Last month I wrote about the new Army Combat Fitness Test and gave my thoughts on the new exercises that will be implemented. If you missed it you can READ IT HERE. Now that the dust has settled and soldiers panic and anger over the new test has subsided (a little) I wanted to focus a blog on helping you to prepare to go out and crush the ACFT. It won’t be easy, but it shouldn’t be as intimidating as people are making it out to be. Everything is trainable as long as you are willing to put in the work. So grab a nice warm cup of coffee and learn How to Train for the NEW Army Combat Fitness Test ACFT.

Everyone can do great on the ACFT. You just have to work!

First and foremost the simplest ways to get prepared for the ACFT is to follow my 12-Week ACFT Train-Up Plan on the TrainHeroic App, it’s $75 and you have access to it for 1-Year, LEARN MORE. You also could just jump on our online Tactical Strength & Conditioning Program for under $1/day through TrainHeroic as well, LEARN MORE, or get a Custom Program starting at $200/12-Weeks from me, LEARN MORE. All of the training programs I put together for tactical athletes are geared toward making you a more athletic and resilient soldier. So any option you choose will work! But if you’re that lone wolf that likes to do things on your own here are some ideas and strategies to get you and/or your unit up to speed to dominate the ACFT.

Can the ACFT really change the “culture” of the ARMY?

Like I said before, I don’t believe this new test will change the “culture” of the ARMY like they are expecting it to. I’m not saying it can’t, but it seems like a tall order. The new test is better than the outdated APFT. And hopefully this will get leadership to look deeper into what Physical Training (PT) should look like. So maybe, just maybe, the rest of the ARMY will look at how Special Operations trains their soldiers with strength & conditioning coaches, physical therapists and performance dietitians and work to adopt that model. But, the majority of the ARMY doesn’t have that access. So they likely will be the ones who have the biggest difficulties with the ACFT. But I am still optimistic this may adjust unit PT in the next couple of years. However, don’t hold your breathe…

Learn our Dynamic Warm-Up HERE!

The Movements, Some Things to Consider and How to Get Better:

3-Rep Max Trap Bar Deadlift:

This movement makes me the most nervous. If soldiers aren’t coached or warmed up on the movement they can get hurt. The Trap-Bar Deadlift (TBD) isn’t like a Straight-Bar Deadlift (SBD), but I would consider it the safer of the two. When it comes down to the body position and movement pattern it resembles more of a Back Squat (BS) than a SBD. With the TBD you are inside the weight and the handles are inline with your Center of Gravity & Base of Support. The same is true with a BS except the bar is on your back. This allows for an upright torso angle and more use of your legs, not back. If you’ve never used a Trap-Bar go find one and start practicing. It feels different, but after a few reps you start to figure it out.

Limiting Factors:

In-experiencing Lifting Weights

Weak Lower Body Strength

Poor Grip Strength

Exercises that will help:

Deadlifts (Straight Bar & Trap Bar)

Romanian Deadlifts (2-Leg & 1-Leg Variations)

Back Squats/Front Squats

Grip Work

Standing Power Throw (AKA Overhead MedBall Throw):

This is the movement where the most skill is involved and can play a huge role in how far or short the ball goes. If you let go of the ball to early it will fly too high and not cover enough distance. If you let it go too late, it will not be flying high enough and not cover enough distance. There is a sweet spot, 45 degrees. Just ask Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Looking at this movement, it is an explosive triple extension movement. Your hips, knees and ankles all should extend as you are releasing the ball to maximize your leg drive and put everything you got into that ball. Triple extension can be found in a majority of movements like Olympic lift variations and any jumping movements.

Limiting Factors:

Lack of Practice/Inexperience

Poor Coordination

Lack of Power

Things that will help:

MB Bomb Toss

*Jumping/Plyometrics (Box Jumps)

MB Rotational Core Work

*Olympic Lifting Variations (Power Cleans)

*if coached properly, and not done shitty like in a WOD

Hand-Raised (Release) Push-Ups:

The ARMY has been doing push-ups forever, they haven’t always looked good, but this could change that. By having to release your hands at the bottom of each rep it is going to require soldiers to get their chest all the way to the ground and push themselves back up with out bouncing off the ground or utilizing the stretch-shortening reflex. I still would love to see a pull-up test as well, but I guess I’ll have to wait for that. But seriously, you bought the pull-up bars for the leg tuck…just saying.

Limiting Factors:

Doing shitty Push-Ups your Whole Career

Weak Upper Body Strength

Weak Core Endurance/Strength

Things that will help:

Planks (on elbows and hands)

Variety of Push-Ups (Rings, plyo, medball)

Bench Press (Incline/DB/Single Arm etc)

Sprint, Drag and Carry:

This test was designed to simulate real world situations and covers a wide variety of movements. It is also the most equipment intensive of the bunch but will require the most amount of athleticism to be successful. You will be required to sprint, change direction, drag weight and carry weight throughout the test. The biggest issue that I have with this test is how equipment intensive it is, but I can see what they are trying to test and overall I think this will work out. Until someone trips while carrying the KB’s and falls on one.

Limiting Factors:

Lack of Athleticism

Poor Agility/COD

Poor Grip Strength

Lack of Core Control

Things that will help:

Training Like an Athlete

Sprints

Agility Drills

Farmer Carry’s

Single Leg Work (Lunges/Step-Ups)

Leg Tuck:

This movement is one of my favorites that came out of the new test. I always hated the sit-up as a measure of anything and the Leg Tuck tests more than just rapid lower back flexion. You’re grip and upper body strength play a huge role as well as your core control. If you’ve never hung from a pull-up bar before with your hands stacked, you’ll notice your body wants to rotate instantly if you go slack. That will be a problem area for most. You must maintain tension through your whole kinetic chain in order to stay in control and prevent swinging.

Limiting Factors:

Weak Upper Body Strength

Poor Grip Strength

Limited Core Control

Overweight

Poor Mobility

Things that will help:

Leg Tucks

Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups/Commando Pull-Ups

Grip Training

Lose Weight (it’s also the easiest way to get better at pull-ups too)

Mobility Work

2-Mile Run:

You’ve been running this distance for years so not much really needs to be said. One thing that is often lacking for people is a sound warm-up before the run, NOT ANY MORE (GPS Dynamic Warm-Up). Previously people would just count the Push-Ups and Sit-Ups as their warm-up. Sadly that isn’t a warm-up for running. Plus your hip flexors are so damn tight after all the sit-ups it’s no wonder everyone talks about their low back locking up on them during the run. Most of the soldiers I have worked with in preparation for a 2-Miler were doing too much distance running trying to improve their speed. Distance running has its place, but if you’re trying to run 2 miles faster, running 5 miles slow isn’t going to do the trick.

Limiting Factors:

Aerobic Capacity

Running Too Far

Running Too Slow

Lack of Rest/Over Training

Improper Training Strategy

Things that will help:

Taking a Rest Day

Interval Runs

Sprints

Non-Impact Cardio

5-Day Training Plan Layout:

Here is a very basic 5-day layout of how you can get everything accomplished in a training week to help maximize your Army Combat Fitness Test score. You can move the days around however you need to fit everything in or swap exercises to other day etc. Days 2 and 4 I prefer my athletes to work on their Conditioning and Body Weight movements, so Intervals/Agility Drills plus Push-ups, Pull-Ups and Core etc. Knowing the population, the weekend is a mixed bag, people either just sleep in, get out of town, or they get up and get after it. I try to use this as a day for Rucking or Distance Running if needed or an Active Recovery day with some Yoga or a whole body conditioning circuit of some nature. CORE SHOULD BE DONE DAILY!

Day 1: Monday

Lower Body Pulling

Horizontal Press

Grip Work

Day 2: Tuesday

Sprints/Intervals/Agility Drills 

Body Weight Work 

Day 3: Wednesday

Lower Body Pushing

Vertical Pulling

Overhead Stability Work

Day 4: Thursday

Sprints/Intervals/Agility Drills

Body Weight Work

Day 5: Friday

Vertical Push

Med Ball Core Work

Whole Body Conditioning Work

Day 6: Saturday – OPTIONAL

Rest Day/Active Recovery/Yoga

Make up anything you missed during the week

Day 7: Sunday – REST DAY

Rest Day/Active Recovery/Yoga

*As the ACFT gets closer, I would switch from conventional Deadlifting and do more TrapBar Deadlifting for the 4-5 weeks leading up. If you are a very strong deadlifter you probably can get away with just deadlifting like normal leading up to it. Please don’t Deadlift 3x/week.

**I personally love Front Squats as a way to foster some more athleticism and high-bar Back Squats carry over to everything we do athletically so I would not recommend low-bar Back Squatting. If you wanted to Squat twice per week that’s cool, I would add the FS to Day 5.

***For those of you that have to Ruck, I recommend you do that on the weekend, ideally Saturday so you have a day of rest following it7