US Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Heath Doppke
The U.S. Army has just announced a new Combat Field Test, a seven-event sequence designed to test physical readiness for modern combat. This is different from the new Army Fitness Test which was announced last June which consists of five timed sequences to test a soldier’s overall fitness.
The Army Fitness Test, in order, consists of (1) 3 repetition maximum deadlift (MDL), (2) hand release push-up – arm extension, (3) sprint-drag-carry, (4) plank, and (5) two-mile run. This is a “sex-neutral, age-normed standard that requires a total score of 350, with a minimum of 60 points per event.” U.S. Army soldiers who score 465+, including a score of 80+ in each event, are exempt from the U.S. Army’s body fat standards.
Scoring varies per discipline, but for the 3 rep maximum deadlift (MDL) for example, a 60-pound hex bar is loaded with between 140-340 pounds. Soldiers must achieve perfect form (straight back, full lockout), and they must deadlift 340-pound to achieve the maximum discipline score of 100 points.
How Hard Is The Army Fitness Test?
As this is meant to be an overall diagnostic of physical fitness, the test U.S. Army‘s relatively new Fitness Test they enlisted Dr. Mike Israetel who has a PhD in Sport Physiology from East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and is the co-founder of Renaissance Periodization in addition to being a professional bodybuilder.
Dr. Mike has the classical build of a bodybuilder. Meaning, while he might likely have a very healthy heart he doesn’t have the build of someone who puts a lot of emphasis on cardio/aerobics, someone like Kristian Blummenfelt who has the highest recorded VO2 Max in history.
But Dr. Mike is very strong, has a low body fat percentage, and is in great shape. So he is a great candidate to test how hard the Army Fitness Test really is.
This week, he released a full video of the Army Fitness Test along with a few shorter clips. In this one, the hand release push-ups, the minimum is 10 and the maximum is 59. For this clip, Dr. Mike calls out the sergeant for ‘coming up off the ground’ during the test despite recording 64 hand release push-ups which is a full 100 points. Then Dr. Mike Israetel had to attempt it himself. Here’s how it went:
41 hand release push-ups for a score of 86! Not bad, but he fell short of the soldier.
What about the other disciplines though? Here is the full video of the Army Fitness Test. As you can imagine, he beasted his way through the maximum deadlift with ease:
In total, Dr. Mike scored 100 points for the 3 rep max deadlift, 86 points for the push-ups, 61 for the sprint-drag-carry, 100 points for the plank, and on the two-mile run he bows out around the 8:45 mark. In total, his score was 347 out of 500 meaning he did not pass the Army Fitness Test. Meanwhile, the soldier who was doing the fitness test alongside him scored a perfect 500 out of 500 on the test.
An Exercise Scientist’s Takeaways
Following his failure to complete the 2-mile run, Dr. Mike gave his thoughts on the U.S. Army’s updated Fitness Test. He believes that overall “this is a very good test that needs to stay.” Stating that it is a good thing he failed because he is not fit to serve in the U.S. Army based on his inability to run two miles.
He did add that the 2-mile run is ‘top-end event’ where most real-world tasks within the Army would not require this but points out that if someone performs well on this fitness test they are likely to perform well in the Army. His final caveat is that the US Army Fitness Test could likely include a 1-mile run versus a 2-mile run but the longer distance ensures “all bases are covered.”
New Army Combat Field Test
Late last month, the US Army announced an all-new Combat Field Test. I mentioned it at the beginning but thought we could revisit that here.
In a press release, the Army stated that the new Combat Field Test (CFT) they are rolling out is “a major update to its physical readiness program designed to align fitness standards with the demanding realities of modern combat.” Secretary of the Army Hon. Dan Driscoll said “the Combat Field Test is a critical step forward in ensuring our Soldiers serving in the most physically demanding specialties have the specific fitness required to dominate on the modern battlefield. This is about readiness, lethality, and the well-being of our Soldiers.”
The new Army Combat Field Test (CFT) will consist of the following: (1) A one-mile run, (2) 30 dead-stop push-ups, (3) A 100-meter sprint, (4) 16 lifts of a 40-pound sandbag onto a 65-inch platform, (5) A 50-meter carry of two five-gallon Army water cans weighing 40 pounds each, (6) A 50-meter movement drill consisting of a 25-meter high crawl and a 25-meter 3-5 second rush, and (7) a final one-mile run.
Not to diminish this test in any way but it does sound a bit like a Hyrox competition at this point with the running -> lifting -> running -> lifting, etc.
All U.S. Army soldiers in combat positions, regardless of age or sex, will be required to pass this test using the same criteria. For the curious minds, the U.S. Army’s website has information on how to train for each portion of the combat test by following the link to the press release above.