What Is the Army Fitness Test?
The Army Fitness Test (AFT) is the US Army's physical fitness test of record. It has five scored events, a maximum of 500 points, and a minimum passing score of 300 for most soldiers and 350 for those in combat specialties.
If you trained for the ACFT, start here: the test changed. The Army Combat Fitness Test was the test of record from October 2020 until June 2025, when the AFT replaced it. Two things went away — the Standing Power Throw, and the 600-point ceiling that came with it.
What Changed from the ACFT
The Standing Power Throw was the ACFT's most-criticized event. Soldiers threw a 10-pound medicine ball backward over their head, and the Army identified it as the leading source of test-related musculoskeletal injury. Dropping it took the test from six events to five, and the maximum score from 600 to 500.
| ACFT (2020–2025) | AFT (2025–) | |
|---|---|---|
| Events | 6 | 5 |
| Standing Power Throw | Scored | Removed |
| Maximum score | 600 | 500 |
| Minimum per event | 60 | 60 |
| General minimum total | 360 | 300 |
| Combat-MOS minimum | — | 350, sex-neutral |
Note what did *not* change: the 60-point per-event floor. You cannot bank points in the deadlift to cover a weak run. Fail one event, fail the test.
The Five Events
3-Repetition Maximum Deadlift (MDL). Three reps at the heaviest weight you can move, using a 60-pound hex bar. It is a true 3RM, not an estimate — which means warm-up strategy matters as much as raw strength. Go too heavy too early and you burn the attempts you needed.
Hand-Release Push-Up (HRP). As many as possible in two minutes. Hands come fully off the deck at the bottom of every rep, which kills the elastic bounce you get from a standard push-up. Soldiers who train only standard push-ups routinely lose 20–30% of their rep count on test day.
Sprint-Drag-Carry (SDC). Five 50-meter shuttles, run back to back: sprint, drag a 90-pound sled, lateral, carry two 40-pound kettlebells, sprint. It is the only event that puts you into real oxygen debt before the run.
Plank (PLK). A timed hold. It replaced the sit-up, and it rewards positional endurance rather than hip-flexor repetition.
Two-Mile Run (2MR). Flat outdoor course, timed. Scored last, and always run on legs that have already done the other four events.
Scoring: 60 Is the Number That Matters
Each event scores 0–100. Sixty points is the pass mark on every one of them.
| Standard | Total required | Per event | Scoring basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| General population | 300 | 60 | Sex- and age-normed |
| Combat MOS (21 specialties) | 350 | 60 | Sex-neutral, age-normed |
The combat standard is the part worth reading twice. For 21 combat military occupational specialties, scoring is sex-neutral — men and women are held to one scale — while still adjusting for age. It took effect 1 January 2026 for the active component, and 1 June 2026 for the Reserve and National Guard.
Everyone else keeps sex- and age-normed scoring at 300.
How to Train for It
The event order is fixed, and it is not accidental. By the time you reach the two-mile run you have already deadlifted a maximum, pushed to failure, and run five shuttles under load. Training each event fresh, on separate days, prepares you for a test you will never actually take.
Run at least one full-order rehearsal before test day. Most soldiers who miss the standard miss it on the 2MR, and they miss it because they arrived at the start line already emptied by the Sprint-Drag-Carry.
For the deadlift, work in the 3–5 rep range at 85–92% of your one-rep max — the AFT tests a 3RM, so training exclusively at 8–12 reps builds the wrong quality. Hex bar if you have one; the bar changes the hip angle enough that conventional-bar numbers do not transfer cleanly.
For hand-release push-ups, train the hand-release version. Specificity is the whole game here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ACFT still used? No. The Army Fitness Test replaced it as the test of record, with phased implementation beginning 1 June 2025. Scoring tables, the event list, and the maximum score all changed. Search traffic still uses the ACFT name, but the test being administered is the AFT.
What is a good AFT score? Three hundred points passes for most soldiers, and 350 passes for combat specialties — but those are floors, not targets. Because promotion boards see the number, soldiers competing for advancement generally aim well above the minimum. A score of 500 requires maxing all five events against your age group's scale.
Can I pass with a low score in one event? No. Every event carries a 60-point minimum independent of the total. A soldier scoring 90 on four events and 55 on the fifth totals 415 and still fails.
Why was the Standing Power Throw removed? The Army identified it as the primary driver of injuries sustained during the test itself. Removing it cut the event count to five and the maximum score to 500.
Does the plank have a time cap? The plank is scored as a timed hold against the standard for your age and sex, with the maximum point value reached at the top of the scale. Holding longer than the 100-point standard earns no additional points.
*Sources: U.S. Army, Army Fitness Test (army.mil/aft); GoArmy, Fitness Requirements; U.S. Army, "Army establishes new fitness test of record to strengthen readiness and lethality."*
