But walking with 80lbs is NOT the same as climbing stairs with 75lbs. Where I live, you can't hold on to the side rails either. If you haven't been climbing stairs with the weight, start. Walking with the weight will help, but the test is climbing stairs. i can't power walk like a champ with no weight for 60 minutes. 5 minutes into the stairmaster is COMPLETELY different. It will destroy your quads. Trust me. You will be able to do it, it will just suck. I agree with the above. You need to "practice" doing what the timed test calls for. At least once or twice. I would recommend "training" for a longer time period, 10-15 minutes, working up, and maybe dropping the weight after 15 min. But you will need to practice the test at "full speed" at least once prior. When I tested, they had a training night where they showed us the drills and let us practice the stations. The problem was we couldn't "run the test" at speed. So each station wasn't bad, but stringing them together was way different. keep walking with the weight, just get on some stairs too.