When the Army rolled out the ACFT to replace the old APFT, they weren’t just tweaking a few exercises. They completely reimagined how to measure a soldier’s combat readiness. Instead of simple push-ups, sit-ups, and a run, the ACFT evaluates six distinct physical qualities that actually matter on the battlefield.

I’ve watched thousands of soldiers go through this test, and one thing has become crystal clear: understanding what each event demands makes a massive difference in how you prepare. You can’t just show up and wing it. Each event targets specific physical capabilities, and knowing the order helps you manage your energy and strategy throughout the entire test.

Let me walk you through each event in the exact order you’ll face them, explaining not just what you do, but why it matters and how to actually excel at it.

Event One: Three-Repetition Maximum Deadlift

The ACFT kicks off with the deadlift, and there’s a good reason for that. This event measures pure strength—your ability to generate force through your posterior chain and lift heavy weight off the ground. It’s the foundation of functional strength that soldiers need when carrying equipment, moving casualties, or handling heavy gear.

You’ll be using a hexagonal trap bar, which is that specialized barbell that you stand inside of rather than approaching from the front like a conventional barbell. The trap bar design puts less stress on your lower back and allows most people to lift more weight safely compared to a straight barbell.

The test itself is straightforward but demanding. You’ll perform three consecutive deadlift repetitions at whatever weight you choose to attempt. You get one chance to set your weight, so choosing the right load is crucial. Too light and you’re leaving points on the table. Too heavy and you risk failing to complete all three reps with proper form.

Your technique determines everything here. Start by positioning your feet about shoulder-width apart inside the trap bar. When you grip the handles, they should be at your sides rather than in front of you. Before you lift, set your back by pulling your chest up and shoulders back. Your hips should be lower than your shoulders but higher than your knees—not too high where you’re essentially doing a stiff-leg lift, but not so low that you’re squatting the weight up.

The actual lift begins by driving through your heels and extending your hips and knees simultaneously. Think about pushing the floor away rather than pulling the bar up. As you stand, keep the bar close to your body—it should travel in a straight vertical line. At the top, stand fully upright with your shoulders back, but don’t hyperextend your back or lean backward. Hold that position for a moment to show control.

Lowering the weight is just as important as lifting it. Control the descent rather than just dropping it. Your form during the descent shows the graders that you have genuine strength and control rather than just jerking weight up with momentum.

Common mistakes kill scores and risk injury. Rounding your back during the lift puts enormous stress on your spine and usually results in a failed attempt. Hitching or stopping mid-rep means that rep doesn’t count. Failing to lock out completely at the top or not standing fully upright will also get your rep rejected.

Training for this event means getting comfortable with heavy deadlifts. The trap bar is ideal since that’s what you’ll use on test day, but conventional deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts also build the necessary strength. Focus on your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back—these are your prime movers. Core stability matters enormously too, since your core has to brace and support your spine under heavy load.

Don’t neglect grip strength. While the trap bar handles are usually easier to hold than a straight bar, your grip still needs to sustain the load for three full reps. Farmer’s carries, dead hangs, and forearm work all contribute to grip endurance.

One strategic consideration: don’t sandbag this event thinking you need to save energy for what’s coming later. The deadlift happens first when you’re fresh, and the recovery between events gives you time to bounce back. Push for a solid score here because it sets the tone for your entire test.

Event Two: Standing Power Throw

After the deadlift, you move immediately into the standing power throw, which tests explosive power in a completely different way. This event measures your ability to generate maximum force in one coordinated movement—a quality essential for jumping, throwing, or any movement requiring explosive full-body power.

You’ll be throwing a 10-pound medicine ball backward over your head for maximum distance. Ten pounds might not sound heavy, especially right after deadlifting several hundred pounds, but generating maximum distance requires perfect technique and explosive coordination from your entire body.

The setup matters more than most people realize. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, with your toes right at the starting line. Hold the medicine ball with both hands, arms extended down in front of you. Your stance should feel athletic and balanced, not too narrow or too wide.

The throw itself involves multiple movements happening in rapid sequence. Start by swinging the ball down and back between your legs while pushing your hips back—similar to the bottom of a kettlebell swing. Your knees bend naturally but this isn’t a deep squat. The power comes from your hips, not your legs.

From this loaded position, explosively extend your hips, knees, and ankles while swinging your arms up and back. Your entire body should create a wave of motion from ground to ball. As the ball travels overhead, release it at roughly a 45-degree angle—not straight up or you’ll lose distance, but not too flat either.

Your feet must stay planted throughout the throw. If you step forward or jump, that attempt doesn’t count. This is harder than it sounds because your body naturally wants to step forward when generating maximum power. Practice keeping your feet glued to the ground while still exploding through the throw.

You get two attempts, and your best throw counts toward your score. Use the first attempt to shake off nerves and get a feel for the event. On your second throw, you know what you’re capable of and can push for maximum distance.

Technique problems plague this event more than strength issues. Many soldiers try to muscle the throw with just their arms and shoulders, but the real power comes from hip extension. Focus on that explosive hip snap—the same movement pattern you’d use for a jump or a kettlebell swing.

Shoulder and hip mobility also affect your throw distance significantly. If your shoulders are tight, you can’t get the ball far enough back overhead for optimal release angle. If your hips are stiff, you can’t load the movement properly or generate maximum power.

Training for better throws should include medicine ball work at least once or twice per week. Practice the exact movement you’ll perform on test day, but also include variations like overhead slams, chest throws, and rotational throws. Kettlebell swings build the specific hip power you need. Jump squats and box jumps develop the explosive lower body power that transfers to throwing.

Core strength and rotational power matter too, even though this is primarily a sagittal plane movement. Your core has to transfer force from your lower body through your torso to your arms and the ball. Exercises like medicine ball rotational throws, Pallof presses, and cable chops all build this quality.

One practical tip: warm up properly before this event. Your nervous system needs to be primed for explosive movement. Do a few practice throws with a lighter ball or even without a ball to rehearse the movement pattern and get your body ready to explode.

Event Three: Hand-Release Push-Ups

After two maximum-effort events, you move into hand-release push-ups, which test upper body muscular endurance. This isn’t about how much you can bench press—it’s about performing high-quality push-ups repeatedly over two minutes while managing fatigue.

The hand-release component distinguishes this from standard push-ups. Each rep requires you to lower your entire body to the ground, lift both hands off the floor briefly, then push back up to the starting position. This eliminates cheating by ensuring every rep goes through a full range of motion.

Starting position is a standard plank: hands directly under or slightly outside your shoulders, body forming a straight line from head to heels, feet together or slightly apart. Your core should be engaged, glutes tight, and head in neutral position looking at the ground a few feet in front of you.

The descent needs to be controlled. Lower your entire body as a single unit until your chest, hips, and thighs touch the ground simultaneously. Don’t let your hips sag or pike up—maintain that straight body line throughout. If your hips hit first, that rep doesn’t count. If only your chest touches and your hips stay elevated, that doesn’t count either.

Once you’re completely flat on the ground, lift both hands completely off the floor. You don’t need to lift them high—a few inches is sufficient—but they must clearly break contact with the ground. The grader needs to see daylight between your hands and the floor.

The push-up phase requires you to press your body back up as a single unit. Your chest, hips, and legs should rise together. At the top, extend your arms fully to show lockout. Incomplete extension means that rep doesn’t count.

Pacing strategy matters enormously over two minutes. Most soldiers make the mistake of hammering out reps as fast as possible in the first 30 to 45 seconds, then they hit a wall and either slow dramatically or have to rest multiple times. A better approach is finding a sustainable rhythm you can maintain for most of the two minutes.

For example, if you can do 25 push-ups fairly easily when fresh, don’t try to do all 25 in the first minute. Maintain a steady pace of maybe 15 to 18 in the first minute, then hold that pace as long as possible into the second minute. You’ll likely slow down in the final 30 seconds, but this strategy usually produces more total reps than starting too fast.

When you do need to rest—and most people will need at least one short rest—stay in the plank position rather than dropping to your knees or standing up. Resting in plank maintains muscle engagement and makes it easier to resume. Don’t rest for too long at once; several short breaks work better than one long break.

Common form faults include sagging hips which make the push-up easier but invalidate the rep, failing to touch chest and hips together at the bottom, not lifting hands clearly off the ground, incomplete lockout at the top, and breaking form by worming or using momentum to assist.

Training for this event should include high-rep push-up work multiple times per week. Practice the exact movement you’ll do on test day—full hand-release push-ups—rather than just standard push-ups. Your body needs to be efficient at this specific movement pattern.

Build your base endurance with timed sets. Set a timer for 30 seconds, one minute, 90 seconds, and practice maintaining consistent rep counts at these intervals. Gradually extend your work periods as your endurance improves.

Strengthen the specific muscles with targeted accessory work. Tricep dips, close-grip push-ups, and overhead presses build your pushing strength. Don’t neglect your core—planks, dead bugs, and hollow holds all improve your ability to maintain proper body position while fatigued.

Tempo training helps tremendously. Try doing push-ups with a three-second descent, pause at the bottom, then explosive push-up. This builds strength throughout the entire range of motion and makes the test pace feel easier by comparison.

Event Four: Sprint-Drag-Carry

This is where things get really challenging. The sprint-drag-carry combines five different movements into one continuous event that tests your anaerobic capacity, strength under fatigue, and ability to recover quickly between efforts.

You’ll work on a 25-meter lane, moving back and forth five times, performing a different task each time. The entire sequence happens as fast as you can complete it, with no scheduled rest. Your time from start to finish determines your score.

The first leg is a simple 25-meter sprint down and back. Run as fast as you can, touch the line at 25 meters, then sprint back to the start. This sounds straightforward but sets the tone for everything that follows. Don’t pace yourself thinking you need to save energy—you need to attack this event from the beginning.

Immediately after finishing the first sprint, you grab a 90-pound sled and drag it 25 meters down the lane. The sled has a strap attached, which you pull over your shoulders. Turn around, grab the strap again, and drag the sled back to the start line. This tests your leg drive, back strength, and ability to move heavy resistance quickly.

The third movement is a lateral shuffle. You’ll move sideways 25 meters, touch the line, then shuffle back the other direction. Your feet should never cross—maintain a wide athletic stance and shuffle your feet quickly. This tests your agility and ability to move efficiently in directions other than straight ahead.

Fourth comes the kettlebell carry. Grab two 40-pound kettlebells, carry them down 25 meters, set them down behind the line, then pick them up again and carry them back to the start. This simulates carrying heavy equipment or ammunition cans and tests your grip strength and ability to move quickly while loaded.

The final leg is another 25-meter sprint down and back, identical to the first sprint. By this point you’re already heavily fatigued from the previous four movements, so maintaining speed requires mental toughness as much as physical capability.

Total distance covered is 250 meters, but the varying movement patterns and resistance make it far more challenging than a simple 250-meter sprint. Most soldiers complete this event in somewhere between 1:30 and 3:00 minutes, with elite performers finishing under 1:30 and those still building fitness taking closer to three minutes or more.

Technique for each segment matters significantly. During sprints, focus on quick turnover and maintaining form even while tired. Don’t overstride or you’ll waste energy.

For the sled drag, get low and drive with your legs rather than trying to pull purely with your back. Keep your chest up and core engaged. Some soldiers find it faster to walk backward while dragging rather than facing forward—experiment during training to see what works better for you.

The lateral shuffle trips up many soldiers. Stay low in an athletic stance, keep your feet wide, and move your feet quickly without crossing them. Don’t turn your body sideways and run—that’s a form fault that can get your attempt invalidated.

During the kettlebell carry, find a comfortable grip and try to maintain an even pace. Some soldiers prefer carrying the kettlebells at their sides, while others hold them in front at hip level. Neither is wrong—use whatever feels more stable and allows faster movement.

Breathing becomes critical during this event. You’re working in the anaerobic zone where your body can’t supply oxygen fast enough for the work rate. Try to control your breathing as much as possible rather than panic breathing, which wastes energy and makes fatigue worse.

Training for the SDC requires specific practice. Set up your own course if possible and run through the complete sequence regularly. This builds event-specific conditioning and helps you develop efficient movement patterns for each segment.

Build the individual qualities the event demands. Sprint work improves your top-end speed. Sled drags and pushes build your ability to move resistance. Agility drills improve your footwork. Heavy carries condition your grip and teach you to move quickly while loaded.

High-intensity interval training translates well to this event. Repeated efforts of 30 seconds to two minutes with short rest periods train your anaerobic system exactly how it needs to perform during the test.

Mental preparation matters more than most soldiers expect. This event hurts, and you need to be ready to push through significant discomfort. Practice pushing your limits during training so that test-day discomfort doesn’t surprise you or cause you to back off prematurely.

Event Five: Plank Hold

After the brutally demanding sprint-drag-carry, you move into the plank hold, which tests core endurance and mental fortitude. This might sound easier than the previous event, but holding a quality plank position while already fatigued presents its own unique challenge.

The Army switched to the plank as the primary core event after initially considering leg tucks. The plank better measures the core stability and endurance that matters for military tasks, and more soldiers can perform it successfully regardless of body weight or upper body strength.

The starting position is a forearm plank. Support your body on your forearms and toes, with elbows directly under your shoulders and forearms parallel to each other pointing forward. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels—hips neither sagging down nor piked up, head in neutral position, not looking up or dropping your head down.

Your hands can be flat on the ground, in fists, or clasped together—choose whatever feels most stable. Your feet can be together or slightly apart, whatever helps you maintain the position better.

The challenge is maintaining this exact position for as long as possible. The clock starts when you set your position and stops when your form breaks enough that the grader determines you can’t continue. Maximum time allowed is generally around 5 minutes, though most soldiers don’t reach that limit.

Form standards must be maintained continuously. If your hips sag even slightly, the grader will warn you once to correct your position. If you don’t fix it immediately or if your form breaks again, the test stops. Same with piking your hips up, dropping your head significantly, or moving your feet apart beyond the allowed width.

The mental battle often exceeds the physical challenge. The first 30 to 60 seconds usually feel manageable. Then discomfort builds rapidly. Your core starts burning, your shoulders ache, your legs begin shaking. The temptation to quit grows stronger every second.

This is where mental preparation pays off. Understand before you start that it will hurt and that you can endure more than your brain wants you to believe. Break the time into manageable chunks mentally—aim for 30 seconds, then another 30, then another. Focus on your breathing to stay calm rather than letting your mind spiral into wanting to quit.

Common mistakes include starting with hips too low which makes holding position much harder, not engaging glutes which leads to hip sagging, holding breath instead of breathing steadily, and forgetting to actively maintain position once fatigue sets in.

Training for longer plank holds should be part of your daily routine. Practice the exact position you’ll hold on test day, with someone checking your form to ensure you’re not developing bad habits.

Start with holds you can maintain with good form, even if that’s only 30 or 45 seconds at first. Gradually extend your time by adding 5 to 10 seconds per week. Quality matters more than quantity—a shorter hold with perfect form builds better core strength than a longer hold with compromised positioning.

Variations challenge your core from different angles and prevent accommodation. Side planks, plank with alternating arm or leg lifts, and RKC planks (where you create maximum tension by actively pulling elbows toward toes and squeezing every muscle) all build core endurance that transfers to longer holds.

Don’t neglect lower back strength. Exercises like bird dogs, supermans, and back extensions ensure your posterior core can support your plank position for extended periods without your hips sagging.

One practical tip: practice holding the plank position while already fatigued. After a hard workout, drop into plank position and hold it. This simulates test-day conditions better than practicing the plank when you’re fresh and helps build your mental ability to hold position despite discomfort.

Event Six: Two-Mile Run

The ACFT concludes with the two-mile run, and this is where many soldiers struggle most. You’re not running fresh—you’ve already completed five demanding events over the past 45 to 60 minutes. Your legs are tired from the deadlifts, sprints, drags, and carries. Your core is fatigued from the plank. Your entire body is stressed from the cumulative test.

Despite all that, you still need to run two miles as fast as possible. This final event tests your cardiovascular endurance, mental toughness, and ability to perform while already depleted.

The run typically happens on a track or designated course where distance can be measured accurately. You’ll run with other soldiers, but this isn’t a competition against them—it’s you against the clock. Your time determines your score independently of how others perform.

Pacing strategy becomes absolutely critical because of the pre-fatigue from earlier events. Starting too fast because you’re amped up or trying to keep up with faster runners is a recipe for disaster. You’ll blow up halfway through and struggle just to finish.

A smarter approach is starting at a sustainable pace that feels slightly easier than your maximum. If you normally run a 15-minute two-mile, aim to hit your first quarter mile at around 1:50 to 1:55 rather than going out at 1:45. This controlled start lets your breathing settle and your legs find their rhythm despite fatigue.

Hold this pace through the first mile, then assess how you feel. If you have something left in the tank, gradually pick up the pace during the third quarter. In the final half mile, push as hard as you can manage. This negative split strategy almost always produces better times than starting too fast and dying late.

Your breathing rhythm affects everything. Try to establish a consistent breathing pattern early—maybe breathing in for three steps and out for three steps, or whatever rhythm feels natural. Controlled breathing helps you relax into the run and prevents the panic breathing that wastes energy.

Form tends to deteriorate as fatigue increases. Fight to maintain good running posture throughout. Keep your shoulders relaxed rather than hunched up near your ears. Maintain a slight forward lean from your ankles, not your waist. Let your arms swing naturally, not across your body.

Mental approach makes an enormous difference over two miles when you’re already tired. Break the distance into manageable segments. Focus on reaching the quarter-mile mark, then the half-mile, then each subsequent landmark. Don’t think about the entire distance remaining or you’ll overwhelm yourself mentally.

Training for a better two-mile run time requires consistent running volume over weeks and months. You can’t cram cardio fitness in the last two weeks before a test. Your aerobic system develops gradually through accumulated training.

Build your aerobic base with easy-paced runs of 20 to 40 minutes several times per week. These longer, slower runs develop your cardiovascular system’s ability to supply oxygen to working muscles. Don’t skip these just because they feel too easy—they’re building the foundation everything else rests on.

Add interval training once or twice per week to improve your lactate threshold and running economy. Run 400-meter or 800-meter repeats at faster than race pace with recovery jogs between. These workouts teach your body to sustain faster speeds and clear lactate more efficiently.

Include one tempo run per week where you maintain a comfortably hard pace for 10 to 20 minutes. This pace should feel challenging but sustainable—you could speak a few words but not hold a conversation. Tempo runs improve your body’s ability to work at higher intensities for extended periods.

Don’t neglect leg strength even though the two-mile run is primarily a cardio event. Stronger legs generate more force with each stride and hold up better under fatigue. Squats, lunges, and single-leg exercises all contribute to running performance.

Hip flexor strength matters more than most runners realize. Strong hip flexors help you drive your knees up with each stride, improving efficiency and speed. Hanging knee raises, high knees, and banded hip flexion exercises all develop this quality.

Practice running while pre-fatigued occasionally during training. After a hard leg workout or a full ACFT simulation, go run a mile or two. This teaches your body and mind to run effectively even when tired, exactly what you’ll face on test day.

Putting It All Together: Strategy for Test Day Success

Understanding each event individually helps, but you also need an overall strategy for managing the complete test. The six events don’t happen in isolation—how you perform early affects what you can do later.

Energy management starts before you even arrive at the test site. Eat a solid meal two to three hours before the test, something that provides sustained energy without causing stomach discomfort. Avoid trying any new foods on test day—stick with what you know works for you.

Warm up properly before beginning. Your body needs to be ready for maximum effort right from the start. Include some light cardio to elevate your heart rate, dynamic stretching to improve range of motion, and a few practice movements that mimic the upcoming events.

Between events, keep moving lightly rather than sitting or standing still. Light walking helps clear metabolic waste products and keeps your muscles warm. Shake out your arms and legs. Take deep breaths to control your heart rate.

Hydration matters throughout the test. Take small sips of water between events, but don’t overdo it or you’ll feel sloshy and uncomfortable during the run. Have a bottle ready so you can drink when needed.

Mental approach affects every event. Stay focused on what you’re doing right now rather than worrying about what’s coming next. After completing each event, reset your focus for the next challenge. Don’t let a bad event ruin your mindset for the remaining tests.

Celebrate your performance after finishing all six events, regardless of your score. You just completed a demanding physical test that most people couldn’t finish. Use your results to identify areas for improvement, then get back to training with specific goals for next time.

Final Thoughts on ACFT Preparation and Performance

The six ACFT events measure different physical qualities that combine to create overall combat readiness. Success doesn’t come from being exceptional at one or two events—it comes from being competent across all six.

Your training needs to address every quality the test measures: maximum strength for the deadlift, explosive power for the power throw, muscular endurance for push-ups, anaerobic capacity for the sprint-drag-carry, core stability for the plank, and aerobic endurance for the two-mile run.

This comprehensive approach takes time to develop. You can’t achieve elite-level performance in six events spanning such different physical domains in just a few weeks. Commit to months of consistent training, addressing each event regularly while also building general fitness that supports everything.

Focus on your weakest events first when planning training priorities. If you’re strong but can’t run well, dedicate more time to running development. If your cardio is solid but your deadlift lags behind, emphasize strength training. Bringing up weak points improves your total score more than making strong events even stronger.

Remember that proper form in each event protects you from injury and maximizes your score. Spend time mastering the technique for every movement before worrying about maximum performance. Quality repetitions build better results than sloppy high-intensity work.

With smart training, consistent effort, and strategic preparation, you can excel at every event and achieve an ACFT score you’re proud of.