Now that the ACFT is our official fitness assessment of record, I’ve written – and tested – two additional programs that will help you and your Soldiers prepare for the test.
As I have continually reminded my Soldiers – performing well on the ACFT is important, but the training we conduct to prepare for the ACFT is more important. Soldiers are consistently training lower body strength, core, and work capacity much more often since the ACFT has been introduced. This is excellent and will lead to stronger, more fit Soldiers on the battlefield.
ACFT Prep 3.0 is well suited for teams and squads to conduct together, especially as more units acquire kettlebells, dumbbells, sleds, trap bars, and weighted balls to conduct the ACFT. 3.0 includes a foot march each Wednesday so it is built with unit PT requirements in mind as many units across the Army foot march on Wednesday or Thursday each week.
ACFT Prep 4.0 could be conducted at the team squad level, but it does require more resources – namely, consistent access to a squat rack/bar. 4.0 is more suited for small teams or staff officers/NCOs who may have more flexibility with their PT time than Soldiers in “line” units that conduct PT with their squad/Platoon/Company each day. Also, given some of the precise weights required for the squat sessions each week in 4.0, access to a gym or unit fitness facility would be helpful.
Some of the sessions – especially in 4.0 – will take anywhere from 65 – 80 minutes. They are designed around a 90-minute window for unit physical training.
Some things that we have learned after three (3) full run-throughs of the ACFT:
– Be safe! Leaders must closely monitor their young Soldiers on the dead-lift. If a Soldier begins to round their back on this lift – they must stop and lower the weight until they can use the proper form. A key coaching point to use is “proud chest,” which is a mental cue to keep your chest up/out while conducting the trap-bar dead-lift. This keeps the lower-back locked and in a safe position.
– Grip strength is important. Many Soldiers are strong enough in their lower body to pick up the weight with the trap-bar dead-lift, but their grip will fail them on the 2nd or 3rd rep. Grip strength can be trained by simply conducting the trap-bar dead-lift and through farmer’s carries with kettlebells or dumbbells.
– Back squats translate directly to trap-bar dead-lift. We learned this in 1.0 and 4.0 reinforces it. If you have access to a squat rack/bar and your Soldiers and leaders can conduct back squats safely (proper form), this builds lower body strength in a hurry and will increase a Soldier’s trap-bar dead-lift.
– Units should acquire 15 and 20-pound medicine balls or “slam” balls to practice the Standing Power Throw. In addition to being versatile training tools for unit PT, practicing the standing power throw with the 15 or 20# ball helps Soldiers remove inefficiencies from their movement and improve their technique. Furthermore, on test day, the 10# ball feels light, and Soldiers will use that improved throwing technique with a lighter ball – resulting in longer distances throws.
– HRPU are challenging. There is no way around this. Timed sets, volume sets at lower reps, dips, and weighted dips all will help. One consistent area that I see Soldiers struggle with is their core strength after the first 60-70 seconds of this event. They start to “worm” up or only bring their upper-body up…with their core/hips in trail. It is imperative to practice longer sets and conduct planks to improve overall core strength.
– The Sprint-Drag-Carry is rough – no matter how fit you are. In 90-120 seconds, your legs and lungs are on fire. Improving overall leg strength – in particular, muscular endurance in your lower body – will go a long way towards improving on this event, but Soldiers also just need to work on the Drag portion of this event. The drag – in particular after the turn around at 25m – becomes extremely challenging. If Soldiers are not used to digging in and pulling that sled from 35-50m, their legs pay the price when they turn to side-shuffle.
– Leg tucks. There is some technique to the leg tucks, but this event is simple to train for. Soldiers should not only practice leg tucks but should also conduct 2-3 days of pull-ups or chin-ups each week. Chin-ups/pull-ups build the same muscles required for the leg tuck event. A Soldier who is able to do 6-8 chin-ups/pull-ups will be able to score well on the leg tuck event. The biggest coaching point here is to ensure Soldiers are locking out at the bottom of each rep so they don’t lose one.
– 2-mile tables. It’s time to stop underestimating the 2-mile run. It’s critical, when preparing for the ACFT, to hammer your legs with squats or sled drags and then go run at threshold (comfortably hard) or interval pace. It’s essential to train your body to run quickly following the Sprint-Drag-Carry and leg tuck event. There is really no way around this. Leaders have to dig in and do this with their Soldiers. Most importantly – Soldiers across the Army should be more mentally and physically tough after preparing for the 2-mile run on the ACFT.
The programs are embedded in the highlighted 3.0 and 4.0 (2-mile tables as well) in the article.