The Army is making waves in its approach to physical readiness, scrapping the age-old push-up requirement from the grueling Ranger School entrance test and rolling out a new, sex-neutral Army Fitness Test (AFT) for the entire force.
As of April 21, the U.S. Army Infantry School will implement a new physical fitness assessment for Ranger candidates, ditching traditional sit-ups and push-ups in favor of events modeled on the Expert Infantry Badge (EIB) assessment. The decision reflects the Army’s broader pivot toward functional combat fitness and a reexamination of exercises that, for years, have been a staple of military PT—but not necessarily a fair or accurate measure of combat readiness.
“Pushups and situps are no longer the Army standard,” said Brig. Gen. Phil Kiniery, commandant of the Infantry School.
Previously, soldiers needed 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, a sub-40 minute 5-mile run, and six chin-ups to start Ranger School. That’s gone. The new test is a two-part grinder designed to simulate actual combat movement and stress.
Day One “Operation” Fitness Test (ACU & boots):
- 800-meter run
- 30 dead-stop pushups (no bouncing off the ground)
- 100-meter sprint
- 16 x 40-lb sandbag lifts (onto a 68” platform)
- 50-meter farmer’s carry with two 40-lb water cans
- 50-meter movement drill: 25m high crawl, 25m 3-to-5-second rush
- Another 800-meter run
Then it’s a uniform change into PTs for:
- 4-mile run (max 32 minutes)
- 6 chin-ups
Brig. Gen. Kiniery called it an “operational tryout,” intended to mirror the chaos and pacing of real combat tasks. “This supports functional fitness and echoes the intensity of the events Ranger candidates will complete during the course,” he said.
So Why Are Push-Ups Gone?
For years, push-ups have been a benchmark for Army fitness. But they’ve also been criticized as a poor indicator of functional strength and stamina. More to the point: they’re biomechanically biased. Men typically outperform women in push-up tests due to differences in upper body strength distribution.
By replacing push-ups with tasks like sandbag lifts and farmers’ carries, the Army is shifting toward movements that more closely resemble actual combat tasks and neutralize some of the sex-based performance gaps. It’s a move that leans into capability over tradition.
The Bigger Picture: AFT Becomes the Army’s New Standard
As the Ranger Course adapts, the broader Army is following suit. The Army announced the Army Fitness Test (AFT) as the new record fitness test, replacing the controversial Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT).
The Five Events of the AFT:
- Three-rep max deadlift
- Hand-release push-up with arm extension
- Sprint-drag-carry
- Plank
- Two-mile run
The AFT comes in two flavors:
- Combat Standard (sex-neutral): For Soldiers in 21 combat MOSs. Minimum: 60 points per event, 350 overall.
- General Standard (age/sex-normed): For support roles. Minimum: 60 points per event, 300 overall.
The AFT rolls out starting June 1, 2025, with combat MOS requirements kicking in by January 2026 for active-duty troops.
RAND Corp. data and nearly a million test scores helped shape the AFT, which Army officials say better aligns with combat readiness, lethality, and injury prevention.
The Bottom Line
These changes aren’t just cosmetic. They signal a shift in the Army’s understanding of what it really takes to be ready for war. It’s about more than how many push-ups you can crank out in two minutes. It’s about whether you can carry weight under pressure, haul gear, and stay in the fight.
And yeah—removing push-ups from a test like Ranger School might ruffle some feathers. But the goal is no longer tradition. It’s performance. The standard hasn’t been lowered. It’s just been refocused.
The suck is still there. It just looks a little different now.
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