Key Takeaways
The Navy Physical Readiness Test (PRT) is three events: two minutes of push-ups, a timed forearm plank and a 1.5-mile run.
Your command can approve a different cardio event, such as a 2,000-meter row or a swim. Plan on running.
Each event is scored from 45 to 100 points. You need at least 45, called Probationary, in all three.
Sailors test twice a year, and the scores are set by age and sex.
Train push-ups and the run hardest. The plank rewards steady, regular practice more than all-out effort.
The short version
If you are joining the Navy, the Navy Reserve or Navy-option NROTC, the fitness test you will take is the Physical Readiness Test. It has been the same three events for a few years now: push-ups, a forearm plank and a 1.5-mile run. The plank replaced curl-ups, and the 2,000-meter row was added as an approved cardio option. What changed for 2026 is how often Sailors test: twice a year, every year.
Every new Sailor goes through boot camp at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois, about an hour north of our gym in Westmont. Recruits who show up already able to pass the PRT, with points to spare, have one less thing to worry about.
The three events
Push-ups. As many as you can in two minutes. Body in one straight line, lower until your upper arms are level with the ground, press back up until your arms are straight.
Forearm plank. Hold a straight line from head to heels on your forearms and toes for as long as you can. The clock stops when your form breaks.
1.5-mile run. Timed. With command approval, a Sailor can swap in an alternate cardio event, such as a 2,000-meter row or a 500-yard or 450-meter swim.
What the scores actually mean
Each event is scored on its own, from 45 points at the bottom to 100 at the top. The Navy groups the scores into levels: Outstanding, Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and Probationary. Probationary, 45 points, is the lowest score that still passes. Miss it in any one event and you fail the whole test.
Here is the range for a 17-to-19-year-old:
Men: 42 to 92 push-ups, a 1:11 to 3:24 plank, a 12:45 to 8:15 run
Women: 19 to 51 push-ups, a 1:01 to 3:14 plank, a 15:00 to 9:29 run
The first number in each range is the passing minimum. The second earns all 100 points.
Passing is the floor, not the goal. Ask your recruiter what score you need to ship and to graduate, then train well above it. Score your numbers free in our calculator. It shows your points for each event and the one holding you back.
How to train for it
Push-up numbers climb with lots of good sets that stop short of failure, not one all-out set a day. Two minutes is long enough that pacing matters, so practice a rhythm you can hold almost to the end. Here is a short push-up demo showing what a rep that counts looks like.
The plank is built three ways each week: broken holds, a sequence of moving forearm drills, and one straight hold that grows a little every week. See the plank demo.
For the run, most young athletes jog easy miles and then fade on test day. We teach goal pace with quarter-mile repeats. Six laps of a track is a mile and a half, so knowing your lap time lets you pace by feel. If your command approves the row, here is the rowing demo.
All three programs are in our free Navy and Coast Guard prep guide, and most of it needs nothing more than a floor, a staircase and a place to run.
For parents
A stronger athlete does more push-ups, holds a plank longer and runs with better posture when tired. At Mighty Oak Athletic, military prep sits on top of the barbell, kettlebell and bodyweight training every athlete here does, and it is included in our membership. Your first session is free.
Heading to the Coast Guard instead? It uses the same three events with one-minute push-ups. Read What Is the Coast Guard PFT? For every branch in one place, see our military fitness test calculator post.
Three events. Train them all, and train the weakest one most.
Be strong to be useful.
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Two minutes of push-ups, a timed forearm plank and a 1.5-mile run. With command approval, a Sailor can do an alternate cardio event such as a 2,000-meter row or a 500-yard or 450-meter swim instead of the run.
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At least 45 points, called Probationary, in every event. For a 17-to-19-year-old man that is 42 push-ups, a 1:11 plank and a 12:45 run. For a 17-to-19-year-old woman it is 19 push-ups, a 1:01 plank and a 15:00 run.
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Twice a year, as part of the Navy’s Physical Fitness Assessment, which also includes a body composition check.
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The forearm plank. You hold a straight line from head to heels on your forearms and toes for as long as you can.
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Most of the programs in our free guide run six to eight weeks at three sessions a week. Start earlier if you are well below the passing line.
