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US Army Fitness Test (AFT)
The US Army's test of record since June 1, 2025, when it replaced the Army Combat Fitness Test and dropped the standing power throw. Five events remain: a three-repetition maximum deadlift with a 60lb hex bar, as many hand-release push-ups as possible in two minutes, a sprint-drag-carry of five 50m shuttles with a 90lb sled and two 40lb kettlebells, a plank held as long as possible, and a two-mile run.
Each event scores up to 100. Soldiers in combat specialties need 350 overall with at least 60 in every event, on sex-neutral tables; most other roles need 300 on sex- and age-normed tables. The sprint-drag-carry is the event to rehearse: it rewards grip, turning and pacing more than raw speed.
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US Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test (PFT)
The Marines' annual endurance test, taken between January and June: pull-ups or push-ups, a forearm plank and a three-mile run, with a 5,000m row allowed in place of the run only in limited cases, such as for older Marines. Choosing push-ups is a real trade-off, because they are capped at 70 points however many you do, so pull-ups are the route to a top score.
The scale runs to 300. Since January 1, 2026, Marines in combat arms specialties have been scored on the male, age-normed tables whatever their sex and must reach at least 210; other Marines keep sex- and age-normed tables. For anyone measuring themselves, the three-mile run is the longest single run in any test on this list.
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US Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test (CFT)
The PFT's partner, taken between July and December, and built to look like work rather than athletics. Movement to contact is a timed 880-yard run; the ammunition lift presses a 30lb ammunition can overhead to locked elbows as many times as possible in two minutes; maneuver under fire is a 300-yard course of sprints, crawls, a casualty drag and carry, an ammunition can carry and a simulated grenade throw.
Each event is worth up to 100 points, and the published pass is 150 with at least 40 per event. The 210-point combat arms standard introduced in 2026 applies to the PFT, not this test. If you only train for runs and pull-ups, the maneuver under fire course is where the gaps show.
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United States Navy Physical Readiness Test
The US Navy keeps its test short: as many push-ups as possible in two minutes, a forearm plank held for as long as you can, then a cardio event, all on one day in that order with 5 to 15 minutes between them. The default cardio is a 1.5-mile run, but a commanding officer can approve an alternative such as a 2,000m row or a 500-yard swim, which makes this the most flexible test here for anyone with a running injury.
To pass, every event must score at least Probationary, 45 points. Because the plank comes straight after two minutes of push-ups, practice the pair back to back rather than separately.
More about United States Navy Physical Readiness Test5
US Air Force Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA)
The Air Force rebuilt its assessment for 2026 and now tests every Airman twice a year. Cardio carries the most weight at 50 points, and Airmen choose between a two-mile run and the 20m High Aerobic Multi-shuttle Run, a bleep-style shuttle test. Strength and endurance events are worth 15 points each, and a waist-to-height measurement is scored for the remaining 20.
That body composition share is the distinctive feature: no other test on this list puts a tape measure inside the score itself. The new run distance also matches the Army's, so a two-mile time is a fair way to compare yourself across both services.
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FBI Special Agent Physical Fitness Test
Applicants to become FBI special agents face four events: a 300m sprint, maximum push-ups, a 1.5-mile run and a core or pulling event. The long-standing version uses one minute of sit-ups and passes candidates with 12 points in total and at least one point in every event. Reports from 2026 say a late 2025 revision swapped sit-ups for pull-ups and changed the total required, but the Bureau's own requirements page still showed sit-ups when this list was researched, so check which version your invitation names.
The pairing of a flat-out 300m with a 1.5-mile run is what catches people out: it demands both speed and aerobic base on the same day.
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Candidate Physical Ability Test
The pass-or-fail entry test used by many US fire departments, and the one where the clock never stops. Wearing a 50lb vest to simulate breathing apparatus and protective kit, candidates work through eight events in sequence: stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise and extension, forcible entry, search, rescue, and ceiling breach and pull. The whole course must be finished in 10 minutes 20 seconds, with an 85ft walk between events and no running allowed.
The opening stair climb sets the tone: three minutes on a StepMill at 60 steps a minute with two extra 12.5lb weights on the shoulders. Train it as one continuous effort, because the short walks between events are the only recovery you get.
More about Candidate Physical Ability Test8
British Army Role Fitness Test (Entry)
The British Army's entry test has three events, taken in any order at assessment: a mid-thigh pull, where you heave on a fixed bar for five seconds and a dynamometer records your peak force over two attempts; a seated throw of a 4kg medicine ball against a wall, best of three; and a 2km run on a flat course after an 800m warm-up.
Standards are set by role rather than published in age or sex bands. The 2km target is 10 minutes 15 seconds for infantry soldiers and guardsmen and the Royal Armoured Corps, and 8 minutes 25 seconds for paratroopers, so check the page for your chosen job. The mid-thigh pull is hard to practice without the machine; heavy deadlifts and rack pulls are the nearest gym substitute.
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RAF Pre-Joining Fitness Test
The Royal Air Force tests applicants with a single event: a 2.4km run on a treadmill set to zero incline. That simplicity makes it the easiest test on this list to rehearse exactly, since any gym treadmill will do.
Pass times rise with age and differ by sex. For applicants aged 17 to 29, the published targets are 13 minutes 20 seconds for men and 15 minutes 48 seconds for women, which works out at a steady pace of about 5 minutes 33 seconds per kilometer for the men's standard. Set the treadmill to that speed and hold it; there is no strength element to make up lost time.
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Police Job Related Fitness Test (England and Wales)
Police recruits in England and Wales run the multi-stage shuttle, better known as the bleep test, over a 15m course instead of the usual 20m, and must reach level 5.4. That takes 3 minutes 35 seconds and covers 525m, which surprises people expecting something tougher.
The catch is that the 15m track means more turns per minute, so practice on the correct distance rather than with a standard 20m bleep test recording. Forces also retest serving officers against the job-related standard, so it is worth staying comfortably above 5.4 rather than scraping it.
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UK Firefighter Fitness and Practical Tests
UK fire and rescue services run their own selection, but most pair an aerobic test with job-based practical tasks. The usual aerobic test is the Chester treadmill test: a 12-minute walk at a fixed speed while the incline rises every two minutes, with no holding the handrails, aimed at a minimum aerobic capacity of about 42ml of oxygen per kg per minute. Some services set a higher bar or offer the bleep test instead.
The practical tasks are where this differs from military tests: a ladder climb, a confined space crawl, casualty evacuation, an equipment carry and, in some services, assembling a portable pump in full kit. Check your own service's version, because the line-up changes from one fire service to the next.
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Canadian Armed Forces FORCE Evaluation
Canada tests its forces every year with four tasks drawn from common military jobs, each against a single time limit rather than a points table. The 20m rushes are two 20m shuttle sprints from prone, dropping flat every 10m, in 51 seconds or less. The sandbag lift is 30 lifts of a 20kg bag from the floor to above 1m, alternating sides, in 3 minutes 30 seconds. The intermittent loaded shuttles cover 400m, alternating carrying a 20kg sandbag with running empty, in 5 minutes 21 seconds. The sandbag drag pulls at least four bags 20m without stopping while carrying another.
Every standard is written in plain loads, distances and times, so a few 20kg sandbags and a measured 20m stretch are enough to rehearse the whole thing at home.
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Australian Defence Force Pre-Entry Fitness Assessment
Australia's pre-entry assessment uses three familiar events: push-ups, sit-ups with feet held and a beep test shuttle run. Standards are set by service and role. For Army combat and officer roles, the figures are 15 push-ups for men and 8 for women, 45 sit-ups and level 7.5 on the shuttle run; combat support roles ask for less, and applicants also need a body mass index in the accepted range.
The Navy has dropped the assessment for most roles, keeping it for divers and physical training instructors, where the bar for men jumps to 30 push-ups and level 10.1. That spread makes the ADF tables a useful ladder: start at the general entry figures and work up.
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Bundeswehr Basis-Fitness-Test
Germany's basic fitness test is short and sharp, with three events. The 11 x 10m shuttle sprint must be finished in under 60 seconds; the flexed-arm hang, chin held over a pull-up bar, must last at least 5 seconds; and the endurance event is a 1,000m run or a 3,000m effort on a cycle ergometer, both within 6 minutes 30 seconds.
Those minimums are modest, but points keep rising well beyond them, so applicants aiming for a good grade should treat the minimum as a floor. The flexed-arm hang is the event most people neglect: a long hold demands grip and upper-back endurance that push-up training does not build.
