CFA and some other questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs
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<p>I’m going to be taking my CFA soon but the thing is…I don’t know how well I’ll do. I’m in “good shape” and have good endurance and stuff, but I’m a bit lacking in upper body strength wich can be a problem when it comes to pushups and, for me, especially the situps.</p>

<p>I’ve heard of some people retaking the CFA. Is this possible? How do I notify the Academy that I would want to replace my original scores with the new ones if I retake it?</p>

<p>Also, I have some questions about stuff like transcripts. I printed off the form online “request for secondary school transcript.” Also, I read on another of the online forms that all transcripts need to be forwarded to USAFA (I have some concurrent enrollment credit). How is this done? I mean, there’s no real specific instructions on the transcript request. Does my school just mail it to the Academy with my name on it and hope it gets there? Thanks.</p>

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<p>As far as transcripts go, you print off the Request for Secondary School Transcript form and give it to your counselor. Your counselor will then fill out the form (USAFA wants some stats about your school to see how competitive it is) and make an official transcript with SAT/ACT scores and send all that into USAFA.</p>

<p>Sorry, I have no idea about the CFA. I think you just do your best and then if your scores are a problem then the Air Force Academy will contact you.</p>

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<p>Don't even think about taking the CFA until you have done multiple tries of it according to official guidelines. It's not worth it to just go in wondering how you'll do. A coach, your ALO, or some other knowledgeable person ought to be able to help you with it. Occasionally USAFA asks someone to take it over, but you don't want to be put in that position.</p>

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<p>I agree with RTBdad. Why shoot your self in the foot if you don't have to? You should nevert rely on second chances. They may not come.
You should be challenging yourself daily preparing for the CFT! You don't need to stress yourself causing an ulcer, but cadets are pushed beyond their limits.<br>
The basketball throw requires practice. LOTS of practice from what I have seen and heard! I remember using a black "Sharpie" to mark the driveway at 50', 55', 60'.......up to 75'. I chased a lot of basketballs! My son was only able to complete 3 qualifying pull-ups. The coach that administered his CFT did not cut him any slack. If the pull-up was not preformed properly, he did not count it. Not everyone is gifted in strength AND endurance. My son lacked upper body strength but faired well on the other sections. I meet a recruited football player June 28th at the airport waiting for the same flight as my son's (leaving for BCT) . There was a lot of nervous chatter as (a total of 5 new cadets) they sized each other up. My son made a comment to the football player about the "guns" the guy bringing(his arms). My son was caught off guard when the football player admitted how nervous he was about his endurance. He said he was NOT a runner.</p>

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<p><em>Much</em> better advice. :)</p>

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<p>When I took the CFA I didn't do very well, so the Academy contacted me and said they thought I might have problems with the physical fitness program at the Academy. They gave me the option to retake it to prove myself again. I'm preparing a lot more now, and I wish I had done that before my first test. Do as well as you can - its better to make a good first impression.</p>

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<p>Sorry if this sounds intrusive, but what were your CFA scores, bree?</p>

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<p>BB Throw- 30'
Pull ups- 1
Shuttle run - 10.5
Sit ups - 72
Push ups- 12
Mile - 10:11</p>

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<p>Male or Female?</p>

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<p>Either way, male or female those scores spell trouble. 12 pushups is simply not going to cut it, ever. A mile run in 10:11 is much too slow. The basketball throw is not quite half what it should be for males. The idea behind making a good score on the CFA is to do your best at each event. On some events you might be lower than others, this is normal. But, and this is a big BUT, you're going to have to score somewhere near acceptable (median) levels, otherwise you will not make it during the first year there. Spend the next two months working out, you must get these scores up to be considered. </p>

<p>I knew of a girl in our son's class at West Point who struggled with the physical aspect and she eventually dropped during Beast, less than two weeks into the program. You MUST be in shape BEFORE you arrive, otherwise you're doomed before you begin.</p>

<p>A couple of helpful ideas. For the pushups, try them on stairs with your feet on the floor and your hands on the lowest step you're comfortable doing two reps of 30 pushups. Then when you can do 60, move down a step and build up the same way until you move all the way down to the floor doing at least 60 pushups.</p>

<p>Do pull ups from a bar that is tall enough for your feet not to touch the ground. At first, have someone help you by lifting your legs as you do the pull up. Do this until muscle failure. Try to get up to at least five pull ups. Pull ups are tricky because the bigger you are, the harder they are. There are some football players that can't even do one.</p>

<p>Shuttle run is all in the turns. You lose all of your time loitering at the touch zones. As you run, see how quickly you can get away from the turns. Pretend there is a hand grenade that will go off if you don't leave the area immediately. And always run through the finish line, never ever stop at it. It works.</p>

<p>The mile run is simply endurance and building up your speed. If you're overweight, this is going to be a struggle. Try running with someone who is faster and use them to pace yourself.</p>

<p>The military spends a great deal of time staying in shape. If you don't get into shape enough to pass the CFA, it will tell them you are not serious about gaining admission.</p>

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<p>Can any of you cadets on here estimate what my gross score would be?</p>

<p>BB Throw - 40 feet
Arm Hang - 12 seconds :(
Shuttle run - 10 seconds
Sit ups - 40
Push ups - 35
Mile - 7 flat</p>

<p>Also, any tips on the sit-ups? I can do crunches till doomsday but then I completely die when I have to go all the way up.</p>

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<p>When you go up breath out. As in continously exhale when your going up. Start slow till you get the pattern. Then practice and practice. It works and it is what i did. I can now do 72-75 in one minute.</p>

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<p>Redhead89,</p>

<p>Your scores come out to 349 out of 600, give or take a point or two.</p>

<p>Stealth_81</p>

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<p>About arm strength in general- my 12 1/2 year old needs to have stronger arms for tumbling, and to be able to do a back roll to hand stand position in order to be able to start learning a back handspring. They do 50 pushups at least everyday on the pool deck at swimming, and she practices handstands in her room. She's unhappy that she has not seen any improvement in being able to push up to a handstand. She's pretty small- 5' feet and less than 90 pounds, so it's not like she's heavy. Is it possible that 12 year olds just don't get stronger doing pushups? I have no idea. Every two months she gets an evaluation card that says, "must have more arm strength in order to get to next level!!!" I was wondering if she needs to do more-but I don't know what. Is she too young to really develop arm strength? Her cadet sister got in shape primarily by swimming also. She never ran or practiced the fitness test ahead of time and managed to do OK. She ended up being the first female in the BCT runs evidently, before shin splints set in. Keep in mind she ran 4 miles in 39 minutes before she turned 6. My husband was supposed to corral her after 1 mile, but he bent down to tie his shoe, then had trouble getting up, and then couldn't catch up to her until she was spoon deep in the ice cream at the finish line!!! Ah Memories........</p>

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<p>For sit-ups, make sure your shoulder blades are the farthest point from your toes that touches the ground. If you can keep your head and shoulders up, it is easier to to sit-ups. You just rotate from the hips. </p>

<p>For practice (and just do a lot of it), make sure your feet are under something solid (i.e. a couch). This will help you use your lower abs more. Crunches work your upper abs, while sit-ups work the lower abs.</p>

<p>Once you figure out how to do them efficiently, sit-ups are an easy max (100 pts.) on the PFT.</p>

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<p>Yep yep on the situp advice, by the way I'm curious what my score would be? Any guestimates? 5:32 mile, 95 situps, 57 pushups, 6 Chinups, 8.9 shuttle and 81 ft bball throw.</p>

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<p>Good.</p>

<p>Your run is very good, sit-ups are what you need for max. Pull-ups could improve a little (each pull-up is worth a lot of points on the PFT).</p>

<p>Bball throw is decent, but we don't actually do that at the academy. Practice standing long-jumps, if you are no good at them.</p>

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<p>Wow Raimius a little bored?? lol?? that was instanous reply and in the middle of the night 2..lol. anyways thx and ya my CHinups r weak but my long jump should be good b/c i've not only done it b4 and done well but I play basketball as well, but we'll c :) .</p>

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<p>@bree - yes, your scores a lacking a lot, but you can recover that. By March, if you work hard, those scores can be improved immensely. I took my CFT in October, trying to get an LOA, so my scores were somewhat lacking, borderline probably. Didn't need to retake it, but could have done much better. By the time I got here my scores had vastly improved, so it just takes time and effort. </p>

<p>@redhead- I'd say that's somewhere around a 250. Your run is excellent, push-ups are average, bball throw is pretty good, but your sit-ups and flexed arm hang are a problem. First, on the PFT, flexed arm hang is NOT an option, ONLY pull-ups. One pull-up is the female minimum worth 25 points, 6 is worth 100 points. Sit-up minimum is somewhere around 60 I want to say. How are you doing sit-ups? A lot is in the technique. For the PFT and the CFA, your elbows only need to touch your thigh. So, grab your collar and touch the easiest place to get to on your thigh. Like raimius said, make sure your feet are well supported. If you haven't been doing those things, they should impove your score a lot. Good luck, looking forward to training you in 6.5 months. ;)</p>

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<p>O and, um, raimius is fat too.</p>