Can You Pass the Air Force Fitness Test? Training Tips and Benefits of Exercise

Maybe you aren’t looking to get into the Air Force but are you in shape to even pass the test?

For men, the test is 45 push-ups in 1 minute, 50 sit-ups in 1 minute and run 1 ½ miles in 11:57. For women, the test is 27 push-ups in 1 minute, 46 sit-ups in 1 minute and 1 ½ miles in 14:22. How do you measure up?

Recruits have 6 weeks from when they report for duty to train and pass the test. If they fail, they are “recycled” back for further training.

Los Angeles-based pediatric chiropractor and mother of 3 Dr. Christine Anderson says she schedules her workouts just like she schedules appointments or kid activities.

“I have a back-up plan for bad weather or schedule changes. I never stop working out, because that would mean I would have to start up again, which is oh so much harder than keeping it up. I trick myself into working out when I don’t want to. I tell myself that I can work out for less time or at a lesser intensity and of course, once I get going it feels great and I end up doing the full work out,” says Anderson.

Besides the inner competitiveness that tends to come out when you are working out, here are 5 other benefits of exercise.

• Helps your body fight colds, flu and aging and reduces your risk for cancers and other diseases.
• Boosts your immune system by increasing the circulation of killer cells who fight bacteria and viruses.
• Fights tissue, cell and organ damage that causes chronic damage.
• Lowers blood pressure, bad cholesterol and the incidence of Type 2 Diabetes.
• Being sedentary causes obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and depression so get moving.

To help train for the Air Force test here are some tips:

• Practice, practice, practice for the push-ups test and try different types of push-ups such as decline push-ups, diamond push-ups and plyometric push-ups and if you can’t finish, try push-ups from your knees.
• To get ready for the abdominal test, try several ways to strengthen your core such as planks, knee raises and oblique exercises.
• To pass the running test, try sprint training with “Ladders” at a 400-meter track twice a week. To do a ladder, warm up with 2 laps (800 meters), run 1 400 m lap at the goal pace, jog 800m, run another 400 at goal pace, repeat until you’ve run 2 miles. As you improve, reduce the jogging laps and increase the goal pace laps until you’re running the entire workout at goal pace.

To learn more about Anderson, please check out her website at www.kidchiropractic.com.