AF releases fitness standards
10/20/2003 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force leaders released the fitness-scoring charts that will be used beginning Jan. 1.
“The amount of energy we devote to our fitness programs is not consistent with the growing demands of our warrior culture. It's time to change that,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper in a Sight Picture released in July, explaining the rationale behind the change.
Officials said the fitness score will include four components: crunches, push-ups, an abdominal circumference measurement and the 1.5-mile timed run. People who are not medically cleared to run will continue to take the bike test. The component scores are then added to get a composite fitness score and determine if the person falls into the excellent, good, marginal or poor category. The charts are available online at www.af.mil/news/USAF_Fitness_Charts.pdf.
Fitness categories will determine how often a person must retest. For instance, a composite score of 70 to 74.9 places the person in the marginally fit category. This designation requires retesting at six-month intervals. A score of less than 70 places a person in the poorly fit category. That score requires a retest every three months. People at the marginal and poor levels also will participate in educational programs.
Air Force leaders encourage commanders to recognize people who attain an excellent fitness level or make substantial improvement.
“The focus of the new fitness program is not the assessment. The program is about integrating fitness into our culture, and our members adopting fitness as a way of life,” said Maj. Lisa Schmidt, the Air Force Surgeon General chief of health promotion operations.
Officials are finalizing the instruction related to the program and plan to publish it by January. It will address unit physical training, testing procedures and programs to facilitate improvement, they said.
The Air Force has established an e-mail account for comments at fitness.program@pentagon.af.mil. Officials emphasized that the Air Force fitness program will be reviewed annually for continuous improvement. |
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