CFA Question

Rojo17

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Messages
104
When I am doing the pullups for the CFA, am I allowed to hop off the bar while the time is still running to rest and then continue after the rest?
 
lol of course not. by that logic, you could easily do quick bursts of 5 pullups until you max it out. the average is like 10. they are cadence pullups, so they're equally timed apart, and you're given the call to go up and down (yes, down).

or atleast, that's how it was for me
 
Lots of confusion about this one. So far the replies have been from prospective plebes (I believe). Maybe one of the moderators or somebody at the academy can chime in. My opinion is that it is how many you can do in 2 minutes. After all, why have a whole 2 minutes to do them if you can't stop for a breather. It doesn't take that long to do even as many as 15 or 16, without stopping, probably close to 30-45 seconds. It doesn't say on the guidance that you can't stop and drop between sets of 3-5.
 
It doesn't say on the guidance that you can't stop and drop between sets of 3-5.

They are cadence pull-ups.

As soon as the cadence is broken the count stops.

If you drop off the bar and start again, so does the count.
 
From the Naval Academy CFA instructions: Sounds pretty clear to me. You CAN'T let go of the bar. You are either in the "UP" command and getting your chin above the bar; or you're in the "DOWN" command where your arms are in a fully extended static hang position. Letting go is NOT a "Hang Position".

You have 2 minutes or until you let go. Pretty simple.

******************************************************

Mount the bar with a pronated grip (back of the hands facing the candidate) with arms fully extended in a static hang.
Not swing, kick, or bicycle legs during upward movement.
Raise the body until the jaw line is above the bar and parallel to the ground.
Execute each repetition on cadence (command).
Return to a fully-extended static hang position to complete each repetition.

The scorer will:

Note the event start time (should be 5:00 elapsed).
Before giving the "GO" command, ensure the candidate's elbows are fully extended and shoulders are relaxed in a "dead hang". If a candidate needs to use a chair to grip the bar, pull the chair away and take the time to ensure the candidate is in a straight-armed, relaxed shoulder "dead hang" before beginning. Do not allow the candidate to jump off the ground or a chair to gain momentum for the first repetition. Require a short fully-extended period before giving the "GO" command.
On the command "GO" start the event. When the candidate's chin rises above the bar, command "DOWN". When the candidate reaches the starting position with arms fully extended, command "UP". At the end of 2 minutes, command "STOP", and record the number of correctly executed repetitions.
May steady the candidate by extending an arm in front of him/her on each repetition.
Monitor each repetition to determine that the candidate's chin is parallel to the ground and over the bar in the up position and that arms are fully extended in the down position.
When a candidate reaches the maximum number of repetitions in under the 2-minute period (18 for men; 7 for women), the command "STOP" will be given.
 
I just went to the gym and knocked out 9 in 2 minutes. I had 7 in about 45 seconds, but I struggled after that. I've maxed out sit-ups, pushups, and the mile, and I'm above average for the other two. Will I fail the CFA at NASS if I stay at 9 pullups? If so, do you have any suggestions (other than the Armstrong) at how to increase them up to 12+ by the time June rolls around?
 
your good, im headed to USNA this year and my CFA scores were all about average with about 9 pull-ups +- 1.keep it up!
 
Thanks for clarification CC. BTW the more you can do the better. 9 is "okay," but you can do better. You have plenty of time to work on it. We put a full-hang chin up bar in the garage for DS to practice on. I practiced with him. Every other time a commercial came on the tube, we would go do as many pull-ups as we could until "fail." We would sometimes do as many as 70 in an evening. I'm over 50 years old and increased from around 5, to my best at 18 without stopping and dropping. This occurred in the space of about 6 weeks. If you're going to try this, use gloves because you will get blisters.

Nobody knows how you would stack up against those applying for 2017. You want to try your very best to max out everything. Even 1 or 2 pull-ups might make the difference in getting an appointment. Good Luck! :smile:
 
To the OP: A good way to increase your pull-ups is to change the way you train a bit.

Try this out to up your up your count.

Do this set twice through:
1 pullup.. drop, wait 15 seconds
2 pullups.. drop, wait 15 seconds
3 pullups.. drop, wait 15 seconds.
4 pullups.. drop, wait 30 seconds.
5 pullups.. drop, wait 30 seconds.
4 pullups.. drop, wait 15 seconds.
3 pullups..drop, wait 15 seconds.
2 pullups.. drop, wait 15 seconds.
1 pullup.. drop

This builds up great upper body strength and endurance and is a lot tougher than it looks, especially once you start tweaking the numbers when you can do more. I used this training method and I can bang out around 25 solid ones, (gets a little ugly after 20). Once you start feeling good at it, go for 18 in a row.
 
I still have trouble doing one pull-up... I can do 6 or 7 if I start with my elbows bent slightly, but can't do any from a dead hang? Anyone else have this problem?
 
lol of course not. by that logic, you could easily do quick bursts of 5 pullups until you max it out. the average is like 10. they are cadence pullups, so they're equally timed apart, and you're given the call to go up and down (yes, down).

or atleast, that's how it was for me

At NASS, they never had time to supervise each candidate and just ask us to jump on there, get in a dead hang, and do pull-ups. Your partner was suppose to be honest and count the number of correct ones. I did 13- around average.
 
At NASS, they never had time to supervise each candidate and just ask us to jump on there, get in a dead hang, and do pull-ups. Your partner was suppose to be honest and count the number of correct ones. I did 13- around average.

Don't even THINK of being less than honest on anything related to your application.
 
At NASS, we all hopped onto the bar (a funny box-like contraption, with one guy on a bar at each side) and pulled up and down to cadence played through a stereo. I counted my own pullups.

We self-reported just about all of our numbers (squad leader records times, and he/she couldn't possibly mind the numbers of all seven candidates at once). The entire company was running around doing different events, there were candidates everywhere.

I suppose you could cheat here by embellishing your numbers and they would probably just believe you due to lack of individual supervision, but who is that desperate? You can retake the thing anyway.
 
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