Fit For World War 2
According to man legend, the warriors from War World 2 were a lot more fit when compared against the average GI, and believe it or not there is an official workout to prove it!
I’ve skimmed through the list of exercises which include pull ups, push ups, “cross over” knee sit ups (what I call them), squat jumps and lots of running.
While I’m confident that I could easily pass the running tests (since I’ve run all my life thanks to track, football, and fun running in my new shoes), it’s the other tests that have me worried a bit.
Pull Ups
According to the scoring sheet, I’d receive a “fair” grade as I can only do 8 out of 20 push ups. While this isn’t exactly failing according to the chart (at least as far as I know), however receiving a score of 52/100 isn’t passing in my book, so I’ll be working on getting up to 20 in the not so distant future (especially after finding a decent pull up bar in the park which is mocking my 8 reps).
Squat Jumps
I haven’t done these in a long time (since football years ago), so at best I can only give an estimate of how well I would do on a test (I say 50 at least). 75 is perfection according to the vets of old, so that will be my overall aim (although I’ll strive towards 50 at first).
Push Ups
I’ve done push ups for almost as long as I’ve run, and apparently the WW2 score sheet considers 54 push ups to be excellent. The most I’ve ever done consecutively is 220 push ups (which I will not repeat as I was in pain throughout the week) but I can do between 100-150 push ups before my arms feel like they are on fire. I guess this is one test I pretty much pass with flying colors! 
Cross Over Situps (in 120 seconds)
This exercise seems like a cross between situps and bicycle crunches, and I’m pondering whether this exercise is even safe to do (as it seems to strain the back). Regular situps I can do with no hassle (550 was my all time record), and I’m consistently pushing out 200 bicycle crunches too (despite my abs being on fire). I’m hesitant about doing cross over situps (again what I call them as they are different from traditional situps), but I might practice these as well in the not so distant future.
What About…
I’ll continue doing other exercises such as bicycle crunches, Jack knives and dips, although I’ll strive to ace these test scores and blog about the results later on.
(Props to Art of Manliness for tracking down these exercises, Image Credits: German Federal Archive).
