Candidate Fitness Assessment (CFA)

Part of the the application process for a service academy appointment is the CFA.  This is a structured test that is easy to administer and prepare for.  The average scores published by the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) were beyond impressive.  Average & max for men and women:

• Basketball Throw (Avg 69'/42')(Max 102'/66')
• Pull-ups (Avg 12/2)(Max 18/7)
• Shuttle Run (Avg 8.1/9.4 sec)(Max 7.8/8.6)
• Modified Sit-ups (Avg 81/78)(Max 95/95)
• Push-ups (Avg 62/41)(Max 75/50)
• One-mile Run (Avg 6:29/7:30)(Max 5:20/6:00)

The criteria is quite rigorous as well:

• Basketball throw - 2 minutes for 3 attempts, 3 min rest
• Cadence Pull-ups - 2 minutes for max, 3 min rest
• Shuttle Run - 2 minutes for 2 attempts, 3 min rest
• Modified Sit-ups - 2 minutes for max, 3 min rest
• Push-ups - 2 minutes for max, 8 min rest
• One Mile Run - Until completed

I am still up in the air on my scores:

• Basketball throw - 17 yards - 51' / 51'
• Cadence Pull-ups - 2
• Shuttle Run - 11.87 / 11.95
• Sit-ups - 30
• Push-ups - 18
• One Mile Run - 9:44

For a 17 year old with aspirations to enter a service academy, these are certainly a red flag.  However, for a 51 year old man, they are merely disturbing.  I feel like I could improve all of them and certainly want to train towards that end.