19.2 The Official Fitness Assessment

Assessment Procedures

"All components of the fitness assessment must be completed within a three-hour window on the same day." If FAC staff or augmentees determine extenuating circumstances prevent completion — rapidly changing or severe weather, natural disasters, emergencies, or safety issues — all components must be rescheduled and completed at the earliest opportunity.

The Component Order

AFH 1 gives a fixed sequence:

"There is a minimum five-minute rest period between components," and components should be scheduled to allow adequate rest for members on irregular or shift work hours.

Two administrative rules: Reserve members must be in a duty status for fitness assessments, and ARC Airmen will be required to retest no later than the next Unit Training Assembly or Regularly Scheduled Drill. And a flat prohibition: "Videotaping of fitness assessments is not allowed, nor should it be used in the appeal process."

The Fitness Screening Questionnaire is completed in myFitness when scheduling, prior to the assessment, to allow time for medical evaluation. "Failure to complete the fitness screening questionnaire does not invalidate the fitness assessment," but the member must inform the PFA Administrator if responses have changed between submission and execution.

The Composite Score

Airmen receive a composite score on a 0 to 100 scale based on these maximum component values:

Aerobic is 60 percent of the score — three times either strength component. That weighting is the single most tested number in Section 22B.

The minimum-score trap is equally testable: "Meeting the minimum score in each of the components does not constitute the minimum points required to earn a passing fitness assessment score. Scoring the minimum component values in all components will not generate enough points to earn a composite score of 75 or greater."

So an Airman can hit every component minimum and still fail. Age and sex-specific score charts are provided in myFSS.

The Four Result Levels

The excellent-level split is the detail candidates miss: scoring 90+ overall earns "excellent," but the 12-month retest requires all three components individually at or above 90. Otherwise the retest is at six months, the same as satisfactory.

Worked example. An Airman scores 58 aerobic, 18 muscular, and 17 sit-up for a composite of 93. That is excellent — but because the sit-up and muscular components are not each at or above 90 percent of their maximums, the relevant question is whether all three component scores were at or above 90 on their scales. Where fewer than three components reach that level and the member is not on a chronic profile, the retest falls at six months rather than 12.

Documenting Failures

"Assessment failures will be annotated in myFitness (myFSS) and will be considered against the individual."

Two commander discretions:

1. The commander has the discretion to annotate a non-current/failing assessment within the reporting period on the performance evaluation
2. It is the commander's discretion to document the evaluation as a referral for a non-current/failing assessment at the evaluation close-out date

"Commander responses for fitness assessment failures range from verbal counseling to placement on control roster, to administrative separation." That range — counseling → control roster → separation — mirrors the graduated-discipline logic in Chapter 20.

Deployments. "Members must have a current fitness score on file prior to deployment," and "members will not be considered 'exempt' in the deployed location until their current fitness assessment expires."

Medical exemptions. Providers may recommend temporary or permanent medical exemptions for conditions preventing safe participation. The commander, in consultation with the fitness program manager and upon provider recommendation, may grant exemption from aerobic and muscle fitness components for a limited period. Exemptions are entered into myFSS using the AF Form 469 following assessment completion.

The partial-exemption rule is heavily tested: "Airmen with a medical profile prohibiting them from performing one or more of the components of the fitness assessment will still be tested on the components not specifically exempted." A profile is not a blanket pass.

The Components Explained

Benefits of muscular fitness AFH 1 names: helps with metabolism, strengthens connective tissue, increases bone density, facilitates recovery, helps prevent injury, may increase cardiorespiratory fitness, and may improve mood and self-image.

Aerobic Activity Targets

The conversation test is the practical discriminator — full conversation means moderate; light or broken conversation means vigorous. AFH 1 also notes that intensity is "considered the most important variable in training," measurable by percentage of maximal oxygen consumed or percentage of maximal heart rate.

Training Principles

Warm-up: a five to seven minute dynamic warm-up increases blood flow, reduces the risk of injury, and increases the joint's range of motion. The recommended sequence: slowly jog in place or walk, slowly rotate joints, then slowly mimic the activities to be performed — lifting lighter weights helps prepare the neuromuscular pathways.

Cool-down: provides a gradual reduction in activity to prevent blood pooling, hasten recovery, and avoid injury. After a run, jog slowly then walk for one to two minutes while rehydrating.

Flexibility: "the maximum ability to move a joint freely, without pain, through a range of motion." Although flexibility is not assessed during the fitness assessment, it is an important aspect of overall health. Two aspects: stability (maintaining non-movement functional positions, including postural stability) and mobility (controlled, functional movement through an active range of motion).

Stretching: stretch when muscles are warmer, hold stretches for 10 to 30 seconds, and repeat each stretch three to four times. "Ballistic stretching (bouncing) is not recommended."

Three numbers to lock down: 48-hour recovery for the same muscle group, three workouts per week, and 10–30 second stretch holds repeated three to four times.