After months of speculation, the Air Force confirmed on Sept. 24 that next year Airmen will begin taking physical fitness assessments every six months, including a two-mile run test every year.
The Air Force will pause physical fitness testing starting Jan. 1, 2026, then hold a diagnostic period from March 1 to Aug. 31 where Airmen can try out the new test, called the PFA, without it counting on their records. Official, scored testing with the new PFA begins Sept. 1, 2026.
The PFA has four components:
- A two-mile run, which tests the Airman’s cardiorespiratory fitness and counts for 50 percent of the total score. The run is up from the 1.5-mile run in past tests
- Push-ups or hand-release push-ups completed in one minute. Hand-release push-ups require Airmen lower their chest all the way to the ground and extend their hands out to the sides before pushing up again. This component measures muscle strength and counts for 15 percent of the total score.
- Sit-ups or reverse cross leg crunches completed in one minute or forearm plank, which measures muscle core endurance and counts for another 15 percent of the total score.
- A body composition test where Airmen divide their waist length by their height in inches. For example, an Airman who stands 69 inches tall and has a waist of 36 inches would have a waist-to-height ratio of 0.52. This component counts for 20 percent of the total score, but Airmen do not have to take the body composition test the same day as the workout portion of the PFA.
“These fitness changes are about having a healthy, ready force prepared to meet today’s mission and the demands of the future fight,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in a press release. “The updated model reflects our high standards for fitness and ensures our Airmen have the tools they need to protect their long-term health.”
Airmen must take a cardiorespiratory assessment at both PFAs each year, but only one of those assessments has to be the two-mile run, an Air Force spokesperson said. For the other PFA, an Airman can choose to do either the two-mile run or the 20-meter High Aerobic Multi-Shuttle Run, where participants dash between lines 20 meters apart at progressively faster pace.
The four components of the PFA will be weighed differently than they were in the past, an Air Force spokesperson explained. Today, cardio counts for 60 percent of the test, while the muscle strength and endurance portion accounts for 20 percent each.
In the past, when the body composition component was still scored as part of the physical fitness test, it was 60 percent cardio, 20 percent body composition, 10 percent muscle strength, 10 percent muscle endurance.
The new PFA ratios of 50 percent cardio, 20 percent body composition, 15 percent muscle strength, 15 percent muscle endurance better emphasizes that each part of the PFA is important, the spokesperson said.
As in the current version of the test, Airmen can’t squeak by just doing the minimum of each category, since that will not add up to the minimum passing score of 75 points. The new scoring charts can be found here.
Medical experts say waist-to-height ratio is a leading indicator of possible future heart health issues. It is technically possible to fail the body composition measurement and pass the PFA overall, but an Airman would have to max out the other portions of the PFA.
The Air Force removed the body composition measurement from the physical fitness test amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Since then, Airmen had their body composition measurements taken during their birth month or during their annual physical.
In the new PFA, the Air Force will score body composition as part of the physical fitness test again, but Airmen do not have to take it the same day as their fitness test. In 2019, officials noticed holding both events on the same day sometimes led to Airmen starving themselves or taking diuretics to make the tape, a potentially dangerous decision when combined with physical training.
The new measurement lets Airmen take the body composition measurement up to five days before the fitness test so that they can still fuel up for the workout portion of the PFA without fear that it may hurt their waist measurement. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard members may complete their body composition measurement during their drill period prior to their PFA. Airmen can still take the body composition measure the same day as the rest of the PFA if they want.
Base commanders can direct units to do mass PFA testing in cycles so it best fits local conditions and ops tempo.
Airmen have a guide to prepare for the new PFA–and staying fit in general–with the Warfighter’s Fitness Playbook, which provides tips and guidance for sleep, diet, exercise, and other aspects of staying healthy.
The PFA and the playbook are one part of a larger “Culture of Fitness” push announced by Air Force Secretary Troy Meink on Sept. 18. It has four lines of efforts:
- Proactively managing physical and mental health so Airmen and Guardians can do their jobs and deploy
- Promoting a fitness culture by encouraging units to do PT together
- Improving Air Force dining facilities to be more nutritious
- Using data to make more effective training and fitness assessments that better reflect operational demands.
The announcements come about six months after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced a military-wide review of physical fitness, body composition and grooming standards on March, though the Air Force had been rethinking such standards for years already.
The Air Force is not the only service revisiting its physical fitness assessments. On June 1, the Army officially adopted the Army Fitness Test, where Soldiers in combat jobs must pass a higher, sex-neutral standard, while those in non-combat jobs must meet lower minimum scores that are separate for men and women.
The new Air Force test will have different standards for Airmen of different sexes and age groups, while certain career fields such as special warfare and explosive ordnance disposal will maintain their own unique physical fitness standards.
