The Air Force’s new physical fitness assessments will start counting sooner than originally planned, and the service will give airmen another option for how they perform their cardiovascular evaluations.
The revised physical fitness assessment standards, which were originally announced last September, increased the frequency of testing to every six months. Last September’s standards required airmen to perform a 2-mile run during at least one assessment each year, but gave them the option of performing a 20-meter high aerobic multishuttle run, or HAMR, for the other one.
In a Tuesday release, the Air Force said airmen will now have the option of choosing either the 2-mile run or the 20-meter HAMR every six months.
The Air Force is also shortening the diagnostic period it originally planned to allow airmen to adjust to the new standards. The diagnostic period, during which fitness tests will not officially count, will still begin in March, but will now end June 30 instead of Aug. 31. Fitness testing is now on hold while the service shifts to the new program.
The strength, core and body composition elements of the fitness tests that were originally released last September will remain unchanged.
Airmen will be required to perform one minute of pushups or two minutes of hand-release pushups as their strength requirement. The new core requirements mandate airmen perform one minute of situps, two minutes of cross-leg reverse crunches or a timed forearm plank. And the waist-to-height ratio measurement will still be the method used to evaluate body composition.
“We care about the long-term health of our airmen and that starts with physical fitness,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach said in a Tuesday statement. “The habits airmen build by working out daily directly impact their quality of life in and out of uniform. I am confident our commanders will continue to implement a culture of fitness so our warfighters are healthy and ready.”
The Air Force last September also announced a new “Culture of Fitness” initiative, which includes keeping its 181 gyms open around the clock and offering healthier food options, intended to motivate airmen and Space Force guardians to keep their physical fitness up.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made improving troops’ physical fitness a top priority over the last year.
The Air Force said it is following Hegseth’s guidance and will begin to include fitness assessment scores on the performance briefs for officers and enlisted airmen, beginning in February. Colonels will be first affected by the change that month. Lieutenant colonels, majors and chief master sergeants will follow in May.
But senior airmen’s enlisted performance briefs that are closing out in March will not include the fitness assessment scores, the Air Force said.
“Your physical health is important to us, not just as a readiness metric but as a human being as well,” Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Wolfe said. “When you’re physically healthy, you’re not only happier, but in a better position to excel at your job.”
The Air Force said it plans to soon release updated guidance and fitness score charts that include feedback from airmen in the field.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
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