Your Soldiers Deserve Better PT Sessions—Here's How to Deliver

Physical readiness isn't just about fitness—it's about combat effectiveness and unit cohesion. When over 70% of soldiers struggle to hit the 500-point mark on the ACFT, we have to ask ourselves: are our PT sessions truly preparing our troops for the battlefield?

The difference between mediocre and exceptional PT leadership comes down to understanding a few critical components. Proper warm-ups performed with precision prevent injuries. A balanced exercise selection targeting strength, agility, and cardio creates well-rounded soldiers prepared for any mission. Most importantly, adapting workouts for different fitness levels while maintaining morale transforms PT from a dreaded morning ritual into something troops actually look forward to attending.

What would your PT session look like if you broke free from the monotonous push-ups and runs? I Sarnt Cruz will outline a complete 60-minute workout incorporating practical movements like deadlifts, farmer's carries, and medicine ball slams—exercises that translate directly to military tasks. By integrating partner workouts and competitive elements, you create natural motivation and team building that pushes everyone to perform better. The sprint-drag-carry event exemplifies this perfectly: soldiers push harder when someone's competing beside them and the entire formation is cheering them on.

True leadership isn't about smoking your soldiers until they drop. It's about progressive training that builds capability over time, knowing when to push and when to encourage, and creating sessions that balance challenge with achievement. Whether you're preparing for an upcoming ruck march or trying to raise your unit's ACFT scores, these principles make the difference between checked-box PT and genuine combat readiness. Download this episode, implement these strategies, and watch your formation transform from struggling to thriving. Don't forget to leave a review and share your own PT leadership tips in the comments!

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Army PT Leadership
• 3:22 Breaking Down Effective PT Components
• 8:17 Creating Competitive Engagement
• 11:53 Sample PT Session Structure
• 17:17 Balancing Push and Encouragement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Did you know that over 70% of soldiers struggle with scoring 500 on the ACFT? Whether it's endurance, strength or motivation, leading an effective PT session is critical for any leader. So today we're breaking down how you can run an effective PT session, keep your team mission ready and achieve that 540 PT exemption. Roger Sarn, all right, so welcome back to the Roger Snt Podcast, where we talk all things Army and I'm your host, sarnt Cruz. Ok, so if you're a leader in the Army, you know that PT just isn't about getting in shape. It's about discipline, teamwork and, most importantly, readiness and, most importantly, readiness. So running an effective I say again, running an effective PT session can be the difference between a strong, motivated unit and one that struggles to meet the standards. So in this episode, I will go over strategies to make your PT session engaging, effective and adaptable for all fitness levels.

Speaker 1: 1:28

So let's get started. So this is going to be a short video, short and sweet, and I'd like to thank you guys, because we are currently at 767 subs, so almost hit that thousand mark. So, like the damn video. All right, let's get back to it. So let's break down what makes up a great PT session or just a PT session. Right, let's just break it down. So first you have the warmup. So a proper warmup is is non-negotiable like dynamic stretching, mobility drills, uh, light cardio to prepare the body for like an intense training is gonna prevent injuries, right. And if you notice, if you've walked around and you've seen any PT sessions going on, you'll see these lackadaisical bend and reaches, you'll see these awkward windmills. It's just they're not done with precision. Because PT, this new PT, well, the latest PT that we have we need it to be precise to get that stretch in. And I mean, if you actually did mobility drills, you did a CD drills if you did a full, the eight count pushup itself is going to smoke half of the formation. But if you did all of those that are prescribed, you've had a good, you would have a decent PT session, right. But if we don't do them correctly, then you're not going to get nothing out of it. That's why PRT sucks, right, as they say. So let's get back to it.

Speaker 1: 3:22

So the next thing is exercise selection. So incorporating a mix of body weight exercises and resistance training and endurance workout, right. So you have to balance the strength, the agility and the cardio to create the well-rounded soldiers that we're trying to create right, because everyone's always talking about we're mission ready, ready for war, this, that and the third, blah blah. But at the end of the day, many of us are out of shape. Let's just talk about it. A lot of us are out of shape. A lot of us don't fit in our uniform. A lot of us are buying bigger uniforms because the old ones don't fit, buying bigger uniforms because the old ones don't fit. It's just we're not doing what we're supposed to do to create that well around the soldier, and it's the leader's fault. I don't care how you cut it, I'm gonna blame it on the leader because it is what it is, and then we can work from there.

Speaker 1: 4:19

So the next thing is going to be adaptability for different fitness levels. You got to understand that like you have to have your modifications, like they have to be ready for soldiers that are struggling with exercises, um, while adding a progression for those that are excelling Right. So a lot of times, what happens is we'll, um, we'll just do PT for those that are doing PT right and those that don't. They just fall to the wayside. You ever been in formation? And this says those not conducting PT fall out. To my left, your right, whatever they say, or those with a profile, fall out, blah, blah, blah right, because we're going on a run. So those walkers are just gonna walk, and while you're supposed to walk, you're supposed to maintain a decent heart rate, and this, that and the third, but no one's monitoring that Right? So we have to have programs that are ready for that. That's why you have a primary instructor and an alternate instructor. So, order to do this, you should integrate partner workouts. You have to have competitive drills, you have to like have you as a leader. You have to create the, the engagement to just foster this camaraderie and push everyone to perform at their best.

Speaker 1: 5:50

I'm not going to lie to you. I think the sprint drag carry for the ACFT might be the best. It might be the best, um, uh, the best. What is that called Event? I couldn't even get it out. It might be the best event in my opinion, and that's solely because you have someone right next to you and me personally. I'm trying to beat them right.

Speaker 1: 6:19

Everyone's cheering you on, everyone's doing all that. They're like, if you think about it, like the deadlift, everyone just says, oh, good job, good stuff, or whatever you do, the um, the ball throw, oh, oh, and everyone says oh, and someone launches it, but not for everyone. You do the plank Everyone's kind of quiet because they want to let you concentrate, because you're shaking like booty meat. And then you do the run Everyone's trying to run, so no one's really doing anything. Then you got the pushup. It's the pushup right, the hand release pushup, but on that sprint drag carry, people are yelling, at least where I'm at.

Speaker 1: 6:54

So I think that that might be the best one and that's the closest thing to competitiveness. When I talk about this, that creates that camaraderie and all that right. So, and this is what you got to do as a leader, you got to create a competitive environment, because people thrive off of competition, even if those that are non-competitive. They're just going to want to do their part, and it'll make it better and it'll still spring them into that thought process. So an example could be like it's like I think.

Speaker 1: 7:27

I think, like I said, instead of doing like the basic push-ups, sit-ups and the these two mile run pts, just structure your workout in like a circuit that keeps everyone engaged, right, um, so just imagine like ending with like a relay challenge or or um, or something in that nature Suddenly, I promise you, the morale is going to just skyrocket, trust and believe. So obviously I'm going to talk all this crap, but do I have anything to back it up? I got a little something. I think I got something that I would do Like. So here's what, anything to back it up. I got a little something. I think I got something that I would do Like. So here's what I would do, right, if I were you as a PT litter, this is what I would do.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Here's how my session would be set. We'll be um what is that called? Um structured. I would take 10 minutes to light the asses up, to warm them up, right. So if you guys got jump rope, use jump ropes. If you guys have just jumping jacks, do about two minutes of that, right. And then I'd probably throw in some arm circles and some leg swings, like about a minute of that, just so they kind of like loosen up the muscle and whatever no-transcript. So that's cool.

Speaker 1: 9:13

And then I move into the main workout, right, about 30, 40 minutes, cause we're under the impression that we have to be working out for a uh, an exuberant amount of time and in order to get a good pump or whatever it is, or to be effective as a uh, as a leader, and that's not always the case. So I probably do about um, the main workout, about 30, 40 minutes, about three rounds of of deadlifts, uh, push-ups and fire and not firemen's carry, farmers carries. I do six reps of uh of deadlifts, I do 20 pushups and then about 50 meters of farmer carries, right, because what do you do the most? Like no one pushes all day long, no one does anything overhead all day long, like constantly. But you do carry stuff, right, you do carry the, the, the, the fuel cans, you carry your, your equipment, you carry your, your groceries, so, and you're always on the side, right. So I think that's that's kind of like something that you got to hit on. You got to think about like what's practical.

Speaker 1: 10:21

And then I move into like agility and and and the core right and and and. Then this again, three rounds of that too, very humble, 10 reps of box jump jumps, um, uh, 30 seconds of of side planks, one person each side, right, and then do some some medic medicine ball slams, about 10 reps of those, just pow, just smacking them down, right. And then we go into cardio and endurance. We do three rounds of that. We do 400-meter sprints, we do 15 reps of burpees and then about 20 reps of kettlebell swings, right, and all these are practical. Right, you're swinging the burpees, you're getting your full body there because you're you're dropping down, you're doing your push-ups and then you, you're exploding vigorously on the jump right and then, um, so it's, it's cardio, and it's not just okay, we're gonna go down, we're gonna do 100 push-ups. Okay, 10 each, or 100 push-ups, the quickest to get it. You know what I mean. It is just okay push-ups, the quickest to get it. You know what I mean, it's just okay push-ups.

Speaker 1: 11:26

I remember back in the day that we would do like the push-ups for strength and mobility or strength and endurance, and then we filed two ranks and then one person is the grader and the other person is the tester, right, and then we swap them and we do that every time and it's like you know, get over, stop. So that's what I would do, and then, obviously, we got to cool them down for about 10 minutes. So I would do some static stretching, some hamstrings, some shoulder hip flexors, freaking deep breathing, right, deep breathing exercises. Those are good because it regulates your um, your breathing, it brings it down your heart rate and all that cool stuff. And right there, you just did 50. Uh, what is that? 34, 30 to 40, so let's say 40, and then 10 minutes, and 10 minutes on the front end and the back end, so you have an hour right there, boom done.

Speaker 1: 12:21

And then you just keep using these ideas to kind of like, keep going, all right. So that's what I would do if I were you as a leader, doing PT on any day, any day. If you want to run, even when you run, you can do like two blocks. You'll have a station set up, do something, another two blocks station set up, do something, and it just keeps going. And when I say two blocks, I mean like quarter mile, half mile, whatever it is, alright, let's keep going.

Speaker 1: 12:50

So the key turning point in like leading PT effectively is understanding how, how to adapt workouts while keeping the morale high. Because that's that's. That's really like a. It's a like you got to know, like it's a gift of, almost like it's a learned skill. That's what I mean to say. It's a learned skill Like a great leader knows when to push hard and when to encourage. See, that's the difference, like when you're pushing and you're encouraging. They're two different things, right. And then they also know how to make PT how to make PT something soldiers actually look forward to.

Speaker 1: 13:36

Because here's the deal. I'm gonna tell you something right now. Like troop wakes up, troop don't wanna be at work, troop don't wanna do PT because troop stayed up all night, or troop can't sleep, or troop went to sleep but just don't like doing PT. So you got to, you got to make it worth something, right. Either the day before, like hey, we're working on this. So therefore, uh, make sure that you hydrate. Don't do legs, because we're going to do a lot of legs tomorrow. Or don't do upper body, whatever it is, because some troops work out on their own and nothing's worse than you just did leg day and the next morning it's leg day. And that only happens if there's no PT calendar, or Joe didn't look at it, or leader didn't put it out right, but you got to get them looking forward to it. So what if? Yeah, what if?

Speaker 1: 14:29

Your squad had an upcoming ruck march? Right, this is a quick scenario, but half of you weren't conditioned for it, right? Half of you weren't conditioned for it, right? Half of you weren't conditioned for it. So, instead of skipping it. You, as a leader, can structure progressive endurance I can never say that word. So, like a progressive endurance training over like several weeks, and it'll make it achievable for everyone. That's in it.

Speaker 1: 15:01

Now, that's leadership. Have you guys ever done that Like? Because a lot of times what we'll do is we'll toss that ruck on on a Thursday and say, okay, we're out for an undisclosed amount of time, it doesn't matter. Or are you guys as leaders, or are your leaders? Have you noticed? Are they actually doing a progression? Hey, two miles this Thursday, four miles next Thursday, six, are you guys? How are you guys doing it at your units? I'd like to hear about that. Comment down below and let me know what you guys are doing, because I also like, if I ever go back to being a platoon sergeant or whatever it is, or a first sergeant, I would like to. I get ideas from your comments. I'm not gonna lie. All right, I get ideas.

Speaker 1: 15:41

So if you took, if you take anything from this video, I just want you to understand the importance of effective PT leadership. Like it's, it's, it's huge. You have no clue. It's the could only get better. It depends on how you look at it. Got to understand the key components like warmups, the exercise selection and your motivation techniques. It's it's a difference between pushing and motivating. I also want you if you took anything from this is how to adapt different workouts for different fitness levels While at the same time, while simultaneously that's when I should have used the word simultaneously.

Speaker 1: 16:41

While simultaneously, you maintain morale. Great leaders don't just run PT, they inspire their team through the whole thing. Right, and they make PT count. That's it. That's my thought process. If you found this guide helpful, be sure to check out my other video on how to remember PRT drills for BLC. Drop a comment down below with your best PT leadership tips and don't forget like, subscribe and hit the notification bell. If you're listening on the podcast, please do me a favor. Download and leave a review, and remember you don't have to embrace the suck if you got the right tools in your ruck. I'm Sarn Cruz and I'll see you in the next one, peace.