Military fitness tests like the U.S. Army PFT are a popular source of content for fitness YouTube, with vloggers cranking out pushups, situps and pullups in high volume. But the Marine Corps’ combat fitness test (CFT) is a different kind of maximum-effort challenge, as CrossFit athlete Lauren Fisher and Navy vet Austen Alexander when they teamed up to try it recently.

The first event is an 880-yard sprint. Austen would need to complete the two laps of the track in 2:39 or less for a perfect score, while Lauren would need 3:10. However, both are apprehensive about this portion of the test. “I think that’s going to hurt real bad,” says Lauren before they begin.

Austen misses out on a perfect score on the run but still passes with a time of 2:50, while Lauren aces it with a 2:52.

The next round of the test is an overhead press, performed with an ammo can for as many reps as possible in 2 minutes. Lauren needs 75 for a perfect score, while Austen needs 116. While each rep requires full extension of the arms, it’s permitted to use momentum to assist the movement. Austen hits his perfect target with 8 seconds to spare, but Lauren beats him, exceeding her requirement and achieving 137 perfect reps.

The third and final test is manoeuver under fire, the toughest event by far. This drill involves a sprint, low crawl, high crawl, some fast footwork, carrying a whole other person back to the starting position, then repeating the footwork while carrying weights, dropping into a set of pushups, and finally zigzagging back with the weights.

Austen completes this gauntlet in 1:53, and Lauren is just seconds behind with a time of 1:58. When the points are all counted, Lauren and Austen both score a perfect 300 in the CFT.

“This honestly felt like a little CrossFit competition, with the three different tests,” she says. “This is very similar to what I do when I compete at the CrossFit Games.”

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