It is almost universal that the most failures from the Army Combat Fitness Test come from poor performance in the 2-mile run. This has held true for as long as I can remember since the days of the earlier PT Test. The 2-mile run event hasn’t changed, and still it is the part that most fail.

Technically, “leg day” for building up leg muscle with resistance exercise isn’t the same as a cardio workout that you get from a run, but just about everywhere I’ve been in the Army, people associated the two together. Skipping leg workouts and marginalizing cardio workouts seems to go together, perhaps.

I was always the opposite– I loved to go out on a run, or go hiking, biking, or just for long walks, but other resistance efforts didn’t interest me. So I typically did well on the run but struggled with push-ups & sit-ups under the old system. I’m trying to up my game now with longer planks in the ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test).

Personally, I’m glad they got rid of the leg tuck; I was one of those people that struggled with that.

Still, it is worth it to keep in some level of physical shape; not just physical health is better for it but it always seems to improve my mental outlooks as well.

Until next time!