Many professions require fitness tests, and even if you do not work in a profession that does, fitness tests are a great way to motivate you to achieve more. Regardless of whether you are required to or just want to, you can boost your score by supplementing your workouts with a 15 minute regime.

This system is the one I use to break up the monotony while preparing for my Air Force fit test. This test requires us to do a 1.5 mile run, one-minute push ups, and one-minute sit ups. The required numbers vary according to age and gender, but that does not matter at the moment.

The best way to get faster at the run is to make the body think it is faster. Huh? By simply running 1.5 miles, you build muscle memory. It is very difficult to increase your run time once you get to a certain point if you only run one way. Therefore, by sprinting portions of it you can jolt your muscles to think they are faster during this run. Interval training has proven to be very effective, but takes too long when you only have time for a quick 15 minute workout and want to hit all three areas.

To do this workout go to a track or have a quarter mile course marked off. I like to use the track on base or one around a football field. The “where” is not super important; however, you want to make sure you have a good place that you can stop to do the push ups and sit ups. If you are a person who requires his feet to be held during the sit up, either enlist a friend or find a location you could use to anchor your ankles.

Run a quarter mile as fast as you can. Drop, do one minute of push ups. Take a quick breather and then sprint back the opposite direction. At the end do another minute of sit ups. Repeat this three times. Each cycle should take about 5-7 minutes.

I like to track the sprints and strive to beat the times each week as well as the number of reps for sit ups and push ups.

One way to make this even more fun is to find an incline. Sprint up the incline. Do the push ups. Sprint back down. Do the sit ups. It is not fun to fight the hill on the up side, but coming down almost feels like a treat…almost.

Try this workout for a few weeks and see if you notice any difference in your numbers.