Level 1 Fitness Standards: The Baseline

This is something that’s been on my mind a lot. One of the guiding principles of The Everyday Marksman is that fitness matters and is a vital part of becoming a well-rounded (figuratively, not literally) marksman.

As I started thinking about this article, I couldn’t help go but go back into the many complaints I had about the Air Force’s fitness assessment that I did for years. I’ll reserve the details of my complaints, but they boil down to a phase I remember from long ago, “you are what you measure.” 

The Air Force assessment, which was similar to the classic Army APFT at the time, is a one-size-fits-all approach designed to be administered on any patch of dirt in the world, by anyone, without any equipment. The problem, to me at least, was that it encouraged poor form and rewarded certain body types more than capability. It was more of a health assessment than an test of capability.

Why Produce a Fitness Test?

So why would a gun blog worry about producing a fitness test? That’s a valid question, for sure, and I talked about it in a podcast episode. But let me touch on this real quick and give you a glimpse of my “Why.”

It’s no secret that I think building a solid base of fitness is an important part of becoming a well-rounded citizen and marksman. It’s also something. I believe too many people in the shooting and preparedness communities neglect their fitness. Instead, they choose to spend money on new gear in an effort to make up for (or at least feel better about) their physical shortcomings.

I also like specific and measurable targets to aim for. While holding myself to the same standards as a military fitness test like the ones I did every year in the Air Force have a degree of validity to them, I’m simply not bound by the same rules and limitations that they are. So I decided to come up with my own test based on my own research and what seemed “right.”

Designing a Better Test

One of my earlier interviews for the podcast was with Dr. Whitfield East, one of the key people responsible for the Army’s ACFT. One of the things that stood out to me while researching for that interview, and his answers during our conversation, was how there are several realms of fitness. 

With that in mind, I started thinking about fitness assessments in terms of levels and realms rather than raw scores. So rather than a single “do-all” test, I decided to create three of them with increasing difficulty and specificity.

• Level 1: General physical condition
• Level 2: Strength and work capacity
• Level 3: High-stress situational preparedness

You should not progress to working on the next level until you’ve at least met the par score on the preceding level. In other words, don’t go for Level 2 until you pass Level 1.

Also, remember that these assessments should not be workouts in of themselves. You don’t prepare for a test by taking the test. Rather, you should perform exercises and drills specifically designed to train for each event, and then validate that you’ve done a good job preparing using the test.

The Level 1 Fitness Assessment

Level 1 is about basic physical conditioning and health. None of these events should be particularly strenuous. But if you are out of shape, then you might find them difficult.

Each event scores on a scale. The combined points of all events is used as the final score. Failing any single event is not enough to fail the entire assessment, but scoring very low in any one area does make it more difficult to pass overall.

The goal is ensuring a spectrum of capability rather than specialization. This assessment does not distinguish between male, female, young, old, or disabled. The standard is the standard.

I know there will be pushback against holding someone in their 50’s or 60’s to the same standard as someone in their 20’s. Keep in mind that this isn’t a job interview, and nobody is going to care how well you do. The reality of life is that being older puts you at a physical disadvantage compared to someone younger. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still be capable.

That said, I scaled this test so that passing it is relatively easy, but doing extremely well on it is difficult. The maximum possible score is 500. The minimum score to pass is 300 points.

Earning between 300 points and 349 points equates to a “marginal” rating. It’s a pass, but you should note your weak areas and improve on them.

Between 350 points and 449 points is a “good” rating, and between 450 and 500 points is “excellent.”

Before moving on to Level 2, you should make it a goal to achieve at least a rating of “good.” Getting “excellent” would be even better. 

Do not cheat yourself. Unlike my time in the military, passing or failing this assessment has no impact on your career and nobody is going to treat you differently regardless of how you do on it. Use proper form at all times to complete each exercise. This will become even more important at the Level 2 assessment where failure to use proper form could result in injury.

Remember, when you cheat in training you’re only stealing from yourself.

The Events

The Level 1 assessment utilizes the following events:

• Hand release push-ups
• Bodyweight air squat
• Plank
• 1.5 mile run
• Four-mile ruck