Train for|6 training days a week by default
PRMC training plan.
Potential Royal Marines Course: gym tests to maximum points, bleep test and the 3 mile run with the second 1.5 miles best effort.
What the test is
The Potential Royal Marines Course is three days at the Commando Training Centre, Lympstone. The published physical tests are press-ups and sit-ups in two minutes and pull-ups, each scored to a maximum, the multistage fitness test, and a 3 mile run whose second half is a best-effort 1.5 miles.
The figures below are the maximum-point standards at the time of writing. They have changed before; confirm the current standard with your careers adviser. Form is assessed as strictly as the count, so train to the Lympstone standard from the first session.
The standards
Published figures at the time of writing. Confirm the current standard with the recruiting office before you set a target; you can edit every target on the goal screen.
| Target | Test |
|---|---|
| 60reps | Press-ups in 2 min |
| 80reps | Sit-ups in 2 min |
| 16reps | Pull-ups |
| 13level | Multistage fitness test |
| 10:00min:sec | 1.5 mile run (best effort) |
How the plan is built for it
- 1Calisthenics volume is scaled to your current maxes: frequent submaximal sets of press-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups, with a timed test rehearsal every week in the specific block.
- 2Running alternates a bleep test rehearsal with a 1.5 mile time trial run after a 1.5 mile steady warm-up, which is how the 3 miler is actually run.
- 3An easy long run every week keeps the base growing, because PRMC and the Commando course after it reward people with something left on the second day.
- 4The final week tapers hard. Nothing heavy in the last three days before you travel.
- 5Every morning the plan reads your HRV, sleep and resting heart rate from your watch and proposes one change when you are not recovered: scale the loads, swap with an easier day, or rest. You accept it or keep the plan.
Questions
How many pull-ups for maximum points on PRMC?
At the time of writing, 16 dead-hang pull-ups scores the maximum. Confirm the current figure with your careers adviser.
What bleep test level does PRMC require?
The level is published by the Royal Marines and has changed in the past. Train to go comfortably beyond it.
How long should PRMC preparation take?
Twelve weeks is a sensible plan from a reasonable base. From a standing start, sixteen weeks lets the calisthenics volume build without injury.