The Academy Endeavors Candidate Fitness Assessment Guide: How To Pass (Or Max!) the CFA

Curious to know how to pass the CFA? Do you want to go above and beyond and max it? 100% of our clients have passed this test, but during our first consultation, many failed at first. We’re sharing what we’ve learned the last 4 years helping our clients pass (and max!) the CFA. Read on for “best practices” and the Academy Endeavors Workout Plan.

Best Practices

Basketball Throw

Curl your wrist to maintain good grip
Dig your toes in beneath your buttocks
Throw with your hips, not just your arm
Use a basketball with good grip
Use a towel in between throws to keep ball dry (if outside)
Watch Basketball Throw video by Stew Smith

Pullups/Flexed Arm Hang

As your core strength improves, pull-ups will too.
If you’re struggling to get 1 pullup, watch How To Get Your First Pullup by Stew Smith and Go from 0 to 10 Pull-ups (excuse indecent images).
If you are female, you are authorized to do the flexed-arm hang instead of pullups. Max flexed arm hang is 40 seconds. NOTE: 1 pullup is more points than 40 seconds in flexed arm hang, so if you can do 1 pullup, opt for pullups instead.
Buy a pullup bar for home – this one worked for previous clients.
Recommend Pullup Workout by Stew Smith

Shuttle Run

Stay low in & out of turns
Know your steps – don’t use too many steps, or overrun the line.
Use good grip shoes
Run on non-slip surface (track or gym floor). Do not run on grass unless you have cleats.

Pushups

Consistency is key. The best thing about push-ups is you can do them anywhere.
Do the AE Workout below, and you’ll see big gains.
As an alternative, recommend Pushup Workout by Stew Smith

Situps

Practice doing situps the way the CFA requires. Military sit-ups are different from crunches.
Do the AE workout below with CFA sit-ups to strengthen your hip flexors.
Recommend Situp Workout by Stew Smith

1 Mile Run

The key is to build your fast-twitch muscles through sprint intervals
For the real tests and the mocks, grab 1-2 friends, and have them pace you. You will run faster if you run with people.
Do 400m or 800m sprints with 1 min max rest in between
Do your mocks on a track.

*Frequently, the biggest gains in the shortest amount of time are situps, pushups, and 1 mile run.

5 Steps	Justification
1. Schedule CFA	Schedule your CFA (or during Bootcamp if you are a Pro/Bootcamp client) This is the most important step to success. You must create a sense of urgency. If you don’t schedule it, you enable procrastination.
2. Perform Mock	Record the mock CFA scores. Discover your current performance for each exercise.
3. Set Goals	Write down the goal for each exercise. Your goal should be at least the average, and ideally the max.
4. Follow Workout Plan	Follow suggested workout plans to achieve the goal.
5. Keep Score	Use your CFA tab to keep score of your mocks. Track your progress so it encourages you to stay consistent.