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The best standalone resource for the Army Combat Fitness Test
As the Army prepares to shift to the new Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) from the Army Physical Fitness Test, hundreds of thousands of new and current servicemembers will have to pass a more rigorous and demanding set of physical events to prove they have what it takes to meet the physical demands of an army job.
Utilizing the accessible and simple approach that has made the For Dummies series famous the world over, ACFT For Dummies is packed with everything you need to train for and ultimately crush the ACFT. Topics include:
The ACFT For Dummies prepares readers to tackle the new, tougher Army fitness test with practical examples and concrete strategies that will push each servicemember to new heights.
Angie Papple Johnston joined the United States Army in 2006, preparing to tackle chemical weapons as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist. She is also a certified group fitness trainer.
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting to Know the ACFT 5
Chapter 1: Army Physical Fitness: The Cornerstone of Combat Readiness 7
Saying Goodbye to the Old APFT 8
Sculpting a Fit and Lethal Force 8
Picking Up Performance Basics 10
Range of motion and flexibility 11
Balance 11
Agility 12
Explosive power 12
Muscular strength and endurance 12
Aerobic exercise for cardiovascular endurance 13
Anaerobic exercise for short-term muscle strength 14
PRT: Love it or Hate it, It’s Here to Stay 14
Understanding How the ACFT Fits into Your Army Role 15
Making the grade 15
Training on your own time — and helping your team 16
The Army Performance Triad 16
Chapter 2: Getting an Overview of the ACFT 17
Reading Up on the Army’s Resources and Requirements for the ACFT 18
Checking out Army regs and training resources 18
Surveying site and equipment requirements 18
Getting used to gender- and age-neutral scoring requirements 19
Diagnostic ACFTs versus record ACFTs: Pinning down test frequency 19
Breaking Down the Six Events and Their Scoring 20
The Preparation Drill 22
3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift 23
Standing Power Throw 25
Hand Release Push-Up – Arm Extension 28
Sprint-Drag-Carry 30
Leg Tuck 33
Two-Mile Run 36
The Recovery Drill 37
Biking, Rowing, or Swimming Your Way through the Alternate Events 37
Bike 38
Row 38
Swim 39
Chapter 3: Understanding How the Army Administers the ACFT 41
Counting Down the Minutes 42
Doing Your Homework before the Test 43
Having the Right Tools for the Job: Required Equipment 43
Looking at Helpful Test-Day Details 46
Equipment on the lanes 47
Soldier testing order 47
Card-carrying ACFT-takers: Scorecards 47
Stylin’ and profilin’: What you can’t use during the ACFT 48
Making the Grade to Score the ACFT 48
Level I ACFT graders 48
Level II ACFT graders 49
Level III ACFT grader-instructors 49
Chapter 4: Breaking Down ACFT Instructions and Scoring 51
Following the Rules: The Official ACFT Instructions 52
Lifting with your legs: 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift instructions 52
Trying MDL tips and techniques 53
Watching for trouble spots on the MDL 53
Exercising explosive power: Standing Power Throw instructions 55
Surveying SPT tips and techniques 55
Watching for trouble spots on the SPT 56
Letting it go: Hand Release Push-up – Arm Extension instructions 56
Harping on HRP tips and techniques 57
Watching for trouble spots on the HRP 59
Showing your combat moves: Sprint-Drag-Carry instructions 59
Sorting out SDC tips and techniques 60
Watching for trouble spots on the SDC 61
Considering core strength: Leg Tuck instructions 62
Looking for LTK tips and techniques 63
Watching for trouble spots on the LTK 64
Welcoming an old friend: Two-Mile Run instructions 65
Marking 2MR tips and techniques 65
Watching for trouble spots on the 2MR 66
Addressing the ACFT’s Scoring Scale 66
Perusing Physical Demand Categories 66
Weighing your score on the scale 74
Tallying up your score on the new ACFT scorecard 75
Accounting for the ACFT MOD 77
Sailing through the 5,000-Meter Row 77
Braking for the 15,000-Meter Bike 77
Soaking up the 1,000-Meter Swim 78
Taking Another Shot: Army Policy on ACFT Failures 78
Part 2: Training for the ACFT on Your Own Time 81
Chapter 5: Putting the (Mandatory) “Fun” in Functional Fitness 83
Mastering the Science of Movement Training 83
Distinguishing muscle training from movement training 84
Playing with planar movement 85
Sectioning off the 4Q model 86
Finding Functional Fitness Basics 88
Core strength 91
Leg strength 91
Back strength 94
Chest strength 95
Bicep, tricep, forearm, and shoulder strength 95
Chapter 6: Stacking Up the Army’s Physical Fitness Components 99
Tracing the Origins of PRT and the ACFT 100
Counting on the Army’s Ten Fitness Components 101
Muscular strength 101
Muscular endurance 102
Power 102
Speed 102
Agility 103
Aerobic endurance 103
Balance 103
Flexibility 104
Coordination 104
Reaction time 104
Getting Heart Smart for Aerobic Exercise 105
Calculating your resting heart rate 105
Finding your target heart rate for aerobic exercise 106
Fitting FITT Principles into Your Workout 108
Frequency 108
Intensity 108
Type 110
Time 110
Powering Your Way through Life with Anaerobic Exercise 110
Chapter 7: Examining P3, PRT, H2F, and the ACFT 113
Cornering the Army’s Performance Triad 113
Sleep 114
Activity 114
Nutrition 115
Reading Up on PRT Documentation 115
Matching PRT Drills and ACFT Events 116
Maximizing PRT for the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift 118
The sumo squat 118
Alternate staggered squat jump 119
Forward lunge 120
Stepping up PRT for the Standing Power Throw 122
Power jump 122
Overhead push-press 123
Tuck jump 125
Practicing PRT for the Hand Release Push-Up – Arm Extension 126
Supine chest press 127
8-count T push-up 128
Incline bench 130
Surveying PRT for the Sprint-Drag-Carry 132
Straight-leg deadlift 132
Bent over row 133
300-meter shuttle run 135
Looking at PRT for the Leg Tuck 135
Bent-leg raise 136
Leg tuck and twist 137
Alternating grip pull-up 139
Tackling PRT for the Two-Mile Run 141
Sprint intervals (30:60s and 60:120s) 141
Release run 141
Hill repeats 142
Taking a Closer Look at PRT and Its Drills 143
Preparation Drill 144
4 for the Core 145
Conditioning Drills 1, 2, and 3 145
Climbing Drills 1 and 2 147
The Guerilla Drill 147
The Hip Stability Drill 147
The Push-Up and Sit-Up Drill 147
The Shoulder Stability Drill 147
Running, Endurance and Mobility Activities: Military Movement Drills 1 and 2 148
The Strength Training Circuit 148
Recovery Drill 149
Using PRT to Train for the ACFT 150
Chapter 8: Training to Standard on the ACFT 151
Getting the Basics Down Before You Exercise 152
Back and Legs: Maxing the 3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift Score 154
Sumo squats 155
Staggered squats 156
Lunges 157
Conventional deadlifts 157
Bent over rows 160
Grip work 162
Explosive Power: Training for the Standing Power Throw 162
Power jumps 162
Overhead push presses 163
Tuck jumps 166
Romanian deadlifts 167
Kettlebell swings 168
Medicine ball power jumps 169
Standing front shoulder raises with bands 170
Practice Makes Perfect: Doing More Hand Release Arm-Extension Push-Ups 171
Supine chest presses 171
Incline bench presses 172
Chest flys 174
Renegade row push-ups 175
Medicine Ball push-ups 177
Training for the Sprint-Drag-Carry to Boost Your Battlefield Skills 178
Shuttle runs 178
Straight-leg deadlifts 179
Zercher carries 180
Planks 181
Glute-hamstring raises 182
Grip, Hips, Shoulders, and Elbows: Training for the Leg Tuck 184
Bent-leg raises 184
The leg tuck and twist 184
Mixed-grip pull-ups 186
Rope climbs 187
Isometric hangs 189
Side pillar holds 190
The contralateral dead bug 190
Is, Ys, and Ts 192
Kettlebell pull-throughs 193
Internal, external, and elevated shoulder rotations 194
When My Granny Was 91: How to Improve Your Two-Mile Run Time 197
Sprint interval training 198
Hill repeats 198
Walking lunge 199
Barbell squats 200
Calf raises 202
Glute bridges 203
Chapter 9: Stretching for Recovery and Peak Performance 205
Bouncing Back Stronger through Recovery 206
Getting back on your feet after training with active recovery 206
Discovering delayed-onset muscle soreness 207
Building in recovery days and taking care of injuries 208
Avoiding overtraining syndrome 209
Stretching Out Your Workout Recovery 209
Attending to Army Stretches 211
Overhead arm pull 211
Rear lunge 212
Extend and flex 213
Thigh stretch 213
Single-leg over 215
Loosening up Your Legs and Hips 216
Standing hamstring stretch 216
Piriformis stretch 217
Frog stretch 217
Butterfly stretch 219
Lunging hip flexor stretch 220
Lying quad stretch 221
Calf stretch 221
Examining Essential Arm Stretches 222
Triceps stretch 222
Standing bicep stretch 224
Seated bicep stretch 224
Wrist extension and flexion 225
Forearm flexor stretch 226
Beefing up Your Neck, Shoulder, and Back Stretches 227
Seated shoulder squeeze 227
Upper back stretch 228
Knee to chest stretch 229
Seated back rotation 230
Side-lying thoracic rotation 231
Upper trap stretch 232
Cross-body shoulder stretch 233
Priming the Pecs: Chest Stretches 234
Lying chest stretch 234
Elbow-to-elbow grip 235
Bent-arm wall stretch 236
Stretching out Your Six-Pack 237
Sphinx 237
Child’s pose against a wall 238
Doing Dynamic Stretches for Multiple Muscles 239
Lunge with spinal twist 239
90/90s 240
Side bends 241
Extended child’s pose with sphinx stretch 242
Standing figure 4 244
Quadruped rotation 245
Dynamic shoulder stretch from child’s pose 246
Cat/cow 247
Chapter 10: Focusing on the ACFT for Females 249
Factoring Female Physiology into Common ACFT Challenges 250
Cycling your way through workouts 251
Introducing the female athlete triad 252
Balancing Pregnancy and Physical Training 253
Profiling pregnant soldiers 253
Perusing the P3T program 255
Your (Kid’s) Mom Wears Combat Boots: Working Out Postpartum 256
Chapter 11: Surveying ACFT Training for Seasoned Soldiers 259
Safety First: Taking Workout Precautions 260
Kicking around Exercises for Knee Issues 260
Straight leg raises 261
Hamstring curls with dumbbells 262
Wall squats 262
Step-ups 263
Side leg raises 264
Avoiding Certain Exercises for Back Issues 265
Chapter 12: Dealing with Injuries 269
An Ounce of Prevention: Avoiding Injury with P3 269
Sleep and injury prevention 270
Actively preventing injury 271
Fueling up for injury prevention 272
Covering Common Injuries across the Army 273
Rub Some Dirt on It? Knowing When to Go to Sick Call 275
When RICE Isn’t a Carb: Treating Injuries at Home 276
Rest as a home remedy 277
Putting an injury on ice 277
Keeping your injury under (compression) wraps 277
Elevating an injured extremity 278
Part 3: Structure, Form, and Functional Fitness 279
Chapter 13: Wising Up to Workout Wisdom 281
Following Eight Habits of Highly Successful Exercisers 282
Make health a lifestyle 282
Have fun with it 282
Look at what you’re doing as training, not exercising 282
Get back on track as soon as you can 283
Ask for help when you need it 283
Keep it simple 283
Don’t use weight loss as an indicator of your workout’s effectiveness 283
Mix endurance and strength training 284
Optimizing Your Breathing for Your Activity 284
Breathing while running 285
Breathing during strength training 285
Breathing to relax 285
Resting between Workouts 286
Chapter 14: Understanding Your Body’s Muscular Structure 287
Putting Your Skeletal Muscles on the Map 288
Getting to know your skeletal muscles 288
Adding up antagonistic pairs 289
Zeroing in on the Cardiovascular System 290
Chapter 15: Strength Training to Get Army Strong 293
Bulking up Your Weight-Training Vocab 293
Following Safety Principles 296
Testing Your Strength 298
Checking out upper-body strength with push-ups 298
Crunching the numbers on abdominal strength 299
Muscling your way through a leg strength test 300
Switching It up with Periodization 301
Appreciating the Real Worth of Free Weights and Weight Machines 302
Looking at Group Strength Training 303
Chapter 16: Pumping Some Heart-Smart Aerobic Exercise 305
Understanding the Cardiovascular System’s Role in Exercise 305
Starting with resting heart rate 307
Linking heart efficiency and exercise 308
Identifying why the Army measures cardiorespiratory fitness 308
Finding Your VO2 Max 309
Astrand Treadmill Test 309
2.4-km Cooper Run Test 312
Multistage Beep Test 312
Queuing up the Cardio 312
Hitting your target and max heart rates 313
Going beyond minimum cardio recommendations 314
Chapter 17: Trying Functional Fitness Concepts for Your Core 315
Introducing Your Core Muscles 315
Strengthening Your Core with Beginner Core Exercises 318
Hip lifts 318
Crunches 320
Bicycle kicks 321
The Superman 322
Pulling Your Own Weight During Core Training 323
V-ups 323
Scissor kicks 324
Side planks 325
Trying Out the Army (Core) Ball — No ASUs Necessary 326
Ab rolls 326
Stability ball knee raises 327
Stability ball hip thrusts 328
Perusing Core Exercises for Pregnancy Profiles 329
Cat/cow 330
Modified side plank 330
Side lunges 331
Pregnancy core stretch 332
Stretching and Toning Your Core with Pilates and Yoga 333
Pilates 333
Yoga 334
Chapter 18: Personalizing Your Workout Routine 335
Building Your Own Workout Routine 335
Identifying your personal goals and resources 336
Weight a minute: Figuring out your reps and intensity 337
Supersetting 338
Making time to stretch 338
Marking training days on your calendar 338
Scheduling recovery days into your routine 339
Charting your progress 340
Sneaking in Daytime Workouts You Can Do Anywhere 340
Chair dips 341
Calf raises 342
Single-leg squats 343
Bicep presses 344
Seated hip thrusts 344
Part 4: Nutrition and the “Whole Soldier” Concept 347
Chapter 19: Surveying Army Standards for Height and Weight 349
Taking Stock of Army Height and Weight Requirements 350
Going into the Army Body Composition Program 353
Distinguishing BMI from Body Fat Measurements 354
Chapter 20: Becoming a Lean, Green, Fighting Machine: Principles of Nutrition 357
Dishing on Hunger and Appetite 358
Distinguishing hunger from appetite 358
Hobnobbing with hunger hormones 359
Eating Pre- and Post-Workout 360
Fueling up before working out 360
Getting the right foods after your workout 362
Making ACFT-Smart Dietary Changes 363
Promoting fitness by avoiding diets 363
Incorporating healthier eating habits (without dieting) 363
Chapter 21: Identifying the Building Blocks of Nutrition 365
Choosing the Right Food Groups 365
Setting the table with MyPlate 366
Keeping less healthy options in check 366
Taking Vitamins for a Spin 367
Getting vitamins the old-fashioned way 368
Gauging DRIs and ULs for vitamins 369
Considering special conditions for vitamins 371
Minerals: Mining for Your Body’s Essentials 371
Eating your major minerals 372
Moderating minerals: DRIs and ULs 374
Recognizing who needs more minerals 374
Chewing on Carbs 374
Breaking down simple and complex carbs and dietary fiber 375
Putting your carbs to work for you 375
Addressing Amino Acids and Antioxidants 376
Chapter 22: Drink Water: It’s More Than a Basic Training Chant 379
Understanding How Your Body Uses Water 379
Water is a Necessity, Not a Crutch: Avoiding Dehydration 380
Recognizing the warning signs of dehydration 381
Looking at the effects of dehydration 382
Eyeing Electrolytes 383
Chapter 23: Making Sure Everything You Take In Counts 385
Understanding Metabolic Equivalents 386
Examining How Dietary Changes Can and Can’t Help You Drop Weight 387
Safely slashing calories to lose weight 389
Ignoring the crowd following popular diets 390
Getting the Skinny on Cholesterol and Unhealthy Fats 391
Cholesterol 391
Are you a good fat or a bad fat? 392
Taking a Drive through Fast Food 393
Nutritional composition of fast foods 393
Eating smart while dining out 395
Considering Coffee, Energy Drinks, and Alcohol 396
The best part of waking up (and the rest of the day): Savoring coffee’s benefits 396
Loading up on caffeine through energy drinks 397
Thinking before you drink: Alcohol’s effects on your system 397
Cracking Down on Supplements 399
Protein pow(d)er: Scrutinizing protein supplements 399
Shunning pre-workout supplements 400
Chapter 24: Eating Right 403
Dishing up Basic Dietary Guidelines for Soldiers 404
Helping Yourself to Healthy Eating Patterns 405
Putting the brakes on sodium, saturated and trans fats, and added sugars 406
Playing with portion control 407
Treat yo’ self: Giving yourself a pass to indulge sometimes 408
Part 5: The Part of Tens 409
Chapter 25: Ten Surefire Ways to Fail the ACFT 411
Choosing Not to Work Out 411
Failing to Know How to Do Each Event 412
Falling off the Fitness Wagon before the Test 412
Practicing for the Wrong Events 412
Drinking Alcohol the Night before the Test 413
Forgetting to Hydrate 413
Forgetting to Fuel Up 413
Missing the Mark on Height and Weight 414
Taking Pre-Workout or Other Potentially Unsafe Supplements Before the Test 414
Committing Safety Violations or Faults 414
Chapter 26: Ten Tips for Maxing Out Your Score on the ACFT 415
Putting in Extra Effort and Committing to Getting a 600 415
Training As You Test 416
Doing Cardio and Strength Training Leading Up to the Test 416
Getting Hard-Core with Your Core 416
Practicing at Least One Event Every Day 417
Tracking Your Progress 417
Using High-Quality Fuel 417
Hydrating before and during the ACFT 417
Getting Enough Sleep before the Test 418
Using All the Info You Have to Your Advantage 418
Chapter 27: Ten Ways to Change up Your Exercise Routine 419
Using (Or Ditching) the Buddy System 419
Mixing up Your Personal Speed 420
Getting Creative with Exercises 420
Playing Mood Music 420
Going Backward Once in a While 420
Switching Locations 421
Dialing up the Intensity 421
Trying Group Fitness 421
Downloading an App 421
Playing Games 422
Chapter 28: Ten Ways to Cut Calories without Starving 423
Don’t Drink Your Calories 423
Fill Your Water Reserves Before You Eat 424
Switch to Lowfat Versions of Your Favorite Foods 424
Don’t Buy Junk Food 424
Cook at Home 424
Lighten up on the Condiments 425
Set the Table with Smaller Plates 425
Try Low-Cal Appetizers at Home 425
Never Eat out of the Container 425
Don’t Force Yourself to Clean Your Plate 426
Appendix: Fill-In-The-Blanks Workout Calendar 427
Index 429
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