Exactly, are we talking basic training or Seal, Ranger standards because special ops standards are a lot more physically taxing than basic training. My brother in law couldn't pass the Ranger test, but his son did.
There are several different layers of training and separation...and I can only speak to the Marine Corps.
The first starts at recruiting. Recruiters are trained in evaluating individuals who are interested in joining the Marine Corps in regards to what and which MOS's to recommend and place individuals in. This is done through a combination of preliminary aptitude tests, physical tests, and medical evaluations. There are specifications and requirements that any new recruit must match with prior to being send to bootcamp. For the Marine Corps there is a minimum physical qualification that must be passed just in order to enter recruit training.
The second represents "bootcamp". The physical requirements are low for this level, however performance in all physical activities are required and passage of all events are required before you can leave your recruit training battalion. Prior to graduation you must pass both the Marine Corps standard PFT (Physical Fitness Test) that for males includes max pull-ups (max 20) x 5 pts, max crunches in 2 min (max 100) x 1, and a 3 mile run (100 pts max if at or under 18 min) for the highest total of 300 pts or a perfect PFT (20 pullups, 100 crunches, 18 minute 3 mile run). In addition to this there is the Marine Corps standard CFT (Combat Fitness Test). This is comprised of an 800 meter sprint in boots and utes, then you have a 30 lbs max ammo can lift in 2 min, followed by an intricate maneuver under fire course that consists of too much to list, here is a video of it:
The CFT is scored differently based on Gender currently as is the PFT:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps_Physical_Fitness_Test
Females now have the option to do pullups but normally they do a flex arm hang in place of that. They get more time on the run as well in order to receive the max points
http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/61/Docs/HQ Svc BN/MCPFP 17-26[1].pdf
Females again are already given a different set of criteria in order to get max points.
Bootcamp is part preparation for further training evolutions. You do not have to enter bootcamp in peak physical condition, but as you are trained over 13 weeks you get more physically fit. Though the requirements are fairly low in terms of physical standards, the results are quite improved by the time you graduate. Along this initial training evolution if you are overweight you will be dropped from your training battalion and placed in BCP (Body Composition Program) until you meet the weight standards. If you cannot pass the PFT and CFT you will be dropped from your training battalion and put into a Physical Training Remediation program until you can pass it.
No one leaves bootcamp until these milestones have been met.
The third level splits into 2 roads. The first road if you are non-infantry is to undergo Marine Combat Training, which is a 5 week evolution. This is a "mini-infantry" course. All Marines are required to take it if they are not going into an infantry billet. At the end of the day ALL Marines are riflemen. So you learn combat tactics and squad operations. You hump miles and miles in full load carrying weapons. If you are unable to pass these events or if you are injured during this evolution you are dropped from your training battalion and remediated.
If you are entering an infantry MOS, then you proceed from bootcamp to the School of Infantry. At this stage you undertake all of the training of MCT which is just basic introduction to combat tactics. All of the same requirements must be met. Then depending on your MOS you go into specific MOS training. If you are going to be a machine gunner you then you have an additional month course where you are introduced to the 240, .50 cal, and M19. If you are a mortar man you have an additional month being taught how to employ the 81's, and 120's, if you are a rifleman you.... each infantry discipline gets specific training on their weapon systems and employment.
This stage is extremely physical. Most all of the training includes carrying the weapon systems on long humps in full load. Emplacing, tearing down, move... emplacing, tearing down, move... this gear can weigh 30 lbs or more just the weapon systems. The 50 cal weighs 85 pounds. Your fighting load can weigh up to 60 lbs. It is a lot of grueling activities carrying and moving with a lot of weight on your back and an extreme test of the lower extremities. If you cannot complete the training evolution you will be dropped from your training battalion to either be re-trained as a different MOS or put in medical until you can fully recover and try again. This is the combat arm MOS... this is what you are tasked with doing. It is your job to be put on a ship, then assault a beach, then fight inland to establish a beachhead... this is the purpose of the Marine Corps. You will be on foot, carrying everything you need to survive and kill the enemy. This is it.
This is where, currently the males, who cannot meet the standards are dropped. This is still initial training. This is before you ever join an infantry unit.
Once you successfully pass this then you are finally complete with your initial training and you join the fleet.
The final physical standards are set my your infantry unit. The following is a physical standards test that will take place this summer.
Late in June, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., will participate in three physical testing events:
• A replica 40mm Mark-19 machine-gun lift, in which a Marine lifts a 72-pound weapon over his or her head while wearing a 71-pound combat load.
• A casualty evacuation, in which a Marine drags a 165-pound mannequin wearing a 43-pound combat load while wearing a 43-pound load of his own.
• A “march under load,” in which Marines carry a 71-pound combat load 20 kilometers in less than five hours.
Infantry units do this all the time. This is all they really do. They hump around, go to the field, and practice fighting wars. They come back for a few days, rest, clean weapons and gear and they go do it again.... for years. They are trained to be the individuals that are tasked with taking territory and holding it. They train to do this as combined arms units with support for the other combat arm mos's of artillery and tanks. They train with the support of air assets... and the rest of the training for the remaining Marine Corps is in logistics (how to supply these infantry units while on the move).
There is nothing "normal" about this. The infantry is the primary focus of the Marine Corps. Everything that everyone else does is to support the infantry. The physical standards and regular training regiment of these units is grueling and it never stops. You will always find that the small unit leaders within the infantry community are all the top performers in regards to these physical activities, in most cases the officers are the top performers. The Marine Corps is very focused on physical ability, physical performance on these tests factor into promotions and thus the advancement of careers.
As difficult as this is for infantryman, the physical standards for the special forces are even more intense. This is to include MARSOC, SEALS, RANGERS, DELTA...