
“We’re moving in the right direction.WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Army Christine E. It’s been received very well,” Grinston added. “They were informed so they wouldn’t be surprised by this. Above that threshold, though, men and women’s scores are separated into percentiles, so women’s scores would be measured against other women, and the same for men.Ĭongress was given an official written notice last week about the changes to the test, but Grinston said Monday his office had been in touch with lawmakers before that, as well. Those baseline scores are: three deadlift repetitions at 140 pounds a 4.5-meter standing power throw 10 hand-release push-ups a 3-minute sprint-drag-carry one leg tuck or a roughly 2-minute plank and a two-mile run in under 21 minutes.Ī minimum passing score is 60 points in each of the six events for a total of 360 points. The third version also lifted job-specific standards for soldiers, meaning everyone just has to meet a gender- and age-neutral baseline. The third version of the ACFT doesn’t eliminate the leg tuck, but it does give soldiers the option of performing a roughly 2-minute plank instead.
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“Knowing how to prepare yourself to excel in each event in sequence is something you can only learn by taking the test.” “There are important techniques to learn, like developing your new cadence on the Hand Release Push-Ups or understanding how your body recovers between events,” Martin added.


Each of the soldiers Martin tested with Friday “said something to the effect of ‘I learned a lot about how I should change my PT program,’” he told reporters. Martin, the Army’s vice chief, echoed the sentiment that taking the test is one of the best ways to prepare. My first standing power throw was pretty embarrassing, and I think lacked the “power” part. My sprint-drag-carry time would probably benefit from practicing in advance, as long as the equipment is available. Many of the events are difficult to run through if you’ve only watched a video of the movements. It’s not a good idea to take the ACFT “cold,” as I did.But hand-release push-ups also feel like a far better calisthenic that forces me to perform a wider range of motion and eliminates any acceleration I may have built up from repetitions done in quick succession. Hand-release push-ups are noticeably more difficult than normal push-ups that only break the 90-degree angle.

The equipment was pre-staged for the roughly two dozen people taking the test Friday, but it’s easy to see how the ACFT could become a much more involved event for larger groups. The ACFT is far more complicated and time consuming than the military fitness tests I’m used to, which can be done with a stop-watch, an ad-hoc track and a cheap repetition counter.If it didn’t outright help with my glucose levels, or something like that, it added a nice placebo effect. I followed the advice of one soldier and ate orange slices in between events. The sprint-drag-carry, for instance, left my leg muscles still quaking by the time I had to perform the 2-mile run.Running through multiple exercises that target leg muscles make each successive event more challenging than they would be if tested in isolation. The ACFT is more challenging than typical military fitness tests, which usually only measure run times, push-ups and sit-ups.Granted, I do a lot of pull-ups in my home office. The hardest event for me, or at least most awkward, was the standing power throw.

