How to Train for the Army Combat Fitness Test

The largest number of active duty military personnel are in the United States Army according to data provided by the Council on Foreign Relations (1). Anyone who is enlisted, or ready to enlist, is likely more than familiar with the Army Combat Fitness Test. 

As a fitness trainer, it’s important that you know about this test too, enabling you to create an exercise program that helps your clients pass it. Here’s some information about what this fitness test is, the exercises it includes, and some training advice.

What Is the Army Combat Fitness Test?

The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) is a test given to people who’ve enlisted in the U.S. Army (2). During initial military training, the ACFT helps identify an enlistee’s level of combat readiness. It’s also used to evaluate their physical and mental abilities.

This combat fitness test assesses several different areas of fitness. Some combat tasks evaluate muscle strength or endurance, for instance. Others are used to identify a person’s level of balance, flexibility, or aerobic endurance. Mental toughness is also analyzed in the combat fitness test. 

But this is not a ‘one and done’ test. Army soldiers must continue to take this physical fitness test multiple times throughout the year during their enlistment. When performed regularly, this test serves as a form of physical training, helping the soldiers improve their fitness levels. 

The exercises included in the test promote higher levels of fitness by improving strength, endurance, flexibility, and more. These improvements also help enlisted soldiers avoid injury when engaged in physical duties. 

6 Events (Exercises) Included in the Combat Test

The Army refers to each exercise in the combat test as an event. In total, six events make up the ACFT. They are:

1. 3 repetition maximum deadlift. To complete this ACFT event, you must do three deadlifts using the highest weight possible. A 60-pound hex bar is used with the remaining weight added via plates. One goal of this test is to determine muscle strength. It also helps identify physical balance and flexibility.

2. Standing power throw. This event involves throwing a 10-pound medicine ball backward over your head. The goal is to throw it as far as you can. Areas of fitness addressed with the power throw are physical power, flexibility, and balance.

3. Hand release push-up with arm extension. In this combat event, you have two minutes to complete as many hand-release push-ups with arm extensions as you can. To do this exercise, you do a regular push-up. Then, when your upper body is lowered back to the ground, you extend both arms to the sides so you are in the shape of a “T.” Next, you bring the arms back in to get ready to do another push-up. This counts as one repetition. This task is all about muscular endurance.

4. Sprintdrag carry. Another muscular endurance exercise, this combat task involves five 50-meter shuttles, completed as quickly as possible. In the first one, you sprint. When doing the next shuttle, you drag a 90-pound sled. The next one is a lateral shuttle, which is followed by shuttling while carrying two 40-pound kettlebells. The last shuttle is a basic sprint.

5. Plank. The plank exercise is known for building core strength. But the Army uses this exercise to assess muscular strength endurance. Individuals must hold the plank position as long as possible. The position utilized by the Army involves placing the elbows under the shoulders. The hands are no more than fist-width apart and the feet are within one boot’s width apart. The body must be in a straight line for the plank to count.

6. Two-mile run. This final combat fitness test is timed. The goal is to run two miles as fast as you can. The course is typically outdoors and flat. How quickly you’re able to complete the required distance gives insight into your cardiovascular endurance.

Breaking Down ACFT Scores

To pass the Army Combat Fitness Test, individuals must score at least 60 points in each of the six events. (The highest score possible for each event is 100.) This enables participants to achieve a score of 360, which is the minimum passing score for the fitness test. If the minimum score is not achieved after two attempts, the person is “involuntarily separated” from the Army.

ACFT scores are assessed based on gender and age. Let’s look at the power throw as an example. Twenty-five-year-old female soldiers taking this fitness test need to throw the medicine ball backward at least 4 meters to earn a passing score of 60. Male soldiers of the same age need a distance of 6.3 meters or greater to earn a minimum score in the power throw. 

Older soldiers in each gender category have shorter distance requirements. Case in point: a 50-year-old female must throw the medicine ball at least 3.7 meters to pass this event and the distance needed for a 50-year-old male to pass the power throw is 6 meters. For both genders, this is 0.3 meters less than soldiers half their age.

Although Army officials give this fitness test several times throughout the year, scores aren’t recorded every time. The scores for active duty soldiers are only recorded twice a year. They’re only recorded once a year for individuals in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard.

How to Train for the Army Combat Fitness Test

The Army provides two basic pieces of advice for people training for the fitness test. The first is to “pace yourself” by ramping up activity slowly as physical fitness improves. Personal trainers already use this same approach when training clients not involved in Army training.

The second piece of advice is, in part, to focus on body composition. It’s also to train in four key areas: 

• Cardio – performing heart-raising exercises such as sprints and hill runs

• Strength – both upper body exercises such as pull-ups and overhead presses, and lower body exercises like squats and lunges

• Endurance – circuit training and interval training help build aerobic endurance, while resistance training with lighter weights and higher reps improves muscular endurance

• Flexibility – exercises such as straight-leg deadlifts and bent over rows help improve lower body mobility

A comprehensive Army training program needs to include exercises from each of these fitness areas, which will help improve body composition at the same time. 

Exercises to Include in an ACFT Training Plan

The Army provides a list of the top exercises for preparing for each of the six fitness events. Including these same exercises in your fitness clients’ workout plan helps them get ready for the Army Combat Fitness Test. It also better prepares them for the high physical demand they will likely face as active duty or reserve soldiers.

The exercises to include in their workout plan, based on the events, are:

To set yourself apart from other trainers—and help soldiers better identify your ability to help them prepare for the ACFT—ISSA offers Tactical Conditioning Specialist Certification. This course teaches you how to assess tactical fitness. You also learn how to design a program that meets a soldier’s unique training needs.

References

1. Council on Foreign Relations. (2020, July 13). Demographics of the U.S. military. Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military 

2. U.S. Army. (n.d.). Army Combat Fitness Test. Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.army.mil/acft/