
6	11:34-11:15	10:14-9:55
7	11:14-11:06	9:54-9:35
8	11:05-10:45	9:34-9:20
9	10:44-10:35	9:19-9:00
10	10:34 and below	8:59 and below

To warm up, Zach and I ran a slow lap around the track and stretched. Then we wrangled a screaming toddler off of her bike and gave her and her brother a snack so we could start the test.

First up: sit-ups. Not a strong point of mine. Zach is always the one down doing six or eight sets of abs in front of the T.V. I'm the one either a) ignoring Zach doing six or eight sets of abs or b) laying on the ground doing half as many sets and reps, and ugly reps at that. I'm just not a fan.

Zach went first for the one-minute sit-up extravaganza. 

Reps: 47   Score: 4 points

I went next. If I'm honest, I bet my friendly F.B.I. fitness test timer/judge would have docked me a few on this one. It was ugly.  

Reps: 42   Score: 3 points

Five minutes of rest, then the next challenge, the 300-meter run. 

Zach was up first, while I timed and cheered with the kids. 

Time: 51.76 seconds   Score: 1 point

The male vs. female scoring for the 300-meter run is brutal...it's about 10 seconds difference. I jogged across the infield of the track to get to my starting point, cursing the headwind that would greet me on the last straightaway. 

Time: 56.84 seconds   Score: 4 points (See? Brutal. I was five seconds slower and got three more points here.)

Five minutes of rest, then push-ups. 

Zach and I do a lot of push-ups in P90X. A lot. So I figured we'd knock this one out of the park, and I was right. There is no time limit on this one, so I figure you're allowed some short mid-set breaks if you want to take them. Mid-set break means you hold yourself up in plank position before continuing your reps. (Not hanging around for ages, mind you, just taking a breath, short pause, and moving on.)

People, I watched Zach do 71 push-ups. No lie. And these weren't namby-pamby push-ups. I'd seen him do 50 push-ups at the end of a workout before, but this time he was fresh, and he killed it! 

Reps: 71   Score: 10 points

Like the 300-meter run, there is a pretty big achievement gap in the push-ups for girls. I knew I had to get 45 push-ups to earn a 10, and that's what I did. I was pretty spent after 45, though. There wasn't any way I could get more.  

Reps: 45  Score: 10 points

So, since at this point Zach had a score of 15 and had a score of 17, we figured we didn't have to do the mile-and-a-half run. So we took off our shoes and ate a Krispy Kreme! 

I kid. We did the run.

Six laps on the inside lane of the track, and did I already mention that pesky headwind? I hate the pesky headwind. Not too much exciting to report here except that Zach stayed a good half-lap ahead of me pretty much the entire time. He was running about two minutes per lap.  

Finish Time: 11:53   Score:  2 points

I did not run two minutes per lap. 

Finish Time: 13:06  Score: 2 points

Zach's Final F.B.I. Physical Fitness Test Score: 17 points

Susan's Final F.B.I. Physical Fitness Test Score: 19 points

Whew! It was tough, and I was glad to be done. Instead of a Krispy Kreme, we went out to the car and drank the recovery drinks we'd brought with us. That night I was pretty sore and had very achy legs; I assume it was from the sprinting. My abs were screaming at me a bit, too. But it was a nice change of pace for a weekend workout.