Army to introduce new Combat Fitness Test

[Dr It]

6 events

The new test consists of six events:

• Strength Deadlift: With a proposed weight range of 120 to 420 pounds, the deadlift event is similar to the one found in the Occupational Physical Assessment Test, or OPAT, which is given to new recruits to assess lower-body strength before they are placed into a best-fit career field. The ACFT will require soldiers to perform a three-repetition maximum deadlift. Army officials said the event replicates picking up ammunition boxes, a wounded battle buddy, supplies or other heavy equipment.
• Standing power throw: Soldiers toss a 10-pound ball backward as far as possible to test muscular explosive power that may be needed to lift themselves or a fellow soldier up over an obstacle or to move rapidly across uneven terrain.
• Hand-Release Pushups: In this event, soldiers start in the prone position and do a traditional pushup, but when at the down position they release their hands and arms from contact with the ground and then reset to do another pushup. This allows for additional upper body muscles to be exercised.
• Sprint/Drag/Carry: As they dash 25 meters five times up and down a lane, soldiers will perform sprints, drag a sled weighing 90 pounds, and then hand-carry two 40-pound kettlebell weights. Army officials said this can simulate pulling a battle buddy out of harm’s way, moving quickly to take cover, or carrying ammunition to a fighting position or vehicle.
• Leg Tuck: Similar to a pull-up, soldiers lift their legs up and down to touch their knees/thighs to their elbows as many times as they can. Army officials said this exercise strengthens the core muscles since it doubles the amount of force required compared to a traditional situp.
• 2-Mile Run: A carryover from the current test, Army officials said they expect run times to be a bit slower due to all of the other strenuous activity.

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[pgg]

No tractor tire flip event?

Sounds like Crossfitters are in charge of the Army now.

 

[Atlas Shrugged]

More injuries and profiles. Also how do you do this in a deployed setting? Who dreams this crap up.


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[HighPriest]

Ha!

Hit this tire with a sledge hammer. It mimicks digging a latrine....or...whatever...

 

[TheEarDoc]

I am happy they are finally updating the archaic current AFT requirements. I know plenty of people who can run all day long, but you put any gear on them and they can't function. Same with plenty of sprinters who can sprint fine in PT gear, but they couldn't drag a wounded fellow soldier more than 10 ft without collapsing.

Looking forward to this I will be honest.

 

[Perrotfish]

Meanwhile the Navy has just updated it's physical fitness uniform.

By adding a second, optional physical fitness uniform.

 

[pgg]

Despite my initial sarcastic reply, there's some merit to some of this.

If for no other reason than the push ups will be real push ups if they have to lift their hands, instead of the 4 degree elbow bends and chin dips that pass for push ups now.

Meanwhile the Navy has just updated it's physical fitness uniform.

By adding a second, optional physical fitness uniform.

I don't care if they make it a pretty pink tutu with a floral bonnet, as long as I can do my 12 minutes on that bike instead of running.

 

[HighPriest]

updating the test was a good idea, and a long time coming. But, as pgg stated....it really seems like they went to the crossfit gym for advice. I hope you don't have to deadlift 420 lbs to max out the test. I see a lot more lower back claims in my crystal ball...

 

[TheEarDoc]

I just think sit ups and push ups are a waste of time for measuring physical fitness. Easier and more realistic applications to test core strength and upper body strength.

 

[HighPriest]

I agree. I'm not sure all of these are quite as directly correspondent as this list makes them sound (10 lbs kettle ball throw as a measure of being able to lift oneself), but it's a step in the right direction....assuming that they don't do what they do 100% of the rest of the time, where they initiate something like this and then don't look to see if it's helpful or if it needs modification for another 60 years.

The other side of that coin, and what I would fear if I were they, is that they'll initiate this full bore and end up with a ton of injuries, and the line command structure will demand that we re-institute the old PT standard simply because they have too many injured soldiers.

It's great if they're smart about it, but....well....I don't have a lot of faith in their being smart about it.

 

[HighPriest]

PLUS, bro, think about how much longer you'll all be sitting outside at 0500 watching the NCOs read off instructions for every event. Holy $#!t, it already takes them 25 minutes to tell me how to properly do a push up. How long do you think it'll take to explain how to properly do a hand-release push up??

 

[narcusprince]

I see a lot more injuries practicing for these events. Also this is a all day evolution so good luck finding times in your schedule to do this. On the other hand functional fitness is the way to go. It also may be more difficult to cheat the test.

 

[Cooperd0g]

This is almost a direct copy of the Marines. They had a lot of injuries initially until people learned how to train for it.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Meanwhile the Navy has just updated it's physical fitness uniform.

By adding a second, optional physical fitness uniform.

Oh good. Just what we need. Another uniform. I guess since we’re ditching the blueberries we need to add a pt uniform.

 

[d2305]

The Marines have had a carry a corpse event for years. If the patient is unconscious, lifting them on your back isn't easy.

 

[colbgw02]

Kinda funny how cyclical things can be. The outgoing APFT was adopted, in part, because of its simplicity - it could be done virtually anywhere without a real burden of procuring equipment/facilities. Looks like things have swung back the other way.

Also, I'm halfway surprised this is actually going to happen. I first heard about the new PFT when I was a senior doing ROTC in college, which was nearly 20 years ago.

 

[Perrotfish]

This is almost a direct copy of the Marines. They had a lot of injuries initially until people learned how to train for it.

Is this going to be a gender neutral test like the Marines? Is it going to be just for the grunts like the Marines?

The Marine added the CFT specifically to maintain physical fitness standards for the Infantry, which made sense. On the other hand ito sounds like the Army is trying to replace the entire PFT with this thing. I'm not sure how that will work for a 5'0'' female Soldier in an admin role. Will she really be able to deadlift that much? Is it really a good reason to end her career if she can't?

We already have way too many support people who think that an Infantry quality PFT makes up for not being able to do their actual job. This seems like they're making that problem worse.

 

[deuist]

I'm not sure why support personnel are active duty at all. The person who takes my picture is an E6. Make all those people civilians, including the majority of the doctors and nurses, and let the warfighters serve as professional soldiers.

 

[HighPriest]

They should make it more MOS-oriented, and more applicable to the greater Army.

Get pregnant before deployment event: determines how effectively one can become pregnant to avoid deploying
Show up hung-over event: determines how effectively a soldier can show up to work with a hangover and still manage to muscle through
Neck-Squash event: determines how effectively an obese soldier can expand his neck to pass a tape test
Lost paperwork event: determines how effectively anyone below E-5 can lose paperwork that they were provided no more than 15 minutes ago
Water-chug contest: determines how quickly a soldier can drink 4 gallons of water prior to a UA
Motorcycle gauntlet: determines how terribly a soldier can ride a motorcycle: weaving into and out of traffic and avoiding certain death as he speeds in to make formation at 0400. soldier must be hung over.

 

[d2305]

The PFT (PRT) started in the Navy about the same time as massive urine drug testing. I actually did use use a Neil Robertson Stretcher to retrieve a chief from deep in the fireroom, but I didn't pull him out by myself. It was kind of like a cave rescue.

 

[sonofva]

The form on that girl deadlifting in the "informational video" the Army released makes my back hurt...

 

[DMBandFan86]

is there a source to this being a new standard? whats the time frame

these changes have been talked about for many years and always been pushed back thus far. I've also heard that this is getting implemented before and it never was.

 

[armytrainingsir]

Google Army Combat Fitness Test.

All over army times, military Dott comm

Late 2020 is the target date.

I agree, injures are gonna go up and predict the SJW will continue their screams of equality and yet simultaneously demanding a lower standard.

 

[absolutdokta]

looking forward to taking this for record...oh i don’t know, probably for my final PT test before getting out by the time it’s actually a real thing


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[Mace1370]

This new test is going to injure a lot of people. Heck, I've injured myself deadlifting in the past and learned with the supervision of trained instructors. The idea that the Army will be made up of Crossfit badasses is I'm sure a romantic notion to many, but realistically speaking not easy to implement. I've known people to starve themselves for a few days and go on diuretics to pass a weigh in. What lengths do you think people will go to to "cram" for a max weight deadlift the week prior to the exam?

 

[NontradCA]

 

[NontradCA]

This new test is going to injure a lot of people. Heck, I've injured myself deadlifting in the past and learned with the supervision of trained instructors. The idea that the Army will be made up of Crossfit badasses is I'm sure a romantic notion to many, but realistically speaking not easy to implement. I've known people to starve themselves for a few days and go on diuretics to pass a weigh in. What lengths do you think people will go to to "cram" for a max weight deadlift the week prior to the exam?

I would think they would start training soldiers on the deadlift. If not, lulz to ensue. That being said I think the deadlift is a pretty safe lift outside of the increased incidence of bicep tears at higher weights. I think this is a step in the right direction. I remember before I started lifting I would perform perfect PFT but when it came to lifting and carrying people on stretchers it was awful.

 

[Perrotfish]

I would think they would start training soldiers on the deadlift. If not, lulz to ensue. That being said I think the deadlift is a pretty safe lift outside of the increased incidence of bicep tears at higher weights. I think this is a step in the right direction. I remember before I started lifting I would perform perfect PFT but when it came to lifting and carrying people on stretchers it was awful.

Agreed. It was kinda scary the first time I tried to carry a stretcher and realized that my outstanding PRT wasn't enough for me to move it more than a few hundred feet.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Agreed. It was kinda scary the first time I tried to carry a stretcher and realized that my outstanding PRT wasn't enough for me to move it more than a few hundred feet.

Yep it doesn't matter how many push ups, sit ups, or how fast you can run 2 miles when it comes to carrying another body of dead weight on a stretcher. Totally different muscles involved.

 

[HighPriest]

Yep it doesn't matter how many push ups, sit ups, or how fast you can run 2 miles when it comes to carrying another body of dead weight on a stretcher. Totally different muscles involved.

Or dumping a hooker into a car trunk. The PT test is totally inadequate.

 

[Apollyon]

Or dumping a hooker into a car trunk. The PT test is totally inadequate.

Yeah, but, if your hooker is 150lbs or more (which the 90lb weight with the drag coefficient included simulates), you're doing it wrong. Most are, what we say, "rather skinny" from the meth and heroin.

 

[HighPriest]

Or maybe i'm doing it right. Don't judge my hookers. You just gotta know where to find the thicc ones. You just gotta stop looking outside military posts.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Or dumping a hooker into a car trunk. The PT test is totally inadequate.

I thought this was already part of the Marine physical fitness test?

 

[HighPriest]

I thought this was already part of the Marine physical fitness test?

No way. Too much forethought and planning.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I thought this was already part of the Marine physical fitness test?

No, they just measure your BP to see if you are sufficiently engaged by the thought that said hooker was actually a guy.

 

[QBach]

Interesting that there have been no signs of age or gender stratification in scoring, only the black/grey/gold minimums. Guess I better start working on my 1 Leg Tuck rep...

 

[TheEarDoc]

View attachment 239186

Interesting that there have been no signs of age or gender stratification in scoring, only the black/grey/gold minimums. Guess I better start working on my 1 Leg Tuck rep...

Yeah I must say being someone who dislikes running 2 miles I find this to be an easier fitness standard. Maybe I am just used to more of these real world applications, but this to me seems a lot easier than the current standards for the current AFT