"Army Strong" is more than just a tagline — for soldiers, it’s a requirement for duty. The U.S. Army requires that all active-duty soldiers prove their physical ...

In July of 2025, President Donald Trump reinstated the Presidential Physical Fitness Test,[1] a standardized evaluation of fitness for American school-age children. It includes a one-mile run, ...

The Army’s physical fitness test has remained unchanged for some 40 years: two minutes to do as many push-ups as possible, then two minutes for sit-ups, then a two mile run. Recruits need a certain ...

Over the last five years, the Army has been testing and developing new fitness tests and standards, updating the APFT with the ACFT. In recent years, other tests have been added or modified to include ...

I was on my fourth and final lap around the track during the mile run for my fifth-grade Presidential Fitness Test when it happened. My stomach gurgled, I stopped abruptly, and I bent over and heaved.