The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has laid out changes to its fitness testing after pledging in the fall new physical standards would build a “more dominant, agile and lethal” force.
Why It Matters
The USAF launched what it termed its “Culture of Fitness” in September 2025 after “critical review” found “overall well-being and operational readiness” were not at the point they needed to be for “mission success.”
The military said it would focus on “being physically and medically ready,” making sure airmen eat the right food, carry out “regular unit physical conditioning” and “revolutionize fitness assessments.”
Days later, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was cracking down on fitness standards in the military and standardizing tests for regardless of gender.
What To Know
The new rules mean airmen can choose between completing a 2-mile run or a 20-meter shuttle run circuit in twice-yearly Physical Fitness Assessments (PFAs).
Personnel will be able to opt for either one minute of push-ups or two minutes of hand-release push-ups for the strength part of the evaluation, and choose between one minute of sit-ups, two minutes of cross-leg reverse crunches, or a timed forearm plank for the core testing.
The update, published on Tuesday, said body composition would be judged by a waist-to-height ratio measurement. Official testing under the new standards will start in July this year after personnel have the chance to adapt, the USAF said. Assessments were paused at the start of 2026.
Colonels will be the first personnel to have their PFA scores on their records from next month. Lieutenant colonels, majors, and chief master sergeants will follow in May.
Hegseth, addressing a highly unusual gathering of top military officials in Quantico, Virginia, in late September said it was “completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals” in the Pentagon, elsewhere in the U.S. and in U.S. bases across the world.
The Pentagon published a memorandum, dated September 30, requiring all active duty personnel to complete a standard fitness test each year and either a Combat Field Test or Combat Readiness Test. The former will be taken by combat arms personnel — or those trained for fighting — while the readiness test applies to non-combat members of the military.
Active service members are required to train every day they are on duty, while National Guard and reserves must take at least one fitness test a year.
Commanders will be held responsible for not enforcing the new standards, the memorandum said.
What People Are Saying
“We care about the long-term health of our Airmen and that starts with physical fitness,” General Ken Wilsbach, the Air Force Chief of Staff, said in a statement on Tuesday. “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.”
These fitness changes are about having a healthy, ready force prepared to meet today’s mission and the demands of the future fight,” former U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin said in September 2025.
“Standards must be uniform, gender-neutral and high. If not, they aren’t standards; they’re just suggestions,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told military leaders in September.
