Test Your Strength and Endurance With These 3 Exercises From the Army Combat Fitness Test
We all work out for different reasons. While many of us focus on aesthetics and looking good, fitness is about much more than that. Longevity, moving pain-free daily, and improving athleticism are just as important. If you want to work out less like a bodybuilder and more like a soldier, military fitness coach Dan Fahey, founder of Gritty Soldier Fitness, shared three exercises every man should steal from the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) to get in the best shape of his life.
"Soldiers train for more than just a pump," he tells Men's Journal. "They train for performance, endurance, functionality, and real strength that transfers directly to the brutal demand of combat. It's endurance that holds up when you’re tired and power that shows when it matters."
The Army Combat Fitness Test measures the qualities soldiers need in the field, like total-body strength, explosive power, core stability, and aerobic capacity. It features five exercises or "events," including the maximum deadlift, hand release pushup, sprint-drag-carry, plank, and a 2-mile run.
Together, these exercises from the ACFT cover nearly every major physical quality: strength, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular capacity.
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How to Do Trap Bar Deadlifts
The ACFT replaced traditional barbell deadlifts with the trap bar deadlift for a simple reason: it trains raw strength with less injury risk. The trap bar deadlift is a more joint-friendly option, allowing you to lift heavy while keeping your torso more upright, reducing strain on the lower back. It targets the glutes, hamstrings, quads, core, and upper back, making it one of the best total-body strength exercises around.
"It also teaches you how to pick weight up off the ground correctly, which matters whether you’re lifting in the gym, working out in the lawn, or picking up the dozen Amazon boxes at the door because your wife can’t stop ordering more things for the house," Fahey says.
- Stand inside the hex bar, grab the handles, brace your core, and keep your chest up.
- Push through your heels, driving through your hips, and standing up tall with the weight.
- Lower the bar back to the floor under control.
- Perform 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps.
- Rest 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
How to Do Hand Release Pushups
Be honest. How many times have you been guilty of knocking out sloppy, half-rep pushups? Likely more times than you can count. But the Army doesn't count those, and you shouldn't either. Hand release pushups teach true upper-body strength and core control, taking momentum out of the equation by forcing you to come completely off the ground each rep.
Your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core are forced to do the work from a dead stop, making each rep more humbling. What looks like a simple bodyweight exercise you've done since grade school quickly becomes a serious strength test.
- Set up in a high plank position, maintaining a straight line from head to heel.
- Descend under control until your chest touches the floor.
- Lift both hands completely off the ground.
- Place your hands back down and press up, finishing in a rigid plank.
- Perform 3 to 4 sets to failure.
- Rest 2 to 3 mins between sets.
How to Train for the Two-Mile Run
Getty Images/Dalibor Despotovic
The timed two-mile run in the ACFT tests aerobic capacity under fatigue, which is all about durability, pacing, and mental toughness.
"The two-mile run remains in the ACFT because it reveals whether someone can sustain effort when they’re already tired. For civilians, this matters more than ever. Cardiovascular health isn’t optional, and steady-state endurance builds a base that supports everything else you do: lifting, sports, walking the dog, playing with your kids, everything!" Fahey says.
- Choose one day to do speed work: 8x 100m sprints, resting 60 to 90 seconds between each sprint.
- Choose one day to run for distance: Run at an easy, conversational pace for 3 to 5 miles. Walk as needed.
- Choose one day to run a 2-mile for time: Run this at max effort.
- Separate each day with one off day from running.
- Repeat the protocol and track your times. You’ll see drastic improvements if you stick with it.